A/n: Thanks so much for reviewing, you lovely people, you.

Chapter 3

~x~

The elevator sang its familiar ding as the sleek, metal doors opened to reveal the small, enclosed space behind them. Without so much as a glance forward, Joanne Jefferson stepped inside of the elevator, briefcase in hand. She squeezed into a space in the corner, reaching over to press the button for the fortieth floor.

It was 7:30 a.m. on the dot, and Joanne was already wishing that she could go back to her empty, yet welcoming apartment, where she could sleep the rest of the morning away in peace. A benefit of being a Public Interest lawyer was having a high enough salary to afford a nice apartment without a roommate; and Joanne liked her small, yet modest SoHo walkup.

The medium-sized salary was, decidedly, the only benefit of her job, for Public Interest lawyers were usually stuck with the cases that no one wanted: homeless people, artists, and drug addicts usually couldn't afford much for their case (or they couldn't afford anything at all, in many situations); so Joanne's work was mostly Pro-Bono.

Joanne had an 8 a.m. meeting with one of these clients. The elevator doors began to close with another ding, but before they could shut completely, a cream-coloured hand shot out, stopping the doors completely. They re-opened to accommodate a slightly frazzled-looking, twenty-something woman.

She caught her breath, squeezing in next to a man across from Joanne. The elevator began traveling up to the higher floors; sometimes letting people off, sometimes acquiring new passengers. Both Joanne and the woman stayed.

By the thirteenth floor, Joanne snuck a glance at the woman, who wore tight leather pants and a black, form-fitting tank top. The first thing Joanne thought was, She doesn't belong here. Her clothing was much too informal, and way too revealing for the Law Offices of Jefferson and co.

Joanne herself was dressed in a modest, yet feminine business suit. Personally, she preferred pantsuits; but her father, who owned the law practice, insisted that she look "like a woman," and not so masculine.

It made her angry, but she couldn't exactly complain, since her father was her boss.

As Joanne was staring at the woman, she looked over, her curly, chocolate brown hair flipping over her shoulder. Her honey-coloured eyes met Joanne's for a split second.

Joanne froze, enchanted by the unique eyes, but she quickly looked down, knowing that she'd been caught staring. Instead of meeting the woman's gaze again, she stared at her expensive Doc Martens, the ones her father always made a fuss about her wearing.

But she did anyway, just to make him angry.

Finally, a redheaded man stepped out of the elevator at the twenty-seventh floor, leaving Joanne and the mystery woman alone.

At the Twenty-eighth floor, Joanne finally glanced back up at the woman, who was looking away.

At the twenty-ninth floor, the two locked eyes.

At the thirtieth floor, everything lurched to a stop, the lights went out, and there was dead silence. Joanne noticed that the elevator wasn't moving.

"Shit," the other woman cursed, kicking the steel wall with her foot. "Ow, shit!" She said again, and Joanne guessed that steel wasn't a very good thing to kick.

"Well," Joanne heard herself speak, her voice mildly scratchy because it was so early in the morning, "I guess we're stuck." She ran a hand nervously through her shoulder-length corkscrew curls.

The woman turned to Joanne, rolling her eyes. "Of course we're stuck. Crappy elevators," she muttered. "I have an eight o' clock that I can't miss!"

Joanne nodded. "Me too," she said, looking at her watch. It was 7:45, and unless they were rescued soon, they would both be late. The woman sighed, sinking to the floor. "Ugh, these heels are killing me," she said, taking one off and rubbing her foot. "Shoulda worn boots, like you."

Joanne couldn't help but laugh at the adorable expression of discontent on her face.

Wait, adorable? Don't do this to yourself, Jo...

Despite what her brain was saying, every single bone in her body wanted to sit next to this woman, and eventually they won the battle, Joanne sinking down next to her. "Well, we might as well get comfortable. We'll probably be here for awhile," Joanne said.

After a minute, the woman looked over at Joanne and smiled. "True. I like your docs, by the way. Very nice," she said, pointing to Joanne's shoes, and Joanne found herself unable to look away from those warm eyes that bore into her own.

"Thanks," Joanne finally answered breathlessly, tearing her eyes away from the woman's. They traveled downward. Joanne couldn't help checking out the woman's toned body, which was highlighted by the clothes she wore.

After a few seconds, the woman pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. "Listen," she said, holding them out for Joanne to see, "I know they always say 'don't smoke in elevators, it's a fire hazard,' but I really need one, and who knows how long we'll be in here? Do you object?" She offered one to Joanne, who declined politely.

Had the situation been any different; had Joanne knew this woman, she would have instantly objected. But somehow, out of fear that the woman would become upset if Joanne said no, she found herself shrugging nonchalantly, as if people smoked in elevators all the time.

The woman lit it up and took a drag, eventually letting out a puff of smoke, languidly closing her eyes for a moment as she smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Though she didn't know why, Joanne felt like she was a teenager again; having friends around her smoke, and being the only one who didn't partake in it. She found herself feeling like a five-year-old, for the first time in a long time.

She thought that once, just this once, she could compromise herself, if only to impress this gorgeous woman. She turned her head to the woman. "Could I have one of those?"

The woman opened her eyes quickly, rummaging around in her purse for a lighter. She pulled a limp cigarette out of the pack, turned back to her with a half-grin; boldly stuck it in Joanne's slightly agape mouth for her, and lit the tip with her purple lighter. Joanne shivered as the woman's long, soft fingers quickly and accidentally brushed against her lips.

Joanne took a hit from it, feeling herself become a bit giddy and light-headed after a few drags.

Joanne hadn't smoked a cigarette since high school, and the one time she did, it hadn't been in the company of such a sexy, gorgeous, interesting woman.

Wait, what?

Joanne really didn't want to crush on yet another straight woman. It had become a pattern in her life: Annie Martin in the sixth grade, Julie Webber in tenth. Kat, her college roommate...that one hadn't gone over well. Now she was fresh out of Law School, and she still always ended up liking the women who would never go for her. And here she was, smoking with a perfect stranger, feeling those damned butterflies in her stomach again.

The woman studied Joanne, cocking her head to the side. She spoke in an equally sexy voice, especially for 8 a.m. Joanne sure as hell was awake now.

"You know, docs, if I had to pick anyone from this entire goddamned stuffy law office to be stuck in an elevator with, it'd be you. It's not too bad, being stuck with you." She said in a lazy sort of drawl, and Joanne blushed, reveling in the compliment, and in the way the woman had called her "docs."

She looked back at the woman after a minute. "Yeah, I think so, too." The woman grinned.

Instead of the confident buzz that a shot of alcohol would've given her (and goddess knew Joanne needed something like that right now, even this early in the morning), the cigarette in-between Joanne's fingers was making her shaky and a bit nervous.

"So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" The woman asked Joanne, and she smirked in return. "Work, work, work. Somedays, I really hate my job."

She nodded. "I hear you. Going to auditions suck, especially because my chances of getting cast are so low. I mean, anyone's are, especially if it's a good show."

Joanne raised an eyebrow. "You're an actress?" It seemed fitting.

She smiled. "More or less. When I'm not beat out by better ones for a role."

Joanne shrugged casually. "Well, at least you're beautiful. You've got that going for you. In getting cast, I mean."

The woman raised her other eyebrow, and Joanne stifled the urge to cover her mouth. She really shouldn't have said that, she really shouldn't have...

"Really?" The woman said curiously, seeming to look at Joanne almost in a different light.

Joanne nodded eagerly, then tried to cover the entire action with a hacking cough.

"Interesting. So...what are you insinuating?" She asked, turning fully toward Joanne.

Joanne looked around, at anything but this woman's eyes. "What do you mean? I'm not allowed to compliment you?"

The woman shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose you are. But I think it's more than a compliment."

Joanne choked. "You- you do?" This conversation was getting way too complicated for her.

She nodded slowly, a playful look in her eye. They had a silent staring contest for a moment, until finally the woman spoke again.

"So, do you get stuck in elevators with random women and tell them they're beautiful often? Is this all part of the grand plan?" She asked teasingly.

Joanne shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I do. Maybe it is."

Just as she said the last word, the dim light in the elevator suddenly became bright again, and it finally began moving again. Joanne quickly sprang to her feet, with the woman getting up slowly and, of course, more gracefully.

"I enjoyed this, docs," the woman said the name endearingly, and it made Joanne feel warm inside.

"Me, too," Joanne answered with a grin, wishing that this wasn't all going to come to a stop in about a minute and a half.

Before she could register what was happening, the woman stepped closer and closer to Joanne, holding out her hand. "I'm Maureen," she practically whispered, and Joanne felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"Joanne," she whispered back, shaking the hand, and Maureen pulled it away, resting her hands on Joanne's hips; pulling her in close for a tight hug, so tight, in fact, that she could feel the contours of Maureen's breasts and hips against her own.

Straight women didn't do that, did they?

Joanne felt her heart stop, unaware that anyone could have such a strong effect on her. She decided to take advantage of it, especially since she'd probably never see this woman again. She stepped closer and wrapped both arms around Maureen's shoulders. She rested her chin in the crook of Maureen's neck, and inhaled slightly.

Surprisingly, she smelled like strawberries. It wasn't sexy, but it was definitely cute. She could feel Maureen's breath on her neck, and it sent delicious chills down her spine.

Finally, after what could've been ten seconds or ten years, Maureen pulled away from the hug, but not before almost imperceptibly brushing her lips against Joanne's cheek.

Maureen could have plausibly just been turning her head, and it just happened.

Or not. That was a little friendly for someone you just met in an elevator a half hour ago. Wasn't it?

Joanne was hoping for the 'not.'

The elevator doors opened, letting new passengers in, and both Maureen and Joanne got out on the fortieth floor.

Joanne didn't think it strange when Maureen kept walking alongside her, smiling at her every so often.

She did, however, think it slightly strange when they both were near the end of the hall, still side-by-side. She glanced at Maureen, who now had a confused expression on her face.

She was looking from the gold letters that spelled out "J. Jefferson, Attorney," to Joanne, her eyes widening with realization.

Maureen didn't keep walking past Joanne. Instead she looked at the door, and then at Jo with a half-smirk and a shake of her head.

"You're my lawyer?" She said, and Joanne paused, both thanking and cursing whomever was up there in the sky. Whomever it was, they must've owed her a favor.

It was going to be a long day.

xo

You know, I just realized that the smoking thing has been a pattern with me; it seems to happen in both this story and my last one. I dunno why...maybe because smoking is sexy? (But don't try it in elevators!) ^^

Oh and also, I think I'm looking for a beta. And I'm just throwing it out there, but if anyone's interested, you know, just send me a PM or something, and I'll love you forever for beta-ing my fics. :D