No Ordinary Day , Tate, Harley [ebook offline .TXT] 📗

her head. “Everything is down. No power, no internet. I haven’t been able to make any calls. We just get that fast busy signal on the landline.”

A young woman hurried up to the volunteer coordinator. “Luanne, I can’t get ahold of Mr. Foster. I don’t know what’s happening in court, I’ve got four clients in conference rooms with no power. I don’t know what to do here.”

“Slow down, Angie. Can’t you see I’m talking to these nice people here?”

“It’s okay,” John offered. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full.”

Voices rose from the rear of the law firm lobby. “I’m telling you, it’s just a ploy by these good-for-nothing attorneys to get more money out of us!”

“Oh dear. If you’ll excuse me.” Luanne let the younger woman lead her away across the lobby.

Tyler motioned to the stairs. “We should check with the lab. See if they know anything.”

“Not a bad idea.” Emma turned to John. She hated to up and leave him after all of his help. “You’re welcome to come with us, if you’d like. There’s a break room with coffee and a vending machine—” She paused, flustered at her mistake thanks to the power outage. “Well, water anyway.”

He smiled. “Lead the way.”

Using Tyler’s phone as a light, they climbed up two floors and emerged on the fifth in time to see her boss hurry past with a flashlight and a duffel bag.

“Randall? What’s going on?”

He swung the flashlight toward her face. “You! What are you even doing here?”

“We’ve been stuck in an elevator for two hours.” Tyler crossed his arms, his laid-back vibe ruined by the afternoon’s events. “Care to fill us in?”

“You need me to spell it out for you? The power’s out, isn’t it obvious?”

“So, when is it getting fixed?”

Randall practically spit. “How should I know? Do I work at the power company in my spare time?” Emma’s boss stormed past them to the elevator. He pushed the button and when it didn’t light up, a stream of profanity followed him back to the stairwell.

Tyler blocked his path. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Go home!” Randall shoved his way past and tugged open the stairwell door. “And if you think I’m paying you for today, you’re crazy!” He stomped down the stairs, his feet echoing as the door swung shut behind him.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair, sticking it up in all directions. “What’s up his butt?”

Emma swallowed. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Randall so animated, so—”

“Human?” Tyler snorted. “If he’s this twisted up, something big must be going on.”

Emma glanced at John. He hadn’t said a word since they left the law firm. “What do you think?”

He hesitated. “We need more information.”

“I agree.” Emma turned to Tyler. “You think you can get us online?”

“No way.” He cast a glance around the darkened lab. “If Randall’s not paying, I’ve got to get home. I’ve got class tomorrow and a ton of homework.”

Emma nodded. She’d forgotten Tyler was still so young. “Of course. You go. We can handle ourselves.” She reached out and squeezed his arm. “Be careful, okay?”

“Hey, there aren’t any elevators from here to my parents’ place, so I’m golden.” He grinned and a bit of the old Tyler was back. “Thanks, man. Sorry I was such a wimp.” He stuck out his hand to John.

“No problem.” John smiled and shook Tyler’s hand before the younger man gave a final wave and disappeared down the stairs.

Emma exhaled. “Still want to stick around?”

“Why not?” John shrugged. “About that kitchen, though...”

“Right!” Emma chastised herself. Her throat was so dry it hurt to swallow; John’s must be worse. She hurried to the break room with him close behind. Inside, a pair of techs she knew in passing huddled around an illuminated screen.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on?”

The techs looked up, faces aglow from the screen. One sneered. “Oh, so now we’re interesting, huh?”

“She was just looking for information.” John stepped forward. “Is that a news story?”

The tech holding the phone turned it around. A video of a cat dancing with a rainbow background filled the screen. “Isn’t it epic?”

Emma palmed her hip. “That’s what you’re watching? What about the blackout? The sun? Do you know anything about what’s going on?”

“Why? So you can go tattletale to the government about it?” He turned to his friend with a singsong voice. “Oh, Mr. Congressman, did you know the power is out all over? You better investigate those shady guys at CropForward. I bet they’re behind it.”

It took all of Emma’s self-control not to say something she’d regret. Before something acceptable came to mind, John stepped forward. His face loomed inches from the tech who’d spoken, lips moving.

She couldn’t hear the conversation, but within seconds, both techs scrambled out of the break room like cockroaches flooded with light. John rolled his shoulders and turned around. “About that water.”

Emma didn’t say a word, opting to hide a creeping blush by rooting through the cabinets for a mug. She handed over an oversized monstrosity emblazoned with “World’s Greatest Boss” on the side.

He lifted an eyebrow.

She laughed. “I don’t have any idea who bought that. Randall is anything but great.”

“Thanks.” John filled the mug and drank it dry twice.

Emma waited for him to mention the nasty comments from the two techs he ran off, but he let the silence linger. She glanced at her watch. “How long do you think the power’s been out? Two hours? Three?” There had to be something on the news, some details from somewhere that would explain what was happening. Now that they weren’t trapped in an elevator, she could think about more than escape and Randall’s behavior worried her.

John set the mug in the sink. “Sounds about right.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and swiped the screen. His brow knit as he read the screen.

“Are you getting a signal?” Emma plucked her phone from her bag and checked the signal strength. Zero bars, no Wi-Fi. “Would a power outage take down a cell tower? I