Ryan goes to the Lost & Found, Isabel stays put

“Alright,” Ryan whispered, poking his head out of the break room door, scanning the hallway. “It looks clear. I can make a run for the lost and found.”

Isabel’s arms instinctively crossed over her chest, her bare skin flushed pink from nerves. “And leave me here?” she asked in a trembled voice, her eyes darting toward the door.

Ryan glanced back at her. “It’s the only way. If you try to cross the cubicles again, someone’s bound to notice. At least here, you’ve got cover. I’ll be quick.”

Isabel hesitated, every instinct telling her not to let herself be abandoned like this, but she also knew Ryan was right. Her half-naked body would stand no chance in the open. She swallowed hard and nodded. “Fine. Just… don’t take too long.”

“I won’t,” Ryan said firmly. Then, with one last look at her trembling figure, he slipped out into the hallway.

The moment he left, the silence pressed in around Isabel. She could hear the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead, feel their brightness bearing down on her exposed skin. Stress had left her body slick with sweat, and she hated how it made her feel even more noticeable, her thighs glistening faintly, the sheen across her stomach and arms impossible to ignore.

She crouched lower by the vending machine, pressing her back against the wall. The cool tile made her shiver, sweat mixing with the chill. She wrapped one arm over her chest and clamped her other hand over her most private area, **** to cover herself, but no matter how tightly she held herself, the humiliating truth was the same. She was nearly naked in the middle of her workplace, trapped and ****.

Every sound from the hallway threatened to undo her. Footsteps, muffled voices, a phone ringing somewhere out of sight. Isabel’s breath caught, her pulse racing so loud it drowned everything else out.

“Please hurry, Ryan,” she whispered into the silence, her voice breaking slightly.

And then it happened.

The handle of the break room door rattled, turning slowly. The door creaked open, the gap widening inch by inch. Isabel froze, her stomach twisting into knots.

Her mind screamed a single question as she tightened her arms over herself, heart pounding so violently she thought it might give her away.

Was it Ryan… or someone else?