Perfect Timing

PERFECT TIMING

This story is for the 'On The Job Story Challenge.' So, as always your votes and comments would be much appreciated. This is a little longer than I usually write and a bit of slow burn. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and stay safe!

GRACE

Crap!

What a way to start the first day at my new job, showing up a half hour late -- if I'm lucky.

After a year out of work, with no one hiring, I managed to get my foot in the door. Luckily I aced the interview, finally got a gig that matched my degree in marketing, and now they were going to can my ass before I even get there.

Scrambling around my bedroom like a madwoman, hunting for my new white lace bra and panty set, I snatched some thigh-high stockings out of my dresser, while I was at it. Hopping around on one foot, trying to tug them on without breaking my neck, I couldn't believe the stupid alarm on my phone didn't go off.

After I'd speed-showered, soaped, rinsed and dried myself off like my ass was fire, I think I must have broken some kind of record for throwing myself together in under five minutes flat -- though I probably looked it, too. I just hoped my stubbornly curly hair didn't look too wild. All I had time for was a quick towel dry, deciding I'd just have to let my long strawberry-blonde locks do their thing, hoping it would finish drying on the way. I didn't need to show up looking like a drowned rat, as well as a total mess.

Of course the subway shutting down for nearly twenty minutes was just icing on my already crap-filled cake.

Rushing up the stairs out of the subway station onto the bright sunlit street, I took a fast look down at my taupe suit, relieved to see that the skirt and jacket matched and my white silk blouse was clean and wrinkle free. But then my eyes popped when I took a glance at my feet, and I wanted to scream. How in hell could I have grabbed two different shoes out of my closet? One black, and the other navy blue. They'll think I'm a clown. A very late clown, if I didn't move my ass.

I forced myself to push aside how annoyed I was about my ridiculous shoes, even though they were a slightly different height, and made me hobble like I'd had a few too many. As I tried to race through the lobby, I groaned as I watched the elevator doors starting to close. No way in hell was I going to let that happen. I was late enough now. So I threw my arm out, hoping it would open again, and not break anything, like a bone. That'd be all I'd need, talk about adding insult to injury, if I wound up with my arm in a cast just to add to my fun-filled morning.

But lucky me, the door slid open again, and I rushed in, mumbling, "Morning," to the man standing off to the left inside.

Returning my greeting, he gave me a smile and I noticed right away that he had kind eyes; eyes that seemed to be warming as he looked me over, with a definite hint of something steamy lurking behind them.

Probably somewhere in his late thirties, he looked so well put together in his tailored charcoal grey suit, crisp white shirt and burgundy tie. Taking a look down, I smirked as I noticed that his perfectly polished black leather shoes even matched, unlike mine. Of course he probably hadn't raced through getting dressed like some kind of maniac, like I had. He looked way to cool for that.

Squeezing my purse handle in my hand, turning my attention to the floor numbers whizzing by, I just prayed the thing would rocket to the twenty-third floor without anyone else getting on or off, so I'd only be about fifteen minutes late -- fingers crossed.

Then I gasped and clutched at my chest as I felt it coming to a shuddering stop, with the lights flickering and the alarm bell going off. Oh god. My eyes darted everywhere at once. Could this really be happening? Maybe I wasn't meant to have this job. Because this was crazy; first my alarm, then the subway, and now the freaking elevator -- it had to be fate.

Doing my best to try and focus on drawing air in and out of my lungs, though I tried to keep it together, I started shaking, like really shaking, with my heart feeling like it was about to pound right out of my chest as I felt my whole body going into a cold sweat. Nothing in the world I hated more than being boxed in, ever since I was a kid when my delightfully twisted brother used to think it was funny to lock me in the closet, condemning me to a life with these awful panic attacks.

I noticed the hottie standing beside me seemed calm enough though, as he pushed the button on the control panel to speak to someone. "Hi, looks like we're stuck between floors."

"Yeah, I can see that," a disembodied voice said through the speaker. "Camera's not working though. How many people are in there?"

Handsome guy looked back at me, gave me the hint of a sly smile as he looked me over from head to toe and said, "Just two."

Before I could even react to his slow perusal, eyes flaring, I let out another gasp and slapped my hands against the walls as I felt the thing shudder and start to drop a little more. Holy mother of all things holy, did the thing have to rattle and keep falling, too? Wasn't it enough that we were stopped between floors with no way to get out? My fight or flight response really had me freaking out now.

I guess he noticing I looked a little wild-eyed, Mr. Cool calmly reached out and wrapped his hand around mine as he spoke to the guy on the other end. "It's just dropped a little again," he told him, like it was nothing, and we weren't both about to plunge to our death.

"Okay. Then I think you two should sit down or even lie down on the floor, just to be on the safe side."

Blinking rapidly, now that he'd said that, I stared up at the recessed lighting in the ceiling hoping we wouldn't end up splattered up there like bugs if this thing decided to freefall to the basement.

I didn't care if I knew him or not, I clutched the strange man's hand like a lifeline. At least I wouldn't die alone, and there'd be two sets of mangled remains to identify. Though, come to think of it, that really wasn't much comfort.

"Okay. I've got a call in to the elevator repair company, and hopefully they'll be here soon," speaker guy informed us.

"Is there any way to turn off the alarm?" he asked.

"Sure, that I can do," speaker guy agreed, mercifully putting an end to the horrible, incessant dinging.

I just hoped he was right about someone showing up soon, because this was not where I wanted to be, trapped in a metal box, with nothing but a flimsy cable keeping us from crashing to the ground into a million pieces. And me with my mismatched shoes, would probably be the only thing left of me.

My fellow box dweller finally looked me in the face and shrugged. "Guess we should do as he said, and get down on the floor."

Nodding my head, I sank down and leaned my head against the back wall with my legs out in front of me, while forcing myself to keep breathing. Right now I could care less if he noticed my silly footwear, if this thing was going to send us hurtling to the ground, having multi-colored shoes was the last of my worries.

Still, turning my head, I managed a little smile, glad that he never let go of my hand as he sat down beside me.

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, drawing my attention up to his handsome face. "I'm Will, by the way."

"And I'm Grace," I told him, meeting his gaze. Actually, he was quite good looking, now that I was finally checking him out.

He had the nicest, long-lashed silvery-blue eyes I'd ever seen. With just a hint of a sexy beard lining his jaw, along with thick, brown nicely styled hair, with just a few unruly tufts here and there, that I could already imagine running my fingers through. Yeah, if I wasn't so freaked out, I'd be seriously turned on about being alone with such a hunky piece of man candy right now.

I rolled my eyes as it suddenly struck me that that would be the headline in the newspaper, Will and Grace, dead in an elevator crash. Though this particular Will looked straight from what I could tell.

Then I remembered why I was here, and decided I'd better call and tell them where I was. "I'm so late, they're going to fire my ass for sure," I muttered more or less to myself as I reluctantly let go of his hand so I could fish my phone out of my purse and call my new boss Iris.

"Where do you work?" he asked as I scrolled through my contacts till I found her number.

Turning my head, I looked up at him. "Oh, I'm in Marketing and Promotions. This was supposed to be my first day -- providing we ever get out of here."

"Don't worry. We'll be okay."

I studied his face. "How do you know?"

He shrugged, and flashed me a bit of a teasing smile. "I just do."

God, I wish I had even a smidgen of his confidence. He just looked so self-assured that I knew if anyone could help me get through this, it would be him.

Finally, Iris picked up her phone, and I told her what was happening. When she didn't say anything at first, I just hoped she believed me. "Iris?" I said, afraid if she was annoyed, what she might say next. Like -- 'Forget it. Don't bother coming in, if you're going to be this late on your first day.'

"Here, let me talk to her," Will offered, holding his hand out for my phone. "Hey, Iris, this is Will. Yeah, I know, what a way to start the week." He smiled over at me. "Grace is keeping me company while we wait. And hopefully someone will be here soon to get us moving again. No, we're both fine, just stuck between floors."

That had me rolling my eyes. Yeah, we were both fine. I felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack or a major melt-down, but according to Mr. Cool, we were both absolutely fine.

"Thanks," I quietly murmured, once he'd handed it back.

"So, you'll be working on the floor just below me," he said.

"I guess, providing they can fix this thing." Blowing out a shaky breath, I told him how everything had started to unravel when my alarm didn't go off, ending with us sitting on the floor together in this stupid box. "I'm not normally such a mess," I told him, hoping he'd believe me, because I hated him to think that I was a total flake.

I also told him about how the last company I'd worked for a year ago, had gone under because of the downturn. "So I was thrilled to have gotten this job."

"Yeah, we're going through a bit of hiring blitz right now," he explained. Seeing as our business hasn't really suffered, and sales have actually gone up, since everyone is looking for a way to keep busy."

I turned to look at him, nodding my head. "I know. That's exactly what I said to Iris in my interview. Since so many people are off work with their kids at home, you've got the perfect business, selling what everyone's looking for."

"Yeah, our bike sales are through the roof, and so are our camping supplies. We can't even keep kayaks in our stores. Even things like archery equipment, is selling faster than we can stock it. I guess people just want to get outside and find a way to enjoy themselves any way they can."

Then of course, just for an added bit of humiliation, while he was keeping me occupied chatting, to help me forget about where we were, my empty stomach decided it was the perfect time to start growling like a bear.

Will chuckled. "Sounds like somebody's hungry."

Wincing, I nodded. "I was so late this morning I didn't have time for anything, not even coffee."

Then my eyes shot open and I looked around in a panic when the elevator started making these hideous creaking sounds. I could feel my whole body starting to shake, though I was fighting as hard as I could to keep it together. I really didn't want to start freaking out, but I couldn't stand the feeling of the walls closing in on us while the thing was getting ready to drop like a rock, by the sounds of it.

"Here," he patted his lap, I guess sensing I was about to go into a meltdown. "Why don't you put your head on my lap and close your eyes, and try and forget about where we are?"

Sad thing was I didn't even have a will made out. Not that I had much to leave to anyone. But I guess my friends could divvy up my stuff.

Reading the compassion in his eyes, deciding it might not hurt; I slid onto my back, and rested my head on his firmly muscled thighs. He was so solid; it felt like I was anchored to something safe. Though the stupid elevator was still making little noises, horrible, terrifying little noises, I guess just to taunt us.

"You know what I do when I'm in a stressful situation?"

Looking up at him, I smirked. "You don't look like the type to ever get stressed."

"Not too often, but occasionally I find myself somewhere I'd rather not be. But to take my mind off of whatever's happening, I try to think of where I would rather be." He looked a little wistful as he gazed at the door and said, "My favorite place in the world has got to be my cottage at the lake, overlooking the water with a nice long stretch of sandy beach." As he gently stroked his hand over my hair, he quietly said, "Why don't you close your eyes, and imagine how good the sand would feel sinking between your toes, with the sound of the waves lapping at the shore and the sun beating down on you, nice and warm."

Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths, inhaling his delectable slightly musky scent as I tried to picture myself in his happy place. But then I smiled as I realized that I was still holding hot guy's hand as we walked along the beach together, in some pretty revealing bathing suits -- at least in my fantasy. He had a really rocking body, too; which I imagined he actually did, so at least that part was real.

As I slowly began to feel myself relax, he slid a hand into my hair, and whispered, "Nice, huh?"

"Mmm." I nodded. "Really nice." Especially with how good his big, strong hand felt gently massaging my scalp, sliding behind my ears, easing over the muscles in my neck, and sending shivers right down my spine. I could almost tune-out the scary creaking sounds surrounding us as my lady bits began to respond to his touch, heating up and growing damp, while he had my nipples starting to pebble and gently throb. Wow. He was getting me so hot, I wondered if he'd have me going into a whole other kind of meltdown, the climactic kind that I really enjoyed.

What were the odds I wondered, of getting trapped in here, with a guy this hot? For me -- probably one in a million -- I was never this lucky with men.

As Will worked at relaxing me with his magical hands, he had me so zoned out that I began to feel myself drifting off. Since I always slept on my left side, without even thinking, I turned till I had my face buried in his lap, smiling as his wonderful masculine scent filled my senses as I began to nod off.

WILL

Looking down at her asleep, I could hardly believe we were trapped in here together.

The other thing I couldn't believe was that she had her face pressed between my legs, right up against my deal. I could feel things starting to stir, and just hoped it wouldn't wake her up if I got any harder and started poking her in the nose.

God, she really was pretty though, with those lush reddish blonde curls softly spread across her shoulders that felt like silk running through my fingers. With such long, pretty lashes softly resting on her high cheekbones and an adorable dusting of freckles sprinkled across her cute little nose. If I'd met her anywhere else but here at the office, I'd probably be asking her for her number by now, though this hardly seemed the time. Especially considering we were stuck here, till the thing either got fixed, or...

I shook my head, refusing to think of what could happen, especially since she looked pretty young, probably no more than twenty-five -- which also had me thinking that she was obviously way too young for someone my age.

This was turning out to be one hell of a way to start her first day here, trapped with me, wondering if we were going to make it out alive.

Letting my eyes do a little wandering, I decided she was a nice height, too, probably five six or seven to my six foot-two. And I loved the curve of her tight little ass, and those long, shapely legs; already imagining what they'd feel like wrapped around my waist. Then I smiled looking down at her mismatched shoes. But if she hadn't noticed them yet, I wasn't about to tell her. By the sounds of it, poor thing was having a bad enough day as it was, without me making her feel self-conscience about how she'd dressed for her first day at the office.

After wrapping my hand around her waist, to keep her close, letting out a long slow breath I let my head fall back against the wall, deciding maybe she had the right idea, and I should close my eyes for a while, too. Since it didn't look we'd be going anywhere anytime soon.

I don't know how long we slept, but both of us jumped, when we felt the thing starting to make an odd rumbling noise, like it might be starting to move again.

Startled, I could see the panic in her eyes, as her lids flew open. So I did what I could to comfort her, pulling her up against me, I held onto her tight, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. When the elevator finally stopped creaking, Grace pulled back, eyes wide as she looked into mine. Without even thinking, I dropped my head and brushed my lips across her luscious mouth.

As she softly began to moan, tightening her arms around my neck, instinct kicked in and I deepened the kiss, tracing my tongue along the seam of her lips, till she let me slip inside. I smiled against her mouth as her tongue instantly began parrying with mine. Now this was nice.

Sliding a hand down along her back, I filled my palm with her backside and squeezed. The way her nipples were brushing against my chest, I could feel myself growing hard as a brick, especially with the way she was really beginning to moan as we lost ourselves in a deep, lingering kiss.

Her skirt bunched up around her waist, with her thighs straddling my hips, I could feel the damp heat of her, rubbing up against my cock, right through my pants.

Hugging her a little tighter, I let out a groan at the feel of her desperately grinding her sex up and down over my throbbing erection.

If I knew for sure that this would be it for us, I'd be sorely tempted to pull down my fly, push aside her panties and give us both one hell of a send-off.

Part of me thought, as I tipped my head to better savor the taste of her, that it would be the perfect way to go, too, buried balls deep in the heat of such an intoxicating woman.

The way she was eagerly sucking on my tongue, while I teased her nipples with my thumbs, groaning deep at the feel of her eagerly sliding up and down on me, had me harder than I'd been in years.

I don't think I'd ever felt as lost in the feel of a woman; her breasts heaving, and her nipples rubbing hard against me as we feverishly kissed. The way she was desperately rocking against me, basically dry humping the hell out of me, I just hoped I could hold on. Her fingers anxiously twisting in my hair, and me breathlessly thrusting up and down along her sex, basically fucking her through our clothes, I could tell that she was getting close -- and so was I. So damn close, I could feel my balls getting tight, ready to explode.

Amazingly, somehow I managed to hold back. No way did I want to come in my pants, and show up for work literally a hot mess, especially since I imagined I was already late for a meeting with one of our biggest suppliers.

Then we both gasped and pulled back, startled to hear the guy interrupt our little make out session as his voice crackled over the speaker. "Hey, hope you're still doing okay in there. We've got a crew checking things out now, and hopefully we'll get you moving again soon."

As that dose of reality hit us, I noticed every inch of Grace seemed to blush to a very pretty shade of pink, all the way from her breasts to her hairline. Obviously embarrassed by how carried away we'd gotten, she dropped her gaze and wouldn't look at me anymore.