It came in only a few seconds and the two silver doors slid open to reveal the small wood paneled room that was the elevator. Bailey stepped in and pushed the 5 button. Right as the doors began to close she heard a voice call out, "Hold the elevator!"
Looking at the panel of buttons, she quickly pressed down on the one that held the doors open for a few seconds longer. A young woman in a long black rain jacket with hood that covered most of her face walked quickly toward the elevator and hopped in right as the doors began to close again.
"Thanks," she said, pushing back the hood revealing a beautiful pale face framed by shoulder length black hair.
"No problem," Bailey said with a polite smile. "I guess it's raining again?" she asked, making note of the girl's jacket that was covered in drops of water.
"Yes it started right as I left my house," the girl told her.
"That's a shame," Bailey said with a sigh. "I hate dark rainy days like this. I could barely get out of bed when my alarm went off because it still looked light night time outside. These are the kind of days where I just don't want to go out."
The girl in the rain jacket scoffed. "These are the only kind of days where I go out."
"But wouldn't you rather go out in the sun when it's nice and warm?"
"Not as much as you might think," the girl said with a grimace. "Sometimes I-"
The girl's sentence was interrupted by the elevator making a loud grinding noise. It shook roughly a couple times and then came to an abrupt stop causing Bailey to lose her balance and fall against the wall.
"What was that?" she asked nervously. "Are we at our floor?"
"I'm pretty sure we aren't or the doors would be opening," the girl in the raincoat pointed out. "I think we are stuck."
"Stuck?" Bailey squealed in a panic. "We can't be stuck. I have to get to work!"
"Relax," the girl said. "We just have to push this "help" button and they will send someone to fix the elevator."
The girl extended one long slim finger from the sleeve of her jacket and pushed the red button labeled "Help." There was the sound of a telephone ringing and a woman's voice asked if everything was ok.
"No it's not ok!" Bailey exclaimed at her. "Get us out of here!"
"Oh my goodness, go stand in the corner and calm yourself down," the girl in the raincoat said, pushing Bailey to the side and stepping up to the panel.
"We are stuck somewhere between the first and fifth floor."
"I am very sorry about that, I will send the building superintendent to fix this immediately," said the voice.
"Thank you," the girl responded politely. The voice was silent and she turned around to face Bailey who was on the floor with her legs pulled up to her chest rocking back and forth. The girl rolled her eyes.
"You are being ridiculous. We are going to be out of here in a few minutes and you can tell your boss what happened and why you were late. She will understand."
"No she won't," Bailey argued. "She is very strict, especially with me. I could tell her there was an earthquake on my way to work and she'd tell me I should have left earlier to avoid it."
"Well she sounds delightful," the girl said, her voice dripping sarcasm. "Why do you put up with being treated that way?"
"Because she's my boss," Bailey said, as if it were obvious.
"So what? Just because she employs you doesn't mean she gets to disrespect you."
Bailey looked up at the girl silently pondering her words as if she'd never thought of that before.
"Do you work in this building too? Are you going to be late?"
"I don't exactly work here but I do have what you could call a business relationship with some guys on the upper floors."
"Wow I've never been any higher than the fifth floor. You must be really important if they let you up there. What's your name?"
"Darby," said the girl, extended her pale hand from her raincoat sleeve.
"I'm Bailey," said Bailey, reaching her arm up from the floor. Darby rolled her eyes again and reached down to shake it.
"So about this boss of yours. If you want I can have a little talk with her when we get out of here. I promise she will be nicer to you in the future if I do."
Bailey looked up at Darby with wide eyes.
"Oh no you can't do that! I will be fired for sure."
Darby laughed.
"No you won't. In fact she may even decide you deserve a new desk and a nicer computer."
"You really don't need to do that," Bailey assured her, rising to her feet and waving her hands to emphasize her point.
"Relax," Darby said, slipping her arm around Bailey's shoulders. "I have a very persuasive way with people."
Bailey opened her mouth to protest but just then the elevator lurched and began to move up again. In a few seconds it stopped, there was a loud ding and the doors opened to a floor labeled "5."
"Well here we are," Darby announced proudly as if she were the one who had fixed the elevator. "Show me the way to your office and this grouchy boss of yours."
"That really isn't necessary," Bailey assured her. "I-"
"Show me," Darby snapped, cutting off the rest of Bailey's comment. She nodded timidly and lead the way down the hall to the double glass doors leading into her office suite. Darby followed behind her and Bailey took her through the maze of desks to her boss's office.
"Sorry I was late. We got stuck in the elevator and-"
"No excuses," Miss Lawson snapped. "You are twenty minutes late. And who is this person? You brought a friend to work with you today?"
Before Bailey could say anything Darby stepped forward and looked Miss Lawson in the eyes across her desk.
"My name is Darby and you're going to listen to me for a minute."
Miss Lawson started to stand up but Darby stepped around the desk and pushed her back into her chair.
"You're going to treat Bailey with more respect from now on," she said firmly, not breaking eye contact with Bailey's boss. Miss Lawson looked up at Darby as if in a trance, her eyes wide and unblinking.
"What are you doing?" Bailey asked, taking a step back from the desk. Darby ignored her.
"You are not going to yell at her for being late today. In fact from now on you are going to praise her for all the work she does and you're going to replace her desk and computer with new ones."
Darby paused and looked over her shoulder. Bailey was cowering in the corner much like she had moments ago in the elevator.
"Anything else you want?" she asked.
"I've always wanted a plant to put on my desk." Darby nodded.
"And a plant," she said, turning back to Miss Lawson. "These are my instructions to you. Have I made myself clear?"
Miss Lawson's mouth hung open and she nodded.
"Good. Have a nice day." Darby turned on her heel and walked to the door. Bailey followed her.
"What just happened in there?" she hissed, as Darby made her way back through the desk maze toward the glass double doors.
"I just made your life a lot better," Darby said, none too modestly. "You're welcome."
"Th-thank you," Bailey said, still not convinced if what she'd just witnessed was real.
"Now I have to get to my business on the higher floors. It was nice to meet you. Have a good day," Darby said, pushing a door open and stepping back into the hall. Bailey waved after her, her mouth hanging open just as Miss Lawson's had.
A moment later her boss's door opened.
"Bailey can you come in here please? I'd like to talk to you about replacing your computer and desk."
Darby pushed open the creaky wooden door and descended the steps into the dark basement. She could hear the gentle sounds of classical music playing from an old stereo and smell the scent of pipe tobacco.
"You know, smoking that too much will give you cancer," she said with a grim smile to the vampire who sat in a high backed wooden chair in the middle of the basement. He smiled back at her and blew a puff of smoke in her face.
"I'll take the risk," he told her. "Did you deliver my message to Mr. Smith and Mr. Harrison?"
Darby nodded sitting down on a wooden stool across from the pipe smoking vampire.
"I did. They said they would have your money by the end of the week."
"They better," he said, running his long fingernails up and down the arms of his chair. "Or they may not live to see next week."
"I met someone too," Darby said, crossing her legs and leaning her elbow on the top one.
"Oh? Does Darby have a new love interest now? Should I let the boy toy out of his room?"
"No, nothing like that. This one's a girl and I think she needs me."
"Oh Darby. Always the saintly vampire. Trying to save the world one pathetic human at a time."
"Yes but this one is extra pathetic," she said, remembering how Bailey had almost been in tears over a stopped elevator.
"And what are your plans for her?"
"I'm not sure yet," Darby admitted, looking into the distance as if she were picturing Bailey's future and her in it.
"Well do what you want but it better not interfere with your work."
Darby brushed him off with a wave of her hand.
"Oh Stephen, you know nothing will stop me from getting my work done. This girl is important but you come first."
Darby rose from her stool and planted a brief kiss with her ruby red lips on the vampire's pale cheek.
"I'm going to go have some fun with the boy. He should be healed enough from yesterday's session by now. If I'm still hungry maybe I'll go out hunting."
Stephen shrugged touching the very tips of his dirty blonde hair with his shoulders that were covered in a long dark red dress shirt.
"Whatever makes you happy. If you go out hunting, bring me something back. I'm thinking O negative or A positive tonight."
Darby laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
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