Recently I was on my way to an appointment which had me parking in an underground parking lot with an attendant and cameras in certain spots. The elevator did not appear to have one. As I waited for the elevator, I saw a man who appeared out of nowhere headed my way. I thought great I must be in an elevator alone with this man. Then I saw a couple walking toward the elevator, and I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes to do so. In that quick moment, the couple disappeared. I suppose they weren’t headed to the elevator after all.

The elevator approaches and he and I enter. This man is stocky and has no keys in his hand or observable in his pockets. There is no wallet bulge either. He wore flip-flops, and a baseball cap, with olive skin, and dark facial hair. My internal system felt uneasy the moment he appeared out of thin air. Something felt off. A woman who had worked with law enforcement recently shared a book, The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker (I highly recommend all women read this!) I pulled down my shades and faced him. I wanted him to see my face and to let him know I sensed that he would have preferred my back to him or to keep on shades. Nope. I was prepared to fight like hell if he tried anything!