Closing the front door behind me, Bam immediately jumps on me. I love how the smallest things make him happy, so even at the faintest noise at the front door, he comes running over. Seeing him makes my day better.

"Hi, buddy." I greet him, kneeling after putting my briefcase down. I scratch him behind his ears and he tries to lick my face, which almost makes us both fall backward.

He barks twice in pleasure as his tongue hangs out and his tail wags and I get back to my feet. He follows close behind and we both make it to the kitchen where I prepare his last meal for the day.

Bam tries to put his paws on the counter so he can watch me prepare his meal, but I tell him to wait dutifully, which he obeys. He's cute and maybe he's still acting like he's a puppy, but we have rules in this house.

After I set Bam's food bowl next to his water bowl, he starts eating and I loosen the tie around my neck. Running my fingers through my hair, I cause it to mess up a bit, but it doesn't matter because I don't have anything important left to do for the day.

Camille told me in the office that she will come over to discuss the finer details of her project, which I find very unnecessary, but whatever. She should be here soon, considering it's almost 8 pm. Maybe I should cook myself something before she arrives.

I wash my hands and roll the sleeves of my dress shirt up to my elbows. Wearing something comfortable might be a good option, but I don't want Camille to get the wrong idea and think this evening is something casual. She comes over because we're going to talk business.

I empty some pasta from the package into the boiling water so it can be cooked, and meanwhile prepare the sauce for it. I mix tomato paste, heavy cream, and spices in a pan, then add some of the pasta water and let the sauce simmer.

After I drain the pasta and am about to pour it into the pan, the doorbell rings. Making sure I've turned off the stove so nothing burns, I run to the door, Bam following me excitedly.

"Hi, Jungko—" Camille is interrupted as Bam runs past me after I open the door because he loves visitors and she starts screaming. "Oh my god! What is this? Get that away from me!"

"Bam." I whistle and his ears stand up. "Sit."

He listens to my words while Camille hides behind me, clinging tightly to my shoulders. When I said she's overdramatic, this is exactly what I meant. I know she doesn't like dogs, but there's no need to act like Bam is about to eat her.

"Oh, thank God. I thought it was going to jump on me or chew my bag," she says, still holding onto my shoulders. "Jungkook, what are you waiting for? Take it away."

"Him." I correct. "And his name is Bam."

Bam looks up at me cutely when he catches his name and cocks his head to the side. I don't understand how people can talk about animals like that when they don't hurt you. I totally understand having a phobia, but what Camille is doing is not okay.

"Whatever. Why didn't you put him away? You knew I was coming?" she then asks and I can hear the irritated tone in her voice when I still don't take Bam away.

"Bam is not just a dog, he lives here with me. So please watch how you are talking about him," I say sternly, looking over my shoulder and she clears her throat.

"Okay, sorry. But can you take him to another room while I'm here?" she then asks and I nod.

"Bam, come on," I call and he obeys, walking beside me up the stairs.

I got Bam after Camille and I broke up. He's been a friend to me ever since and by my side on my lonely nights. I always knew Camille was afraid of dogs - or whatever that behavior means.

We didn't move in together when we were dating because I never asked her if she wanted to live with me. And not that I cared about her opinion at the time, but I haven't had the nerve to deal with the behavior she just exhibited every time she came over.

She could have asked me nicely if I could keep Bam away from her. I would have had no problem with that because I don't want to force anyone to like my dog. Nevertheless, she apologized and that's why I am taking Bam upstairs to my bedroom so he can stay there.

The conversation between her and I won't last long anyway because we don't have much to talk about and Bam can do very well on his own if I give him a toy or two.

I open the door to my bedroom and Bam runs in. I make sure to put a bowl of water out for him in case he gets thirsty. Luckily my bedroom is big enough so he has plenty of room to run around. I hope he doesn't break anything though.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but you're going to have to stay here for a little while, okay?" I ask, kneeling in front of him and scratching his head. "I'll make it up to you, though."

It takes everything in me not to send Camille home as I see his big eyes. He certainly doesn't understand what I'm telling him, but he probably knows he's going to have to entertain himself for the next little while.

"Maybe we can go for a walk when she's gone? And you get your favorite treat." I smile when I see his tail wag as he understands his two favorite words. "Yeah, that's right."

I pet him one last time before changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt because work clothes were uncomfortable after all and then close the door to my bedroom. I jog down the stairs and find Camille in the kitchen opening a wine bottle.

I don't say anything as I turn back to the stove and finish making dinner. "I made some pasta. Want some?" I ask Camille, glancing over my shoulder as I watch her pour two glasses full.

She settles into one of the bar stools and takes a sip of the red wine. "I can't say no to your cooking."

There have been times when I sincerely enjoyed her company, but today that doesn't seem to be the case. But I ignore it and serve us each a plate of the still steaming pasta.

I stay rooted to my feet and take a big gulp of my wine. Camille sticks her fork into the pasta and after guiding it into her mouth, she hums in approval.

"This tastes so good!" she moans.

"So, about your collection." I begin after swallowing the pasta in my mouth. I glance at her bag, hoping she has her tablet with her.

"Jeon Jungkook and his famous way of telling people to get to business and not waste time," she jokes laughing and I just stare at her. "Didn't miss that part of you, if I'm being honest."

"Camille." I almost sigh and she chuckles.

"Okay, I was just kidding," she says and her smile changes to a smirk. "Unless." she raises an eyebrow. "But, now that we're being honest, there's a part of you I missed."

She hops down from the barstool, then walks around the counter until she's standing in front of me. She looks me in the eye and the fact that she is still wearing her high heels makes her just as tall as I am. My eyes fall hooded as I look back at her.

_____________________

I get out of my car once I arrive at our company's underground parking garage. Retrieving my jacket and briefcase from the back seat, I lock up and head for the door. I see Jimin's car parked not far from where I am, and it actually surprises me to find him here so early. Earlier than me, even.

I press the button that signals the elevator and watch the numbers change one by one until they stop at minus two. The doors slide open and I get in, pressing the button to the forty-second floor.

I lean back against the wall as the elevator makes its way up. There is so much that needs to be completed this week and with last-minute client jobs, we barely have room to breathe. I want to end the year even more successful than we've managed so far, and that's a goal I've kept in mind for quite some time.

The elevator dings and I am pulled from my thoughts. Glancing at the display above the doors, I see that someone else must have called the elevator because it has stopped on the ground floor. The doors slide open, but there is no one waiting.

I press the button that makes the doors close, not wanting to waste any more time. "No, no, wait!" someone shouts, running to the elevator with quick steps.

The doors are already half closed and then Mikayla comes running through. I don't know where she got so much speed from on those heels, but she loses her balance and almost falls face first. I reach out, catching her in mid-air.

"Careful," I say, holding her tight.

She brushes her hair out of her face and looks up at me. "Oh, Mr. Jeon." she smiles. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I say back.

"Thank you for catching me. You saved me from a possible concussion and maybe a broken ankle." she half-jokes, but I notice the gratitude in her eyes as her red lips still curl up in that familiar smile.

"No problem." I wave it off. "Why were you running?"

"I'm already a little late. The creative team has a meeting about an upcoming project soon, so I didn't want to miss the elevator," she explains, linking her hands in front of her body as she grabs her purse. "It takes a little while for the elevator to come back down, you know."

"The building has four elevators, Ms. Carlson," I say matter-of-factly, though it comes across as a bit rude.

She's still smiling. "Yeah, they were all staffed."

I nod in understanding. There are a lot of people coming into the company at this time of day and there can be delays. And since no one wants to walk up that many stairs, the elevators are usually packed to the brim.

Mikayla takes a few steps to stand next to me and we quietly watch the numbers above the door rise. I'm glad our office is so high up because the view is fabulous, but sometimes I wish I could spend the time wasted in the elevator somewhere else.

"Can I ask who our next client is that we'll be doing the advertising for? Lizzie seemed a little freaked out about it," she asks after a while and I look over at her.

But before I can answer, we hear a low grinding noise and the elevator shakes a bit. The light flickers for a few seconds and we come to a stop. Mikayla gasps and her worried eyes look around the elevator in confusion, trying to understand what might have happened.

We're stuck, is the first thought I have, and it certainly turns out to be correct because the elevator doesn't start moving again after I press the button to the forty-second floor. Or to any other.

"I think the elevator stopped working. It looks like a technical error," I say after pressing the emergency button but nothing happens.

"Oh, no. I'm going to be late for the meeting." Is the first thing she comments and that almost makes me laugh because that's something I might have said.

I look over at her. "Do you have claustrophobia or something like that?"

She shakes her head. "No. I mean, I've never been stuck in an elevator before."

"It's the first time it's happened in this building. And it's kind of annoying that the emergency button isn't working right now." I huff, pressing the button again. "I'm going to call Mrs. Blue."

I pull my phone out of the inside pocket of my jacket only to find I have no service here. My eyebrows draw together and I move closer to the elevator doors, hoping that will do some good.

Sure enough, a line appears and I dial Kiyara's number. After two rings, she answers. "Mr. Jeon, hello? How can I help?"

"Mrs. Blue, I'm in the elevator right now and we're stuck," I say, getting straight to the point because I'm afraid the connection will disappear based on the buzzing. "Can you call the team in charge so they can get us out?"

"Elevator? Mr. Jeon your voice keeps coming in choppy," she says and I move even closer to the door if that's even possible. "Which one?"

"Yeah, we're stuck!" I say a little louder and she hums at the end of the line. "West side. Call someone in charge, please."

And before she can answer, the call is cut and I have no service. I scowl at the screen of my phone and shove it back into my pocket. Looking to my left, my eyes meet Mikayla's.

"What are we going to do?" she asks, her big eyes looking at me intently.

"I don't know," I shrug. "Wait for someone to come get us out."

"Great." She huffs, pinching her nose.

I guess I'm not the most pleasant person to be stuck in an elevator with.

Mikayla takes off her black coat, revealing her blouse and pencil skirt. She hangs her jacket on one of the handrails on the elevator wall and sets her bag down on the floor. I look away.

I lean back against the wall, crossing my legs at the ankles. There's no point in frantically pressing any buttons, and I don't want the system to be disrupted or anything. I wonder if the other three elevators are stuck as well.

Mikayla starts pacing up and down and sometimes presses her ear to the elevator door to hear if someone is already on it to get us out. But it's probably in vain because it usually takes until a responsible team shows up. Not to mention, we are currently between the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth floors.

After checking my phone for service, I look up at Mikayla and find her leaning against one of the walls as well. She's staring at the door.

"Moulin." I break the silence. When she stares up at me with confused eyes, I remind her of her last question before the elevator stopped. "The next project will be for the fashion brand Moulin and their spring collection."

She nods, humming along. Judging by the fact that she doesn't ask any more questions about it, I assume she's already heard of Moulin. Or maybe about Camille. I mean she always makes sure everyone knows of her presence when she arrives somewhere.

Mikayla pushes off from the wall and walks into the middle of the space, which is not terribly small. From what I've seen of her so far is that she can get bored easily. Or maybe it's her brain working too fast and thus wanting to do new things.

She walks over to the buttons. Watches them all one by one. Knocks on the door, causing a metallic sound to echo. Counts the screws on a wall. And then blows a puff of air out from between her lips.

"How long is this going to take?" she asks as her doe eyes find mine. I realize how long her eyelashes are.

I glance at my wristwatch. "Thirty minutes or so. Maybe an hour."

"Can it take longer?" she asks.

"It could," I reply.

"What if it takes days and then when they finally open the door, they find me gnawing on your calf meat?"

"What?"

"Yeah." she sighs. "That was a little cannibalistic."

"It was," I agree. I have to bite back a smile.

"I can be overdramatic sometimes." at least the kind of overdramatic that's amusing. Her gaze then drops to my chest, "Oh, your tie is crooked."

I look down at my chest and notice that my tie is a little off to the right. Probably the impact earlier with her when I caught her caused it to crook. I reach up to straighten it out properly.

She lets out a considering sound. I look up at her and she checks my tie carefully. "I think now it's shifted too far to the left."

I look back down and actually it looks good to me now, but I guess not. I adjust it again. "Like this?"

Not sure if I have imagined it, but it seemed like her eye twitched. "Sorry, may I please?" she steps forward. "It's kind of driving me crazy right now."

Her laugh dies out as she then steps even closer after I nod. Her hands are a little unsteady as she reaches out, but as soon as her fingers touch my tie, her eyes are focused and aiming.

She's standing so close, but strangely, it doesn't feel like she's crowding or invading my personal space. I look back and forth between my tie, her hands as they work on it, and her face. And then she takes a few steps back.

Mikayla tilts her head from side to side and although at first I'm confused as to what she's doing, she lifts her hand, closes one eye, and uses her thumb to measure the distance from the tie to my left shoulder and then to my right shoulder. Then her lips go up in a satisfied smile.

"Perfect!" she sings as her eyes find mine.

I nod appreciatively. "Thanks."

She smiles again and then turns around, swinging her hands a little. She paces back and forth, sometimes listening to the door. I have to admit, this is starting to make me impatient as well. I have so much to do, and finishing late again is not something anyone looks forward to.

Mikayla puffs out her cheeks and links her hands behind her back. Her big eyes scan the small room and I only get a glimpse of the top button of her blouse straining before I look away.

"Maybe we should play a game?" she says, making me look back over at her.

"Hmm?"

"A game. You know, to pass the time." She shrugs. "How about rock, paper, scissors?"

"I don't know if you can even call that a game," I say, leaning back against the wall again.

"Yeah, it's boring." she considers, tapping her finger against her lips. At this point, I know there's no exit for me except to do what she ends up asking. "Oh, I know. I spy with my little eye something..." she looks around the elevator. "Yellow."

She looks at me patiently, her eyes shining a little more green than brown today. "The bell on the button," I reply without breaking eye contact.

"You didn't even look. That's unfair." she laughs. "It's still my turn. I spy with my little eye something black."

I guess I'm an asshole when it comes to playing games.

I don't know how or why, but whenever I talk to Mikayla, I forget about work. It's the random things that don't really make sense, but again, they do.

If someone saw me playing this kid's game, they would think it is immature or maybe stupid. But Mikayla still has that inner child living in her, and that's something I admire because not many people can handle that.

Something that I saw in her parents as well and it kind of makes me feel content to know that there are still people like them.We forget ourselves in a world where money and fame have now set their anchors and don't seem to pass.

I look around the space. "The font color of the instructions on how to behave in the elevator."

"You're really good at this game," she notes. "Your turn."

I scan the room. It's plain, the walls kept in their metal appearance and not really showing much except for the buttons and the display above the door. My eyes shift.

"Ruby-red."

"Oh, that's easy. The emergency button." She smiles proudly until I shake my head. Her smile drops. "No? Hmm." she looks around. "The display above the door?"

I shake my head again and her eyebrows draw together. She's thinking hard, brushing her hair out of her face, that reaches down to her waist. Right where her skirt starts. But before she can guess, we are startled by a jerk.

I sense movement and judging by the motion, we are being taken up by the elevator. Glancing at my wristwatch I notice that we have been in here for twenty minutes. The numbers of the floors rise and Mikayla's eyes meet mine. We ride up quietly while Mikayla picks up her bag from the floor and places her coat on her forearm.

When the doors slide open to the forty-second floor, she looks over at me. "Finally, right?" she asks, her eyes soft. I nod. "I hope you have a good day, Mr. Jeon." And I let her get off first.

_____________________

A/N: not me adding this picture to make you guys suffer a little 🤪