Trust in Advertising (4 page)

Hope caught the flicker of recognition and leaned forward in her chair.

“Who called?” She watched as Lexi shifted nervously in her chair, embarrassed by the question.

“I … I think it was from Reid Inc.”

“Well, for goodness sake, why didn’t you answer it?” Hope grabbed Lexi’s purse and quickly dug through until she found the phone and began clapping her hands. “There’s a voicemail. Let’s see what they said!”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Can’t I finish my dessert before we ruin my appetite?”

“If you’re too chicken, then I’ll check.” Before Lexi could stop her, Hope had called Lexi’s voicemail. “There are two messages.” Hope sat there tapping her long nails on the table as she waited for the first message to begin.

“You have a dentist appointment at seven thirty a.m. on Thursday. Why you make your appointments so early is beyond me.” Her voice trailed off as she held up one finger and listened intently. “This is it,” she whispered then turned her attention back to the phone. When her lips spread into a huge grin, Lexi let out the breath she had been unknowingly holding deep within her chest.

“You have a job at Reid if you want it.” Hope beamed as she slid the phone across the table. “Of course it was the slime ball who ‘personally wanted to offer you a position at Reid Inc. and hopes you will accept not only the job offer but let him take you out to dinner to celebrate.’” Hope made a small gagging gesture at the end of her imitation of Mr. Reid.

19

Victoria Michaels

Lexi put on a brave face. “Well, at least I know I have a new job if I want it, right?”

“Yeah, but do you
want
to work there?”

She shook her head. “Not really, but if it gets my foot back in the door, it might not be a bad idea to take whatever I can get for now.”

“Promise me you won’t make any decisions until you hear from the other two, though, Lexi. No matter how poorly you think the interview went, got it?”

Lexi nodded her head obediently in agreement.

“The others said I was the last interview so I should hear from them in the next day or two.”

“Good, now give me a bite of that apple pie.”

It was almost nine o’clock when they finally arrived home from
Olive
and found themselves in the hallway between their apartments. With her painfully uncomfortable shoes clutched in one hand, Lexi unlocked the door to her apartment and ushered Hope inside. The two women flopped onto the couch and sat together in a comfortable silence.

A few minutes later, Lexi dragged her weary body into the kitchen. “Those shoes are evil; I think I should burn them.” She stuck her head into the refrigerator, yelling to Hope, “Do you want a bottle of water?”

“Yes, please.” Hope stretched out on the couch and flipped on the news.

As Lexi was about to leave the kitchen, she noticed a red light blinking on her answering machine. “A message.” Lexi pressed the play button beside the light.

“You have four new messages,” the machine chirped, making Hope pop up off the couch and rush over to the counter to listen with Lexi.

The first message was from the dentist’s office again. “Boy, they take their oral health seriously, don’t they?” Hope laughed as she fast-forwarded to the next one.

The second message was from Parketti. “We’re sorry, but we offered the job to someone who was actually qualified for the position.”

“Bitches,” Hope snarled.

“It’s fine. I would’ve been miserable working for them.” Lexi smiled, appreciating her friend’s display of loyalty. “My confidence in my people skills is shaky at best these days. Make me work for them, and it would be non-existent. Plus, I’m not a doormat. Isn’t that what you keep telling me?”

Hope grinned proudly at her friend until a deep, phlegmy voice began spurting from the answering machine. Collectively the girls rolled their eyes when the third message was from the infamous Mr. Reid.

20

Trust in Advertising

“God, this guy needs to get a life,” Hope griped while they listened to a repeat of the message he left on her cell phone. The pair began laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Final y, they heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the answering machine.

The girls were still laughing about the last message from Reid and almost missed the message.

“… we would like to offer you a position …” The female voice said softly as Lexi’s head whipped toward the machine, her eyes wide in disbelief. Her finger slammed onto the replay button, and she held her breath and waited.

“Good evening, Lexi, this is Mrs. Dee from Hunter Advertising. I’m sorry for the lateness of this call, but you were the final person we interviewed, and I didn’t want to wait until morning; I know you also had other interviews today. I’m happy to tell you that we would like to offer you a position with us at Hunter.”

Lexi missed the end of the message because she launched herself at Hope and the two of them jumped up and down, squealing over the good news.

The smile on Lexi’s face gave away just how badly she had wanted this offer.

She had tried to play it cool, expecting the worst, never daring to even hope, but when the good news came, she couldn’t contain her joy.

“I’m so happy for you! I take it from your reaction that Hunter is the winner?” Hope asked as she clutched her friend’s hands in hers.

“I can’t believe they offered me the job,” she murmured as tears welled in her eyes.

“You must have made quite an impression on this Mrs. Dee person.”

Hope laughed as she pulled two stemmed glasses out of the cabinet, filling them with wine.

“Actually, my interview was with Mr. James. I have no idea who this Mrs.

Dee woman is. I never met her. Maybe she called the wrong person.” A twinge of panic laced Lexi’s voice.

“No being negative. She said ‘Lexi’ in the message, so the offer is most definitely for you. Now stop being a downer and celebrate!” She thrust a glass into Lexi’s hand. “To new beginnings!” Hope cheered as she raised her glass proudly into the air.

“To new beginnings!” Lexi sighed, stil overwhelmed by the events of the day.

She took a moment to let it all sink in and smiled.
Maybe, just maybe, this
time my dreams could come true,
Lexi wished silently.

21

∙ 3 ∙

B
ang, bang, bang!

Lexi groaned as she put the final coat of mascara on her left eye, nearly blinding herself in her haste to answer the door.

“Good morning, Hope.” Lexi laughed as she slipped her still-bare foot into one of her black pumps. “What brings you here at this, what do you call it? Oh yeah, this ungodly hour of the morning?”

A bleary-eyed Hope in pink pajamas waved a huge cup of coffee under Lexi’s nose. “I wanted to make sure that you were fully caffeinated for your first day, my little working girl.” She brushed past Lexi and took up a perch on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, pouring a ton of sugar into her coffee.

“Did that loser call again last night trying to get you to come to work for him?”

“Yes. Then he finally came out and asked point blank who I accepted a job with, and I wanted to get him off the phone, so I told him I was extremely happy to be employed by Hunter Advertising.” Lexi quickly ran lipstick over her lips and gently pressed them together. “He wasn’t too pleased to hear that’s where I’d be working, so I told him there was someone at the door and hung up on him.”

“Good girl!” Hope raised her cup in the air in praise, and then took a big sip.

Lexi did a little spin for her friend. “So, how do I look? Do I pass inspection?”

“You look fantastic—professional, but womanly. I like it.” Hope drank her coffee as she continued to appraise Lexi’s outfit.

Trust in Advertising

It had taken Lexi two hours last night to decide what to wear, and her room officially qualified as a disaster area by the time she was done making her selection. After an endless array of outfit combinations, Lexi chose a simple, black skirt and an emerald green sweater with lace detailing on the cuff of the three quarter sleeves. She kept her jewelry simple—a small gold chain that held Marie’s wedding ring on it, and a gold watch Harry had given her when she graduated high school. Neither piece was particularly expensive or showy; they were mainly good luck charms for Lexi, sentimental mementos from her parents to give her strength on this big day. Her only real splurge was the shiny new pair of strappy pumps on her feet, a gift to herself for landing the job she wanted.

Hope stood up from her stool and plucked out the clip that held Lexi’s hair in a tight twist. Her long, caramel-colored locks cascaded over her shoulders, softly framing her face. “There, now you look perfect.”

All of a sudden, the nerves hit. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” Lexi paled as her hands twitched with anxiety.

“You’re going to be great, Lexi. Just go and get yourself oriented. No one is expecting you to revamp the world of advertising today, for goodness sake. Maybe just learn where your desk and the bathrooms are and when you get paid. That should be your main focus for your first day.” Hope draped Lexi’s purse over her arm and tucked the coffee into one of her hands and her car keys in the other.

“I can do this,” Lexi whispered to herself.

“Of course you can. Now go get them, tiger!” Hope grinned proudly at her friend as she headed for the door. “Oh, and I want you to bring the car into the shop sometime soon. I need to check the oil and make sure the repair on the hose is holding.” She kissed Lexi’s cheek and shoved her out into the hallway.

“Will do.” Lexi pushed the elevator button, then glanced back at Hope as she waved goodbye.

“I want details tonight,” Hope shouted down the hall, “and text me if anything really good happens.” Her voice trailed off as the elevator doors slid shut.

Lexi took three deep breaths as she stood inside the elevator of the Barrington Building and waited for it to reach the twenty-first floor. Her palms were sweaty, and she was nervously grinding her teeth on a piece of peppermint flavored gum.

23

Victoria Michaels

When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out and paused, watching the flurry of people that moved through the offices of Hunter Advertising.

The receptionist smiled at Lexi. “Can I help you?”

Lexi swallowed nervously, her gum scraping down the back of her throat.

Her voice was just above a whisper when she finally spoke. “I’m Lexi White, and this is my first day of work.”

“What department, honey?” the receptionist asked as she picked up the phone, holding it to her ear.

“Human resources. I’m working with Mr. Wells.”

The receptionist smiled and began dialing. “Tim, your new employee is here, so why don’t you be a gentleman and come get her settled? I’ll let her know.”

She winked at Lexi. “He’s on his way. A nice guy, but sometimes he needs to be reminded of his manners. I’m Sue, by the way. I’ve been working here for almost twenty years. I think you’ll find that this company is more like a family than some big corporation.”

The warm smile on her face put Lexi at ease. “Thank you, Sue. I appreciate it. I’m very excited to start, but I know there’s so much for me to learn.”

“Alexandra,” a short man with light brown hair called as he walked in with his hand outstretched. “Welcome to Hunter Advertising. I’m Tim Wells, and we are going to be working together.”

“Very nice to meet you,” Lexi said softly as a faint blush swept over her cheeks. “Please call me Lexi.”

“Okay, Lexi, let me show you to your workspace.” Tim began walking briskly down the hall without even waiting for Lexi to follow.

“That man can be such a boob sometimes.” Sue rolled her eyes and pointed down the hall. “Bathrooms are on the left, and there’s a lounge on the twenty-second floor where you can eat lunch or take a break. The coffee in there stinks, and people steal red pens in this office like they’re made of gold, so hide them.”

Lexi mouthed a quick thank you, then took off down the hall to catch up to Tim, who probably could have qualified for the Olympic speed walking team.

As she got closer, she heard him rambling on to no one in particular.

“… and here are the bathrooms, down this hall on the left.”

They weaved their way through a mass of cubicles, past a large room that looked like an art studio, and finally ended the mad dash in a long hallway lined with office doors. Tim led her to a small alcove at the end of the hall. A desk and a chair were tucked into the space.

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