THE LAST thing I expected during this tour was some fear-induced adrenaline from seeing Iris gasping for air, whilst on the floor, with a pale face and quivering hands. And the worst part of it all is how she is laughing as if nothing that just happened should matter to me, even though I'm kneeling next to her with my hand in hers, showing that I care.
"Are you okay?" I ask, ignoring her cover-up laughter.
Iris pauses. "Yes, I'm fine," she replies before quickly adding, "I was just pranking you to see how you would react if an employee was sick." Her voice is shaky, and I don't know if she knows, but her hands are gripping mine like they are made of steel.
After I lit my torch, her breathing returned to normal, but the experience must have been severely traumatizing for her to be quivering like this. She hates the dark. It's the only possible explanation considering how all this started after the lights went out. However, seeing how she is trying to cover up her actions with laughter, I decide not to pry any further.
I let out a fake chuckle, "Please don't do that again. It was too realistic. I almost thought you were going to die on me for a second there."
"Rest assured, I won't be repeating that again," Iris says, a crooked smile tugging at her lips. A calm silence follows-a chance that I use to help her stand before dialing the maintenance department number to ask if they're firing up the generator. My flashlight turns off when I call, and darkness encompasses the elevator once again, making Iris rummage through her bag in an instant.
"Where's my phone?" I hear her whispering before catching the sound of a sniff coming from her. Is she crying? I contemplate cutting off the call and switching the light on again, but Tinashe (the maintenance manager) answers his phone and I'm left with no option but to comfort her the only way I know how.
"Hello?" Tinashe says on the other side and I wince at his croaky voice, slowly scooting towards Iris to grab her hand. She stills when our fingers touch, but the contact manages to make her calm down a bit, although the rummaging doesn't stop.
"Good day Tee, I just wanted to ask if your team is turning the generator on anytime soon. We're stuck in an elevator." I feel Iris grip my hand tighter with each passing second in the darkness, which radiates her anxiety towards me somehow. Without thinking any further, I put the phone on loudspeaker and bent toward her before whispering, " Don't worry, you're not alone."
"They're on their way, sir!" Tinashe's voice comes out louder now that I turned on the speaker. It's a shame that he had to say it whilst I was whispering my words of comfort to Iris, but when she lets out a small sigh, I have to assume that she heard me.
"Thank you, Tee. I owe you one," I say before cutting the line and immediately turning on the light. "All good now?" I ask Iris who is now slumped on the walls with her head hung low as if she's embarrassed.
"Yes, thank you for helping, sir," Iris says in a small voice that sounds flat. " Though I'd really appreciate it if this stayed between us," she adds whilst avoiding eye contact, and I nod before saying in a low voice, "Your secret is safe with me."
During the short period that I've known Iris, I got to learn a lot more about her than I thought I would. For starters, she is that one rare kind of girls who portray both nerdy and queen bee traits. When I checked her resume, I hadn't in the least expected to see colors flying in every direction from her academic qualifications. She is smart, the kind that swooped off all the first-place awards at school, and that even showed on the references section in her resume.
Iris had helped two authors make it to the top ten bestsellers list before turning twenty, with one of the authors staying in the number one spot for an entire six weeks! Too good to be true right? I too doubted it when I saw the resume until I decided to contact the authors myself. Needless to say, now I have two writers who I must feature in this month's magazine issue since they helped me uncover some parts of Iris I hadn't managed to ask during the interview.
However, even their feedback couldn't have prepared me for this other side of hers-the Queen bee. Iris isn't afraid to say what's on her mind-even during an interview. I witnessed her speech first hand and I liked how well she masked her tone with a touch of professionalism, which partly contributed to the reasons why I hired her. Her tone is very persuasive.
I return to my senses when the elevator doors open, revealing Lynn who is standing on the other side, waiting to get inside. Both Iris and I don't flinch since we landed on the fourth floor (a point to Iris for noticing that), but Lynn does the flinching instead, and when I follow her gaze, I soon realize why. My hand is still clasping Iris'.
I want to drop Iris' hand for fear we might be seen by other employees, but the look on Lynn's face makes me pause. It's a look I wanted to see for the past two years after being chased around by her even though I tried to reject her advances each time-a look of realization mixed with disappointment. Iris finally catches on to the reason why Lynn isn't getting inside and she tries to swat my hand away-but I grip her hand tightly, not enough to hurt her though. I need this moment to be etched into Lynn's brain so that she'll leave me alone for good this time.
The doors begin closing, and Lynn doesn't waste her time trying to stop them.
Finally, she reads the situation.
My plan worked! However, there is a pricey cost to pay for that success. When the doors close, Iris swats my hand away with so much force that I am pulled forward and I have to support myself to avoid falling.
"What are you doing?" She hisses, " You're going to make people have the wrong idea about us."
" I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment." My reply earns me a fierce glare from Iris that makes me shudder a little. It's the same look she gave me when I accidentally spilled coffee on her the first time we met and I feel bad that find it somewhat cute given the situation I'm in.
I hadn't taken time to compliment her beauty before, but seeing her pouty glare made me take her features in for a moment. Those grey eyes of her's give off a siren vibe that makes her glare powerful, and paired with her black curly hair, I couldn't be more accurate. However, her plush lips cut that siren edge, and give her a cute facade instead. I watch as they dance when she hisses at me again.
" But why did I have to be caught up in that moment? I don't want to be entangled with my boss's ex, especially NOT during my first day here!"
Oh. She thinks Lynn is my ex. No wonder her voice sounds gruff. I hate myself for wanting to laugh at her, especially since I'm the one in the wrong here, but shit I can't hold it in. The elevator opens just when I let out a laugh, earning me a loud disapproving scoff from Iris.
"First you pour coffee on me and leave without apologizing properly, and now you use me as a decoy to mess with your ex and laugh after I complain." Her voice comes out brittle, making me stop laughing as realization dawns on me. "With all due respect sir, I think I deserve to call you a dick. I'll be resigning before you make me quit. Have a nice day."
With that, Iris turns on her heel, leaving me standing by the elevator alone as I watch her sashay away from me. What just happened?
"Wait!" I call out, but she doesn't budge. "Wait, Iris!"
She keeps walking, and all eyes turn to look at us, even the ones from people in their departments. I curse the floor to ceiling glass walls of this corridor that allow people in their respective departments to see all the drama unfolding outside. Now I'll be the topic of gossip for a couple of months given how they all see me chase after Iris. And it doesn't help that Iris suddenly gained the power to walk two times faster than before.
Whatever happened to her heels killing her toes.
I finally catch up to her and grab her hand, before letting it go after receiving a pointed glare from her. "Listen, I didn't mean to laugh. I just couldn't help myself when you said Lynn was my ex."
" That's what dicks do."
Ouch.
" How about we talk over some coffee at the cafe below?" I plead with her. If this were a normal situation where an employee decided to resign, I would have let them go. But I fucked up on this one and letting Iris go could mean the end for me once Kayla finds out. I can't risk that.
"I don't drink coffee," she replies, seemingly uninterested in my pleading.
" That's okay, the cafe has other alternatives for people who don't drink coffee." Iris looks at her watch before turning back to me.
" You have exactly five minutes to prove yourself," she says matter-of-factly.
" That's more than enough," I quip.
"Good. Don't prove that I'm right about you being a dick."
Oh, she's good. Enough to make me realize that I'm in trouble. Huge trouble.
★★★★★
We are seated right next to the cafeteria doors and Iris is looking at me read the menu like a teacher inspecting her student during exams. There is a bit of restraint in her gaze, but as someone who got used as a pawn of escape a few moments ago, I get how she feels like I owe her an answer.
I finally put the menu on the table, giving the waiter my order before facing her. "So?" She begins immediately cutting to the chase.
"Sorry about my actions from before, I just couldn't hold myself back when I noticed her defeated look," I answer honestly.
" Why?" Iris maintains eye contact when she asks her questions, which makes her intimidating even though I'm much bigger in size.
" Because she's clingy. Lynn always confesses her love to me whenever we meet, and I've rejected her advances all those times but she just won't give up," I say without taking a break.
Iris's eyes narrow with interest. " So she's not your ex?"
" No, she's not."
" And you don't like her at all?"
"I do not, and I make sure to remind her every time she confesses, but it doesn't work. Today was the first time I saw her finally react to my taunts-"
"Because you seemed to show an interest in another person other than her. It's natural if you have a crush on someone, I think. However, that doesn't justify you using me as a getaway plan B," Iris cuts me. She lets out a heavy sigh and rubs her temple, " Her gaze was very unsettling, and I think I'm now on her enemies to-be list."
I think I hear Iris mutter, " Not that I care," under her breath, but it might as well have been my delusion. The waiter returns to our table with Iris's juice and my coffee, but that doesn't stop Iris from keeping eye contact with me like a predator eyeing its prey. I wait until the waiter is gone before proceeding with our little meeting, cautiously.
"Miss Iris, I would like to apologize for what happened today," I raise my head, expecting to see a shocked look on her face that I'm apologizing, but Iris tips her head up a little.
"Go on."
My palms heat up when I see her glare, and I brush them on my trousers. "I'm sorry for ruining your clothes that day we met and leaving without apologizing. I know it won't cancel the wrongs I did, but I was running late for a meeting with the CEO and his team."
Iris' glare softens, but she remains silent, urging me to continue. "I'm sorry for using you as a getaway plan without your consent today. That was very unprofessional of me," I add. Is it possible that you can give me another chance to make a good first impression on you?"
A long pause follows after my heartfelt apology to her as if she is considering my proposal, and when I can't take it anymore, I raise my head to face her. The last thing I expect to see is a gentle smile on Iris's face, but there she is, slouched comfortably on her chair and sipping her juice. " Well, you did help me back there with the light and all that," Iris says in an appealing voice that I find quite attractive." And you promised to keep it a secret, so I'll give you a second chance as a thank-you gift."
A smirk forms on my lips before I can stop it and Iris is quick to notice. "Don't blow this chance up like the first time we met, because trust me, I'm the pettiest human you've ever met and I don't let go of grudges that easily."
I raise my hand and place it on the table inviting Iris to shake it which she does happily. " Then I'll treasure this chance I've been given by you Miss Iris. You won't regret it, I promise."
★★★★★