Vivian Kaye loitered in the expansive lobby of the Hoskins Building, sipping her coffee and watching the ebb and flow of employees to the elevators. Her boss, Howard Hoskins, founding partner at the Hoskins, Branch, and Kato law firm, owned the building. Currently, their top-floor resident, Valkyrie Security, was annoying every other business in the building.
Barb, the sixty-something head of building security, came out of the office, and crossed the terrazzo floor to Vivian. Her gray hair was clipped in a short bob that bordered on punk.
“Did he show up yet?” Barb was also peeved at Valkyrie Security and more than happy to assist in Vivian’s mission.
“No, it’s Wednesday,” said Vivian. “On Wednesdays, he has an off-site meeting and gets dropped off out front while the driver goes around to park in the garage.”
Vivian had spent the last few days camped out in Barb’s office reviewing security footage. Rowan Valkyrie was the forty-ish owner of Valkyrie Security, an ex-Marine, and extremely hard to get ahold of. Emails went nowhere, phone calls got screened, and in-person meeting invitations were declined.
Which was unfortunate because Vivian had been tasked with serving him with a cease-and-desist letter.
“How are you planning on doing this?” asked Barb skeptically.
Vivian was a paralegal, but her work nemesis, the Harvard Law wench Belinda Erikson, had passed the buck to her. Ordinarily, Vivian might have attempted to reject the duty, but the idea of complaining to Howard made her feel like a whiny twenty-something.
“Today is field verification,” said Vivian. Barb looked amused. As a retired Navy officer, she didn’t have a problem with Vivian’s second-generation military vocabulary, but it did make her laugh. “Today, we’ll see if I’m right. If this test run is accurate, we’re a go for tomorrow.”
“If you need backup,” said Barb. “The team and I are at your disposal.”
Vivian sighed. She knew why the rest of the building was mad at Valkyrie Security. The younger and more idiotic members of the private security firm were pulling onto the plaza to the area reserved for emergency services and loading and unloading their equipment—including their weaponry—through the lobby. It was rude, but Vivian didn’t think it was as threatening as everyone else. But as the daughter of a Marine, she was probably more familiar with guns than the rest of the building’s tenants, primarily accountants and lawyers.
Vivian knew the idiots had to stop, but she also knew that the roadwork out front added an extra fifteen minutes of driving to get into the parking garage. It wasn’t that she wasn’t sympathetic, but after a week of attempting to be polite and professional, she was now pissed off because Rowan Valkyrie was ignoring all attempts to talk to him.
“I don’t need backup,” said Vivian. “He’s not a threat. He’s a jerk. And I will shove this letter up his nose if I have to.”
The lobby doors opened, and Rowan Valkyrie entered followed by three of his team. He was tall, with dark hair and dreamy hazel eyes.
“He’s getting in car four,” Vivian predicted. She’d watched a month of security footage to figure out his patterns. Her hand tensed around her coffee cup as she followed his progress across the lobby.
“And car four it is,” said Barb, as Rowan proved Vivian right. “You think the elevator is the way to go?”
“He can’t escape in an elevator,” said Vivian certainly. “It’s the perfect ambush. Rowan Valkyrie is going down.”
Find out what happens next in… Elevator Ride.
Elevator Ride: A Valkyrie Brothers Trilogy, Book 1
Genre: Rom-Com Mystery
Release: March 2025
Format: Digital, Print
Purchase Link
Twenty-six floors. Two professionals. Sometimes love only needs one Elevator Ride…
Vivian Kaye has been tasked with serving a cease-and-desist letter to Rowan Valkyrie—the most hated tenant in Seattle’s Hoskins building. But when the ambitious paralegal ambushes the seasoned security expert in the elevator, she ignites a powder keg of tempers and attraction.
Rowan and Vivian clash like only a twenty-something progressive and a forty-something ex-Marine can, but when one misstep sends Vivian flailing into Rowan’s arms, the pair also find themselves tumbling into a secret office romance. Vivian is soon head-over-heels for the older CEO, but thanks to the efforts of a conniving coworker, she worries that he might not take her seriously. When things come to a head the night of Vivian’s biggest work event, the gaps between them start to feel too large. But before Rowan can fix things, a shocking attack puts Vivian in the cross-hairs of a mysterious assailant.
Heartbroken, Vivian is determined to deny her feelings and put all her energy into catching her attacker. And Rowan is desperate to protect Vivian because unless he can push all the right buttons, this elevator ride might be going straight down.
About the author
Bethany Maines is the award-winning indie and traditionally published author of romantic action-adventure and fantasy novels that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind-end. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel or screenplay. You can catch up with her on Facebook or on her website – bethanymaines.com.