Trust in Advertising (64 page)

Lexi didn’t even make it all the way to the couch and she collapsed into a heap on the floor, hysterically sobbing, overwhelmed with feelings of loss and despair.

That endless night turned into the following morning, and Lexi woke up in her bed, snuggled against her friend. The tears had finally ended, but the Trust in Advertising

ache in Lexi’s chest refused to dissipate. She had to concentrate on every breath and step she took, forcing herself to get up and out of bed to face the day. Sean came over, and he and Hope tried to talk Lexi into coming out to lunch with them, but she wouldn’t leave the apartment. Hope made her a salad before she left, kissed Lexi on the head, and told her to call if she needed anything. Sean wrapped his giant arms around her and held her tight, as if to protect her from the crazy world that was spinning around her, even if only for a few seconds.

She’d pressed her cheek against his broad chest, and bawled her eyes out, again.

“I’m sorry, Lex. I wish I could say something to help, but I suck at this.”

Sean felt her chuckle through the tears. He pulled her chin up and wiped her tears. “Don’t know if it will make you feel any better, but I saw his sorry butt this morning and he looks a hell of a lot worse than you do. Except he doesn’t have a snotty nose like yours. That’s kinda gross.” When the corner of her mouth turned up into a small smile, Sean hugged her. “Knew I could get a smile out of you.” He kissed her head and let her slip from his grasp so she could grab some tissues. Then she ushered the two of them out the door and took some time to be alone with her thoughts.

On Sunday, Elizabeth and Anna had both called Lexi and left her messages, apologizing for Vincent’s behavior and asking if there was anything they could do for her. Lexi appreciated the gesture, but she knew if she spoke to either one of them, she would be reduced to tears again, and she was trying to move on to a place where she could function despite her heartbreak.

Lexi remembered the shock on Hope’s face when she came over to check on Lexi bright and early Monday morning and found her getting ready for work.

“Are you crazy?”

Lexi paused with the hairbrush in her hand. “For what? Going to work?

Millions, actually billions, of people do it every day. No biggie.”

“It is when your boss is Vincent Drake!”

The brush made a clanking noise as Lexi slammed it down on the counter.

“The Marradesi presentation is Friday, and there’s still a lot of work to do. I’m not walking away from that project. I’ve poured my heart into it. Professionally, it will be a huge accomplishment, one I’m not willing to sacrifice … for anyone.”

Hope stepped out of the way as her irritated friend hurried past her, down the hall to the kitchen. She trailed behind Lexi, grabbing an apple out of the basket of fruit on the kitchen table. “Your dedication to your work is admirable, but what are you going to do about Vincent?”

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Victoria Michaels

Lexi tightened her grip on the refrigerator door and closed her eyes. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

But she never had to cross that bridge on Monday or Tuesday or even Wednesday. Over the weekend, Vincent had apparently rearranged his schedule to be out of the office at meetings, including an overnight in Los Angeles. He sent Lexi E-mails, but only regarding their upcoming presentation. Every interaction was professional and necessary. Communicating with him this way was easy enough—the physical distance and the businesslike tone to his E-mails helped.

There were no hidden meanings, no “I’m sorry” or “I miss you” messages, and every single one was signed V.D., his impersonal signature for business associates.

He’d used that signature with Lexi when she’d first started working there, but he had long ago dropped it from his communications with her, and only her.

Even though he was out of the office, he wasn’t out of her thoughts. All she had to do was glance up at any wall at Hunter and there were pictures of his past campaigns, reminders of him everywhere around her. She tried not to look at them and stay focused on her work, but it was impossible. He
was
Hunter Advertising for her whether or not she wanted to admit it. He was the thing she most looked forward to when she walked in the door each morning.

Their interactions, their banter, their collaboration and friendship—those were the things that made work fun. Without him there, the office had a flat, lifeless quality for Lexi.

The one bright spot in her Monday had been the giant cup of coffee that had been left on the corner of her desk that morning, just how she liked it with two creams and extra sugar. As she trudged down the hall to her apartment that night, she’d smiled, thinking that maybe the next morning she’d feel brave enough to thank Leigh for the small act of kindness. Leigh knew how devastated she had been over the incident with Vincent and rather than question her, she gave Lexi her space, and some coffee to let her know that she was thinking of her. Lexi glanced down as she went to stick her key in the door and found her foot beside a beautifully wrapped package with a green ribbon on it. Puzzled, Lexi tucked the box carefully under her arm and hurried inside.

She casually tossed her mail onto the table and carried the mystery gift over to the couch. Her heart began pounding as she tugged on the silk ribbon, allowing it to pool onto her lap. With her hands shaking, she slipped her finger under the edge of the ornately decorated wrapping and gently pulled. She crumpled the paper and gasped as she read the print on top of the box. It was 388

Trust in Advertising

from the art gallery just down the street from Julian’s studio, one of her favorite places to window shop because she knew the pieces inside were handmade and way beyond her price range. Lexi touched her fingers to the gold letters that spelled out “Capri,” then took a deep breath and opened the box.

Inside was a crumpled pile of navy blue tissue paper, and on top sat a crisp, white note card with her name written on it. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing as her blood raced through her veins. She knew that handwriting. She saw it every day at work, the perfectly scripted letters that made her name look more beautiful than she had ever been able to achieve with her own writing. Lexi picked up the card and dropped it three times before finally finding the courage to open it.

Lexi,

Just a little something to let you know I’m thinking about you.

Vincent

She reread the note, not knowing whether to hold it to her heart or rip it to shreds. It wasn’t until the third read through that she noticed another line to the note, hidden under her thumb.

p.s. - Did I get the coffee right? Two creams, extra sugar?

He had dropped off the coffee. He had been at the office and left before she’d arrived. He was respecting her wishes, giving her space, but he also wanted to make sure she didn’t forget about him. He wasn’t running away. This time, he was waiting for her. She pulled the tissue paper from the box and peered inside. Nestled safely between the papers was a gorgeous glass vase. Her mouth hung open as she gingerly took it out of the box, and her breath caught in her throat as she examined it. It was tall and delicate with an intricate design along the bottom that reminded Lexi of the waves of the bay.

The topic of Capri had come up only once between them, the day of their presentation to Julian Stone. Even with all the stress they had both been under at the time, Vincent remembered. He had been paying attention to her likes and dislikes even way back then. That was what he wanted this gift to tell Lexi, the message he wanted to convey, and she heard it loud and clear.

If only he had paid attention to other things about her, then they might not be in this position.

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Victoria Michaels

She set the vase on the coffee table, sat back on the couch, and admired it, enjoying the way the sun reflected off of it, spinning thousands of colorful rainbows onto the walls of her apartment. The box still felt unusually heavy in her lap. When her hand dipped between the pieces of paper, she found another smal bundle tucked securely against the side of the box. She careful y unwrapped it, revealing two spectacular hand blown glass flowers. There was no way to stop the tears that fell the moment she saw them, because she knew immediately what the fragile purple hyacinth and the single red rose meant—
I’m sorry
and
I love you
respectively
.

On both Tuesday and Wednesday morning, another cup of coffee was waiting for her at work when she arrived, and each evening there was another package sitting beside her door, containing a new flower with yet another meaning. Her vase was quickly filling up and growing into a gorgeous glass bouquet. Occasionally there would be another treat added in the box like licorice or another favorite candy of hers, making her smile. She suspected he must have even gone so far as to enlist Sean and Leigh to help with the deliveries while he was out of town so he wouldn’t miss a day. That knowledge touched her more that she could say.

Late Wednesday night, Lexi stepped out of the shower and heard the phone ringing. She quickly wrapped a towel around her and snatched the phone off her bed.

“Hello?” There was a long silence so Lexi said it again with more force.

“Hello?”

“L-Lexi?”

Vincent. The phone slipped out of her hand and smashed against the hardwood floor, skidding under the bed. “Shit, shit, shit,” Lexi muttered, completely flustered as she stuck her arm under the bed looking for the receiver.

He was the last person she expected to hear on the other end of the phone. Her heart crashed against her ribs as her fingers wrapped around the phone, and she pressed it to her ear. “Sorry,” she whispered, readjusting her towel as she sat down on her bed and picked at the frayed edge of the cotton. “I dropped the phone. Hi, Vincent.”

“H-hi.” Vincent’s reply was as tentative as hers. “If this is a bad time …”

“No, it’s fine. What do you want?” The words came out harsher than she had intended, but she was on edge, wondering what could possibly be the reason for his call.

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“Sorry for the late call, but I needed to talk to you.”

“I don’t have—”

“It’s about work. I promise.”

Lexi stared at her reflection in the mirror over her dresser, wondering if she should hang up on him. When her reflection shrugged, thinking “how bad it could be,” she decided to hear him out and sighed. “What is it?”

“Well, I would have E-mailed, but I didn’t know if you would check it before tomorrow or if you were in bed already, and I didn’t know if you’d get a text, so … I called.” He sounded downright uncomfortable, and Lexi gave her reflection a triumphant smile.

“Please spit it out, Vincent.”

“Elizabeth wants us to have a breakfast meeting with her tomorrow morning.”

Lexi’s eyebrow shot up in suspicion. “I talked to her right before I left work.

She didn’t mention a thing about it.” If she had to sit across the table from Vincent, she knew her stomach would do that awful squeeze and she’d never get a bite down. “I appreciate the offer, but no thanks.”

“It wasn’t an invitation. It’s a requirement and non-negotiable.”

“Everything’s negotiable,” Lexi quickly replied, spouting off one of the first things Vincent had taught her.

He chuckled. “I know I told you that, but when it comes to my mother, well, that rule doesn’t exactly hold. I should have mentioned that earlier.” Lexi could hear the smile in his voice, and when she looked in the mirror she caught sight of her own smile. She missed this kind of banter with him.

“Well, hell.”

There was a noise that sounded like him shifting around in his bed, sheets rustling as he moved. “That’s a lot of swearing from you tonight.”

“I’ve had a lot to swear about lately.” As the words escaped her lips, they brought reality crashing back down around her. Her tone immediately changed, all hints of playfulness gone. “Fine, I’ll be there. When and where?”

“Um.” He seemed taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor.

“Tomorrow, nine o’clock at Rocco’s Café. Do you know where it is? If not, I—I could pick you up.”

“I’ll Google it.” An awful silence fell between them. Lexi began to panic, not wanting Vincent to change the topic to her or something even more uncomfortable, them. “Thanks for the call. See you tomorrow.”

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Victoria Michaels

“Lexi?” Vincent’s voice tentatively called out just as she began to pull the receiver away from her ear. She brought the phone back, her head falling back onto her pillow.

“Yeah?” she sighed and her eyes closed tightly as she waited.

“I just, I wanted to tell you,” he stammered, and Lexi could almost imagine him lying on his bed, raking his hand through his hair. “Nevermind. Goodnight, Lexi.”

“Goodnight to you too, Vincent.” Even though she didn’t want to, a smile flickered across her face when she heard him chuckling as she hung up the phone.

The conversation had been far from comfortable, but it also hadn’t left her stomach in a burning, churning mess like she thought it might. The sound of his voice had made her heart race and her knees weak just like it always did.