Nandini Murthy was late. Late on her first day of her new job and she'd probably get sacked. When she came in for her interview, all the buzz from the others interviewing for the job was how much of an arrogant, short-tempered man the CEO was. She gotten up early and everything. But her key got stuck in the door and she had to call the landlord to get it fixed immediately and then she couldn't get a taxi. There were so many people waiting on the curb that as she flagged down a taxi, someone else stole it.

She swiftly entered the intimidating building and hurried to the elevator her heels clicking on the polished marble of the lobby floor. She entered the elevator and sighed, she had five minutes to spare before she was late and she pressed for the twentieth floor. Before the elevator could start its ascent, it opened again and a man entered. A really good-looking man. He was tall, well-built, she could almost see his muscles through his three-piece suit, his muscles so defined the suit just added to the visual. But his face, his face was the most arresting of all his features. He had eyes the colour of melted chocolate with long sooty lashes any girl would be envious. His lips looked soft, pink and inviting; his hair was dark as a raven's wing and looked just as soft. He leaned forward to look down at his phone and some strands of his hair fell across his forehead.

Nandini closed her eyes, shook her head and looked away. Work. Her first day of work, she wasn't here to check out the sexy men in suits. As the elevator ascended, Nandini stared straight ahead and tried not to let her gaze wander but then suddenly as the elevator reached the tenth floor there was a loud bang and the elevator shook, stalled and then stopped completely.

"What's going on?" Nandini's heart was racing. "What just happened?" She looked around and then started pressing buttons on the elevator wildly. A large hand encapsulated hers and pulled it away from the panel. "That's not going to help anything. If anything, it'll make things worse." His voice was smooth, calm and in control. "Are you kidding me? I can't be stuck in here." She could feel the panic clawing up her throat and she fought to get her breathing under control. Breathe Nandini, breathe, she told herself.

"Well whether you want to be here or not, we're well and truly stuck." His voice was bland and unemotional. Did it not bother him that they were trapped in an elevator with very little air flow? Oh God, and there it was . . . her breathing started to escalate again. She shrank back into the back corner of the elevator and breathed deeply, her eyes closing. "Are you okay?" She heard his voice closer than she expected and she startled as she opened her eyes to find them face to face, his brows pleated in concern. She jerked back at his proximity, the feel of his breath on her face but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped back against the back corner of the elevator. She'd trapped herself there. She rolled her eyes, wetting her lips, she stammered, "C-Could you move back, you're . . . um . . . too close."

She saw his face redden a moment then he cleared his throat and stepped away loosening his tie. "What are you doing?" She asked her voice taking on a high pitch. "It's hot in here and only going to get hotter, I'd rather not swelter to death in here." The jerk rolled his eyes, and shook his head like she was stupid. If that didn't tick her off, she was about to give him a piece of her mind when she heard a sound. A voice.

"We're working on the problem. Technicians are on their way. Sit tight in there." The voice-over said. Aayiappa! They could be trapped in here for hours. She sneaked a glance at the arrogant jerk and saw he'd removed his suit jacket and his tie, his hair looking messed up, some strands sticking to his forehead from the heat. She had to admit, she was feeling the heat too but she couldn't remove her jacket. Her blouse under her jacket was sleeveless and didn't look work-appropriate without the jacket. But just thinking of the heat now was making her feel smothered. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and walking back and forth inside the cramped space.

"What are you doing?" his gruff voice echoed over the rapid beating of her heart. "You're making me dizzy. Could you just stop?" His eyes were hard and forbidding. Aayiappa what was wrong with this . . . urgh. Trapped in this elevator with him for hours? She might just kill him with her bare hands and claim insanity from delirium. Her brows arched in, fury radiating from her. "Look here, you can just look away if my pace bothers you but keep your tone down. And stop shouting at me. I can shout even louder!"

His chocolate eyes went hard and she saw his jaw tick. Oh he wanted to retaliate. She knew it. She arched a brow up in question, her arms folded over her chest, waiting. He exhaled hard and turned away. She laughed, his eyes flashed back to hers, his eyes burning with barely leashed anger. "Was there something funny?" He said through gritted teeth. She shook her head trying to keep her laughter at bay by flattening her lips together.

When he turned away she muttered "jerk" under her breath. "Did you say something?" He asked stepping forward. Her laughter died; there was hardly space to back away. The elevator jolted suddenly, taking them both off-guard and he slipped forward his hard body slamming the breath out of her. He flattened her against the wall, his hands braced against the wall on either side of her head, his face inches from hers. His hard body bracketed her and made it almost impossible to breathe and not only because of the hot atmosphere but because she was all too aware of him in the close-space contact.

She swallowed, her throat contracting as she struggled to find her voice. The lift stopped shaking but he was still pressed against her, his eyes boring into hers. His eyes dark and enigmatic were like twin pools of darkness that she'd get lost in if she didn't get a grip on herself. His fringe fell on his forehead, some strands brushing the top of her head.

"Sorry about the discomfort." The voiceover said snapping them out of whatever it was happening. He stepped back from her running a hand across his face. He looked away from her, his eyes darting about but never coming near her.

Nandini breathed out and only then did she realize she'd been holding her breath. She sank down to the floor of the elevator in the corner away from him, her navy blue, flowy skirt billowing out around her. She hung her head and put her face in her palms, sighing. Apart from this arrogant but attractive man, she was well and truly later than late for her first day and most likely fired. Would they listen to her? Give her another chance? She hoped so.

"What's your name?" She asked out of nowhere, trying to fill the silence. "Manik." He said drily. "You?" he asked. "I'm Nandini. Nandini Murthy." She chirped not letting his bland tone bother her. She pulled her phone from her purse and saw she had several missed calls from her would-be supervisor. She winced and hit dial. Mrs Santosh answered immediately and she hurriedly tried to explain her predicament. She was told to come to Mrs. Santosh's office as soon as she got out.

She cancelled the call and looked up to find Manik looking at her intently. His gaze unnerved her, "What?" She snapped harsher than she intended. He just kept looking at her, his gaze unreadable. "See something interesting? Why are you staring at me?" She barked.

"You're very rude. Not at all a lady." His eyes took her in, sitting on the elevator floor. She swiftly rose to her feet, stepping toward him, "Me rude? Me?" she asked with a disbelieving laugh. "You've got to be kidding me. Is this how you talk to women?"

"If anyone's rude here, it's you mister . . . grumpy! I mean is this naturally how you behave or is it being stuck in this elevator?" She continued her rant ignoring his piercing stare. "You've been rude and cranky, did you fall off the bed this morning or did you forget to have your coffee? I bet you take it black, it fits your mood." She rolled her eyes turning away from him. No one ever riled her to this extent before.

She felt a pull and he yanked her close, his hands imprisoning her arms. He held onto her and spoke straight into her face, "No one speaks to me like that." She rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the proximity of those lips to her own. "It's about time someone did." She retorted. His grip tightened and he pulled her closer. "Rudeness doesn't suit ladies, but you're not a lady are you?" Nandini gasped in offence. Her arms were pinned to her sides with his grip but she balled her hands into fists, wishing she could smack his handsome face and show him just how un-ladylike she was.

"Let me go." She said between her teeth desperately trying to keep from flailing around in his arms like a wild thing. She was so upset right now and more angry than she'd ever been and all because of this stupid man! He stepped forward and backed her into the wall then let her go. She didn't think, she just swung her hand forward but before her fist could make contact with his cheek, he caught her wrist and pinned it behind her back bringing their bodies in close vicinity again.

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again!" His voice was soft, almost deceptively calm as he twisted her arm behind her back, eliciting a soft gasp before letting go and shoving her away from him.

Nandini slunk back into the corner, she pulled her bottle water that she thankfully kept in her purse and twisted the cap taking a long drink. Her throat had felt parched and the heat made her light-headed, dealing with this guy just made everything all the more difficult.

She rummaged around and found a cadbury silk bar, she'd kill for some pizza right now but she'd have to make the silk do for now. She looked up and saw him staring - again! "What are you looking at?" The she realized that he wasn't looking at her but the water she had in her hand. Her conscience prickled. He must be thirsty too, the heat was really difficult to bear and if she was so thirsty he probably was too.

"Um . . ." She held the bottle out, "Would you like some water?" She saw him blink probably not quite able to believe that she was being civil. He reached forward and took the bottle and drank from it thirstily. "Thank you." He said handing back the bottle. She gave a small smile in acknowledgement of his thanks.

"So how much longer do you think we're going to be stuck in here?" Nandini asked softly. "It's unbearable." she sighed heavily.

"I know my presence upsets you but I don't see the necessity in pointing it out every spare minute." Aayiappa, the jerk was back! So much for a truce. "I was talking about the heat." Nandini said blandly. "But since you brought it up, yes, your presence upsets me, you're judgmental and rude and you're . . . you're a jerk! And I've only just met you so I could only pity the people who know you well." She huffed and turned away folding her arms over her chest.

"Look here-" he started then the voiceover filled the small space again. "We're working on the problem but it'll probably be a couple more hours. Please bear with us. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Nandini breathed heavily, "Stuck in an elevator with you for even more time, Aayiappa take me now." Nandini lamented.

"Excuse me?" He asked in disbelief.

More time in his company sounded like a punishment. What did she do wrong? Why was she being punished?

The elevator jolted and started shaking, Nandini's heartbeat increased. She looked with panic -filled eyes at Manik and he walked close to her the last jolt pitching her forward into his arms, Nandini lifted her head slowly and gasped at the closeness of their lips, she glanced up into his eyes and saw something she didn't expect, instead of the burning anger she was growing accustomed to, she saw desire. . .

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Part 2 will be up if you guys liked this one.
I'm skeptic! Will be waiting for your response!