Elevator

The words wrapped around her like a chain, pulling tight, making it impossible to breathe.

Her fingers twitched against the table, her body frozen in place. Say something. Her brain screamed at her, but no words came.

Her mind spiralled.

'How? Since when? Why now?'

This was Kendrick! Her ex-husband's scary uncle. 

Her new friend. 

And someone she would have to work with for the next year or longer. 

How was she supposed to process this? 

And yet—

She had seen the way he looked at her tonight. The lingering glances. The softness in his voice.

Had she been blind all along?

'No. No, this can't be real.'

Her stomach twisted as she realized something far, far worse—

What if she had seen it and ignored it?

Like the time he walked in on her…and his gaze lingered a little too long. 

She swallowed hard, forcing air into her lungs.

This wasn't love. It was something else. It had to be!