CHAPTER TWO: THE ELEVATOR STRANGER.

Winnie. 

We stared at each other for what felt like hours but must have been only a few seconds. Just as the elevator doors made to shut, the man stepped forward and into the car, and then the doors slid shut. 

The space seemed suddenly small with him in it. 

I knew I was staring openly like a creep, but I couldn't look away from him. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life. Not only was he unfairly good looking, he was also wealthy. The gray three piece suit he wore looked expensive, and the way it fit to his trim frame had all the tells of a bespoke suit. 

The watch he wore on his right wrist was a shiny gold, big, heavy looking and probably worth more than what I made in three years. 

"You're staring." He sounded irritated. I looked away hurriedly. I would also be irritated if a stranger in the elevator gawked at me like I was some sort of alien. 

I sighed, irritated at myself too. I had more important things to worry about. I didn't have time to drool over the very attractive man standing beside me. I was supposed to-

My thoughts were cut off abruptly as the elevator made a frightening screeching sound. I froze in horror as it lurched before coming to a complete stop. Could today get any worse.

"Don't panic." He said.

I was cursed. That was the only explanation for this string of bad luck haunting my life. How many times could life really shit on me before I accepted that the problem was me? I must have done something to somebody to deserve this. My lips trembled uncontrollably. What was next? Was I going to get run down by a truck as I tried to cross the road? Or maybe I was going to fall into a ditch and die. 

I burst into tears. Again. 

"What are you doing?" The man asked.

I turned to face him, trying in vain to stop crying. It wasn't my fault. I wasn't someone who cried on a regular, but today, I just couldn't seem to stop leaking like a damn watering pot. 

"Stop that." He ordered. 

One second I was standing by myself, the next my legs propelled me forward and I flew into the stranger's arms, sobbing into his chest and ruining his expensive jacket. I'd have to pay for his dry cleaning later, but that was a problem for future me. Present me just wanted to be held and comforted, even if it was by a stranger. 

I heard him mutter a curse. 

"I'm sorry, I'll stop crying in a minute." I said in between sobs. "It's just that my life has been so horrible of recent."

"Look, girl-"

"I got scammed by a cute asshole. Eli Hardy wasn't even really his name." I said.

"I don't want to know ab-"

"And my bakery is gone. And I'm homeless. In debt and homeless. And my oven is going to sit in storage, wasting away. It was my dream oven. It's really pretty, I swear. I-" the man untangled my arms from his body and held me away. 

"Stop crying." He said. 

And surprisingly it worked. I blinked up at him and sniffled, eyes wet. I probably looked like a mess, but I told myself it didn't matter. A man like him would never look twice at a woman like me, not in a thousand years.

There was a sudden static sound from the speaker at the top of the elevator car. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but the car seems to be stuck a little. This will be resolved in no time. In the meantime, do not panic, our engineers are fixing the issue and you'll soon be out of there." 

"Oh thank you." I said. 

"Why are you thanking them? It's their job to make sure these things never happen in the first place." The man said. 

I looked up at him in surprise. That was such an asshole thing to say. It was no surprise to me though. Men like him felt like the whole world was meant to serve him, like he was above us all and definitely above common courtesy. I shot him a look of disgust. I couldn't believe I'd tried to get comfort from this man.

He was a handsome asshole.

I studied him carefully. A very handsome asshole. Dark green eyes that had flecks of gold and brown, it was a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors. He was maybe two or three inches above six feet, with dark brown hair cut shorter on the sides and longer at the top. His hair was slick and well arranged, not a single strand out of place. All of him was put together in a similarly efficient way. 

He had the aura of a man that was in complete control of his surroundings. A man that was sharp, calculative and strategic, but there was a hardness to his eyes that was a warning that this man may look calm and controlled, but he was also extremely dangerous and it would be a deadly mistake to mess with him. 

I took a step backwards, away from him. 

I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed this air of danger as soon as he entered this elevator. In my defense, I had been distracted by the turn my life had taken. 

That was when his eyes zeroed on me. I gulped nervously. His attention felt like an oppressive darkness pressing down all around me, engulfing me completely. He trailed his eyes down my body slowly. If it were any other man, I'd have assumed he was checking me out, but this stranger did it in a clinical manner, like he was ticking my features against a mental checklist. It was an uncomfortable feeling. 

When his eyes finally met mine again, I shivered. There was a look in his eyes that I didn't like. It looked an awful lot like determination. Whatever this man had been looking for, he had apparently marked me as worthy. A predator that had gotten his prey in his crosshairs. 

I took another step backwards till my back was pressed flat against the cold elevator wall. 

"Did you say you were in debt and homeless?" He asked. 

Me and my big mouth.