Trust in Advertising (21 page)

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and joined Lexi in her laughter. When Vincent appeared out of nowhere, the two women could barely breathe. He watched the pair wipe their eyes on tiny cocktail napkins.

“Mother, they’re ready for your speech. Dad has been looking everywhere for you.”

Elizabeth stood up and wrapped her arms around Lexi. “I’m glad you’re with us, dear. And I hope you can forgive my tiny deception. We’ll talk more about it later, okay? And if my son does anything to upset you, let me know.” On her way to find her husband, she patted Vincent’s cheek, and then she disappeared into the crowd.

“Do I even want to know what that was about?” Vincent asked Lexi.

Lexi tried to hide her grin, but the attempt was futile. “Probably not.” She watched his brow pucker in confusion and laughed. “Where’s Jade?”

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Vincent shook his head. “She’s in the restroom, something about her dress being tight. I have no idea.”

Their conversation was interrupted when the music paused and the lights dimmed in preparation for the program to begin. Everyone in the room quieted down, many taking their seats at the dinner tables. A portly man with white hair took the stage to say a few words of welcome to the many guests that filled the ballroom. Vincent remained beside Lexi, his attention focused on the gentleman speaking.

Next, a representative from the children’s hospital launched into a speech about the generosity of Hunter Advertising over the years. Through Hunter’s charitable giving, many programs and buildings at the hospital had been improved, allowing for a higher quality of healthcare for children at the San Francisco hospital.

Vincent casually reached for something off a passing server’s platter and stepped closer to Lexi. His earthy cologne filled the air, making Lexi’s head swim. She tried not to react as his shoulder brushed against hers, but her heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings when she felt his head dip towards hers, his deep voice whispering in her ear.

“So, who’s here?” He kept his head tilted toward hers so he could hear her response without disturbing the people around them with their discussion.

“Most of the people on our list,” Lexi said in a low voice, sipping her wine to hide their conversation. She listed who she had seen in attendance as they compared notes.

“Paolo Marradesi?”

Lexi nodded and made the mistake of looking up at him. The proximity of his face, the curve of his luscious lips, and the heat of his body sent her senses into overdrive. She found herself staring at his lips longer than she should have, wondering if they were as soft as they looked and imagining, for just a second, what they would feel like skimming down her neck or along her collarbone.

She cleared her throat and answered his question. “Yep. He’s here. I tried to spy on him, but he got away.” Lexi took a long swig of her wine and looked anywhere but at Vincent’s face. Even so, out of the corner of her eye she saw him looking at her and doing something completely out of character—smiling.

“Explain that one, please.”

“Oh, don’t panic, I wasn’t hiding under the table, wearing a fake mustache or lurking behind a large fern. I just tried to get close and eavesdrop on his 121

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conversation to see if I could pick up anything we could—I mean anything that
you
could use when you spoke with him later.”

Vincent came even closer, his lips right next to her ear. “And how did that go?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice.

“He was on to me and ran away with his wife.”

“Stalk anyone else before I arrived?”

“Stalk is such a harsh word. I prefer corporate reconnaissance or intentional overhearing.”

Vincent’s shoulders shook as he silently laughed. Lexi gave him a quick elbow to the side, and then joined him in hushed laughter.

“Wow, I made Vincent Drake laugh. Do I get a plaque or something?” Lexi was happy to see Vincent let his guard down with her even for just a few moments.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous sometimes, do you know that?” He quickly composed himself and put back on the usual Vincent façade before anyone noticed.

“Be nice or I won’t tell you about my conversation with Julian Stone.”

Vincent snapped to attention at the mention of Stone’s name, moving even closer to her, not wanting to miss a word she was about to say. All hint of playfulness was gone. He was again focused on business as his large body crowded hers, waiting for an explanation.

“You spoke to Julian Stone?”

“Technically,
he
came over and spoke to
me.
”

Vincent’s mouth fell open and he was about to ask for every detail, but then a loud round of applause echoed through the room when Elizabeth took the stage, halting their conversation.

Lexi glanced up at Vincent and saw him smiling proudly at his mother as she made her way to the podium. She listened as Elizabeth spoke lovingly of her father who had founded Hunter Advertising when she was a young girl. She shared a few anecdotes from her childhood and explained how philanthropy was ingrained in her at a very young age by her parents and that she was proud to be continuing the Hunter tradition of giving back. She thanked everyone for their astounding generosity, then invited them to take to the dance floor and enjoy the rest of their evening.

The music started again. Some guests sauntered out to the dance floor while others began milling around the room, getting a drink or grabbing a bite to eat.

A loud trio of men came over to Vincent with hands extended.

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Lexi immediately recognized them from the hit list as the Lewis brothers from the successful line of board games. The word on the street was that they were going to modernize some of their classic games and wanted to do a huge national and international ad campaign. Vincent smoothly greeted each man by name. He even cast a quick glance in Lexi’s direction to see if she noticed he’d done his homework. Lexi smiled and gave him a quick nod of praise.

With him buried deep in conversation, she tried to slip away, giving the men some privacy to discuss the business matters at hand. She wasn’t able to take two steps before she felt Vincent’s strong hand clamp down on her wrist and hold her in place.

“And who is this beautiful young lady that’s tryin’ to sneak away from us?”

James Lewis, the oldest of the three sons asked in a deep southern twang.

Vincent released her wrist and slid his warm hand to her lower back, gently ushering her toward the gentlemen who were so interested in meeting her. She was acutely aware of the physical contact, her body warming in response to his light touch. She tried to steady her breathing but nearly turned to jelly when he gave her back a reassuring pat.

“Good evening, Mr. Lewis. I’m Lexi White, Mr. Hunter’s assistant. How are you all doing this evening?”

“We’re great, little lady. Thank you for askin’. So what’s it like to work for old Vince here?”

“Vince,” Lexi smirked, knowing he probably wanted to strangle her for calling him that, “is wonderful to work for, but probably not as much fun as you gentlemen are. I hear you three are quite the pranksters.” Stories of them having one another’s cars towed from fancy restaurants under the guise of being repossessed or of them having thousands of pumpkins delivered to each other’s lawns on Halloween made the tabloids constantly. So many rumors swirled around these three that no one could tell the fact from the fiction anymore.

“Ha! You’re right darlin’, we do know how to have fun. Did you hear my latest?” Lexi smiled and shook her head as James Lewis laughed loudly. “I convinced Joey there that he was invited to have dinner with the president. I made fake invitations and everythin’, had my girl call his girl, made it sound all official. He strolled up to the White House like he owned the place and told them he was invited personally by the president himself. The Secret Service had him flat on his stomach in the bushes in less than twenty seconds flat. He cried like a baby as they threw him in the pokey.”

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“It was a holding cell, not the pokey, Jimmy, you fool. And I hit my head on the sidewalk. That’s why I was cryin’.” Joey scowled at his brother for a second before a grin snuck out. “I did nearly soil myself in them bushes, though, when the feds talked about prison. I’m too pretty to go to jail.”

Everyone laughed as the brothers continued to banter back and forth with one another. When the laughter finally died down, James agreed to an appointment with Vincent early the next week. Lexi pulled out her BlackBerry and confirmed the date, added it to Vincent’s schedule, and sent an E-mail to Mr. Lewis’s assistant to make sure everything was in place before the men left.

The men walked away still chuckling amongst themselves.

“You were amazing with them.”

“Just doing my job,” Lexi said nonchalantly, even though inside she was jumping up and down at his praise.

Vincent visibly relaxed at that point. A smile crept onto his face, and the tightness in his body vanished, replaced by a hint of the smooth, carefree demeanor that Lexi remembered all too well from years ago. He ran his hand through his hair, then slipped his arm around Lexi’s waist. He held her tightly against his side as he led her through the room. “Now, tell me about the miracle you pulled off with Stone.”

Lexi’s heart pounded so loudly in her chest that she almost missed the question. All she could think about were his fingers pressing firmly into her hip and the delicious warmth that rushed to all parts of her body from the contact.

“It … it wasn’t a miracle. Just a lucky coincidence. Turns out I know his assistant, Christina, and while we were talking, he came over and introduced himself, asked a few questions, and after a few minutes of me singing your praises, he asked me to introduce you to him.”

“What did he ask about me? And what did you say exactly?”

Lexi shook her head. “What are you, thirteen years old? You sound just like Sean. What is it with you two? I had no idea you were so girlie.” When Vincent raised his eyebrow, stubbornly waiting for an answer, Lexi rolled her eyes. “Relax,
Vince
. I told him you were very good at what you did. Oh, and I agreed with him when he said you were stiff, so if he offers you a drink, I think you should take it and loosen up around him if at all humanly possible.”

“You said I was stiff?” His voice sounded confused. “And stop calling me Vince. I despise that name.”

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Lexi was about to explain her comment when she saw David Reid waving at her from the dance floor. As subtle as an elephant, David then began shouting her name and heading in their direction. His annoying overzealous behavior caught Vincent’s attention. “Looks like someone wants to put his name on your dance card, Lexi.”

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A grinning David Reid snaked his way through the crowd, his eyes devouring Lexi with each step he took.

“Crap, Vincent. Please, I swear to God, I’ll never call you Vince or say you’re stiff again if you get me away from him. I’m going to make a break for it to the ladies’ room. Just tell him I ate a bad scallop or something. That should keep him away from me for the rest of the night.” Lexi turned to find the restroom, but it was too late. David was on them lightning fast.

“Lexi, small world! How wonderful to see you again. Please, you must do me the honor of sharing a dance with me. Perhaps I can get the band to play a nice tango for us?” His eyebrows waggled flirtatiously. When she felt Vincent poke her playful y in the back, urging her toward David, she nearly laughed in his face.

“Mr. Reid, I … I …”

“Please, call me David. Now about that dance.”

“David, I—”

Vincent stepped between Lexi and David. “Sorry, Reid. I made Alexandra sign a ‘no tango clause’ in her contract when I hired her. She’s only allowed to dance with a member of Hunter Advertising while in our employment or she risks losing her job.” Vincent’s deadpan expression stunned David into silence. “Of course, truth be told, I’d never fire her. She’s the best hire we’ve made in years.”

David’s jaw clenched as Vincent smiled smugly beside Lexi. “Well, then.

I’ll let you two go. I’ll just have to find another dance partner.” He gave a small Trust in Advertising

nod to Lexi. “It was wonderful to see you again, and when you wise up and quit working for Drake, give me a call.” David slipped a business card into Lexi’s hand, but not before he kissed her knuckles, leaving a moist reminder of their short encounter before disappearing into the crowd.

Lexi looked down at her hand, and her lip curled in repulsion. “Ew.”

“I wonder how many asses those lips have kissed tonight.” Vincent, always the gentleman, handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. Lexi grabbed it and gratefully wiped her knuckles clean. She pulled some hand sanitizer from her purse and used a generous amount to disinfect the area.

“‘No tango clause.’ Nice save, boss.” Lexi grinned at Vincent as they headed toward the bar.

“He believed me for a good thirty seconds too.” Vincent waved to the bartender, and two glasses of wine appeared. He handed one to Lexi and kept the other for himself. A few awkward seconds passed in which Vincent didn’t say anything. He simply sipped his wine and watched Lexi. His eyes slowly roamed over her face, taking in every detail before settling on her lips. “There was no way in hell I was letting that slime ball get his hands on you,” Vincent admitted as he raised his glass to his lips.

Lexi watched the way his green eyes twinkled and then darkened as he moved closer. Her heart raced. She tried to look away, but she was mesmerized by the way the corner of his mouth turned up into a dark, seductive smile. Just looking at him made her feel sinful. She took in every detail of his features, even the small scar on his chin, and longed to run her fingers over his plump lower lip, but she knew it would never happen. It was all just a fantasy, one that at the moment was way too real for her heart to stand.

“Vincent, I—” Her breathless plea was interrupted by the shriek of a banshee.