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Violet and I are riding the elevator up to my apartment in silence when the elevator jerks to a stop.
Violet grabs my arm.
Then the lights flicker and go out, leaving us in total darkness.
“What the hell?” Violet exclaims.
A second later, the emergency lights flick on, and I can see Violet again.
She doesn’t look happy.
“Hold on,” I say reassuringly. “I’ll get this fixed.”
My cell can’t get a signal in the elevator, so I use the emergency button to call the building staff.
“Hello?” A voice crackles over the speaker.
“Gage Crawford here. My fiancée and I are stuck in the middle elevator between floors twenty-five and twenty-six. I need you to fix this, immediately. Or there are going to be serious repercussions.”
The voice coming out of the speakers sounds frazzled. “Sir, we’ll get you out of there as soon as possible. But there’s been a five-block power outage.”
I swear under my breath.
“The good news is, you’re completely safe. Just hang tight, and we’ll get you out of there as soon as possible.”
“What the hell do you mean byas soon as possible—”
But the line is already dead.
“I can’t believe it,” I say, glaring at the speaker. “He hung up on me. While we’re trapped in his goddamn elevator.”
Violet crosses her arms. “Well, if it’s a power outage, he might have more important emergencies to deal with.”
There’s something weird about Violet’s voice. Like she’s trying to hold her emotions in check.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Hey. It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared. We’ll get out of this soon, even if I have to bribe someone.”
She shrugs off my touch. “Oh my God, I’m not scared. I’m pissed off.”
I guess anger is better than fear. I don’t like the idea of Violet being scared. “Yeah, the situation is frustrating.”
“I’m not mad at the situation, I’m mad at you!” She turns away like she wants to storm away from me. But we’re trapped in an elevator. There’s nowhere to storm off to.
I clench my jaw, starting to get irritated. “What did I do?”
“You were unnecessarily rude to the elevator guy just now. You snapped at the taxi driver. And I don’t even know what happened with Natasha at the photography studio,” Violet throws her hands in the air. “One minute, everything was fine. The next you’re throwing money around and threatening to sue.”
I glare down at her. “I can’t believe it. You’re mad because I ended a photo shoot early? I didn't realize you had fantasies about being a model.”
“Youasshole.” Violet closes the already small amount of space between us and jabs her finger into my chest. “I’m not pissed about the photoshoot. I’m pissed that you’re being a jerk to normal people who are just doing their jobs. It’s one thing to act like that with other rich guys.” Her finger trembles against my chest. “But when you do it to people who work for you,whose lives are a lot harder than yours, it doesn’t mean ‘high standards’ or however else you want to spin it. It just means you’re being a bully.”
She moves her hand so that it’s pressed flat against my chest. Like she’s preparing to shove me away.
Except she doesn’t.
Instead, her voice softens. “You’re better than that, Gage. I know you are.” Her anger is fading, but what’s left in its place is something much more serious.
She’s disappointed in me.
