Chapter 308: Survival tactics

*Ding*

The brushed steel elevator doors closed as Ben stood next to Laura. When they started to ascend, he glanced to his left, admiring her poise and temperament, aka—ass and tits.

Laura's glasses illuminated her serious nature, going well with her professional bun at the back. Her dark gray woman's suit outlined her curves, ending in exposed slender legs in dark pantyhose. There was no doubt, she was a s.e.xy office lady...

As if feeling Ben's gaze on her once again, Laura frowned, wishing she could get away from this disaster show as soon as possible. Yet, things wouldn't go as she planned today, because there was magic in the air, the kind that could make a guy like Ben have a chance with a woman like her that loathed him. This, was the moment the Red String of Fate activated.

Both Ben and Laura felt an unusual electricity in their ankles. However, before they even had a chance to look down, their gift of sight was taken from them. The light in the elevator, went out!

*Creak* A strange noise echoed as the elevator lurched to a stop, causing both of them to lose their balance in the dark. From there, Laura grabbed in desperation for something to stop her fall, finding soft and curly that she grabbed on.

"Ow!" As she tugged Ben's hair, nearly pulled him to the ground he cursed. 'Damn it. What's with this? Isn't she supposed to fall into my arms? How come she grabbed my hair and is tugging me around?!?'

He didn't appreciate this type of "originality" that always came at his expense. Luckily though, the red emergency lights soon activated, giving the two stranded passengers a look at their surroundings. Ben's surrounding was a wall...

He'd face-planted after Laura pulled him off balance. As for her, seeing her hand in his curly hair made her frown, hurrying to let go before she caught lice or the bad AIDS...

They both looked around, soon realizing the situation they were stuck in—a power outage.

"Are we...trapped here?" Laura's eyes betrayed a hint of fear beneath that cold exterior, as she wrapped her arms around herself, unsure what to do.

Ben knew this was his opportunity to step up to be a man. He thought back to all the disaster movies he'd seen where people were trapped and various techniques they used: to fight to live, to overcome danger, to survive. As his eyes glinted with awareness, he gazed at Laura with the confidence of a man that had all the bases covered. "Relax, we'll be fine. Come huddle for body warmth."

"F*ck off!"

...

'That wasn't it...' Ben picked the wrong technique for the survival situation. Still, he hadn't lost hope. Although his divine line was used up and Laura viewed him as a mortal enemy, he still believed he could find a way to charm her. After all, didn't women feel vulnerable in this situation? Seeking a man to comfort them? "Aren't you cold? Do you want my jacket?"

"Wipe your ass with it!"

...

Ben was running out of moves... However, he never expected to see such a fiery side of Laura, because she was so icy...

Here she was though, glaring at him with her eyebrows scrunched together. 'Why do I have to be stuck here with him of all people?'

She gritted her teeth as if there was something she wanted to say but was holding back. Yet, it was the last straw, when Ben said he would try to build a fire...

"Where do you get off?!?" She scowled at him.

"Huh?" He didn't know where this was coming from. "Male's Health, 11th floor..."

"Not that! I meant how dare you have s.e.x with Tina?!?"

Ben gasped, comprehending what she meant. 'How does she know? Did Tina tell her?'

However, when she realized the words left her lips, Laura's eyes widened, as she hurried to cover her mouth. The topic had been blazing in her brain for days now, and it was even worse with Ben around. Yet, she didn't think she'd have the nerve to actually bring it into the open. Now, what would happen?

Ben narrowed his eyes as he took in her uneasy expression. Then, he became aware of something. 'She didn't tell her father...' If Paul had found out, there was no way Ben would've had such an easygoing time at work in the recent past. Paul was a floor boss, after all. Although he tiptoed with care around Ben after the incident when management from upstairs called to promote him, it didn't mean Paul was meek and lacking courage. If he found out he'd gotten cuckolded, there was no telling what he'd do.

He might even like it...

Still, that wasn't a risk Ben wanted to take. He enjoyed this job and wanted to keep it, so he was relieved when he became aware that Paul didn't know about him bag-handling Tina... However, that raised a new question in Ben's mind, as he squinted at Laura in confusion. "Why didn't you tell your father?"

At these words, she took a step back, blinking over and over, as if the sentence caused an overload in her system. 'Why didn't I tell him?' She didn't really know herself. She just remembered that feeling of disappointment and dejection she had when he barely registered her presence that night when she said goodbye. It was the same feeling he gave her on most nights, and when she remembered it now, realizing she could also hurt him by keeping this secret, a feeling of satisfaction grew in Laura's chest. It was the sensation, of having gotten revenge.

This glare in her eyes didn't avoid Ben's awareness. Catching that, he smirked to himself. 'Looks like Paul's daughter also needs to be... "taken care of."'

*Author's Note: Hello everyone, please don't forget to vote every day! The top 5 in male lead gets bonus chapters and it helps support the book and author!