3/ CREDIT CARDS AND ELEVATORS

I rolled my eyes for the millionth time as Belene stuffed more things into her shopping basket.

We had just arrived in Los Angeles and the first thing she decided to do was go shopping. Of course— she dragged me along.

"These will look perfect on me, right?" Belene asked with wide eyes as she shoved Victoria's Secret lingerie in my face.

"Don't throw that around!" I warned sharply, feeling a blush spread across my face. The brown-haired girl simply rolled her eyes and continued shopping.

I sighed and felt my shoulders slump, by the looks of things; we would be here a while before we got to the apartment Belene had chosen for us.

Instead of waiting for Belene to spend her entire paycheck at the mall, I decided to look around a bit and find something that may suit me.

If I was going to look for a job here; my dinner dresses would not pass the interview, especially if I wanted one at Moore Hospital.

I took the elevator and walked into the office wear section. They had a variety of truly beautiful dresses. I picked a few and proceeded to the counter to pay for them.

"I'm sorry ma'am," The cashier began nervously. "But this card isn't working." She announced. I blinked in confusion.

"W-what? What do you mean, it's not working?" I responded in a confused tone.

"Here," I offered and dug my hand into my jeans to pull out my second card, "Try this one instead." I sighed and waited. A few minutes later the cashier stared at me with hesitation.

"This one isn't working either." She announced. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

"Please check again," I responded. "Try this one." I pulled out my third card.

"I'm sorry ma'am, neither of these are working." My breath caught in my throat and the world spun for a moment. "I'm so sorry, please hold on," I spoke and tried to compose myself.

I pulled out my phone and called Jones. He was the accounting manager at our firm and he handled all our finances. If there was an issue with our cards, surely, he could have informed me at least twenty-four hours before, right?

"Jones, what's going on?" I spat the moment he picked up the call, "My cards aren't working, I am in the middle of a transaction." I announced quickly and shot a smile to the impatient cashier.

"I am so sorry ma'am.” He apologized and I rolled my eyes. “Mrs. Scottland instructed me to block all your cards, You can't—" I froze from that point and could barely register anything else.

Had Mother taken it that far? Just because I refused to marry James?

Did she want to snatch my rights and hard work? For the past three years; I had worked at that company, managing everything while battling with the reality that it would all be on my shoulders in no time and this was how she chose to repay me. Throwing me out on the streets without a cent to my name?

I stumbled back and ran my hands through my short brown hair. They were going to pay for this. All of them were going to pay for the humiliation and pain they had put me through. Any sense of guilt I had died the moment she decided to play such a cruel game on me.

"Ma'am, will you be taking the dresses?" The voice of the cashier drowned in the background of the voices in my head but I proceeded to walk back into the elevator. I slammed into someone and stumbled into the elevator. I only realized I was not alone when a deep voice spoke.

"So, do none of your five sense work?"

"W-what?" I spun around and locked eyes with baby blue orbs. Dark fringe fell and covered the orbs just enough to make my jaw drop a bit. The edges of the man's lips; Which I had to admit looked drop-dead gorgeous, curled downwards into an unimpressed frown and I suddenly felt self-conscious.

"I said, you slammed into me. Are you deaf too?" He spat and I gasped.

I looked away from him and sucked in a sharp breath. In my entire time schooling in Los Angeles, I had never met someone as demanding and intimidating as the man behind me and I had a reputation for being intimidating myself.

"I'm talking to you Miss—" He started

"How about you just shut up!" I spun around and snapped. The man raised an eyebrow at me but kept his frown on. His blue T-shirt showed enough details for me to deduce that he was frequent at the gym. He tilted his head at me in disgust and I took in his perfect jaw, while his brown coat lay on his shoulders lazily.

"Did you just — Did you just yell at me?" He demanded in a low tone that almost made me crawl into a hole. I matched his glare and swallowed every Fibre of my being that begged me to back down.

"Did you just—Did you just yell at—" Before I could finish my mimic, We heard a loud thud and the elevator stopped.

I groaned. Of course, I would be stuck in an elevator with a handsome stranger on my first day in Los Angeles. I rolled my eyes and hoped that they would get the elevator fixed as soon as possible because it seemed to stop moving completely.

I relaxed on the wall for a few moments before the sound of low grunts, almost identical to strangled breaths and even whimpers filled the space.

I frowned. There was no chi— My eyes widened as realization hit me. I spun around and locked eyes with Mr. Grumpy.

He was curled on the floor of the elevator, practically shaking. His coat had been discarded and his blue shirt had been unbuttoned a bit. He seemed to be visibly gaging for air and I didn't think, I honestly did not think anything through before I lunged into action.