Logan had enough of the same shrill sound by the twenty-third time Callum had pressed the call button. "It's not working; give it a rest."
Callum's frown deepened, pressing the button one more time in protest, hoping for someone to answer in a last futile attempt. "There's got to be someone down there."
"It's been like twenty minutes. I don't think anyone's going to respond."
Callum's pout made his face nearly opposite of his stern look in the dim light. "Fine, I'll call."
Callum removed his phone from the elevator floor, the light reflecting against the walls, barely missing Logan's eyes, before settling once Callum had placed the phone against his ear.
It was so silent that Logan could hear the operator on the line, asking the typical questions. Callum responded in a more relaxed tone than he had during the meeting or with the call he made to Charlotte on their first trip up. His voice was softer as he spoke to the lady—Bailey, she had introduced herself—and even sounded a bit nervous over the phone when she asked for the location and if medical assistance was needed.
"No, we're okay for now." He glanced at Logan. "Thank you."
Callum hung up and placed the phone back on the floor, the light illuminating the space as it did before. "Bailey said they should get here in about thirty minutes."
"Thirty?"
"Traffic," Callum guessed. "Plus, the fire station is on the other side of the freeway. An elevator call probably isn't as dire as an actual fire or car crash."
Logan pursed his lips, upset at the ETA, but understood what Callum was getting at. His first week in Los Angeles felt reminiscent of his life in New York City, hearing the fire engine sounds in the wee hours of the morning outside his apartment. He wasn't sure which city had the most fire calls or if a town had more fire stations than the other, but the sirens were almost always a constant. A call for getting out of an elevator was only a minor call to the calls they probably got over brushfires, car pile-ups, or burning buildings.
Callum cleared his throat. "This probably never happened in New York."
"What?" Logan tilted his head at his boss.
"Getting stuck in an elevator." Callum pointed to the doors. "Or having to wait this long for someone to open the doors. Isn't there a fire station right next door to the office?"
Logan blinked. "Well, no. Our elevators didn't break when I was there. And the fire station is actually like a block away? It's more on the corner. I did get locked out of my apartment a couple of times, but the front desk handled it and—wait, what does this have to do with New York?"
Callum pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm just saying; you wouldn't have had this problem back in New York. Now you're stuck with a boss with a slew of rumors, and there's a good chance that a rumor could spread about our current predicament."
Logan narrowed his eyes. "About being stuck in here?"
Callum gave him a droll look. "It wouldn't be the first time someone assumed I've hooked up in an elevator before."
"Oh," was all Logan could find himself saying.
Callum chuffed at his response. "What, haven't heard about that one?"
"No." Logan frowned. "It's not like I haven't heard of the rumors; I just think they're stupid and not worth the time and energy to talk about."
Callum finally looked Logan in the eye, and he could see Logan tense at the sudden eye contact. "Even if they concern you?"
Logan looked down. "I mean, we've been trapped in this elevator for not even an hour. I don't see why anyone would make such a big fuss. Elevators break down; it's not like you jammed the electric board or wiring to make this a convenient place to hook up."
Logan bit his lip, feeling a wave of embarrassment at his near-outburst. He wasn't sure why he got so worked up about the idea of someone thinking they would hook up in an elevator, but it did trigger the past arguments he had with Chris, who always blew up things out of proportion. Chris would turn everything into a big show; derailed subway suddenly turned to cheat, or late meetings meant a side fling. It seemed like everyone liked to exaggerate and make outlandish assumptions nowadays.
And unknowingly, Logan had projected the same emotions into the silent elevator with his boss.
"Sorry," he tried to rectify. "I just don't understand people who assume everything about someone and think that's the absolute truth."
Callum nodded. "Yeah, well, everybody assumes things about people at first. First impressions and all that, not to mention reputations with people like me. I think there's some truth to what they say."
"You are a bit intimidating," Logan admitted. "Maybe a tad unapproachable?"
"Unapproachable?"
Logan nodded sheepishly. "Well, you don't eat in the cafeteria or make rounds through the departments. From what I've heard, anyway—which is wrong to generalize, but I'm sure there's more to it than being 'antisocial' and a 'dickhead' like they say you are."
Callum let out a huff of air. "Socializing with employees almost always leads to a scandal, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Especially since the last one finally died down."
"But avoiding your employees would also look bad for you, wouldn't it?" Logan shot him a look. "I mean, other than giving us project briefs, won't people assume things more by holing yourself up in your office?"
"Well then, you should know that I'm not like most bosses," Callum said off-handedly.
Logan's brows knit together. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That I'm not qualified for this position. And that I don't know how to take anything seriously, be it relationships, work, or anything in general."
"And that's supposed to mean...."
"I'm sure most of the employees here see me as spineless, irresponsible, and a nuisance. Just some lucky bastard who had a rich father who needed to pass the company down to enjoy his retirement."
Logan blinked.
Callum scoffed before continuing, "I think it's less about me being intimidating and more about me being the laughing stock of the company."
"Laughing stock? What makes you say that?"
"Please," Callum drawled. "You think I don't hear the comments about me? I didn't earn this title, nor should I earn the respect people who do earn it gets. I'm not above anyone else in this company in terms of actual worth."
Logan shook his head. "That's ridiculous. You're the CEO, whether you inherited it or not. The company would fall apart without you."
Callum didn't look convinced. "I doubt that."
"Well, you don't seem like a terrible boss from someone who's only been here a couple of weeks now. And trust me, I've worked with quite a few." Logan shook his head, remembering the first few jobs he worked while in college. "Not this company, obviously."
"I was going to say that New York's branch leader is way more approachable than I am. Maybe even too friendly and good at her job."
"Ms. Stanford was really nice," Logan commented. "She always had the best advice. Is it weird I kind of miss her?"
"No." Callum smiled faintly, checking the time on his phone, only to see that only about ten minutes had passed. "Although, I am curious about your transfer."
Logan blinked, turning his head away from him.
"You don't have to answer," Callum added. "It's just most people would rather transfer up to New York, not transfer here."
Logan had thought about ignoring Callum's curiosity and wondered if just letting the mystery of his transfer become a permanent question mark on Logan's file. Granted, not telling his boss probably wouldn't sit well with Callum, and Logan didn't want this to spiral into some larger issue.
Not that he thought Callum would make it a big issue when he reassured Logan it was fine not to answer. But for Logan, it was like some reverse psychology—now he felt obligated to tell him.
"I guess you could say I left for personal reasons," Logan admitted, feeling the weight on his shoulders slowly lighten, even if this wasn't the entire story.
"Fair enough."
When Callum didn't say anything else, Logan couldn't help but let out an amused laugh.
"What?"
"Nothing." Logan waved his arms between them. "I just assumed you'd ask me what those reasons were."
Callum frowned. "Because being nosey and intrusive was a part of the rumors and gossip?"
"What? No, no one's said that; I just assumed—which is wrong just to assume things, I know—but, I don't think bosses like the 'personal reasons' excuse without some form of explanation."
"No." Callum shook his head. "The whole reason it's called personal is that it is; personal, private; nobody should be pushing you to explain yourself further than that."
"Yeah." Logan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. For not prying."
"You don't have to thank me."
Logan nodded, letting the silence fill the air again. He wondered how Logan was feeling more and more comfortable despite the claustrophobia and initial nerves of being around the CEO. He shouldn't have, especially given how naive he'd been in the past about letting his guard down and how realistically, Logan was around his boss for barely an hour if he included the time spent in their first elevator ride. But, he couldn't help but feel comforted knowing that Callum had some issues with the people around him. Despite the initial persona he portrayed, Callum was just like any other person underneath—and even more understanding than people like Chris.
"I just have a hard time opening up to people now," Logan started, filling the silence. "Especially with men—which sucks when you're attracted to them, but that's its other thing. It was just this one bad experience to another and another, and I just...I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I wanted out, and I saw this as an opportunity and took it."
Callum remained silent, which was surprisingly more pleasant than nerve-racking. He soaked in Logan's words like a sponge, nodding along. Logan hadn't meant to snowball his response and say more than he'd normally like, but it had been a long time bottling up his thoughts that he could feel it eating at him if he didn't say anything about it. His friends from New York had all been close enough to Chris that ranting about him wouldn't provide relief or comfort. And the only other person Logan had visited and talked with frequently during his time here was the barista from the coffee shop on the corner across the office.
But a barista wouldn't have soaked in the details of some insignificant and depressingly classic tale of ex-drama when they had coffees to make; Callum, however, had nothing to do while stuck in the elevator but listen.
And yet, Logan hadn't anticipated Callum to deliver anything more than a simple shrug. Instead, Callum remained quiet before saying simply, "that was a smart move."
"Really? Everyone else thinks it's foolish. Stupid and naive, even."
"Sure, leaving everything you know behind is risky and terrifying at first," Callum trailed, almost as if he was thinking about his memories. "But I think it's way better than deciding to stay in one place or stay with someone that's only making you more and more miserable."
Logan hadn't even mentioned Chris or someone, and he wondered if Callum had researched his name much as he had done with Callum. But surely he wouldn't have found anything about a crazy ex on the internet, would he?
But with what Logan knew or had speculated from the rumors, Callum might have been thinking more about his history with exes; after all, Callum Dawson was never this concerned over his workers.
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