Page 79 of No Headlines Please

Her jaw clenched. "Again?"

Seriously? "Hey, you're one to talk. It's like you ride the thing up and down all day."

She bristled. "Excuse me?"

Reluctantly, I untangled myself from Maddox and crossed my arms. "I'm just saying, every time I go to get on, there you are."

"And there you are, too." Her voice rose. "Perhaps you're the one riding up and down all day."

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "I haven't ridden the thing in hours."

"Just what are you implying?" She looked fit to be tied. "For your information, I'm a very busy person."

I snorted. "Yeah. Busy riding elevators."

Was I being rude? Yes, totally.

But hey, she'd been rude first. And the way it looked, she had no plans to let up – or let me enter the elevator.

Or, at least, that's what I thought until she stepped aside to let me in, which made no sense whatsoever. Why wasn't she getting off?

I made no move. "Wait…what are you doing?"

"Making room for you to get in. Obviously."

I glanced at Maddox, whose expression I couldn't quite decipher.

I turned and scanned the empty corridor. No clues there.

Finally, I returned my attention to Mrs. Stelter and asked, "But…don't you live on this floor?"

Her lips thinned. "Yes."

"But…you don't want to go home or anything? I mean…you rode all this way up here, so—"

"So I can ride back down if I want." She sighed. "So, are you getting on or not?"

Reluctantly, I joined her in the elevator and turned to face the front, where Maddox stared from the corridor, looking concerned.

He moved forward. "Hang on. I'll come with you."

In unison, Mrs. Stelter and I both blurted out, "No!"

He stopped. She and I shared a look. She looked smug. I felt mortified. I turned back to Maddox with an apologetic smile. "Sorry…what I mean is, thanks. That's really nice, but I'll be fine."

Next to me, Mrs. Stelter told him in a stiff voice, "And what I mean is get your own elevator, because you're not welcome on ours."

Ours?

Good grief. Had I just been transferred to Team Stelter?

Outside the elevator, Maddox frowned like he was debating yanking me out for my own safety.

As the doors slid shut, I called out, "Don't worry. I'll be fine!"

The last thing I saw was his face, looking decidedly unconvinced.

Well, that wasn't ominous or anything.