Free What Goes Up by Celia Kyle

Chapter One
    New Disc
     
    She needed theme music. Something like “Mission
Impossible” but with a bit more sex appeal. That thought came to
Ashley as she tugged on the belt of her black trench coat for the
thousandth time. Nothing she could do about it now, though. Any
second, the elevator would begin its nightly climb to the thirtieth
floor, bigwig central. It would pick up its lone occupant for the
evening and then begin its descent to the first floor. Because
what goes up must come down . Of course, on its way down, it
would pick up one additional passenger.
    The LCD panel above the elevator doors came to life,
slowly rising in number as the metal box made its ascent along the
shaft. Her phone buzzed against her hip and she pressed the Talk
button on her Bluetooth headset.
    “Hello?” Ashley didn’t know why, but she whispered.
It wasn’t like anyone else was in the building this late at
night. Well, anyone but her, the man about to enter the elevator,
and Marlon.
    “It’s going up.” Marlon, the building security
guard, had a penchant for stating the obvious.
    “Yes, I can see that. Is our deal still in place?”
She needed to make sure, doubly sure, he’d taken care of everything
and wouldn’t allow her to be interrupted. Tonight was too important
for the aging man to suddenly gain a conscience or simply forget to
turn the elevator alarm off so that it didn’t notify emergency
services. She really didn’t want to explain her outfit to some
fireman or police officer. Really.
    “Yep, long as you’ve got a place for me come the end
of the year.”
    “I do.” The bribe hadn’t been a difficult one to
agree to, but she’d make sure he got what he wanted, without
fail.
    “Then I don’t believe there will be a problem for
you this evening, Miss Ashley.”
    “Excellent. Thank you, Marlon.” She pushed the
button again, disconnecting the call. During their brief chat, the
elevator had continuously been rising, passing floor after
floor.
    The red numbers taunted her as they switched from
one number to another. As the elevator rose in its shaft, the bile
in her stomach rose toward the back of her throat. Nerves caused
the muscles of her abdomen to twitch and her belly to churn. Maybe
it had all been a mistake. No . She wouldn’t back out now.
Not after all the preparation she’d gone through.
    Enough was enough. Trevor had brought this all on
himself, and she wasn’t about to let him get away with what he’d
done. She’d tried to be the sweet, submissive girlfriend and where
the hell had that gotten her? Thrown to the curb. Now, she’d get
her way and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. At least,
not while they were in the elevator.
    The red lights showed the number thirty and Ashley’s
heart stopped. The elevator would be descending soon. Any second
now it would begin its way back to the lobby. Taking a deep breath,
she pushed the Down button and waited. Ashley had plotted, planned,
followed, and bribed people, okay, a person , for this
chance. There was no going back now.
    Ashley pulled at the belt of her jacket, sliding one
end through the other as she untied the slipknot. She brushed the
belt ends aside and worked at the buttons, sliding them through the
holes with increasing speed as the elevator approached her
floor.
    She let the coat slip from her shoulders, and the
fabric skimmed her arms as it fell toward the floor and pooled at
her feet. She hoped Marlon would remember to pick it up during his
rounds and keep it safe for her. The red LCD lights continued to
count down from thirty.
    Twenty-nine…twenty-eight…twenty-seven… One more
floor .
    The soft ding signaling the elevator’s
arrival echoed in the tile lined foyer of the twenty-sixth floor,
but she ignored the sound. Seconds ticked by as she waited for the
elevator to settle and open its doors. Her heart rate increased
with each passing moment until she felt her heart would burst from
her chest, and she thought it’d