Ch 24

"Do SOMETHING, we have 4 more flights to go!" Jake shouted again. Below them, a door opened on a lower floor and they froze flattening themselves against the wall.

"Dan," Amy whispered. "Someone else is in the stairwell, we're trapped."

"It's too late, Cara and Ian are outside now, they can't get back in. The realtor is walking away." Atticus said frantically.

"What are we going to do?" Amy said with a note of panic rising in her voice.
Jake looked over the railing below. He could make out a cleaning woman wielding a vacuum cleaner and a crate of cleaning supplies. She had ear buds in and was dancing to a beat only she could hear. Jake thought for a moment.

"I might have an idea, but I need everyone to turn off all comms, even with us." Jake said

"What? Why?" Atticus said.

"Just tell Ian and Cara to meet us on the far side of Central Park West and 72nd." Jake said, grabbing Amy's hand and heading toward the staircase.

"Jake, what are you-?" Atticus started.

"Do it! Now!" Jake shouted, pulling Amy toward the lower floors.

He looked back at her with a flirtatious wink and said, "just go with it."

"Uh, what?" Amy managed to get out before Jake pressed her up against the wall, arms above her head and began to kiss her passionately. He tugged at her waist to pull her closer to him and also work his way down the staircase.

Amy was taken aback for a moment and then realized the brilliance of his plan. Nobody liked an audience when they were trying to get busy. They would make this cleaning woman so uncomfortable she would beg to let them out. They could hear her coming toward the landing again, Jake rounded the final stairwell. She could see them now. Jake had his hand up in Amy's hair and his other hand on her ass pulling her toward the wall. They crashed into it with a thud. This caught the woman's attention. Just then, as if on cue, Amy leapt up into Jake's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and tugging at his shirt to get it over his head. Jake obliged, grabbing it behind his head and tearing it off, flinging it down the staircase and landing at the cleaning woman's feet.

Amy could just make out the cleaning woman's face now. She stood stock still, mouth agape staring at the two lovers, apparently oblivious to her.

Come on, thought Amy, if you don't interrupt us soon, we'll both be naked! Jake was way too good at seduction. He made to pull off her shirt and Amy had no choice but to go with it. She slid back to the floor, and briefly stopped kissing Jake to start to remove her shirt when it happened.

"¿Qué estás haciendo?" the cleaning woman shouted up toward them.

Oh, thank God, Amy thought, freezing instantly and looking down at her. She and Jake disentangled themselves from each other and had the common decency to look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," Jake said, moving down the staircase with Amy in tow to retrieve his shirt. He stood right next to the cleaning woman and kept eye contact with her longer than necessary. His bare chest inches from her. Amy looked at the ground, tucking a spare hair behind her ear. The cleaning woman, clearly flustered, bent and retrieved his shirt, handing it to him.

"Hablas Ingles?" Jake asked her in Spanish. She shook her head, no.

He gave her one of his trademark smiles as he went to put his shirt back on still inches from her. She took a step back as he flexed to put on his shirt. Amy had to bite her lip as she watched the cleaning woman so unnerved with this Adonis only inches from her, shirtless.

"No hay problema," he said in flawless Spanish, giving her a wink. "Nos atrapaste, puede guardar un secreto?" he spoke, Amy having no idea what he was saying.

She nodded and blushed, looking at the ground,

"Dejé mi llave escaleras arriba, ¿puedes dejarnos salir?" Jake said, looking down at the ground briefly, then up through the top of his eyes at her, giving her one of his best smoldering looks.

"Sí," she said, appraising Amy closely, "ella es una nína bonita, la tratas bien!" The cleaning woman said, wagging her finger in Jake's face. She turned and headed toward the floor below and freedom.

Jake turned and gave Amy a wink, it was working!

At the door, the woman waved her key card and pushed it open. Amy went first, giving a simple, "gracías" as she exited.

Jake on the other hand, stopped mid-door and turned to the woman, "eres tan amable como hermosa," he said giving he one final wink and stepped outside.

She huffed and put a hand on her heart, looked at Amy and shouted, "el es un rompecorazones!" as Jake and Amy retreated. Amy looked over her shoulder as they turned on 72nd. She couldn't help but smile, Jake had a way with women, no doubt. There was no way she could have gotten them out of that jam.