Blue Skyes

Ch. II- The Interview

Never in my wildest work fantasies did I ever think I would be here today. "I can't believe we both got the interview! I'm so excited I could throw up." Mack walks side by side with me as we enter the building. I ignore his vomit comment. "By the way I love your suit. Nobody ever wears anything colorful around here."

I glance down at my orange blazer and matching slacks. "You can thank Goodwill for their selection." The truth is, this is the only suit I found there that didn't have any holes or stains on them. It was my size and I needed the win. The color wasn't important to me.

The white turtleneck underneath on the other hand, was a steal. No stains, tag still on it, and it's high quality fabric. I snagged it in the store the second I saw it.

Mack and I step onto the elevator along with one other man. He's not someone I've ever seen here before, but there's a lot of this building that I haven't explored.

At first I don't look at him, but I can feel his eyes on me, or more specifically my suit. I try to ignore it and pay attention to whatever Mack is rambling about. "What do you think Auden Skye looks like?" He asked me just as I tuned in. I shrug, not wanting to talk about the CEO in front of whoever this man is behind me. "There are rumors, you know? From the people who've met him." Mack sighs out of jealousy before continuing. "They say he looks like a Greek God."

"Why don't you just google him?" I countered, thinking it would be better to know than to take it from a few work gossipers.

Mack scoffs, "I tried, he doesn't do any press. Which is ironic considering how many writers he's helped become famous." I'll give him that. It is a little weird that no one seems to really know anything about the man who built his own publishing empire. "I mean seriously, there's not even a Wikipedia page about him. If you google Auden Skye the only thing that pops up is a link to the publishing website."

"Maybe he likes to stay private." Maybe he's not the only one who likes his privacy.

The man in the elevator with us doesn't chime in or anything. He keeps to himself, exactly as I would. Mack eventually reaches his floor and looks back at me as he gets off. "Good luck on your interview, Thea."

"You too." I added just before the doors closed again.

Silence encapsulates the elevator as the floors climb higher and higher. I pay attention to the numbers going up instead of the feeling of us moving. I've never liked elevators and interns only take up the first few floors.

I grab onto the metal rail and take in a deep breath to make myself feel safer but it doesn't take away my anxiety. "Are you okay?" The man asked me, now with a concerned look on his face.

"No, yeah, I'm good I just...I'm good." He doesn't need to know I'm scared of elevators. I'm an adult, I can handle this.

With my eyes now closed, I try to focus on my breathing. If I can stop thinking about how I'm feeling then I can get to the top floor with my dignity still intact.

When the elevator stops suddenly, my grip on the rail turns my knuckles white. I open my eyes just in time to see the lights go out and breakers kick on with a soft dim glow. It's still hard to see, but better than nothing. "What just happened?" I question, knowing that the stranger next to me doesn't have any answers.

He doesn't hesitate to shake his head, "I don't know. The breaker kicked on so a power outage maybe?" Even unsure of himself, his confidence isn't lost on me. He's the opposite of how I am now. His shoulders are relaxed, and his voice firm.

My hands shake in fear. "No, this can't be happening." I reach out for the emergency call button but it doesn't ring. I ring it over and over again, just hoping that the one time I press it it'll work. Slowly losing hope, I stop trying and groan out of frustration. This can't be happening.

I go back over to the rail and lean forward on it. The cold metal is keeping me from sweating too much in this stuffy metal box.

"Hey, are you okay?" I had almost forgotten about him, the man who's trapped here with me. This is literally my worst nightmare.

I don't answer him, closing my eyes again to keep myself from having a total meltdown. That's when I feel a hand gently fall on my shoulder. "Thea, right?" I nod, unable to utter a word. "Thea, they know we're in here okay? Nothing bad is going to happen to us."

His words don't comfort me, they only make me realize just how trapped I am. What if they don't know we're in here? I look up at the security camera in the top right corner. "How would they know?" I point up to it. "The security cameras are offline."

For the first time since we got into this elevator, he drops his shoulders. "Shit." He cursed.

I can't do this, there isn't enough therapy in the world that will help me recover from this. I'm starting to burn up, and the air is getting thinner. I unbutton my blazer and take it off on one desperate motion. I hang it up over the rail and start pacing back and forth. "Okay. Okay." I repeated, trying to convince myself that this situation isn't killing me inside.

I don't care about the man in here anymore, I just want this to be over. "Thea, talk to me."

His words cause me to stop pacing. I turn to face him. "We're about to die and you want us to chat?" This guy is insufferable.

He gets this serious look on his face, "Yeah, I think it would take our mind off of this. It couldn't hurt to kill some time either."

"Kill some time?" I repeated his words. "How long do you think we'll be in here?" Great, now I have to think about how long power outages normally last. Hours? I won't last hours.

The man cuts off my internal freak out with a deep but small laugh. "It won't be long, Thea. I promise." His voice is calming me down enough to agree. Besides, I could use the distraction.

I cross my arms over my torso, "What do you want to talk about?" If he wants to talk then he can lead the conversation.

Before answering, he takes his navy suit jacket off and walks over to me. I almost want to move away but I'm engrossed in his gaze. Then he sets the jacket down over the rail, placing it right beside mine.

His proximity is so close that I should be uncomfortable. "Why orange?" He asked softly.

"It's terracotta." I corrected. "It was the best suit in Goodwill."

The stranger smiled and two dimples appeared on both sides. "It's a really nice suit." He complimented.

"Thank you."

His eyes dart away for a moment, and when they come back he's more prepared, "You have an interview today right? That means you were an intern?"

I take into account that he was listening when Mack and I were talking earlier. "Yeah. I was under Mia Anderson." Thinking about this made me realize just how absolutely f****d I am now that I'm stuck here. "What time is it?" Without waiting for an answer, I pull out my phone to look for myself. "s**t, I'm so screwed." It's after 8am. I'm never getting this job.

Sensing another freak out from me, the man chimes in, "It's not your fault you're late, Thea." It doesn't matter, there's a one hundred percent rejection rate for the people who are late to the interview.

Now defeated, I sit down on the gross tile and lean back on the wall. "This suit was a waste." I was naive to think I'd ever actually get a job here.

The man bends down to sit beside me. He looks over at me with beautiful yet kind features. "I promise you, that suit was not a waste. I'll admit I thought it was bold at first but it's definitely growing on me." He smiles and flashes his dimples again, letting me know that he's trying to amuse me.

In return I offer up a little bit about myself. "I'm sorry for freaking out earlier. I'm scared of elevators and small spaces. When it shut down I just-"

He cuts me off, "It's okay. You don't have to apologize or explain yourself. How are you feeling now?" Concern laces his words and I try to think about how best to answer him.

"Better." I decided.

Before he could add anything else, the generators kicked off. Leaving us in complete darkness. I gulped as my eyes adjusted. "It's a good sign. It means they're working on getting the power back on. It won't be long now." I wonder how he knows so much about this but don't ask.

Just when I think I can't take it anymore, the elevator lights come on completely and it begins moving up again. "Thank God." Relief fills my chest as we reach the top floor.

The man and I grab our jackets and put them back on. After a moment, the elevator dings and comes to a stop. When the doors open I rush out of there and step into the corridor. The CEO's office is just ahead of me but I can't go now. Auden Skye wouldn't care that I was late, he doesn't have time.

Turning the opposite direction of the CEO's office, I feel a light grip on my wrist. "Wait, you're not going to your interview?" The man asked, turning me towards him and then immediately letting go.

I shake my head, feeling like it's no longer worth it. "No, I know what the answer is. Thanks again…for taking my mind off of it." I don't wait for a response, there's no need to. I'll never see that man again, and I've had a long enough day as it is.

I leave down the stairwell to go home and start my search for a new job.