“Oh. Cool.” He obviously had no idea what that meant.
“I shadow a company’s employees and talk to them for several hours, trying to get a feel for their business flow. Then I present several productivity suites I think would help them work more efficiently—whether digital, paper or a combination. I help them set it up and train them on how to use it.”
“Huh.” He gave her a look she’d seen many times, as if he still wasn’t sure what she did. She was used to that.
Before she could say anything else, though, his phone chimed and he checked the message before sending back a brief reply. “They’re going to pry the door.”
It was utterly ridiculous that disappointment would be her first reaction to imminent rescue, but it was. Followed fairly quickly by the awareness of how much time had passed since she sent an update to her Lyft driver and her assistant, Kelsey Harris.
“Does that take long?”
“Shouldn’t. They’ve probably already cut the power to make sure it doesn’t start moving again at a bad time, so it won’t take long to bypass the door restrictors and get the doors open. How’s the ankle feeling?”
“Better, thanks.” The ankle was better, but now the rest of her body was a little hot and achy. “I think I can get up.”
He helped her, of course, taking her hands and pulling as she pulled her legs under so she was on her knees and then got to her feet. And he didn’t let them go once she was standing. They were close—so close she had to tilt her head back slightly to see his face—and for a few crazy seconds, she thought he was going to kiss her.
And she wanted him to.
“Can you put weight on it?”
This time she knew the blush was visible because she could feel it on her face. He was holding her hands because of her ankle. “It’s fine. It really wasn’t that bad and sitting for a few minutes helped.”
As did his hand massaging her ankle, though she didn’t say so. And she managed to stifle the sigh of regret when he released her hands. Then she heard sounds on the other side of the metal doors and realized they wouldn’t be in the elevator much longer.
She sent a quick text message to her Lyft driver.They’re getting ready to open the doors. It shouldn’t take long.
I can wait a few more minutes.
Olivia told herself she should be happy when the doors finally opened and another very attractive firefighter looked down at her from the opening. They could do a calendar, she thought, and was very thankful she hadn’t said it out loud.
“Hi there,” he said. “I’m Aidan Hunt, with Engine 59. We’re going to get you out now.”
“Took you guys long enough,” Derek told him, even as Olivia silently wished it could have taken just a little longer. Then he turned to her. “You ready to get out of here?”
She nodded, but didn’t move to the front. “I...they can’t line up the doors with the floor?”
“The elevator’s still stuck, so that would be a no. This is as good as it gets, but I’ll give you a boost up.”
Aboost? Olivia wasn’t sure what that meant, but it implied him picking her up, and maybe having to hand her up to Aidan, which might involve Derek’s hands on her butt. Not that she’d mind that very much, but she was in a skirt.
“That doesn’t sound very graceful,” she pointed out. “Or modest.”
“I think we skimmed over being graceful at the fire academy. But, tell you what. To make it easier, I’ll get on the floor. If you step up onto my back and take Aidan’s hands for balance, I’ll get up on my hands and knees and you should be high enough so one of the guys can get you under the arms and lift you out with no problem.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Trust me. It won’t be the worst thing that’s happened to me on the job.”
Her gaze flicked to the scar that ran down his jaw, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she walked to the opening and handed her leather notebook up to Aidan. “Pleasedon’t lose that or drop it down the elevator shaft or anything. It’s my entire life.”
“Don’t lose this, Scotty,” Aidan said, handing the book over to another firefighter. Then he took Olivia’s shoes from her and set them aside. “I’m going to lay on my stomach so I can reach out and give you something to hold on to while you step up on Derek. Then Chris here is going to get you under the arms and lift you so you can reach the lip. You ready?”
She nodded, and Derek got down on the floor as if he was going to do some push-ups. This still wasn’t going to be all that graceful, she realized as she stepped onto his back. “Am I hurting you?”
“Nope. You ready?”
She reached up and Aidan grasped her hands. “Okay. But no looking up.”
