Trust in Advertising (22 page)

“Vincent, darling. Sorry I left you all alone. Jon Luce from
Vogue
just wouldn’t let me go. He tried to talk me into flying to Paris with him for a photo shoot. He’s such a horrible flirt, and you know he’d do
anything
to work with me. He even offered me the cover.” Jade rudely wedged herself between Vincent and Lexi, nearly knocking the glass out of Lexi’s hand. “You must have been so bored being out here all alone without anyone
interesting
to talk to.” She looked over her shoulder. “You can leave now. Vincent is done babysitting you.

Go find Leigh and the rest of the employees and talk about … well, whatever it is you people talk about.” She waved her hand dismissively at Lexi in an effort to shoo her away.

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Lexi’s glass hit the counter, hard. Vincent had snapped his jaw shut and glared at the back of Jade’s head but said nothing to defend Lexi. Irritated, Lexi took a deep calming breath and fought the burning desire to tell Jade exactly where she could go.

“Yes, I better get back to my ‘people.’ I don’t want to miss out on all the good gossip. You’d be amazed at the inside information I get to hear about jobs, campaigns, the latest scandals, what models are in and which ones are on their way
out
.” Lexi fixed her gaze on Jade as the corner of her lips turned up mockingly. Without a word to Vincent, she turned on her heel and left the two of them at the bar, stunned by her outburst.

Lexi stormed through the room and tried to get her temper under control.

Part of her wanted to march back over to them and lay into Vincent for allowing Jade to be so rude. A larger part of her wanted to toss Jade into the fountain in the lobby and hold her head under the water until she turned blue.

Just when she was about to go back and give Vincent a piece of her mind, someone gave her a hug around the waist. “Lexi! I missed you. You look pretty.”

She glanced down and found Madison clinging to her with a huge smile on her face. Lexi’s spirits were instantly raised upon seeing her. She looked like a tiny princess. Anna and Erik stood beside her, smiling at their daughter.

Lexi crouched down and gave Madison a kiss on the cheek, her bad mood forgotten. “Let me look at you.” She held out Madison’s arms and twirled her around so her dress could flow and flap in the breeze. “You have to be the pret-tiest girl in the room tonight.”

“Are you sure this dress doesn’t make me look short?” Madison asked as she stood self-consciously on her tiptoes and pouted.

Lexi glanced over at Anna, who rolled her eyes and mouthed the word ‘Jade’

to Lexi. “No, Madison,” Lexi reassured her. “Whoever told you that knows absolutely nothing about fashion. You look like you’re at least eight years old, honey.”

At those words, the small girl’s frown became a radiant smile. She ran over to Erik and hopped up and down. “Dad, Dad. Lexi said I look like I am eight years old! Can you believe it?”

The tall blond gentleman scooped up his daughter and kissed her cheek.

His handsome features lit up when his daughter was in his arms. “That Miss Lexi sounds like a smart woman. Now, how about you introduce me to your new friend who I’ve been hearing so much about?”

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“There she is! She’s the pretty lady over there.” Madison pointed at Lexi and giggled when Lexi waved back at her.

Erik strode over with his hand extended and a warm smile on his face.

“Hello, I’m Erik Caldwell, Anna’s husband. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.

Madison hasn’t stopped telling me about the secret stash of cookies you have over there at the office. And Anna might have mentioned you a few thousand times in the last week or so, as well.”

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Erik. I had a chance to see some of your photographs in the recent Hunter campaigns, and they are absolutely spectacular.”

Madison stretched her arms out to Lexi, and she happily picked the tiny girl up.

“Madison, are you having fun with your mommy and daddy tonight?”

“Yes, but it’s almost bed time. Daddy says I have to leave before the car turns into a pumpkin like Cinderella’s did. I don’t like pumpkins.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought of sitting in a slimy pumpkin.

“Well, I’m glad I got to see you before you left.” She leaned in and whispered in the little girl’s ear. “Did you see the dessert table?”

Madison’s eyes grew huge. “Mommy! Lexi and I are going to get some dessert. We’ll be right back.” She wiggled out of Lexi’s arms and began pulling her toward the elaborate table full of sweets.

“Don’t get anything on your dress, Maddie!” Anna called after them.

Lexi and Madison considered every single dessert on the table and picked three to try. The chocolate mousse was the unanimous favorite, so they had another. They grabbed an extra one for Anna and made their way back to Maddie’s parents. When they arrived, Vincent and Jade had joined Anna and Erik. Jade had her usual scowl on her face as she pawed at Vincent. He, however, looked distracted as he scanned the room, appearing once again to be focused on business.

“Mommy, try this! Lexi and I ate two of them, it’s so good.” She thrust the little cup of mousse at her mother and smiled.

“Tsk, tsk,” Jade shook her head from side to side. “Two desserts? Really?

Keep that up, Madison, and you’ll be big as a house.”

Everyone turned and gawked at her incredulously.
Who on Earth tells a
five-year-old she’s going to be as big as a house? Jade, the psychotic skinny bitch
does, of course.

Without missing a beat, Lexi jumped to Madison’s defense. “Madison, you’re beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently.” She gave Jade a dirty look and put herself protectively between the little girl and Jade’s vicious mouth.

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Anna looked like she was ready to strangle Jade, but Erik quickly put his hand on her arm and gave it a little squeeze. “Thank you, Lexi,” Anna said quietly as she dug her spoon into the mousse and grinned. “You’re right, honey. This is delicious! You know what? I think I would like another one too, just like you and Lexi. Can you show me where they are?” Anna took her daughter’s hand and led her away, but not before she gave her husband a pointed look.

When Madison was safely out of earshot, Erik’s smile faded, and he focused on Vincent. “Vincent, I don’t know what the hell you are thinking,” he hissed in his ear loud enough that Lexi could hear. Jade had since flitted off to no doubt rub elbows with the next influential person she could use in some way.

Vincent tensed. “Erik, enough. She didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Are you nuts? She’s rude and obnoxious, as usual. Unless she does some amazing tricks in bed, I have no idea what you see in her.” Erik didn’t flinch when Vincent turned and the two stood nose to nose, the air thick with tension.

“Stay out of it, Erik. I’m tired of this conversation. If she says something you don’t like, ignore her.”

“My mother raised me to be a gentleman, but if she says one more rude thing to my daughter, your niece I might remind you, I’m going to forget everything I was taught and let her have it.”

Before Vincent could respond, Jade returned in a rush and kissed him, leaving a crimson stain on his cheek from her lipstick. “Sorry, I saw a casting director, and I think he’s going to cal me with a part in his pilot. Isn’t that great?”

“Fantastic.” Vincent sounded less than enthusiastic, and stayed fixated on Erik as he wiped the smear of lipstick from his face. “Jade, we need to talk.”

Vincent took her by the elbow and led her off to a private corner where the two got into a rather heated exchange. Even though Vincent kept his voice low and his expression guarded, Jade was all drama with flailing arms and screeches loud enough for Lexi to hear its whiny timber. After a few minutes, she stormed away and Vincent sulked back to Erik’s side looking miserable. Anna and Madison returned, and he bent down and hugged his niece fiercely.

“I love you, Maddie,” he crooned to the small girl.

“I love you too, Uncle Vince.” She kissed his nose and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“And you are the most beautiful girl at the party.” He spun her around in his arms, smiling as she giggled.

“That’s what Lexi said too.”

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Vincent stole a sheepish glance at Lexi. “Lexi is a very smart lady.” He kept looking at her, pleading with his eyes for her to accept his pathetic attempt at an apology for standing by and letting Jade pick her apart. She knew apologies didn’t come easy to him, so when he mouthed the words “I’m sorry,” she nearly melted.

She watched him caress his niece’s hair and could tell he actually felt pained at the thought of her tiny feelings being hurt. Erik watched the interaction between the two of them closely, ready to step in if Jade came within ten feet of his daughter again. Still wondering what the hell Vincent was doing with a viper like Jade, Lexi decided to show him the compassion he hadn’t had the courtesy to show her.

“Can I get that in writing? The part about me being very smart?” Lexi gently teased, smiling when she saw Vincent let out the breath he had been holding.

“Absolutely.”

“Uncle Vincent, can we please dance?” Madison asked sweetly. “I have to go home soon. The pumpkin is coming, and I haven’t had a turn to dance with a prince yet.”

It was easy to see that Vincent could deny her nothing. “I would love to.

Let’s show these people how it’s done.” He perched her on the top of his feet, and together they swayed and twirled, their dance looking perfectly choreographed.

“She is gorgeous,” Lexi said to Erik. Anna had gone off to say her goodbyes to her mother.

“She is one of a kind. She makes every day an adventure for us. That’s for sure,” he chuckled. He reached out and slipped his hand around Lexi’s arm.

“May I have this dance?”

“What a great idea. Honey, take her out for a dance, then gather up Madison and we can go.” Anna had returned and was ready to leave. She put her hands on Lexi’s shoulders and nudged her toward Erik. “Go have some fun, Lexi.”

Hesitantly, Lexi took Erik’s hand and followed him onto the parquet flooring in the center of the room. Couples swayed and spun around them as they navigated themselves to an open space in the middle. Erik took one of Lexi’s hands and placed it on his shoulder and took the other in his hand, then pulled her close to him as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Immediately, Lexi felt something hard beneath her foot. “Sorry.” Her cheeks flooded with a deep blush.

“Something tells me that you’re used to being in charge. Why don’t you let me lead, and I’ll take care of you for a change?”

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His warm smile and unexpectedly kind words melted a piece of Lexi’s heart that she tried her best to keep hidden behind a sturdy wall. She was always the one to be in charge. After Marie died, she’d had to step up and mature faster than any of her friends. When Harry got sick, she took care of him by herself for the most part, and then after he died, she took care of herself, relying on no one as she tried to find her way in the world. She was the caregiver, the reliable one, self-sufficient. She was … alone, and if she thought about it too long, the sadness overwhelmed her. She swallowed back tears and buried her feelings of loneliness deep inside, focusing on what she had rather than all that she had lost in her short life.

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Erik saw her tear-filled eyes, and his brow puckered. “Anna will skin me alive if I upset you.”

Lexi shook her head. “No, it’s me. Just feeling sorry for myself, that’s all.

You have a beautiful family.” She watched Vincent and Madison scoot past them and smiled.

“I am very blessed.” Trying to lift her spirits, Erik changed the subject. “So, are you ready to kill my brother-in-law yet? Has he made you cry? Because if he ever does, from what I hear all you have to do is tell Sean, and Vincent will have a black eye. Elizabeth has warned him to be on his best behavior as well.

She’s watching him like a hawk. I suspect she has Leigh spying on him for her, and if he steps out of line, she’ll rain down on him like the fires of hell.”

Lexi laughed. “Vincent’s not a bad guy. I don’t know what the big deal is about him. He’s not that scary.” Erik’s eyebrow rose in disbelief. “Really, all you have to do is stay one step ahead of him and you’re fine. I simply make sure his world is arranged just how he likes it, and I have no problem handling him.”

“But the yelling. Most of his other assistants left in tears.”

“The only time he ever yelled at me was when I cleaned his office.”

Erik laughed. “Oh, I heard about that one.”

Lexi blushed. “I think most of San Francisco heard about it the way he carried on. He actually stomped his foot at me. Who does that? But he had a right to be upset. I messed with his space, and it wasn’t my place. So I listened and learned, and now we work together in relative peace and harmony.”

“It takes a strong woman to deal with my pigheaded brother-in-law.”

“Or maybe someone just as pigheaded as he is.” Lexi closed her eyes, and let Erik twirl her across the dance floor. He was an exquisite dancer. As the song wound down, he spun them over to Vincent and Madison so he could claim his daughter.

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“Come on, darlin’, it’s time to go.”

“Just one more dance, daddy?” Madison pouted and crossed her arms. “I haven’t got to dance with you yet.”

“Fine, one more dance. But first,” he took Lexi’s hand and placed it in Vincent’s, “Uncle Vincent will have to take care of my dance partner for me. It wouldn’t be gentlemanly to leave her alone on the dance floor. How does that sound?” Erik winked at Lexi.

“Perfect!” Madison clapped and climbed onto her father’s feet. She looked hopefully between the pair. “Well, come on, dance.”

Vincent naturally drew Lexi closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. Lexi put her hand on his shoulder to keep space between their bodies. As soon as they started to sway, Lexi trampled his foot.