By Any Other Name Read Online Free PDF

hear the alarm going off, the siren echoing through the elevator shaft. After a moment, he stopped, running his hands along the doors and gripping them in the center, prying them open just a crack to look out, but there was nothing to be seen.
    They were trapped between floors.
    "Just great," she muttered, reaching into her purse for her phone. She pulled it out, holding it up, the signal flickering between one measly bar and no service.
    Hello again, bad day. Should've known you weren't done fucking me yet.
    She continually struggled to get service, holding the phone up as high as she could reach, as the guy retook his spot in the corner and pulled out his Blackberry. She watched him incredulously as he started typing on it, just as casual as he had been before. He cut his eyes at her as he finished, slipping the phone back into his pants pocket. "You're wasting your time. You'll never get a strong enough signal to make a call from in here."
    "So, what, I shouldn't even try ?"
    He shrugged a shoulder. "I wouldn't."
    "We're trapped in an elevator," she said, stressing the fact that they were trapped . "Maybe you're cool with that, I don't know. But this has the makings of a bad R. Kelly song, if you ask me."
    Before the guy could respond, his phone chimed. He pulled it out just far enough to glance at the screen. "Like I said—not enough signal to make a call, but just enough to send out a message."
    "You got ahold of someone?"
    "Yeah."
    She stared at him, shocked, when he planted himself on the grimy floor, his back pressed into the corner. How could he remain so calm?
    "You might want to get comfortable," he said. "Knowing this city, it'll probably be a while before they get to us."
    Genna stubbornly stood there for a few minutes, her feet starting to ache in the high heels, aggravating her blisters every time she shifted position. Sighing, resigned, she finally kicked them off, discarding them in the middle of the elevator. She sat down against the wall diagonal from him, tugging on her skirt and crossing her legs to keep herself covered, but she was pretty sure she flashed him the goods on accident. Damn short skirt .
    "Great," she muttered. "I just can't catch a break."
    "Bad day?"
    "The worst."
    "Ah, I doubt that," he said. "It can always be worse than it is."
    Rolling her eyes, she gazed down at her hands and picked at her nail polish to distract herself. It was only two of them, but there was very little ventilation in the elevator. She could already feel the air warming up. "You sound like my lawyer."
    "Your lawyer, huh? Were you here for a case?"
    "Yes."
    "What did you do?"
    She hesitated, considering lying, but thought better of it. Why did she care what he thought? She didn't know the guy. "Stole a car."
    "You?" he asked incredulously. "A car thief?"
    She cut her eyes at him. "Technically, my boyfriend did it… or my ex -boyfriend, anyway. He walked away with barely a slap on the wrist, while I got enough community service to last a lifetime."
    "That doesn't seem very fair."
    "It's not," she said. "But whatever, that's just my luck today. Late for court, get fucked over by the Justice Department, and then the elevator tries to kill me. I'm pretty this day ends with someone shoving me in front of a train, which I'll probably have to take now, since the judge revoked my license for good measure."
    "Wow." He seemed taken aback. "You weren't exaggerating."
    "Told you. Worst day ever."
    "I'd offer you moral support, but well…" He laughed to himself. "My morals are questionable at best, so how about I buy you a drink when we get out of here instead?"
    His words made her smile. "That's nice, but I'm not old enough to drink."
    He hesitated. "How old are you?"
    "Eighteen."
    "Ah, that's not bad. You're an adult. Besides, I said I had questionable morals, didn't I?"
    "True." She felt the flush on her cheeks as she gazed at him, seeing the sincerity in his expression. "How old are you?"
    "Old enough to buy you that drink,