Trust in Advertising (70 page)

Wanting to feel closer to him, Lexi crawled into his lap and faced him, her legs straddling him on the couch. The surprised look on Vincent’s face at her bold action was just the tension breaker she needed. “Easy, Vincent. I just need to tell you something, and I want to see your face. Don’t get any ideas.”

He grinned unashamedly as his eyes raked over her body. “Too late.”

She gave his chest a playful push then became very serious. “Remember what Francesca told you today?”

Vincent’s head cocked to the side. “About women always being right? Sure.”

“Good. Keep that in mind when you hear what I have to say.” He gave her a weary nod and encouraged her to continue. “I love you. I want things to work between us, and I think we have a very good chance at having our fairy tale ending. But there are some things I need to do for myself in order to make that happen. I went from the limbo of caring for my dying father into the whirlwind of loving you again in the blink of an eye. Lexi got lost in there somewhere.

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m e for me to find out who she is before I can give myself to you. Can you understand that?”

“Of course. I won’t rush you. Anything you want, I support you.” Vincent pulled her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on top of her knuckles, then tugged her down even more and captured her lips. His kiss ignited a fire throughout Lexi’s body, his hands tracing paths over her skin that felt like they were electrically charged. Lexi’s hands dropped and snaked under his shirt. She savored the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen as she began to explore him as well. Finally, when Lexi felt like she was going to go up in flames, she pulled away. Vincent grinned with deep male satisfaction when he saw her breathless in his lap.

“I love you,” he said, his eyes reflecting the truth in his words.

“And I love you, forever.” She gave him another chaste kiss, then whispered against his lips, “I quit.”

∙ EpiloguE ∙

…18 months later

Miss White, I have Christina Stone holding on line one,” a perky voice rang out over the phone.

Lexi rolled her eyes and closed the laptop on her desk. “Thanks, Erica. Can you do me a favor and cut the Miss White crap? You know it drives me crazy.”

“I know, that’s what makes it so amusing,” Erica laughed. “Fine, go ahead.

Suck the fun out of my day, boss lady. I’ll be out here surfing for porn if you need me.”

“Just put the call through and behave out there.”

“I will be the perfect picture of Lexi White’s advertising firm. Hell, I should be the poster child.”

There was a pause, and then Christina’s voice came over the line. “Lexi?”

“Hey, newlywed, how are you?”

Christina sighed. “Here in New York, blissfully happy, completely lame and nauseating to everyone around me. How are you? I know you talked to Julian the other day, but I haven’t talked to you in a couple weeks.”

“I’m good. Really busy.” Lexi began organizing a few loose papers on her desk and tucked them in her drawer. “I’m so glad to hear from you, what brings you to New York?”

“Hi, Lexi!” Julian hollered in the background.

Victoria Michaels

“Go do something,” Christina told her new husband and then giggled. “No, not that. You’re incorrigible.”

“I like to call it animal magnetism,” she heard Julian snicker.

“Sorry, my husband is a pain. We’re in town because we just bought an apartment. Figured it was time to bite the bullet and at least have a place in New York, even though the stubborn mule refuses to move his base of operations here.”

Lexi laughed when she heard Julian protesting in the background. “I’m real y happy for you guys, and me, because now I’ll get to see you more.”

“Yep,” Christina laughed. “Speaking of which, do you have any classes tonight?”

Over the last year and a half, Lexi had started taking night classes on everything from business management and advertising principles to graphic design. Running a company wasn’t as easy as it looked, and she wanted to have a solid handle on all of the business aspects, which was what had initially prompted her to take classes.

“Nope, I just finished. I have to turn in a final project for one class, but it’s done.” Lexi laughed as she glanced over at the presentation boards beside her. “It looks eerily similar to the Midnight Corporation’s upcoming summer campaign that I’ve been working my tail off on for the last three weeks. So long story short, yes, I’m free. What’s up?”

“We wanted to take you to dinner, and then maybe show you the apartment?”

Lexi didn’t even try to hide her excitement. “That would be fantastic. When and where?” She grabbed a pen and got ready to scribble the address down.

“How about Remote? Have you been there yet?” While Christina rattled off the intersection, Lexi heard a rustling noise on the other line and Julian picked up.

“Am I making the reservation for a party of three or four?”

Lexi pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “Three, Julian.

You know it’s three.”

“I know, sorry. Sore subject. What time do you want to meet us there?

We’re wide open.”

They worked out the details so that Lexi could run home and change quickly before meeting up with them. Christina sounded so excited to show her the apartment, and Lexi was just happy to have something to do. The nights were the worst.

She finished her work a little early, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She stopped at Erica’s desk and peeked over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

“Are you leaving for the day?”

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Lexi nodded. “I’m heading home to change and then meeting up with Christina and Julian.”

“You doing all right?”

“I’m fine.” That far away look in Lexi’s eyes told Erica different, but she let it drop.

“Since you’re leaving for the day, do you mind if I shut down our side of the office and sneak out too?”

“Absolutely.” She linked her arm in Erica’s, and they strode toward the elevator together. “Do you want a share a cab?” she asked as she dug into her bag for her keys.

“Nope, I have some shopping to do, but thanks.” She gave Lexi a wink and a wave, then disappeared out the door.

Lexi col ected her mail and walked into the big, empty apartment. She flitted around her room, changed her clothes, and freshened up her hair and makeup.

As she regarded her reflection in the mirror, her mind wandered, thinking about how different her life was now than it had been two years ago. Life really did wait for no one. You either lived it, or you were left behind.

She gave her lips one last coat of lipstick, then turned off the light and grabbed her purse off the bed. Lexi walked out of her bedroom and ran her fingers over the smooth glass petals of the flowers in the vase on her dresser, as had become her custom every time she passed them and thought of him.

Remote was just starting to get busy when Lexi arrived. A small group of people were gathered just inside the doors. The hostess saw Lexi and smiled. When Lexi mentioned the name Stone, the woman’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Right this way.”

At the table, Christina and Julian were so deeply engrossed in one another that they didn’t even notice Lexi standing there. A small twinge of jealousy spread through Lexi as she watched at the happy couple, so obviously in love.

She scolded herself for being selfish and instead smiled at her friends, clearing her throat to get their attention.

“Mr. Stone, your next guest has arrived.”

“Lexi!” Christina released Julian’s hand and jumped to her feet to hug her friend. “You look gorgeous.”

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Lexi blushed and slipped into the chair Julian held out for her. She wore a simple black dress and had spent a few extra minutes putting her hair in hot rollers, so huge curls draped over her shoulders giving it a sexy bounce. Julian kissed her cheek, then took his seat beside his wife.

“How you doing, Lexi?”

“I’m great. Busy, but great.” They chatted for a while about the things going on with Lexi, and then Christina launched into the story of buying the apartment in the city. A sad smile fell across Lexi’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Christina asked, catching the faraway look in Lexi’s eyes.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” Lexi said a little too cheerfully. She reached out and picked up her water, taking a tiny sip to hide her face. As Lexi set the glass down, Christina’s face broke out into a huge grin.

“Don’t look so sad, beautiful lady,” a smooth voice whispered in her ear.

“Is this seat taken?”

Lexi froze, her entire body stiffening as his warm breath tickled her shoulder.

When she felt his warm lips touch her neck, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the way her heart began to flutter like a hummingbird in her chest. She knew that voice. She heard it in her dreams, in her sleep, and in her heart.

“Vincent,” she sighed, her smile so wide she worried that her cheeks might burst. She bolted out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms, her feet dangling below her. “Vincent!” Her lips immediately found his, hungry, needy for him.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips when they finally stopped their voracious kissing to take a breath.

“Why don’t you welcome
me
home like that?” Julian grumbled, nodding his head toward Vincent and Lexi, who were still wrapped up tight in each other’s arms. The entire restaurant had turned in their seats to watch the couple’s very public reunion.

“We’re old married people now; they’re young and in love. Wife handbook page twelve: ‘Husband comes home from trip, remind him to take out the garbage.’” Christina teased Julian.

“All right, all right. People are trying to eat here. Either sit down or get a room. What’s it gonna be?”

“Mind if I sit on his lap?” Lexi asked with a sinful little smirk as Vincent kissed Christina on the cheek. Her whole face had changed since Vincent walked in the room. Gone was the polite smile. Now Lexi’s face was vibrant and joyful, 426

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her voice playful and light. Eyes sparkling with excitement, she looked at the man she loved, her body in constant contact with his.

“I’ll give you five hundred dollars to do it right now. The old guy at that table will have an absolute heart attack.” Julian nodded his head toward a balding man in his late forties whose mouth dangled open.

“As much as I love to see you part with your money, Julian, I’m not going have her sit on my lap,” Vincent leaned over to Lexi and whispered so only she could hear, “until later, when you have on far less clothing.”

“I’m so glad you’re home,” Lexi whispered against his lips, curling her fingers into his hair. “You weren’t supposed to be back for three more days.”

“I missed you, so I made a few changes in my schedule so I could come surprise you.” He twirled one of her curls around his fingers. “Are you surprised?”

“Best surprise ever.” Lexi clapped her hands together. “Tel me about the baby!”

“Anna had the baby?” Christina asked, taking a bite of her salad.

“Hunter was two weeks early, but already he’s my buddy. Went right to sleep when I held him, and he even smiled at me,” Vincent bragged as he proudly pulled a picture of the baby from his pocket that made Lexi and Christina melt.

“It was probably gas, Vincent.” Julian laughed as the girls continued to ohh and ahh over the baby.

“Details, details,” Lexi begged.

Vincent recapped his visit to San Francisco, passing on his family’s love to Lexi and letting her know they were getting impatient for her to visit. They knew Lexi had been busy starting the company and building up a clientele, but they missed her terribly.

As she sat at the table, she smiled. The day she told Vincent she loved him had also been the day she quit. He had shown great compassion as she listed her reasons for leaving Hunter. He accepted that she was stretching her wings, trying to fly, and he loved her enough to let her. Elizabeth, however, was not about to accept her resignation, and Elizabeth was a woman who was used to getting what she wanted.

His mother had taken Lexi out to lunch to discuss what she could do to help Lexi achieve her goals. Lexi wanted a fresh start to see what she could do in the industry without relying on the Hunter name and without Vincent over her shoulder. She had a sizable sum of money from Harry’s life insurance that she had been saving. What she wanted was to open her own firm where she was her own boss, not under anyone’s control.

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After the meeting, they came up with a plan. Elizabeth had always wanted to open an east coast branch of Hunter Advertising. Lexi agreed to allow her company, which would be called White Advertising, to be a subsidiary of Hunter, but independently owned and run by Lexi. In doing that, she could still work on her current accounts as well as solicit new ones. A month later, she was packing her things and heading across the country, terrified, but exhilarated to begin this adventure.

Leaving her in New York was the most difficult thing Vincent had ever done. There were tears shed and plane tickets already purchased so he could come back again the following weekend. The only thing that allowed him to get on the plane was the fact that she wasn’t alone. Erica had quit Reid Industries the night of Julian’s fashion show, and she had been the first person Lexi hired.