Hello! The Elevator is a long-form, weekly serial featuring women loving women storylines with some adventure and sci-fi. New chapters drop every Wednesday and Saturday.
Previously: Quinn and Haley meet at a coffee cart, then find themselves in an elevator together, which never makes it to the floor they need.
Chapter 2
In her professional life, Quinn could easily mask her introversion and make small talk with clients and colleagues. She’d been doing it for years to ascend the corporate ladder whose rungs required charisma and self-assurance.
Outside of the office, social engagement was more of a challenge. She preferred to watch and listen on the periphery. But now, being confined in a small, dimly lit space with a stranger she just called cute a mere ten minutes ago necessitated some form of conversation.
Quinn started with an easy question. “Do you work in this building?”
“No, just here for a meeting.”
“Me too. I was just wondering if the elevators were prone to problems.” She looked at the half-full iced latte in her hand and set it down in the back corner of the elevator. Haley raised her eyebrows.
“Continuing to drink that could create an even more awkward situation in a couple hours if we’re still in here,” Quinn explained. Wow, you can really overthink anything, can’t you? She wanted to bang her head against the wall.
Haley looked at her own coffee and nodded, placing hers in the other corner.
“What kind of meeting are you here for?” Haley asked.
“Business. I’m negotiating a final contract with a new client. I usually work remote. This is my first time in California. You?”
“I’m meeting an editor to discuss a book I’m supposed to write.”
Quinn’s eyes widened. “Are you a writer?”
Haley shook her head, “No. I’m a musician. Eclipse Publishing wants me to write a book, a memoir I guess you could say.” She fanned her hands in an arc in front of her face and grinned. “About my career journey thus far.”
“That sounds way more interesting than my meeting.”
She pulled her phone out again to see if her text message to 911 had a response. Nothing.
“You seem nervous,” Haley looked at Quinn.
“Are you not?”
Haley responded, “I wouldn’t say that. But this is a pretty large building in a decent-sized city close to the metropolis of Los Angeles. I think they have plans for things like this and those are probably happening as we speak. We just don’t know it because we’re trapped in a soundproof steel box.”
Quinn’s eyes widened and she rubbed her forehead above the bridge of her nose.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have said trapped. Located. We’re located in a soundproof steel box,” Haley tried to autocorrect as she sensed Quinn’s rising discomfort. “My point is, I’m sure we’ll be moving within the hour.”
Quinn lowered her black Kate Spade work tote from her shoulder and slid down the wall of the elevator. She took off her blazer and crossed her arms on her bent knees, the long sleeves of her white button-down shirt bunching at the elbows. She appreciated Haley’s calmness and assurance, even though her own anxious mind wanted to doubt it. “Alright, within the hour it shall be.”
Haley mirrored Quinn’s pose and sat on the opposite side of the elevator car, her sage green boyfriend sweater pillowing over her dark-wash tapered jeans. “Where are you from?”
“Florida. What about you? Are you native to California?”
“North Carolina. I moved here about 10 years ago to be closer to the music industry.”
“I’m sorry, I tend to listen to 80s and 90s pop. I don’t think I know your music.”
Haley chuckled. “It’s ok. I’m more alternative rock and pop-punk. Like if Paramore, Alanis Morissette, and Liz Phair had a threesome.”
Quinn made a mental note to come back to that visual metaphor later. “Well, I’ll have to add you to my playlist.”
“Tell me more about what you do. What kind of contract are you negotiating?” Haley asked.
“I work for a company that provides an HR technology infrastructure for other companies.” She realized this sounded boring compared to Haley’s job. “Basically, we provide a backend solution for that company’s employees to get paid, access their benefits, report their time, track their trainings. All that stuff that no one wants to think about but makes a business run and keeps them in compliance with regulations. My meeting is to get the client to sign the deal so we can start software implementation.”
“Sounds impressive,” Haley said.
“Technology can do impressive things.”
“I meant, it’s impressive that you’re flying around the country negotiating big contracts like that for your company. You must know your stuff.”
Quinn avoided Haley’s eyes. “Yea, well I’ve been doing it for a while.”
Haley’s earnestness was inviting and the feeling of wanting to talk more with her caught Quinn by surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time she casually conversed with someone outside of work and her family.
“So, your book… have you started it? That must be an exciting project,” Quinn said.
“It’s very much in the early stages. I hit a small road bump with it recently that just needed smoothing out,” Haley replied.
Quinn raised her eyebrows, “What kind of road bump lies in the path of a book?”
“My ex-girlfriend is the one who helped me get the contract. And she works for my agent, and that wasn’t vibing, so I had to find a new agent. It was a whole thing,” Haley motioned circles with her hands.
Quinn’s ears tingled at the mention of an ex, and she noticed how much Haley used her hands when she talked. The gestures expanded the energy field that radiated around her, like the way the sun sets the ocean afire when it rises.
“Ugh, exes make things complicated,” Quinn said. “Hopefully, you can start making some progress on the book if things are now sorted out.”
Haley nodded her head, “Yeah, lesson learned to just figure things out myself and not rely on others. People let you down and it always complicates things.”
Somewhere above them, there was a sound of gears grinding. Quinn looked up as the fluorescent lights flickered on and she whispered a thank you to the universe.
The elevator moved up a few feet before the lights cut out again. The floor fell out from under her, but she went with it. Except for her stomach which remained a few feet above.
A screech pierced the air, like tires braking to avoid an animal on a dark road. One of the ceiling panels clattered to the floor to Quinn’s left.
The elevator car must have only fallen for a few seconds, but Quinn felt like it shaved a few years off her life. Her heart raced and she realized the emergency light was not coming back on.
Across the floor from her, the glow from Haley’s phone screen faintly lit the elevator.
“Ok, that might be a good reason to now be nervous,” Haley said.
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