Liv's high-heels lay discarded beside her desk. Her feet had begun to revolt against their confinement that afternoon, but she hadn't released them from their prison until five that evening when all her co-workers had gone home for the day.

Now, almost five hours later, and the high heels were just a faint memory. Her toes enjoyed the thick, padded carpet as she grabbed a stack of files from her desk and returned them to their drawer.

Her shirt had also come un-tucked when she lost the shoes. Her high bun had followed an hour after. She didn't mind the professional attire that was required for all Burkstrom and Hale employees, but one of the joys of working late meant you didn't have to worry about how you looked.

She slowly gathered the last of the files and let out a long yawn. She added a stretch, trying to shake the sleepiness out of her system long enough for her to get home. She glanced at the clock. It was just past ten. At this hour she was setting a new personal record. Even Stan, the building's night cleaner, had already come and gone.

When he had come through, Liv had lifted her feet up as he had vacuumed under her chair and he paused for a moment to say hello. It had been a while since Liv had worked late enough to run into him. They had exchanged a few sentences before he had moved on, and she had returned to the pages of facts that lay before her.

Burkstromw and Hale was a large law firm that took up several floors of the building. During the day, the floor Liv worked on was a bright space filled with action and discussions. But at night it was dim and quiet.

After five most of the lights were off and the walkways were lit by emergency baseboard lights. There was a bright light over the table Liv had been working at, and as she walked from the file cabinet back to her table she noticed light coming from down the hallway. Maybe she wasn't the only one working late.

She grabbed all her things that had slowly taken over the table the last couple of hours: laptop, phone, headphones, empty take-out container, water bottle, and extra files. She managed to carry all of it, plus her discarded shoes back to her desk.

Now that home and her bed were not just a hopeful fantasy, but something she would soon be able to enjoy, she moved with an eager energy packing up her things. She slung her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her shoes. They could remain off until she reached the lobby.

Her bare feet didn't make any noise as she walked to the elevator. The ding of the call button rang throughout the floor, a last reminder of the late hour. She stepped on and the elevator doors were sliding closed when Liv heard someone call out. She started in surprise as a hand shot out to stop the doors from closing.

The doors opened again and revealed Ezra Lexington.

As he entered the elevator, Liv observed that his attire was as equally relaxed as hers. His suit jacket was slung over the arm holding his briefcase, the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and he had undone the top few buttons of his shirt. His usual slick, dark hair was a disheveled mess. He moved to the other side of the elevator without a word and the doors slid shut.

There was no greeting and the late hour wasn't to blame. Ezra was one of the firm's top lawyers, and all the stereotypes about big-shot lawyers seemed to be true for him. She hadn't experienced his spiky personality first-hand, there were several layers of people between top lawyers and simple fact-checkers like herself, but word had gotten around. Liv didn't find it surprising. You don't get to the top of a law firm without knocking some people down.

She kept her eyes forward but she could see him taking her in. His gaze stopped on her hands and he made a sharp huffing noise. Liv wasn't well-versed in the subtle noises of lawyers but the sound couldn't be mistaken for anything other than displeasure.

When his attention returned to his phone, she chanced a look down at her hands and realized she was still holding her shoes. She looked at them for a moment longer. She considered feeling something about the less than pristine appearance he had found her in, but she had been at work for more than fifteen hours and any amount of caring was gone.

She yawned. The elevator ride would take less than a minute and then she would be free of his judgment. Or that was what she thought until the elevator came to a jarring halt. The sudden stop threw both occupants.

Liv managed to catch herself on the railing behind her while Ezra was pitched forward and caught himself against the doors. The lights went out and for a moment they were in complete darkness before the emergency lights clicked on and flooded the space with a green light.

For a long moment, neither of them moved, bracing for the jolt when the elevator began to move again. But when it didn't, they righted themselves. Liv had dropped her bag while catching herself and the contents had spilled out.

Ezra tapped quickly on his phone before growling, "no service."

She reached for her own phone and tried to make a call but wasn't surprised when she found the same result. She began to gather her things as Ezra hit buttons. She watched as he first tried the lobby button multiple times then the emergency button. Each push became more aggressive until he was pounding the button with the palm of his hand.

"Stop!" she said, standing.

"The emergency button isn't working," he snapped.

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously!"

"Do you think this is funny?" He whirled on her, a deep lining cutting angrily between his eyes. If the foot in height he had over her wasn't overwhelming enough, he was giving her the coldest look she had ever received. It was enough to make one shiver.

"No!" she shot back.

She sure the look was an effective aid in the courtroom, but it wasn't as strong when it was preceded with him pounding on the emergency button like a panicking co-ed.

"It's past ten at night and all I want to do is go home and get a few hours of sleep before I have to return to this cursed building. It's not funny at all, but pounding the button that is obviously not working won't do anything!"

He glared at her but didn't say anything more. She made space for herself in front of the buttons and examined them quietly before pushing the lobby button.

"I tried that one," he said impatiently.

She looked at him slowly, putting every ounce of her annoyance into the look. It worked well enough to make him take a step back and shut his mouth. She continued to silently inspect the buttons.

She tried the door's open and shut button with no result. She pushed the emergency button, trying to feel if something was broken and not connecting. But it seemed fine. Out of ideas, she began to run her hand up and down the numbered floor buttons but nothing happened.

"Don't do that," he warned behind her, edging closer.

"Why? Is it going to break the elevator?" she said sardonically.

She glared at him and he glared right back. It felt satisfying until it just felt childish and she turned away. She moved to a back corner of the elevator and dragged her hands down her tired face. Ezra moved back in front of the buttons and she tried her phone again. She tried every possible way of communication, but nothing went through.

"Nothing is working!" he shouted, slamming his hand against the wall.

"We could try prying the doors open," she offered.

"What do you mean?" he snapped.

She raised her hands in peace.

"I'm just thinking," she said calmly, "the emergency lights are on so the power is still out." He nodded in agreement and she continued. "Without power, whatever rescue team that showed up would have to pry the doors open." She paused so he could again nod in agreement. "Why don't we try to pry it open?"

This was where his agreement stopped. "That's a great plan except for its major flaw. A rescue team has tools for that." He eyed her bag. "Unless you carry around emergency tools in that thing we still don't have a way out."

"Fine." She sank to the floor in defeat. She rested her head back and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Waiting," she said, her eyes still closed. "Since my plan was so flawed."

She yawned and relaxed her shoulders against the wall. She could hear Ezra messing with the buttons for a few minutes more before he gave up and sat as well. A moment later she heard the loud click of his briefcase opening and papers moving.

As he began to shuffle through papers, she sank further against the wall. Her head began to lull to the side as her body grew heavy with sleepiness until Ezra shouted excitedly. She jolted up as he scrambled back to the doors, his back to her.

"What?" she asked, pushing herself up.

He turned around and showed her a long, wide and thin piece of shining metal with a small handle at the top.

"We have a tool," he said. She frowned and he explained, "this is thin enough to get between the doors and should give us enough leverage to help pry them open."

"Let's try!" She quickly joined and watched eagerly as he began to force the piece of metal between the doors. "What is that?" she asked as she watched him work.

"A shoehorn."

"A what?"

"A shoehorn." His answer didn't do much in explaining and her focus was already back on the door.

She remained a step back as he wiggled the shoehorn, trying to gain even the smallest bit of ground between the doors. After a minute of watching his unsuccessful attempt, she began to grow antsy and was about to speak up when he turned to her. "Can I get a little help here?" he snapped.

She jumped in, offering her two hands. The shoehorn started out wide at the bottom but grew thinner and was half the width by the time it reached the handle. Ezra was gripping the narrow top and Liv fit her hands right beneath his.

It was an awkward movement as they tried to push forward while wiggling the shoehorn side to side. The edges were rough and dug into the palms of Liv's hands as she gripped it as tight as she could.

"Hold on," she said after a minute. She dropped to the floor to rummage through her bag.

"What are you doing?" Ezra grunted, still pushing.

"The edges are cutting my hands. I need something to wrap around it." She continued to dig through her bag, throwing items out left and right as she looked for any clothe like material.

"Here."

He undid his tie and wrapped it around the shoehorn. Liv jumped up and positioned herself to push again. She was both shorter in stature and arm length, and she fit like a stacking cup in front of Ezra. From their readjusted position, they were both able to push straight forward without getting in each other's way.

"On three," he said. "One, two, three."

Liv's body leaned forward as she used all her weight. Ezra's tie offered enough cushion for her hands as she held on tight.

"Come on!" Ezra growled.

As if the shoehorn had heard the command, it slipped in between the doors. They shouted triumphantly and continued to push. The moment it gained purchase, the fight became easier and they quickly managed to push half of the shoehorn in between the doors.

"Yes!" Liv cheered.

She offered Ezra a high-five and he took it victoriously.

"We aren't done yet," he said seriously as their attention went back to the doors. "We'll pull together this way," he motioned to their right, "and once there is enough space between the doors, I'll pull the opposite way."

Liv nodded and got into place. She wrapped both hands around the horn and Ezra placed his hands next to hers, his arms on either side of her.

"Straight back," he told her. "On three."

She braced herself, and when he said three she tensed her arms and threw all her weight back. To their surprise and delight, the doors began to move immediately. Ezra remained behind her to get the doors open another inch before he switched to the other side.

With Ezra pulling the opposite, they managed to get the doors open wide enough for a person to fit through. Once it was open enough, Liv stopped pulling first, her arms dropping lifelessly by her side as she moved to lean against the wall.

"We did it!" she wheezed.

"We did."

Ezra wiped his brow and rested his hands on his sides. It took a minute for them to catch their breath before they were able to fully appreciate what they had accomplished.

They smiled as they moved to the doors. The elevator had stopped between floors, but there was an opening to the lower floor big enough for them to jump down through.

"Alright," Liv said. "All we gotta do it jump and we'll be home free."

**********************************************************************

Heyo tayo!

I've never written an author's note with someone else before. I feel slightly nervous.

🙄 It's not like I'm a serial killer. I'm your sister. I'm only holding a knife to your throat so you'll post my novella to your account. At best I'm an extortionist.

Fair enough. And since I like my neck. I'm doing as you command.

Good. I now command these readers to tell me their thoughts about the chapter. If you didn't like it, know that I will take out my annoyance on your beloved author!

That's not really a threat. I'm odd and I'm sure they wouldn't miss me all that much.

🙄 You're only saying that so they'll say 'no Joy! We love you!'

Extortionist and mind reader, I never knew. 🤔

Vote, comment, follow at your will.