Trust in Advertising (50 page)

Victoria Michaels

crossed off the idea and laughed. “We all want to think we’re gorgeous and the makeup only accentuates it.”

Vincent nodded his head in agreement and hoped she’d continue. Instead, she stood up and arched her back, her breasts thrusting out, shirt hiking up and her body making an erotic curve as her arms stretched high over her head.

“Absolutely beautiful.” The words fell from his mouth before he could stop himself. Lexi froze, her arms still in the air as she quirked an eyebrow at him and smiled.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, just repeating what you said. Women want to feel absolutely beautiful.”

Smooth
, he thought to himself.
Why not ask her to take the shirt off for research
while you’re at it?

Lexi laughed and hopped up onto the desk, facing him. “I know. We’re infuriating creatures, women. Half the time I don’t understand them myself.” Her hand came to rest on Vincent’s shoulder. “Want to do a little brainstorming? I can grab my handy dandy yellow legal pad and we can mess up your office a little.”

“Sure.” Vincent wasn’t sure what it would accomplish, he was too drained and unfocused, but at this point he didn’t care, he simply wanted to be around her. He would have agreed to learn needle point if it kept that smile on her face.

“Be right back.” She hopped off the desk and ran out the door. He sank back in his chair with a groan, his hands scrubbing over his face. Vincent felt like scum every time he ogled her. It wasn’t fair. The mixed signals he was sending weren’t fair to her, and allowing his feelings to grow when there was nothing he could do about it at the moment wasn’t fair to him. Even Jade didn’t deserve this. He was still beating himself up when Lexi walked through the door. She took her usual perch on the couch and sat, pen poised to take notes.

“Dazzle me, boss.” She always started these brainstorming sessions the same way, with just a hint of a challenge in her voice to spur Vincent’s creativity. Little did she know she was stirring so much more in him these days.

For two hours they tried to nail down a more specific direction for the Marradesi account, and every time they thought they had it, the market research didn’t support the idea. Vincent grew more frustrated with his creative block.

Lexi sat on the couch with her legs folded under her, gnawing on her pencil. Vincent enjoyed watching her work and learning little things about her every day. Her forehead always wrinkled when she was deep in concentration.

Occasionally she twisted her hair around a pencil and used it as a makeshift clip 302

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as she scanned pages of information late into the afternoon because she hated it when her hair fell into her face as she was reading. There were times when he simply stood in his doorway and watched her work. She fascinated him, and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted a woman before. She made him happy in ways even he didn’t understand.

All he could do was hope that when the smoke cleared and the mole had been identified, Lexi would still be there. But deep down, he knew that might not happen, and that was beginning to scare the hell out of him. Would she wait for him?

A groan escaped his lips as he raked a hand through his hair. Immediately, he was back on his feet and walking off his sexual tension, trying to think of anything but her. “Repeat that last one, about the modern woman thing.” He was distracted by his thoughts, and Lexi must have picked up on it.

She abruptly jumped up and said, “Let’s go.”

“What?” Vincent stopped mid-step.

“Come on. We are going on a field trip. We need a change of scenery. Move it.”

“I just need to work through this a while longer. You can go if you need to.”

“You’re coming with me,” Lexi insisted. Vincent opened his mouth to protest, but Lexi put her foot down. “It’s not open for discussion.” Her hands were planted on her hips, striking a very Anna-like pose. When he reached for his suit jacket Lexi shook her head. “Leave it.”

Vincent playfully offered her his elbow and she slipped her arm around his, her fingers wrapping around his bicep. “Where to, madame?” he asked.

“It’s a surprise.” There was a definite twinkle in her eye as she ushered Vincent out of the office and toward the elevators.

“Where are you two running off to?” Leigh asked as she peeked up from her desk, trying not to smile.

“I’m being kidnapped. If I don’t return, avenge me, please.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Leigh winked at Lexi. “Have fun. If Jade calls?”

Vincent stepped into the elevator and grinned. “Tell her I’m—”

“Playing hooky with Lexi?” Leigh asked hopefully as Lexi groaned.

Vincent gave her an unamused look. “No, how about I’m in a research meeting and can’t be interrupted under any circumstances.”

Leigh clapped her hands together and saluted Vincent. “Will do, boss!

Have fun.”

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Vincent and Lexi were soon on a trolley, the wind blowing through their hair. They were heading for Fisherman’s Wharf. When they reached their stop, Vincent climbed off first then held his hand out to Lexi so he could help her down. She relished the contact as she stepped into his arms and felt his hand settle on the small of her back as he began to lead her out of the crowd.

“Where to? I am but your simple hostage.”

Lexi rolled her eyes and took his hand. “Come on. You’re such a baby. Most people would be thrilled to skip out of work early on such a beautiful day.” She tugged him down the street, then stopped to point at a large sign in the air.

“Ghirardelli?” Vincent asked.

“Exactly. You should know by now, chocolate makes everything better.”

On their stroll through Ghirardelli Square, Vincent would occasionally pull her hand and lead her over to a nearby store window. His touch was warm, strong and familiar, like they had been communicating this way for years. He could have led her off the edge of the pier and Lexi would have followed. His laughter was like music to her ears, and when she felt him relax, she knew she made the right decision in getting him out of the office.

At the counter in Ghirardelli’s, Lexi sampled a few flavors before finally choosing. She even ordered for Vincent.

“Hey, I just wanted a single scoop of sorbet,” he protested.

“Sorbet,” Lexi scoffed. “Health nut. Don’t listen to him. He needs the espresso chip. He just doesn’t know it yet.” The woman behind the counter nodded in understanding and filled his waffle cone with massive scoops of ice cream.

“You know,” Vincent purred in her ear, “I kinda like you bossing me around.”

Fortunately, Lexi didn’t have her cone in her hand yet or it would have fallen to the ground with an embarrassing splat. She dug her nails into the counter as she struggled to hold herself upright when her knees began to buckle. There was no hiding the shiver that went down her spine when his warm breath grazed her neck. The low rumble of his chest beside her told her he noticed as well. “Cold?”

he asked with an air of male satisfaction before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side.

With a trembling hand, Lexi reached for her cone. “M-hmm,” Lexi mumbled with a mouthful of Rocky Road, lost in his sexy eyes.

“I’ll keep you warm,” he offered, pulling her even closer. His tongue slipped out from between his lips, and he gently lapped at his ice cream. The way his tongue and lips moved should have been illegal.

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Lexi’s mind went deep into one of her most vivid fantasies, and her heart began to pound against her ribs. She was certain the flames erupting throughout her body were going to vaporize the ice cream in her hand. He started to lead her to a booth, where she knew they would sit side to side, very intimately. If his thigh rubbed against hers or if she had to watch him lick that cone another second, Lexi knew she would explode.

“Let’s eat outside,” she exclaimed loud enough that people turned to stare.

Vincent shrugged. “Fine with me. Where to?”

“I know a spot.”

Once outside, Lexi could breathe again. There was more space, more air that was not full of his scent or his heat. Just plain old fishy-smell-off-the-bay air. She drew a deep breath into her lungs and willed her heart to stop slamming into her ribcage.

In the distance, a small path meandered down toward the water. Whenever she needed to get away from everything and just think, this was where Lexi went. The last time she had been there, it was Vincent who had plagued her thoughts and sent her fleeing to her refuge, her private sanctuary. And now, she was about to share it with him. The bench under her favorite tree was empty, so she happily took a seat in its shade and gazed out onto the water.

“The view here is beautiful,” Vincent commented as he continued eating his ice cream.

“This is my favorite place in the city.” Lexi broke off a small piece of her cone and tossed it to a nearby squirrel. “I come here all the time to think.”

“It’s very relaxing,” Vincent agreed.

“It’s the water,” Lexi murmured. “It reminds me of home. Harry took me fishing more times than I can count. He loved the water. I like to come here and just feel close to him. I know it sounds crazy.”

Vincent’s hand found hers and gave it a squeeze. “It’s not crazy at all. You miss him.”

“It helps me keep things in perspective, and sometimes it helps me forget.

Whenever I think things are too much, I come here. No matter what is going on or how bad it seems, when I sit on this bench, I’m reminded that the water continues to flow, the waves keep crashing on the shore, and life goes on around me.”

They sat for a while, enjoying a comfortable silence while finishing their ice cream and watching the people walk by. Vincent snaked his arm around the back of the bench and Lexi leaned against him, taking this moment to savor the 305

Victoria Michaels

experience of sharing this place with him. For those few moments, there was no Jade, there was no Hunter Advertising. There was only Vincent and Lexi.

“Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” Vincent asked as he stroked her hair gently.

Lexi swatted him playfully on the chest. “I’m not telling you my bra size.”

“It’s thirty-four C.”

Lexi’s mouth fell open in shock as her face turned red. “How the hell did you know that?”

“It’s a gift.” Vincent grinned from ear to ear. “Now can I ask my question?”

“It can’t be worse than that. Shoot.”

“How do you remember so much about me from high school?”

“I was wrong. I think I’d like to use my pass. Next question please?”

Vincent’s eyes were pleading. “Come on. Please? Fill me in. I can’t remember anything. Did we have a bunch of classes together or something?”

“Or something,” Lexi said quickly, praying he’d let it go. But of course he didn’t.

“Did Anna tell you, back then, I mean? I know you guys did yearbook together. Did she tell you all about her obnoxious brother?”

“No.”

“So then how di—”

“I had a crush on you in high school, you idiot.” The words flew out, and there was no way to suck them back into her mouth.

“Really?” Vincent’s eyebrows rose high in surprise. When Lexi nodded, completely mortified at her admission, it seemed he couldn’t stop the stunning smile that spread across his face. “Really?”

Lexi again nodded her head in humiliation.

“Like how big of a crush? I mean, did you know my locker number and my schedule?”

“Locker number seventy-three. We had four classes together, but one of them was study hall. You’d go to the vending machines and get peanut butter crackers every day and a package of donuts. You always ate lunch outside, never in the cafeteria.”

“Did you doodle my name on your books too?”

“I’m going to kill you now.”

“You weren’t my secret admirer senior year who wrote poetry and slipped it into my locker were you?”

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Lexi punched his arm. “Get real.”

“Oh, thank God, because she was kinda scary. At least I think it was a she.”

“I was more of a watch-you-from-afar kind of girl.”

“I can’t believe you had a crush on me.”

Lexi could feel his amusement over the situation. He kept smiling and chuckling to himself, no matter how hard he tried to play it cool. Lexi was dying to know if he found her crush ridiculous or endearing, but her nerves were getting the better of her. In a panic, she jumped to her feet.

“God, I can’t believe I admitted that. I’m going to go drown myself in the bay now.” She hurried toward the water.

Laughing, Vincent quickly chased after her, grabbing her around the waist and swinging her into the air. Her laughter filled his ears until he placed her safely on the ground and held her tightly against his chest.

“You’re always running away from me.”

Her coy but honest reply caught both of them off guard. “Maybe I just like having you chase after me.” Lexi loved the feel of his arms around her. Nothing would ever compare to the perfection of Vincent Drake, no matter how long she lived. He was it, her everything. If only he felt the same way.