14 The Elevator Ride

Meredith stood tall wearing platform nude pumps, a very sexy and sleek high-waisted black pencil skirt with a gold zipper that traveled up the back, which her mother had picked out. She had complained about it thinking it was a little too tight fitted for work. She didn't want to come off as trying to sell herself even though she was actually trying to sell herself, her work at least anyway.

She had a black sheen camisole tucked into her skirt under a cropped short-sleeved red satin blouse. The cropped top was Taylor's idea. Again Meredith had complained about it because it was red and isn't red an aggressive color. But both her mother and Taylor said Meredith needed to be more aggressive so red was the perfect color for her. Even if she wasn't aggressive enough it would take her the rest of the way.

After her talk with Edward Maxwell's assistant she also wore a very confident smile. Her hair and makeup had been done to perfection thanks to her best friend Taylor and she was, as Mr. Hubert had put it earlier, "Wow." She was tall, fit, well dressed, gorgeous, and her head was held high in the moment as she stepped into the elevator.

Across from her in the corner of the elevator was where one of the three Maxwell brothers stood leaning slightly against the wall. He wore elephant grey derby shoes, a solid blue three-piece suit with a skinny grey tie tucked into his vest. His dark brown hair was parted on the side and buzzed short around the sides but long on the top. It was very polished and looked as though he had just come from the barber before stepping onto the elevator. His clear green eyes looked the color of moss but with the clarity of an emerald. They were mesmerizing and many had found themselves lost in them.

His jaw was clenched as though he were deep in thought and he wore a five o'clock shadow across it. His face was chiseled like a god and the way the suit fit him it looked as though his body underneath was as well. Meredith caught herself staring as she slowly walked onto the elevator. She wasn't one to normally gawk at men, she usually tried to avoid them. Her heartbreak had left her with little desire to interact with the opposite sex. Maybe it was her recent change in her dating life that had her noticing him. Most likely it was the fact that he was the sexiest man she had ever seen in person, maybe even ever.

Meredith had been too focused during the meeting to notice much of Edward Maxwell's features. She had been a nervous wreck on the inside trying to focus on her presentation. It took everything within her to get through the meeting without letting it show through how nervous she really was. Meredith was glad for the confident, yet sexy, outfit. It helped pay attention on the task at hand when she began to drift away. She had also been chanting success affirmations to herself in a mumble in the elevator on the way up to the meeting. She even wore a good luck charm on a necklace under her shirt. She had pulled out everything she could to help her win the ad campaign.

She hadn't noticed then the features of one of the Davids. But now she noticed. She faltered and almost paused completely mid step when she saw Edward Maxwell's brother standing in the elevator. Taylor and the David fan club members were right. Michelangelo couldn't have done a better job sculpting this man that stood before her if he tried.

Meredith audibly gasped in shock at how stunning the man before her was. He looked up as she entered, and seemed to barely pay attention as she said "Hello," trying to cover up her shock and staring, then she pushed the button for the lobby floor, and took the opposite corner to stand. She then noticed how the doors proceeded to take all day to close.

She tried not to but she couldn't help but to watch him out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure which Maxwell he was but she knew he was most definitely a David. As she secretly watched him she saw his eyes flick to her a second time and his jaw stopped it's clenching as he looked at her. He scrunched his face as if trying to remember where he had put his car keys, or if he had even driven to work that day, and looked at Meredith as though she could tell him.

She tried to telepathically tell him the answer so he would stop looking at her strangely, his keys were the last place he had them. This was always the case when she was missing something. It always turned up in the last place she had it. So she was sure it was the answer to his unspoken question as well.

Finally the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to move albeit seemingly in very slow motion. Meredith thought the speed at which the elevator moved defied the laws of time and instead of going forward went slowly backwards, extending her awkward ride with the god in the corner much longer than she would have liked. At least that's what Meredith felt it was doing as the David was continuing to stare at her. Maybe he wanted to know whether or not I came before or after E when C was involved.

"You're the one who keeps running my driver over!" The god-like man in the corner finally said in the richest voice Meredith had ever heard. It was as if someone poured chocolate velvet over a cheesecake and spoon-fed it to her while she lay naked on a cloud. She felt herself melt ever so slightly and consciously made sure her mouth was closed to prevent any drooling in front of this god-man before her.

"Your driver? I don't drive." She finally managed to respond as she turned to look at him. With her the shoes she was wearing she was nearly at eye level and with him leaning slouched slightly against the wall she was at eye level. She took her turn to squint at him although she knew that I came before E except after C. So she wasn't really sure why she was squinting. Maybe the squinting would make the elevator move faster. For some reason it felt stuffy and warm all of a sudden. She wrinkled her nose slightly then proceeded to look confused as to what on earth he was talking about. She didn't even know which David he was let alone who his driver was.

"Yes, my driver, Sean. You keep knocking into him in the mornings on your way in the building. You look different today." He told her and looked her up and down...twice. "Very different." He added in a low tone she thought she saw him lick lips. Meredith had thought she was melting over his voice before but now she definitely felt a slight amount of drool trying to escape her mouth. She watched as his eyes dilated ever so slightly before he regained his composure and continued. "But it's you. I'm sure of it."

"Okay?" So what if she knocked down his driver while rushing to work late. Was he going to fire her because she accidentally bumped into his driver? It wasn't a big deal. She remembered the driver from before. She had apologized to the driver and had a rather pleasant conversation with him. She wasn't really sure why this David even brought it up.

It had nothing to do with her job or her work performance and as far as she had noticed she hadn't affected the David directly or indirectly by her bumping into his driver. Besides, she was on top of the world right now. She had just given the best presentation of her career thus far and had this elevator god's brother's assistant give her very high praise. To top it off she felt like if she were to run into David Letterman at that moment he would tell her she looked like a million dollars. She felt like she did at least.

"What were you doing on Edward's floor?" The David dared to speak to her again. Hadn't she shown him with her telepathy that she was smarter than him, she knew the i e rule, and where his car keys were. She had projected mentally, or at least she had tried her best to, that she wasn't phased by his empty threats to fire her for bumping into people accidentally. Key word being accidentally.

"I was giving an ad campaign presentation." Meredith responded politely and curtly, the elevator god was after all her boss in some form or another. What she wanted to know was why the elevator was taking so long to get to the Lobby and why no one else seemed to need the elevator at this very moment. Were the Davids really god-like in that they could defy the rules of the mortal realm simply to harass their employees for accidentally bumping into people?

"Oh? What department do you work in?"

"Graphic Design Apparel." What is this; Twenty questions? What's going on, Meredith thought. Why is he suddenly so chatty and inquisitive. She liked him better when he was brooding in the corner. Now he stood up tall to his full height as he shot question after question at her for no reason. She figured he felt stupid about not knowing the I E rule and was trying to cover it up.

"Hmm…Hubert?"

"Yes, that is my manager."

"You're not married." It wasn't a statement or a question, it was an observation and she wasn't sure what it had to do with anything. Before she could even think she responded.

"Neither are you." She said more to herself also as an observation to which he smirked. For some reason that smirk sent a shiver up her body, a delicious sort of shiver. She didn't really understand it but she wanted more. He looked at his watch then up at the elevator floor number. It was approaching the lobby, finally.

"Come to my floor after your lunch. I'll expect you no later than 1:15 for your interview." She stared at him confused and then the door opened. She stood fixed in place staring at him still dumb founded at what he had said. What interview? She already had a job in this building with his company. Neither of them moved. "1:15." He said again.

"Which floor is yours?" She asked as the doors closed with them still in the elevator.

"Thirty-seven." He responded then it was as though a light went off in his head and he looked her in the eyes with what she thought was excitement. "You don't know who I am."

"No." She said matter-of-factly. The doors opened again and she heard Taylor calling to her and quickly exited, leaving a baffled David behind to ride up to the thirty-seventh floor she assumed.

She wasn't sure why he had just ridden down to the lobby for no real reason. Maybe he liked awkward elevator rides. He was strange. Maybe she would ask him at this interview she was supposedly attending. Whatever the interview was she wasn't sure. She liked her job, she didn't need a new one. She had just basically been told she was most likely getting a raise and a bonus for her presentation by Edward Maxwell's assistant. Was this other David going to interview whether to keep her employed after she ran into his driver twice? Whatever it was she was hungry and still on a high from her presentation. So she shook off the strange elevator ride and walked over to Taylor and the two of them headed out to lunch.