Michael rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, attempting to stave off the tiredness that had already begun to sink in, as the lift climbed ever higher. From the glass walls of the box he could see the bright lights of the city below him, illuminated against the dark sky. He imagined all the drinking and partying that was going on beneath him, and briefly considered just heading straight back down again and joining in. But he couldn’t, obviously – running a multinational tech company didn’t often lend itself to a lot of downtime, and an emergency call had led to Michael making his way back into the office just before midnight. He’d managed to make himself look half presentable, standing tall in an expensive suit and a poorly knotted tie. As the lift finally reached his floor, he ran his fingers through his hair one last time, checking his handsome reflection in the glass, and made his way towards his office.
Michael entered the room and, having expected it be empty, was caught frozen for a moment when he spotted a figure on the other side of his desk. He knew immediately who it was, of course, but that didn’t make the neurons in his brain fire any faster. He instead stood still, hand still on the door ready to close it behind him, not quite believing what he was seeing.
“Oh come on now Michael, I know you were always a bit slower than me, but this is ridiculous.”
“Jesus Christ, what are you doing here Elizabeth?” Michael asked, having finally found the words. “Listen, whatever you want, now is not the time. My assistant just called me back from home, I’ve got investors furious with me and I’m not even sure why, and I’ve got to get on this video call in…” he quickly checked his watch, “thirteen minutes. Can we please do this another time? Whatever ‘this’ even is?” Michael proceeded to shoo Elizabeth out of his seat, logging himself on to the computer and then not-so-politely gesturing to the door.
“Surely you shouldn’t be telling me, a competitor, about the innermost workings of your business Michael?” Elizabeth raised a disapproving eyebrow, but didn’t move, clearly not intending to leave any time soon. “Not that it matters, none of that is correct anyway. There are no angry investors Michael. But I know you wouldn’t meet me under normal circumstances, so I told your assistant a little fib. So please, settle down, we might as well chat now that I’ve got you.”
Once again, Michael was left on the backfoot. Elizabeth had tricked him into meeting her, of course she had, and now he looked like an idiot. The two of them had known each other for years, having met at university, and could once have even been considered friends. They both went on to start their own companies, both in technology, but what had started as a friendly rivalry turned really nasty, really fast. Michael had used their personal relationship to gain insights into Elizabeth’s business, and nearly brought it down singlehandedly by releasing information to the press anonymously. She somehow managed to ride out the storm, and in the end had to rebuild her firm from scratch. Michael admired what she had accomplished, and he didn’t recognise the man he was back then, the man who betrayed her so easily. But he could never bring himself to apologise. They hadn’t spoken in years.
“Fine,” Michael said, once again running his fingers through his hair as he stood up from his desk, trying to take this all in. “You’ve got me here then. Say what you need to say. Just know that I don’t…” he tried to find the words, “I’ve done a lot of things to get where I am. Some things I’m not proud of. You know?”
“Michael, honestly, there is only one thing that I’m here to say to you. Please just let me say it before you babble on any further.” Elizabeth let out a big sigh and began to walk towards him. She was still as stunning as she always had been, in a tight, light grey pencil skirt, designer black blouse and a ludicrously expensive pair of black high-heeled boots. The two of them would have looked good together, Michael had thought, but their relationship had never really gotten started. Not for a lack of heat – there had always been palpable sexual tension between the two of them, and the nights they had spent together had been ridiculous – but that was all a long time ago. Michael was married now; Elizabeth had been too. He still thought about her though. Often.
Elizabeth had made her way round Michael’s desk, and was now stood face to face with him. She placed her hand gently on his arm, and looked him dead in the eye. Now she was closer, he could see the small wrinkles by her eyes, ones he didn’t remember seeing before. That’s the stress of running a company, he thought, and time as well. He had them too, he knew. She looked sad and happy at the same time, and Michael felt like they were reconnecting in a way they hadn’t in a long time. He gave her a small smile.
“Michael, I’ve thought long and hard about what you did to me. How you betrayed my trust.” Michael winced, visibly. He’d briefly forgotten about that as they shared a moment. Now he remembered why they hadn’t spoken for so long.
“I honestly thought I hated you,” Elizabeth continued. “I really did, for a long time. But with time, and space between us, I’ve had a long time to think. And I’ve realised I was wrong.” Elizabeth gave Michael a warm smile, and he smiled back. He forgot all about his wife, and his family. He could only think about this spark, between him and Elizabeth, that had been lost to him so long ago.
“I was so wrong. What I’ve realised now, Michael, is that I despise you.” Elizabeth squeezed Michael’s arm hard, and he felt something puncture his skin. Michael rapidly felt lightheaded and nauseous, his vision blurring, but he looked back towards Elizabeth for long enough to see her face twisted with some godforsaken combination of malice and joy. “I loath you Michael. I detest you, I hate you more than I have ever hated anyone else.”
Michael did his best to hold on to consciousness, but suddenly bright lights flashed across his eyes, even with them closed. A high-pitched ringing ran through his ears, and all his senses felt overwhelmed. It only took seconds but for Michael it felt like forever. But then the light and noise subsided, and Michael could open his eyes once again. And once he did, he was greeted with a view he’d never expected to see. Elizabeth’s high-heeled boots towered over him, and he was face to face with her toes poking out the front. He craned his neck to look up at the stunning giantess in front of him, just in time to see her mouth move once again, and a booming voice rained down on him from above.
“AND NOW, MICHAEL. I AM GOING TO TORTURE YOU.”
Michael was completely overwhelmed. The new world he existed in didn’t even feel real. He was tiny, maybe only a couple of inches tall, and he was now at the mercy of a woman who could crush him without a thought, the woman who hated him most of all. And Michael reacted in a way that no one else, especially Elizabeth, could have expected.
He smiled.