Page 4 of Head Over Wheels
Jace notices and holds up his hands. “It’s okay, that’s just the call going through to the elevator service company.”
“Right, makes sense.” We both quietly wait while the buzzing continues. Just when I’m starting to doubt that anyone is on the other end, the buzzing ends.
“Hello?” a staticky voice rings out in the small space.
Jace takes the lead and answers right away. “Hi. We’re stuck in an elevator, can you send someone to check it out?”
“Sure. Is everyone okay? How many people are with you?” The voice is male, and each sentence is punctuated with static.
“Yeah, there are two of us, and we’re both okay.” He looks to me to confirm his answer, and I nod back.
“And can you confirm your location?”
I jump in this time. “The Queen Elizabeth Hotel.”
“That’s great, ma’am. What’s the number of your elevator? It should be written above the floor number panel.”
I search the wall, and Jace picks up the conversation. “Looks like we’re in number 8.”
“Okay, perfect. That checks out with what I’m seeing here. There seems to be a software problem with a group of elevators over at the hotel, and we’re working to get it fixed.”
“Is there an ETA?”
I’m glad Jace asked the question because I’m also wondering how long we’ll be here.
“Unknown at this time, but just press the button if anything changes in your situation.”
“Okay, thanks.” His shoulders droop.
I move against the wall and slide down to the ground. “Sounds like it will be a while so we may as well get comfortable.”
He nods and sits across from me.
“I’m Jace, by the way.” When he smiles his dimples pop, and I’m trying to stay cool.
“Ella. I’m here for the Elevate weekend.” I figure I better come clean now or it will be awkward when I see him later.
“Ah, that’s great. Hopefully we get out in time for the meet and greet in a few hours.” He looks at his watch.
“Yeah, I’d hate to miss anything. And if we get hungry, I have snacks!” I point at my bag. Wow, I can’t believe that came out of my mouth. But I did pack snacks for the weekend because I hate being in a hotel room and getting hungry.
His eyes sparkle and look at my bag. “I’ll keep that in mind, Ella, thanks.”
“It’s a good thing I’m just checking in, so I still have my bag with me. We should be well stocked.”
He lets out a dry laugh. “Hopefully we aren’t here long enough to require too much out of there.”
“Totally agree.” I chuckle and then pull the collar of my jacket away from my neck. It’s starting to get warm in here. I’m not sure if the temperature is going up, or if it’s stress related.
Jace nods toward my jacket. “Why don’t you take it off? You don’t want to overheat.”
“Good suggestion.” I pull my jacket off and place it behind me as a bit of cushion between my back and the wall. The silence makes me fidgety, but I also don’t want to come across like too much of a fangirl.
He breaks the ice. “Are you from Montreal?”
“No, I just came in from Ottawa. I took the train down.”
“Ottawa’s a great city. My grandparents lived there so we went there a lot growing up.”