Trust in Advertising (18 page)

Hope nodded her head vehemently. “You look like one of the San Francisco elite. Really, Lexi, you need to breathe and just try to have a little fun. It
is
a party, for God’s sake.”

“Breathing is a good thing to remember.” Lexi fanned her face with her hand, suddenly feeling extremely warm. “I think I need more deodorant.”

“Why are you so nervous?” Hope watched her friend pace back and forth in front of the window.

“You know me. How often does my mouth get me into trouble? I always speak my mind, even when I shouldn’t. I’m used to taking care of myself, doing things on my own. I don’t ask permission or think things through, and I’m fairly certain that I’ll manage to do something stupid tonight. Vincent said this was the most important night of the year for Hunter. I don’t want to embarrass him or the company in any way. I have to meet all these people, most of whom will probably mistake me for one of the servers.”

“Not in that dress they won’t,” Hope said confidently.

“I’m not sure what scares me more—the potential for disaster, having to make small talk with these big-name potential clients, or …”

“Or?” Hope prodded.

“Or seeing Vincent all dressed up and fabulous.” Lexi threw her hands up in frustration. “What is wrong with me? The guy is my boss.”

A sly smile spread across Hope’s face. “Well, of all the things you just listed, which one makes your heart beat the fastest?”

Blushing, Lexi gave Hope a pointed glare. “Don’t make me say it out loud.”

“Seeing Vincent?” When she didn’t answer, Hope chuckled. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Stop it. No I don’t. Vincent’s my boss and nothing more. He has a supermodel girlfriend and a wonderful family. He doesn’t need anything from me other than his messages and coffee at seven a.m. sharp every morning. All of these feelings are simply the resurrection of a long dead high school crush. Except 103

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now it’s not cute; it’s just plain pathetic. So, it doesn’t matter how unbelievably attractive I find him, or the way my insides melt when he walks into a room even after all these years. It doesn’t change anything. He’s my boss, nothing more.”

Lexi took a deep breath and shrugged it off as if a nonchalant movement of her shoulders would turn the lies she just spewed into the truth.

Hope saw through her charade. “Still slipping him burgers for lunch when his weed-eating girlfriend isn’t looking?” She raised a single eyebrow in question.

“Shut it.” Lexi grabbed her purse and wrapped a shawl over her shoulders when Leigh’s car stopped in front of the building and the horn honked.

“Please, God in heaven, don’t let me make a fool of myself,” Lexi prayed as she tucked her keys into her purse, took one last look in the mirror, and headed for the door.

“Be sure to snap a picture of that rat bastard if he looks hot,” Hope yelled from the kitchen.

Lexi leaned back inside the door and chuckled. “I’ll tell Sean you said he was hot!”

“I said he was a rat bastard with the potential to be hot!” Hope screamed as the door shut.

Lexi laughed all the way to the elevator. When she had called Hope to work on the Ferrari, Lexi knew her friend was the only one who could pull it off, and as expected, even the guys from the dealership couldn’t tell where Sean had damaged the car. Hope was that good. The photo shoot went off without a hitch, and in the end, Sean got a really great price on a yellow Ferrari.

From the moment Sean had sauntered into the Crowbar and laid eyes on Hope, Lexi could tell that he was shamelessly smitten with her friend. Marco had informed Lexi when she called the shop later that day that Hope had been so beyond pissed off by Sean’s chauvinistic assumptions that she hadn’t even spoken to him for the entire hour hour he sat at the garage. Not a single word passed her lips in his direction. And when she was done with the bodywork, Marco said she’d grabbed Sean by the ear, led him into the garage and pointed at the car, then shoved a bill for over two grand in his face and held out her hand, waiting for payment. When the check hit her hand, she’d reached down into her bra and pulled the keys from their hiding place deep between her breasts and tossed them at Sean’s head. Then she’d locked herself in her office for the next half hour.

The next day at work, Sean had peppered Lexi with questions about her friend. He’d wanted to know if she was seeing anyone, what her favorite flower 104

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was, her favorite restaurant, what kind of guys she dated, had she said anything about him? He’d tried to call again and thank her personally, but for some reason, every time he called, Marco told him Hope was busy with a customer.

After two days of phone calls, he gave up his attempts to woo her and sulked.

Lexi grinned as she stepped outside and saw Leigh waving from inside the car. For the first time in a long while, life was exciting, and instead of stressing, Lexi took a deep breath and prepared to live a little.

Leigh put her at ease and had her laughing before they even made it to the highway. Through the laughter, Leigh helped her see that her job at the event was to be an observer and a reference for Vincent. He needed her assistance, but she didn’t need to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Feeling more at relaxed, Lexi planned on quietly fading into the background until she was needed.

The ballroom was gorgeous. Elegant maroon and gold fabrics were draped everywhere, and the huge glass windows gave a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. The grand staircase allowed the guests to make their entrance in style and be seen by everyone in the room. Spectacular floral arrangements adorned the center of each table; the scent from the roses filled the room, welcoming the guests as they arrived.

Lexi took a deep breath, and with Leigh at her side, she began the long journey down the staircase. Once safely at the bottom, she stopped and watched the flurry of activity before her. Well-dressed servers glided across the room in elaborate crisscrossing patterns, carrying large silver platters covered with suc-culent finger foods. How they maneuvered around the guests and each other without colliding was nothing short of miraculous.

Leigh tugged on Lexi’s arm and pointed across the ballroom. One of the tall bar tables was already filled with a small group of people laughing and drinking. From the bar, Leigh grabbed a glass of wine for both of them, and then they joined the group.

“Leigh!” A girl with short black hair popped out of her seat and hugged Leigh then stuck out her hand to Lexi and smiled. ”Hello, I’m Erica. I work at Reid. Have we met before? You look familiar and I never forget a face.” She stared at Lexi quizzically.

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“I actually interviewed with Reid about a month ago. I’m Lexi White.” Lexi shyly waved to the others at the table as she slid into her seat and took a sip of her wine, hoping it would help calm her nerves.

“That’s right! Now I remember
you
. I’m Mr. Reid’s secretary. Sorry about all the annoying phone calls. The guy took quite the liking to you, and he has a problem taking no for an answer.”

Lexi blushed, not quite sure what to say. “It was a very tough decision between Reid and Hunter, but I had to follow my gut.” She tried her best to be diplomatic and avoided mentioning how the thought of working with David Reid made her skin crawl.

Erica rolled her eyes and turned to Leigh. “You didn’t tell her she could speak freely about my freaky boss yet, did you?”

Leigh laughed. “No, sorry. I forgot. Lexi, Erica’s cool. Her Christmas card last year was a picture of Reid practicing his smile as he recited his daily affirmations to himself in the mirror. I still want to know how you got that picture of him.”

“God bless cameras on cell phones.” Erica grinned and winked at Lexi.

“Come on, we’re all friends here—tell me the truth; what grossed you out the most, meeting David in the flesh, or the freakishly large homage to his narcissism that greets you when you get off the elevator?”

“Actually, I think it was the way he talked to my boobs rather than my face.” Everyone at the table burst out laughing.

“Word to the wise,” Erica warned with a laugh, “avoid David like the plague tonight. I’m sure he’ll remember you, and the man has an irrational love of the tango. If the music starts, he grabs someone and then writhes around them on the dance floor. It’s quite awful, trust me. I speak from experience.” She shuddered at the memory.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Lexi laughed as she scanned the growing crowd for any faces she might recognize.

The conversation flowed easily between the small group of women. Erica worked at Reid, another woman, Kim, the most laid back person Lexi had ever met, worked for Erik, Anna’s husband. Kim kept them al entertained with stories of Madison on set with her dad. The last person to join them at the table was Claire, who had recently been hired by Parketti. Her heavily painted-on makeup made her look like the perfect porcelain doll. Lexi wondered what ugliness Claire might be hiding underneath all that fake perfection. When Claire sat 106

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down at the table, she remained very quiet, but listened intently to every word.

Leigh gave Lexi a small kick under the table, but Lexi had already figured out that Claire was doing recon for her bosses and was not there to socialize. The conversation immediately veered away from work and onto their personal lives.

“So, Lexi, are you seeing anyone?” Erica asked. The other women leaned forward, anxiously awaiting her answer.

“No, not right now.”

“Too bad that gorgeous boss of yours is such an arrogant ass.” Claire finally opened her mouth and offered her spiteful two cents to the conversation.

“Excuse me?” Lexi immediately became defensive.

Claire chewed on the olive from her dirty martini, the corner of her painted lips curving up. “Oh, sorry, I had no idea that you and Mr. Drake were …” she trailed off suggestively.

Lexi took a deep breath and tried to think before she let the words fly from her mouth in anger. “Vincent and I aren’t … whatever you were implying. He’s my boss, and I enjoy working for him. Personally, I don’t know why everyone feels the need to attack him. I don’t think he’s an ass at all. If anything, he treats people the way they treat him. So, if someone you work for told you he’s an ass, then maybe you’re work—”

Leigh jumped up and interrupted Lexi before she started a war. “Let’s go tackle one of those cute servers and grab something to eat. I’m starving!” Without even waiting for an answer, she helped Lexi out of her chair and escorted her away from the table.

“Sorry.” Lexi shoved a giant prawn from a passing platter into her mouth.

“Are you kidding? Don’t be sorry. That was fantastic! Up until the part where you were about to tell her she was working for a bunch of assholes.” Leigh giggled. “That probably would’ve got us all in trouble.”

“Lexi would never get herself into trouble. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” a deep voice rumbled from behind the women.

Lexi jumped a mile and let out a squeak of surprise. “Sean! Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”

Sean looked amazing in his black tuxedo and vest. Rather than a traditional bowtie, he had opted for a long black one, which suited his personality much better. He graceful y moved around, flashing his mil ion dol ar smile at the people who passed by. He turned his attention back to Lexi and flashed his dimples mischievously at her. “So, what trouble did you get yourself into already?”

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“I resent that.”

Leigh nodded her head toward the table where Claire was sitting. Claire appeared to be contemplating several different ways to kill Lexi. “She almost told this witch from Parketti that she was working for a bunch of assholes.” Leigh shrugged innocently in response to Lexi’s scowl and took a bite of food. “He asked.”

“I’m completely innocent,” Lexi said indignantly.

“Of course you are,” Sean chuckled.

Wanting the attention off her, Lexi tried a diversionary tactic. “Where’s your date, Romeo?” Lexi looked around for a woman gorgeous enough to be on his arm, but came up empty. “Is she in the bathroom?”

Sean blushed a little before he answered. “I’m going stag tonight. I’ve recently come back on the market, but the lady I wanted to ask … Well, let’s just say she wouldn’t return any of my calls.” His sheepish grin gave it away.

So, he really doesn’t have a girlfriend anymore? He was going to ask Hope to
be his date. She’s going to die!
Lexi thought to herself as she watched Sean smile and wave at people, occasionally reaching out to shake a hand or two. She stood back and observed how he smoothly kissed the wives’ hands while impressing the men with his knowledgeable banter. His confidence and charisma were incredibly attractive. Throw in the dimples along with the bad-boy allure of his shaved head and she wasn’t quite sure anyone could resist him, not even the obstinate Hope Greyson.

“So, Sean.” Lexi casually reached out and stole a stuffed mushroom from him. “Hope asked about you.”