Trust in Advertising (27 page)

“Damn,” Leigh murmured as Vincent flipped through the file in his hand, completely oblivious to being shamelessly ogled by the two women.

“Lexi,” Vincent started as he reached for a pen off the top of her desk. “I need you to call Mr. Garcia about this contract.” When he looked away from his stack of papers, he found Lexi and Leigh with their mouths hanging open in stunned silence. “What’s wrong with the two of you?”

Leigh snapped out of her reverie first. “Sorry, I was just telling Lexi about the birthmark Sean has on his arm.”

Vincent shook his head. “Him and that stupid birthmark. I still don’t get how he can see a naked woman. It looks like snowman to me, and why on Earth would he tell everyone about it?”

Lexi took the papers he held out, her eyes fixed on his muscular biceps.

Reflexively, she licked her lips and took a deep breath when he pulled off the sunglasses to look her in the eye.

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“You do know the meeting isn’t for two hours right, Vincent?”

“I know,” he grinned, “but I’m going to get there early so I can get some practice time in before Julian shows up. I haven’t played basketball in years, not since high school.”

The smirk on his face made Lexi’s heart skip a beat. She quickly tried to cover her stunned expression. “You’re really going to try and beat him?”

“Of course. I want him to respect me, not think of me as a spineless coward.” He laughed as Lexi shook her head in disbelief. Leaning forward, he covered her hand with his and gave it a small squeeze. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing on this one.”

“Good luck, Mr. Drake. The Stone account would be such a catch for Hunter.” Leigh smiled while she watched their interaction with great interest.

Vincent pulled his eyes away from Lexi and laughed confidently. “Consider it done.” He stood up and glanced back at Lexi, who had let her hair fall in front of her face to cover her blush. “Please don’t forget to call Mr. Garcia, Lexi.”

Lexi nodded and wrote a quick reminder on a Post-it, then gasped. “I almost forgot!” She jumped out of her seat and squatted down behind her desk, rummaging through the large bag she had brought with her. She gingerly slid something out and handed it to Vincent.

“What is this?”

“What is this?” Lexi asked, shocked. “
This
is the Rolling Stones Japanese produced box set.”

“Um, thank you?”

“It’s not for you, goofball,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s for Julian.

He’s been dying to find a copy of it, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to go to the meeting bearing gifts.”

“Where’d you find it?” He gingerly turned it over in his hands, taking care not to damage it in any way.

“Another collector I know had one, but he wasn’t willing to part with it, until now. I had to do a little sweet-talking, but he finally agreed.”

“You’re brilliant.”

“Finally we agree on something!”

Without another word, he tucked the album under his arm and headed down the hallway.

“Good luck!” Leigh called after him.

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“Let him win!” Lexi added, grinning to Leigh. They both started laughing when they heard his distant reply.

“Never!”

Later that afternoon, Lexi was straightening up her desk, getting ready to leave for the day. She had spent most of the afternoon looking at the phone, hoping to hear something from Vincent about the meeting with Julian, but every time it rang it was someone else.

Her gaze drifted back to the gorgeous bouquet of flowers. She reached out her hand and ran her fingers gently over the soft pedals, then dipped her nose to smell their sweet fragrance. Each flower was in such perfect bloom that they almost looked fake. Lexi smiled and went back to work, desperately wanting to clear her desk before she left for the day. She headed into Vincent’s office with a small stack of files, and as she crouched down, tucking things into the drawer, Vincent’s office door swung open, and a beaming Vincent filled the doorway.

“Hey!” Lexi rose to her feet, anxious for information. “So, how did it go?”

The smile on Vincent’s face told the entire story, but Lexi wanted to hear him say it. He walked right up to her and unexpectedly hoisted her up into his arms, her feet swinging freely in the air.

“We did it!” he laughed into her ear, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist as he twirled her around. “Can you believe it? I’m presenting to him the day after Reid!”

Lexi threw her arms around his neck before she could stop herself and hugged him back. “That’s fantastic!” Her feet gently landed on the ground as he set her down, beaming.

Suddenly, she became aware of how close he was and the fact that his hair was in even more sexy disarray than usual from the basketball game, his hat nowhere to be found. Lexi’s cheeks turned red when she realized she still had her arms wrapped around his neck. She slowly slid her hands down his chest, feeling the ripple of muscles just underneath the flimsy cotton fabric of his T-shirt, and then balled her fists up at her sides, willing them not to grab him by the shirt and pull his lips to hers.

“You know what the best part is?” Vincent grinned as he stepped away from her and sat back in his chair, taking a long drink from his water bottle.

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“What?” Lexi tried to ignore the droplets of water that had spilled onto his neck.

“I won the game, twenty-one to eighteen. His outside shot was total crap.”

Lexi smiled as her heart hammered in her chest. “Sounds like a successful afternoon then.”

“And he loved the album. I gave it to him after we set up the meeting. That way it didn’t look like I was trying to bribe him or anything shady. He actually gave me a message to pass on to you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, this should be good.”

Vincent stood up and moved closer to her, then took her hand in his.

“Vincent, what the heck?” Lexi almost fell over from the sight of him, looking down at her with a sexy twinkle in his eyes.

He held up a hand to stop her. “Julian says you are his queen.” With a smile, he took Lexi’s hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

Lexi watched his lips meet her skin, their soft, heat brushing against her flesh, awakening every nerve ending in her body. When his eyes locked on hers, Lexi was lost, hopelessly enamored by Vincent Drake. Again. She saw his lips moving, but had no idea what he was saying because all she could think about was what his lips would feel like, not on her hand, but pressed tight against hers. What it would feel like if his hand slowly crept up her calf, glided up her thigh, then dipped under her skirt, his fingers brushing against her panties ever so lightly.

Color flooded her cheeks as she tried to calm her breathing and pull herself from the erotic thoughts flooding her mind. She regained control of herself long enough to catch the end of his baffling thank you speech in which she was referred to as something along the lines of “Album goddess whom all men should worship for eternity.”

“So basically, Julian says thanks?”

Vincent chuckled and released her hand from his warm grasp. “Yes, he says thank you. Actually, we both do. Thank you, Lexi, for everything you do.

I know I don’t say it enough, and I know I give you a hard time when I’m in a bad mood or stressed out, but I really appreciate all your hard work.”

Lexi opened and closed her mouth twice, trying to find the right words.

Finally, she turned on her heel and started walking out the door.

“Oh, and Lexi?”

She stopped. “Yeah?”

“The purple hyacinths mean I’m sorry.”

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She stood in the doorway, mouth once again agape in shock. “Th-they’re from you?” she stammered, clutching the door jamb for support.

Vincent winked. “My florist helped me make the bouquet this morning.”

He crossed his arms with a self-satisfied grin on his face. “Just wait until you see the bouquet of thank you flowers I send tomorrow.”

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∙ 13 ∙

It’s open, Hope!” Lexi called from the bathroom as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

“Mornin’.” A very sleepy Hope leaned against the door jamb. “Do you need a few more minutes or are we good?”

Lexi dropped her brush and scooted past her, slipping her shoes on quickly.

“No, I’m ready. Let’s get moving. I need to get to work a little early today.”

Hope rolled her eyes. “You say that every morning, Lexi. For the number of hours you spent there this last week, they definitely don’t pay you enough.”

“Oh, stop it. You know we have that big presentation tomorrow. Well, Vincent has a big presentation. I’m just—”

“Hopelessly in love with him?” Hope offered, earning a dirty look from Lexi.

“His assistant. And there will be a lot that has to get done today.
And
my salary is extremely generous.”

“Yeah, you do it all for the money, Lexi. Keep telling yourself that.” Hope tossed her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door while Lexi poured coffee into her travel mug. “By the way, your car should be done later today.

Sorry we had to keep it an extra day, but parts for that thing are a real bitch to find sometimes.”

“Not a problem. I appreciate the ride.” Lexi locked her door, and they headed down to the parking garage.

Victoria Michaels

With all of Hope’s fast driving and shortcuts down alleys, they made it to the Barrington Building faster than usual, which thrilled Lexi.

“So we’re still on for tonight? Dinner, dancing, and hot guys?” Hope asked as she put the car in park so Lexi could get out.

“Not sure about the guy part. I’ll leave that up to you, but yeah. I have a change of clothes in my bag. Why don’t you pick me up around six?”

“And you’ll be ready to go?” Hope eyed her skeptically.

Lexi laughed. “Probably not, but come upstairs and drag me out kicking and screaming if you have to. Twenty-third floor, down the first hall, all the way to the back. Make a right and you’ll see my desk.”

“Is Captain Asshole back?” Hope asked nonchalantly, staring out the windshield.

“Sean?” Lexi spun around to look suspiciously at Hope. “How did you know he was out of town?”

Hope’s cheeks turned pink, and she became very interested in a small scuff mark on her dashboard. “It just popped into my head. He might have mentioned something about it when he called the shop.” She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal.

“So you talked to him again?” Lexi watched Hope fuss with the dashboard.

“Three days ago.”

“Let me get this straight. He came to the shop the other day, and you blew him off—”

“I did not blow him off. I simply asked what he wanted done to the car, and he gave me some ridiculous answer about a blond, forties-style pinup girl.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “But really he had no idea. So I told him when he knew exactly what he wanted, he should come back,” Hope said indignantly.

“I’m a busy woman, Lexi. I don’t have time to play his games. What does he think? That he can just flash those sexy dimples and I’ll turn to goo? Please.”

“So you sent him packing when he came to the shop the other day. Then he called you back?” Hope nodded her head slowly. “And what happened? Were you nice to him on the phone?” Lexi asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

The rage that flashed across Hope’s face made her cringe.

“Was I nice? I was professional like I always am with paying customers.

However, if he refers to me as ‘babe’ one more time, I’m yanking out his tongue and strangling him with it.”

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“Don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think.”

“He’s an arrogant, sexist, pretty boy.” Hope crossed her arms with a huff and glared out her window.

“And you
like
him.” A huge smile exploded onto Lexi’s face with that realization. “He’s really nice, Hope! And I know he’s interested in you, big time.”

“He’s a pig and an imbecile, but I’ll still do a great job for him—on his car—because it’s what I do. I’ll treat him like any other customer.” The nonchalant lilt of her voice told Lexi everything she needed to know.