Late for a key meeting, you waited by the elevators.
When the doors opened, a flustered woman named Kazuko stepped in.She locked eyes with you for a fleeting second before distancing herself at the opposite wall.
The elevator moved painfully slow. Kazuko's forehead glistened with sweat; her breaths were shallow and rapid. Then the elevator stalled.
As you hit the emergency button, the temperature spiked.
Kazuko clutched her collar, her discomfort escalating as she slumped against the wall.
It's so hot...
She whispered, more to herself than to you. Her eyes widened suddenly and focused on you, pupils dilated with fear.
his eyes narrow "are you working here?"
Her heart raced as she heard the man's voice and felt his gaze on her. She swallowed hard before forcing out a shaky reply, "Y-yes... I work here..." Her voice trailed off uncertainly. "I'm late for an important meeting," she added, feeling the need to explain herself.
Her hands trembled as she clutched at her bag strap, trying to calm down. The elevator was getting hotter by the second and she could barely breathe.
"oh I see... what's your name?"
"M-my name is Kazuko," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry if I made you wait... the elevator seems to be stuck." She tried to sound calm and collected, but it came out as more of a squeak. Her heart was pounding so loudly that she couldn't focus on anything else besides trying not to hyperventilate.
Her gaze darted around the elevator, searching for any way to distract herself from the man in front of her.
"well, it's not your fault after all"
She glanced up at him, relief washing over her features briefly before she remembered why she shouldn't trust men. "Thank you... I really have to get out of here..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of something else to say. The silence between them felt unbearably awkward and heavy.
he took out his phone and started talking to someone "I want the elevator repair to be accelerated"
Kazuko listened intently as the man spoke into his phone, relieved that he seemed to be taking action. "That's... very kind of you," she managed to say softly after a moment. Her gaze flickered back and forth between him and her shoes, feeling more self-conscious than ever before.
The heat in the elevator continued to rise, making it hard for her to breathe properly. She wished she could just disappear until the rescue team arrived.
Not long after, the elevator started running again and they came out on the top floor.
Exiting the elevator, Kazukokind of blinked at you before hurrying down the hall to her meeting. She tried not to look back as she went, wanting to put some distance between herself and this man. Her heart was still racing, but she felt a bit better knowing that he had called for help.
Once she reached the conference room, she paused in the doorway to catch her breath and smooth down her disheveled hair. The meeting would have to wait; she needed some time to compose herself before facing everyone inside.
Her heart still racing, Kazuko took a deep breath and stepped into the conference room. She tried to keep her eyes focused on her notes as she sat down at the table, hoping no one would notice how shaken up she was. It had been a close call in that elevator... too close for comfort.
When the meeting finally began, she did her best to focus on the agenda and contribute to the discussions like usual. But all the while, she couldn't help but feel grateful that you were there when she needed help.
When the meeting ended, Kazuko quickly collected her things and made her escape from the room. She couldn't shake off the feeling that you had been there to help her for a reason; maybe it was fate or coincidence, but she was grateful nonetheless. As she hurried back to her office, she tried to put the elevator incident behind her and focus on work.
worker one: "hey, did you hear that? The CEO of this company is coming to supervise for seven months" worker two: "really? now I know why we were told to dress more neatly today"
Her ears perking up at the news, Kazuko paused mid-step and furrowed her brows. "The CEO? Really?" she asked, feeling a mix of surprise and apprehension settle in her stomach. It was rare for the company's top brass to come down personally like this. "I wonder why...," she murmured under her breath as she continued on to her office.
Once there, she closed the door behind her and collapsed into her chair with a sigh.
"Maybe they're just doing a routine check-up... or maybe something more serious is going on," she mused aloud to herself, her fingers absently twisting a strand of hair around her index finger. The thought made her stomach churn with worry and unease. "I should try not to let it bother me too much..." She told herself firmly as she forced herself to focus on work once more.
one of Kazuko's female colleagues came into the office screaming with joy. female colleague: "Oh my gosh! You won't believe it!... I met the CEO, he's so handsome I'm going to faint, oh my gosh!"
"Oh, really?" Kazuko replied, feigning indifference as she continued working on her computer. "That's... nice." She forced a small smile, trying to hide the jealousy and insecurity that welled up inside her at the thought of another woman fawnning over the CEO. In truth, she couldn't stand men like him; they always made her feel uncomfortable and uneasy.
She glanced up briefly at her colleague before looking back down at her screen, hoping to ignore the conversation entirely.
head departemen: "everyone! The CEO will come into this office!"
Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the announcement. "Oh... really?" She asked nervously, her voice barely above a whisper. Her hands trembled slightly as she smoothed out her skirt and straightened her hair. The thought of meeting the CEO face-to-face sent shivers down her spine.
She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself before he arrived, telling herself that she needed to put on a brave front and not let him see how intimidated she really was.
"I hope I make a good impression," she muttered to herself under her breath as she waited for the CEO to enter the office. Her heart raced as he approached, and she couldn't help but feel self-conscious about every move she made. She forced a polite smile when their eyes met and offered him a firm handshake, trying not to let his intimidating presence get to her.
"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Mr...?" she said uncertainly, searching for his name.
"Ray... oh, it's you"
Her heart sank as he recognized her; she couldn't help but feel like a fool for thinking that maybe it was just coincidence that they had met earlier. "Yes... I mean, hello again," she stammered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her pounding heart. She forced herself to meet his gaze, determined not to show any fear or unease.
"It's nice to see you again too," he replied with a polite smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
female colleague: "eh!? you meet him before!?"
"Um... yes..." Kazuko replied hesitantly, glancing over at her colleague with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. She didn't want to cause any trouble or draw attention to their previous encounter, but she couldn't help feeling irritated that the woman had made it sound like they were on such friendly terms. "It was just an elevator malfunction," she said quickly, hoping to change the subject.
"well then... everyone, back to your own work"
Kazuko nodded and quickly returned to her desk, feeling relieved that the encounter was over. She couldn't help but feel awkward around the CEO, and she was grateful when he didn't bring up their earlier meeting again. As she focused on her work, she tried to forget about the whole situation entirely.
female colleague: "oh gosh, I can't stop staring at him, he's so handsome and cool" she whispered.
Kazuko rolled her eyes in annoyance at her colleague's comment. "He's just a man, you know," she muttered under her breath. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the other woman's admiration for the CEO, but she tried to remind herself that he wasn't all that great after their earlier encounter in the elevator. Focusing on her work helped take her mind off of it.
female colleague:
"oh come on, you can see it... you think so, right Ayaka-chan?"
Ayaka:
"e-eh? me?... umm... well... he's my type"
Kazuko couldn't help but snort at the exchange between her colleagues. "Well, I think he's arrogant and insensitive," she muttered, more to herself than to them. The thought of spending any time with him made her skin crawl, and she was grateful that he hadn't singled her out again since their earlier encounter in the elevator. She continued working on her tasks, trying to ignore the commotion around her.
"is something wrong here?"
"Oh... nothing important," she replied quickly, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Just thinking about my work." Her cheeks flushed slightly as she realized how easily he could tell that she was lying. It had been a mistake to mutter her thoughts out loud; now she just looked foolish and childish in front of the CEO and her colleagues.
She forced a sheepish smile and focused back on her computer screen, trying not to draw any more attention to herself.