The CEO Gets Her Man by Anne Ashby Page A

increased in volume but no sound left Jase’s mouth. He disappeared from sight and then returned to toss white towels onto the desk.
    Ignoring his boss he gathered up the dishes and within seconds marched out. His sharp nod sent Debra scurrying in front of him, out of harm’s way.
    Her lips tightened. Her heart raced as she summoned the lift, telling herself it wasn’t Jase’s presence causing her body’s unusual responses. She was playing a role, a subservient role—letting him feel protective and superior.
    The lift’s arrival halted more crazy thoughts from penetrating her head. Remembering the role she was supposed to be playing she made to take the tray.
    He shook his head. “Your arm-”
    Debra flexed the limb, feeling no evidence of the earlier sharp pain. “I guess I caught my funny bone on that vase. My arm’s fine now.” She flexed it some more just to show him, but he showed no intention of transferring the tray.
    As the lift stopped, Debra took half a step forward. The doors remained closed. She tapped the “open door” button.
    Nothing happened.
    After glancing over her shoulder at her companion she pressed the button again—and again.
    The doors remained firmly closed.
    A nervous quiver started in her hands and quickly spread. Her body trembled. Her stomach dropped as sharply as a fun park’s Tower of Terror.
    The revving of her heart coincided with the shocked little breaths she managed to suck in through her teeth.
    They were locked in.
    Entombed.

Chapter Five
    “Don’t worry,” Jase bolstered. He set the tray down on the floor and reached for the phone. “It’s probably nothing.”
    Debra gulped, her mouth becoming drier than dust as Jase talked into the handset. His reassuring smile as he replaced the phone allowed her to release the jittery breath she hadn’t been aware of holding.
    “Apparently this has happened before,” Jase soothed. “Maintenance has come up with a novel way of getting the doors open—something to do with a very strong butcher’s knife.” Jase’s smile disappeared and he mumbled something under his breath.
    Debra didn’t catch the words but suspected they’d soon be repeated to the responsible, but innocent maintenance staff members. The faulty lift had been reported, and according to the records she’d checked last night, a huge invoice had been processed to pay an Invercargill company to fix the problem—purportedly.
    Moments later metal screeching against metal far worse than the sound of fingernails on a blackboard sent shivers up and down her spine. Again and again the sound shuddered through her but the doors remained in place.
    Faintly they heard a man’s guttural cursing.
    “I guess they’re going to have to get a technician from town.” Jase’s voice might be calm but Debra detected his annoyance. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”
    “No, of course not.” Debra’s haughty reply contradicted her tinder-dry mouth and a heartbeat revved up a notch. She glanced around the steel cage. Admittedly she’d never been in a situation where she’d been tested, but she couldn’t imagine herself being claustrophobic. She didn’t allow personal weakness.
    “We may as well make ourselves comfortable.” Jase shoved the tray into one corner and settled himself down on the floor, his back propped up against one wall while his feet almost touched the opposite side. “At least we don’t have to worry about the lift crashing hundreds of feet to the ground,” he joked.
    Debra found little reassurance in the fact they were already at ground level. They were still entombed. Her heart hiked up another beat. Following his lead she slid down the wall until her bottom touched the floor.
    When his gaze flicked to the expanse of leg showing, her lips tightened and she yanked the black skirt as far over her knees as the material would allow. Her glare bounced past him to focus on the control panel above his head, willing it to miraculously open the