Joshua

I had a meeting in an hour, and would have to shower and change into my business suit after my bike ride. I usually rode first thing, but today I was going to ride after a meeting at the old building in the financial district which took all morning.

I went to the apartment I kept in the building and changed into my riding suit. I donned my helmet and gloves, checked the bandages over my scuffed knees, and left the building, bringing my bike down in the elevator with me.

For the next half hour, I rode around Central Park, my usual route, and had worked up a good sweat by the time I arrived back. I squirted my face with the water bottle and walked my bike into the building.

On my way, I met up with Keith Sheppard, one of my executives. Keith and I were friends and played a game of basketball whenever we could at the gym we both frequented.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, spotting my bandages.

I laughed and checked my elbow. "I ran into the prettiest woman I've seen in a long time, while she was jaywalking across the street yesterday."

"Ooh," he said and grimaced. "Which one of you got the worst of it?"

"I did," I said and pushed the bike through the security gate. "I managed to miss her but didn't miss the back of a taxi. My knees and elbows got the worst of the deal. Bike's good."

"Risks of being a die-hard cyclist, I guess."

"You got it."

"But at least you ran into a pretty young woman. I guess that's one way of meeting women in this town."

I nodded. "She thought I was a bicycle courier."

He grinned. "Did you disabuse her of that misinformation?"

"No, I did not. She kept offering to pay for my doctor visit or bandages. Wondered if I could get worker's comp. I guess she was thinking that since I was a courier, I might not have health insurance. Said she would call my boss in case I needed an excuse to take the day off. She was being so sweet worrying about my health care, I didn't have the heart to tell her my family owned the building."

"Oh, that's too funny," he said. "So, she has no idea that you're one of the wealthiest business moguls in Manhattan?"

"She does not and that's the way it's going to stay." I pushed the elevator button. "It's nice not to be recognized sometimes."

The elevator arrived and we stepped inside. Before the doors closed, I heard the clack-clack-clack of high heels on marble floors.

"Wait! Hold the elevator, please!"

A woman was running to the elevator.

I pressed the door-open button, and the doors bounced back to reveal her– the woman I'd almost run over the previous day, standing there in all her glory. She appeared completely frazzled, a strand of her shiny hair falling out of her hair clip. When she entered the elevator, everything about her made me stand up straighter. I had noticed she was attractive the previous day, but had been distracted by my wounds – and my anger.

But now... she was lovely.

When she saw me, she stopped in her tracks. The expression on her face was so comic I almost laughed out loud.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry," she said and stepped back off the elevator. "I'll wait for the other elevator." Her cheeks flushed beet red.

"No, no," I said quickly, waving her on. "Come in. I won't bite. They're doing construction and the other elevator isn't in service. This one's fine. "

"Okay," she said doubtfully. She stepped into the elevator and stood facing the doors, and I could tell she was utterly embarrassed to be running into me again.

She turned and looked at me. "Are you okay?" she asked, then pointed to my knees and elbows. "Did I do that?"

I glanced down at myself and smiled. "You did, actually. My name's Josh, by the way. Just in case you wanted to know the name of the man you injured."

"Ella," she said and grimaced. "I'm so sorry. It must be hard to keep working when you're injured like that."

"Oh, I'm fine," I said and stood up straighter, flexing my bicep like a bodybuilder. "I'm tough. Tough enough to work even with scraped knees and elbows."

I winked at Keith and we both smiled.

"Did your boss let you at least take the day off?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Boss is a slave driver."

Keith coughed into his fist and the two of us exchanged smiles again. I looked back at her, my expression solemn.

"Besides, if I want to put food on the table, I have to work, scraped knees or not."

Her expression was priceless. I felt like a cad leading her on that way, but it was only in good fun.

"If I can do anything to make it up to you – pay for your costs at the doctor, whatever, just tell me."

"Nah," I said, impressed with her willingness to make things right. "I'm good. You're too sweet."

Our eyes met and I had a good look at them... Her eyes were green with light brown flecks, her lashes long. I felt a definite surge inside, imagining us together.

"Are you just starting work today?" she asked, apparently trying to be pleasant. "You don't have a delivery bag yet."

"Yeah, I'm just going up to start the day," I said, keeping up with the lie. "Our office is in this building." I grinned.

She smiled back, revealing the cutest dimples. "For a moment, I thought you might sue me the other day."

"Nah," I said and shook my head. "Hazard of riding a bike in Manhattan. I was flying along the lane in between the rows of cars. As a professional, I should have been more careful."

The elevator stopped at the twentieth floor and Keith moved to the front of the elevator. He gave the woman a smile on his way by.

"Take care," he said and we fist-bumped before he got off. "Gotta watch out for those pedestrians. Especially the pretty ones."

"You do," I said. "I'll be on the lookout for sure."

Then the doors closed, leaving me alone with her. When the elevator started once more, I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She was hot with curves visible under her little black dress and pink sweater.

"Nice pencil," I said spying it in her hand – a troll pencil complete with purple hair. "I haven't seen one of those since public school. Where'd you get that?"

She held up the pencil and smiled. "Oh, this? It was all I could find in the bookstore near Grand Central Station. Do you think my boss will like it?"

I laughed, amused at her sense of humor.

"It's choice," I said, taking it from her and turning it around. "I like the purple hair."

"I usually prefer blue hair myself, but this was all I could afford."

"So, they still sell troll pencils?" I said. "I'll have to pay a visit."

"Yeah. It goes perfectly with this," she said and showed me an Iron Man spiral notebook.

I took it from her and examined it. "Oh, man, I would have killed to have one of these when I was growing up. Iron Man?" I whistled and handed it back. "How come you have such good taste in office supplies? We only have the boring type in the stockroom. You knew – yellow pencils, plain paper notepads."

She sighed. "I was robbed today in the subway station. Almost all my worldly possessions gone. But it's my first day at my new job. I have my first meeting with my boss, and I need to take notes."

"Oh, damn," I said, frowning. "You were robbed? What happened?"

She told me about being robbed – an old Slavic lady working with an accomplice to steal her backpack.

"That's too bad," I said, sympathy for her filling me. "It's been a fantastic morning, then."

"Absolutely stellar," she replied with a rueful laugh. "Memorable. One that will live on in infamy. A day I'll tell my children about and they'll tell their children and so on. That is, if I make it out alive."

"You have to keep an eye on your bags in Grand Central Station. In any station, for that matter. There are a lot of pickpockets and thieves in this town."

"I know. I feel like I'm like the country mouse in the big city for the first time. The pickpockets and confidence men can probably spot me a mile away."

"I'm sure they can," I said. "You do have that general innocent look about you."

"You mean rube, right?"

I laughed. "I mean unthreatening and maybe inexperienced."

We smiled together – then the elevator jolted to a stop, the lights blinking out.

She screamed.