Trust in Advertising (3 page)

Lexi shrugged uncomfortably. “I just hope I don’t break my neck. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been in heels? I think it was probably on a date back in college, and before that, prom. Are you sure I can’t wear my flip flops?” She strode across the room to the couch, her heels softly clicking on the wood floor as she concentrated on each tiny step.

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“Oh, stop it. You’ll be fine.” Hope glanced at her watch. “I have to go, but are we still on for tonight?” They had plans to meet at Olive, a new Italian place downtown.

“Sure, I’ll meet you at a little after six; does that sound good?” Lexi stood up and straightened out her gray pencil skirt.

“Perfect! And the drinks are on me.” Hope grabbed her purse and keys and headed for the door. “Good luck, Lexi. If one of these firms doesn’t hire you, they’re idiots.” She gave a quick wave. “Love ya.”

“Thanks, Hope. Keep your fingers crossed.” Lexi watched her door close as Hope left for work.

Lexi went back into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and took one last look at herself in the mirror. The sides of her hair were pulled back into a clip behind her head, leaving the rest of her light brown waves flowing freely over her shoulders. With her hair out of her face, Lexi’s big green eyes sparkled. For good luck, she wore a beautiful pair of delicate, pearl earrings that had been Marie’s.

The black, cashmere V-neck sweater hugged her body, and while it wasn’t her first choice, Hope assured her it looked very professional when paired with her pencil skirt. The outfit was topped off with a brand spanking new pair of black, peep-toe heels that she and Hope had bought the day before.

“Here goes nothing,” she told her reflection just before she turned off the light and walked out the door.

As she walked down the hallway, a line from Michelle Fulton’s graduation speech flitted into her head.
Never forget to be true to yourself and go after your
dreams, for dreams really do come true.

Lexi stepped onto the sidewalk and whispered to herself, “Let’s see if she knew what she was talking about.”

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∙ 2 ∙

Lexi’s feet were throbbing by the time she dragged herself up the short flight of stairs toward the ornate, wrought iron doors of Olive. The delicious smells of garlic and basil from the quaint Italian restaurant filled the air, and a small crowd of people sat inside the entrance, patiently waiting to be seated.

With a quick smile at the hostess, Lexi made her way over to the bar where she found Hope sipping a glass of wine and chatting with an incredibly good-looking man, as usual.

Hope looked stunning in her black, V-neck, banded dress. The snug fit of the hem across her thighs accentuated her insanely long legs. The outfit was topped off with a pair of strappy silver heels and a chunky silver bracelet that sparkled even in the dim lighting of the bar. The guy perched on the stool next to her had long black hair, broad shoulders, and wore a dark suit. He leaned toward her and laughed. Slipping his arm around Hope’s shoulders, he began slowly running it along the exposed skin of her back.

As if she somehow sensed Lexi’s presence, Hope swung around in her seat the moment she stepped through the threshold. “Lexi!” Hope’s face lit up.

“Come here.” She jumped off her barstool and grabbed Lexi’s arm. “I want to hear how it went today.”

Lexi slid into her seat and quickly glanced over at the guy Hope had been talking to. His chiseled features were handsome, but in more of a boyish kind of way, not at all Hope’s type. He seemed slightly annoyed with Lexi’s sudden presence, probably upset he wouldn’t have Hope’s undivided attention any longer.

Trust in Advertising

Hope caught him looking at Lexi and made introductions. “How rude of me. Lexi this is Scott.”

“Stan,” the guy quickly corrected her.

“Sorry. Lexi, this is Stan. Stan, this is my best friend, Lexi.” Hope leaned out of the way so Lexi could shake his extended hand.

“Hi,” Lexi said shyly.

“Hello, Lexi. It’s very nice to meet you.” In an effort to appear suave, he brought her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, causing Lexi to blush.

Hope turned her back to Stan and rolled her eyes so only Lexi could see.

“So, tell me about your day.”

Lexi tried not to laugh at Hope’s reaction to Stan, then sighed. “My feet hurt, I have a headache, one of the partners tried to hit on me, I met the biggest bitch alive, and,” she said with an embarrassed grin, “I’m really hoping you saved those help wanted ads for exotic dancers, because I think that’s my best bet for getting a job now.”

“So, you’re a dancer?” Stan’s head popped over Hope’s shoulder, his interest now piqued. He definitely looked like the type of guy who would have a wad of singles and a favorite table at the local gentlemen’s club.

“Listen, thanks for the drink, but my friend and I have a date, so I’ll see you around,” Hope said curtly, flashing him a fake but brilliant smile.

Stan stood up and flipped a twenty onto the bar to cover the drinks. “Can I get your number?” he asked as he leaned in to kiss Hope on the cheek, not picking up on the major brush-off.

“No, you most definitely can’t. But have a nice evening.” Hope didn’t even wait to watch him slink away. Instead, she turned in her seat and gave Lexi her full attention. “Okay, it couldn’t have been that terrible. I want to hear everything.”

Lexi caught the eye of the bartender. “Chardonnay, please.” She gave him a weak smile then launched into the story of her interviews. “Where should I start?”

“I want to hear about the bitch first, then we’ll work our way to the creepy guy hitting on you.”

“The bitch it is. Well, I went to that place, Parketti Associates, to interview for the secretarial position we found. It was a beautiful office, extravagantly decorated down to the ornate, polished doorknobs, but the company was on the small side, I think twenty-five people, all women. Adria was the person who 15

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interviewed me, and she was the nastiest person I’d ever met, male or female. It felt more like an FBI interrogation than an interview. All that was missing was the bright light shining in my face.”

Hope scowled. “What in the world did she ask you about?”

“What didn’t she ask me? Why did I drop out of college; why didn’t I ever go back; why didn’t I at least take night classes at a community college?

Did I have any self-respect? She even had the nerve to ask if Harry left me a big inheritance when he died. Can you believe it?” Lexi shook her head and took another sip of her rapidly emptying glass.

“What kind of question is that? She needs a smack upside the head, I think.

That’s terrible.” Hope gave Lexi’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Are you all right?”

Forcing a smile, Lexi laughed. “I’m fine, thanks. She’s certainly a piece of work. She’s probably one of those insecure people that come at you like a bull in a china shop to keep you from picking up on it. That, or she’s a total bitch, one of the two. Oh, and did I mention she threw me behind the receptionist’s desk and made me man the phones for an hour with absolutely no explanation or orientation? Just ‘here, sit down, and get to work,’ and then she walked away.”

“Get out.”

“I think I hung up on three people, and somehow, when I was trying to get an outside line to return a call, I’m pretty sure I called Germany.” Lexi started giggling. “I didn’t know if I should hit zero, one, or nine to get an outside line, so I hit them all, and then dialed. All I know is I heard ‘Guten Tag,’ and then the guy on the line said a bunch of other stuff in German that I didn’t understand.”

Hope laughed out loud. “Let me get this straight—you accidentally called Germany on her dime? I hope you left the phone off the hook.”

“I should have, but I hung up as soon as I realized what I did,” Lexi snickered. “But really, that place was a nuthouse. Then Adria started screaming at one of her employees right in front of me. When I walked away to give them some privacy, she glared at me like I had committed some major sin by exercising some free thought and leaving her side. She wants a lackey, not someone with a brain. So, needless to say, I don’t think Parketti will be calling to offer me a job, and I’m fine with that. I’d sooner work at Hooters.”

Hope got her laughter under control and began tapping her nails on the smooth bar top. “Now, tell me about this guy that hit on you.” The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement.

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Trust in Advertising

“Stop laughing. It was creepy, not funny.” Lexi shuddered. “It was the first interview this morning—at Reid Inc., the one in the Transamerica Building?

The office was bigger than Parketti. They probably had closer to a hundred employees, and the office was decorated in that ultra-chic minimalist style.”

“Ugh, I hate that. Everything is pale and white. No thanks. So, tell me about the guy.”

“I’m getting to it. So, the whole office was stark, bare walls and everything, except right when you step off of the elevator there is this
huge
portrait of a guy standing beside a chair with one hand resting on the back of it, and the other firmly planted on his hip. He looked like Henry the Eighth or something in one of those regal poses.” Lexi snickered at the memory.

Hope’s brow wrinkled. “Define huge.”

Lexi chuckled. “Floor to ceiling portrait … larger than life.”

“Someone’s in love with themselves.” Hope rolled her eyes and drank the last sip of wine from her glass. “So, did the guy in the portrait hit on you?” she asked sarcastically as she gave the bartender the high sign for another drink and waved at Lexi’s nearly empty glass too.

Lexi’s cheeks turned red. “Yes,” she answered so softly Hope almost missed it.

“What?” Hope gasped and started coughing as she choked on her wine.

“While I was interviewing with the woman in human resources, there was a knock on the door and in walks the guy from the giant portrait. I almost started laughing when he stood behind the poor woman’s chair and assumed almost the identical pose from the painting.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I swear to God, Hope, he sauntered into the room and was trying to be subtle, but Mrs. Bartlett, the lady running the meeting, gave him a really dirty look. I get the feeling he may interrupt all her interviews to check out the new candidates for himself. He seemed like a real control freak.” Lexi softly thanked the bartender as he set a full glass of wine beside her. “Then, before Mrs. Bartlett could ask me anything of substance, he offered to give me a tour of the whole office. I thought she was going to deck him.”

“So, your interview consisted of a tour around the office?” Hope’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“Yeah, he gave me a quick tour, which ended in his office.” Lexi looked down and began nervously twisting her hands in her lap.

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Victoria Michaels

“Lexi, did anything happen? Because if it did, I’ll send Marco, Jimmy, and a tire iron over there.” Hope reached for her cell phone and was about to start dialing when Lexi finally looked up.

“No, nothing happened. He just made me feel uncomfortable, that’s all.

He kept complimenting my sweater and staring. Well, I guess staring at the V

in my sweater is more accurate.”

Hope growled, “Lexi …”

“It’s fine, really. He was creepy, but harmless. He did offer to take me out to dinner tonight and discuss the details of the job, but I let him know I already had plans with a mechanic friend of mine.”

“And being a dick-headed pea brain, he assumed your mechanic friend was guy, right?” The blush on Lexi’s face answered the question for her. “What a jerk,” Hope snarled.

Lexi peeked over the rim of her wine glass. “Want to hear about the last interview?”

The twinkle in her eye told Hope this interview went a little better than the previous two. “Hunter Advertising, right? I get the impression this is the one you really want?”

Lexi’s face came alive as she started talking. “This would be such a great company to work for. They were huge, around a hundred and fifty employees, three floors of offices right downtown. This is the one that mentioned how they liked to promote people from within.”

“Wasn’t this the place with the really low level entry position though, in human resources?” Hope asked as she motioned toward an available table in the corner and the two of them sat down. The waitress handed both women a menu and excused herself.

“Yeah, the job is terrible. I’d basically be a gopher, but if I could get my foot in the door there …” Lexi’s voice trailed off, but then she shook her head and sighed. “Unfortunately, I saw the resume of the person who interviewed right before me. He was a recent graduate of Princeton with a double degree in marketing and advertising. There’s no way I can compete with that.” The twinkle in her eye was quickly extinguished, replaced by a darker shadow of insecurity.

“Screw Princeton boy. He can go fly a kite. You want this job. Let’s practice some positive thinking here, Lexi. You’re smart and witty. You’re so talented and really have an eye for advertising. Trust in that, and trust in the person who interviewed you today to see that about you.” Hope set her menu 18

Trust in Advertising

on the table and gave Lexi a pep talk. “It’s all going to work out. You have to go after your dreams, make them happen. Maybe this is the beginning of something wonderful.”

Lexi sighed and finished Hope’s thought in her head …
Or the beginning of
yet another gigantic disappointment. Your dreams have a way for fal ing apart right
before your eyes. Don’t forget that, Lexi.

The two women spent the next hour chatting about random events from their day and savoring the delicious pasta. As the waiter set a piece of warm apple pie with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream in front of Lexi and a healthy slice of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce in front of Hope, a phone started ringing.

“I’m so sorry. I thought I turned the silly thing off,” Lexi apologized as she reached into her purse and silenced the small, silver phone, glancing at the number of the caller. Her eyes grew wide, and then she dropped it back into her purse like it was on fire.