Page 59 of Discretion
I leaned over the railing. “Not yet.”
“Keep trying,” she gritted out.
I went to another level and another. When I finally reached the ground floor, I pushed on the crash bar, expecting it to open. It gave a little squeak of protest, but it barely budged. The door remained firmly shut.
“The fuck.” I pushed at it again, ultimately deciding to kick it.
“Jasper?” Halle called down. “Are you okay?”
I moved so that I could peer up at her. She seemed so far away. “I’m fine. Just trying to kick the door open.”
“Be careful,” she said.
I attempted a few more times, finally admitting defeat and sinking down on the step.Fuck.
I was ten flights down and still no closer to getting us out of this mess. By this point, I’d shed my bow tie, loosened the top buttons of my shirt, and rolled up my sleeves. I took a deep breath and stood. I climbed the stairs until I was sweating, only to end up back where I’d started.
Halle was sitting on the steps, her shoes on the floor beside her. She perked up when she saw me. “Any luck?”
I shook my head. “The ground floor should be unlocked.This is a fire escape, and it should allow us to exit to the outside.”
She grimaced. “It should be, but it isn’t?”
I nodded. “I’ll definitely be demanding answers as soon as we get out of here. And I’m going to have Jackson ask the security team to run checks at all our other locations. This can’t happen again.”
“I bet Jackson would know how to get out of here.” She glared at the door as if her gaze alone would burn a hole through it and allow us to escape. “Apparently it’s more difficult to pick a lock than TV shows and movies would have you believe.”
I laughed despite the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps because of it. “Yeah. I’m surprised the old credit card trick didn’t work,” I joked.
I didn’t mention that Jackson would probably shoot the lock with his gun.
“Right?” She laughed. “Shocking. I also tried a bobby pin. Nothing happened. Well, I suppose I broke the bobby pin.”
I went over to the door, evaluating the handle. The lock. The Huxley Grand New York was housed in a historically listed building. The structure had been built in the late 1800s and had been operating as a hotel almost continuously since its opening. The interior had been restored, but many original details remained.
While the fire doors weren’t quite as old as the hotel, they’d only been fitted with electronic security keypads in the past decade or so. Which was why Halle had probably hoped to be able to pick the lock.
I tried to rack my brain for a solution. A way out. Before I could brainstorm any more great ideas, Halle said, “Face it. We’re stuck.”
I sank down beside her, needing a moment to regroup. I didn’t want to admit defeat.
She groaned, bracing her head on her hands. “I have to get out of here. Kai will worry if he doesn’t hear from me. I promised I’d call.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling even worse about dragging her in here. “This is all my fault.”
“You couldn’t have known we’d get locked in.”
I appreciated her saying that, but it didn’t change the fact that we were stuck. And we would’ve never been in the stairwell had it not been for me.
I didn’t know how to fix this. Not just our current predicament, but all of it. I was going to be working closely with Halle for the next few months, and I couldn’t keep living like this.
Avoiding her didn’t work. Being friends with her was painful when I wanted so much more. And waiting, hoping, for a future together while fighting my attraction was proving to be a losing battle. But what choice did I have?
“Hey.” Halle perked up. “Do you think someone would realize you’re gone and come looking for you?”
“Maybe,” I said, not wanting to burst her bubble. “But I doubt it.”
This was one of the few times I wished I’d listened to Jackson when he’d suggested I hire personal security. I had a residential security team for my penthouse, but I preferred not to be followed around by a bodyguard at all times.
