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Trust in Advertising Page 101
Author: Victoria Michaels

At least things seemed to be moving along smoothly on the business end, but Lexi sensed that trouble was brewing. For two days, Vincent had slowly paraded employees into his office, and they all left with the same, hard, suspicious look on their faces. Nothing on his schedule explained the mysterious meetings. Lexi finally broke down one morning and checked with Leigh, thinking she must have missed a memo or something, when she heard Tony was invited up. Unfortunately, Leigh was just as clueless as Lexi, and all they could do was stare at each other wondering what Vincent was up to.

It was midmorning when Tony slithered down the hall. “Ah, if it isn’t Alexandra, the Girl Wonder. Walk on water lately?” He took a seat and leaned toward her desk, straining to get a glimpse at what she was working on. “What are you doing snooping through the Majestic file?” His lips twisted in distaste as he pompously sat back and waited for the answer.

Without blinking, Lexi closed the file and cocked an eyebrow at Tony. “What I do isn’t any of your business. Is Vincent even expecting you?” She knew darn well he was, but she wanted to make the arrogant pig squirm.

“Who are you? His guard dog? Somehow I’m not at all afraid. I’m guessing your bark is far worse than your bite. However, if you really want to bite me, that can be arranged.”

Lexi tapped her pen on the desk, ignoring every disgusting word that fell from his mouth. “Is he expecting you?” Lexi enunciated each word with painstaking clarity, fighting the urge to reach across the desk and throttle him.

“People have been talking, you know,” Tony said with a sinister grin on his face, “about you and my dear cousin. Mainly about how close the two of you are. Late nights at the office, all those private lunches behind closed doors.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and waited for Lexi to react.

“Ignorant gossip doesn’t interest me, nor do the petty people who spread it.” Lexi glared back at Tony, her body language like that of a panther, coiled and ready to attack.

“You better watch yourself, little girl. It would be a shame if—” He was interrupted mid-threat when Vincent’s door opened.

“Tony, not another word. Get in here.” Vincent stepped out and ushered him inside. He closed the door without so much as a glance in Lexi’s direction.

Twenty minutes later, Tony left Vincent’s office, furious. Lexi gave Vincent his space, assuming he was probably in a similar frame of mind after the meeting with his worm of a cousin.

Over the course of the morning, three more staff members trickled into Vincent’s office for these unannounced meetings. Each left looking far less happy than when they went in, and none said a word as they passed Lexi’s desk.

Even Sean was summoned. “So, Lexi,” he said as he slid into a chair and pulled it up close to her desk, “what’s going on with all the cloak and dagger bullshit?”

“I wish I knew. He’s had half the office traipsing through here today and his schedule is blank, so I’m as much in the dark as you.”

Sean’s brow furrowed. “That’s weird. He tells you everything.” Just then, Vincent appeared like an apparition in the distance and signaled for Sean to join him. “Later.”

Lexi waved and watched the two vanish behind the door.

Stupid hunk of wood. I bet if I took it off the hinges, he wouldn’t have a clue how to put it back on, she thought to herself, then returned to work.

A while later, the door opened with a loud crack and as Sean left, the jovial man she knew and loved was gone. Instead, a silent ball of fury walked past. Lexi tried to get his attention and see if he was all right, but he didn’t even acknowledge her as he whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and continued down the hall.

Something was going on at Hunter, something very bad. Lexi had no idea what it might be, but from Sean’s reaction, the reason for these meetings wasn’t good. Part of her was hurt that Vincent didn’t confide in her, but until he did, there was nothing she could do to help, so she went back to work.

Just after lunch, Lexi checked on Vincent, to see what he was working on. Her gentle knock on the door momentarily broke his concentration.

“What do you need?” The surface of his desk was covered with papers, and he scribbled furiously onto a notepad as he glanced back and forth between the computer screen and his pile of papers.

“Nothing,” she said as she walked in and peeked over his shoulder. “Marradesi account?”

He sighed and tossed his pen onto the desk. “Yeah, I’m trying to work on it, but every time I sit down and try to come up with the focus of the ad, everything sounds forced.”

Lexi quickly scanned down his list. She grabbed the pencil out of his hand and began working off his paper, making notes and crossing things off.

Her hair hung over her shoulder, and Vincent felt her soft curves pressed against his back and side as she leaned over him. He tried not to stare at the rounded swell of her breasts that were only inches away, or the way her cleavage peeked out every time she turned to say something to him, but he was helpless. She was perfection, and she didn’t even know it.

Vincent forced himself to be a gentleman and keep his eyes on the paper, but he couldn’t stop the way his body reacted to her perfume, to the heat from her body, or the way he wanted to touch her. His fantasies had grown more vivid in the last few days, most involving Lexi draped over his desk.

But nothing could come of it, not now anyway. The issue of the mole still hung over his head, and he had to do whatever he could to figure out who it was. That involved a number of things he despised doing, including keeping Jade around a while longer. He had already set some things in motion and still had a few loose ends to tie up, ones that he dreaded.

“Okay, right here? Women don’t want their makeup to be the reason they’re pretty. That implies we’re a bunch of ugly hags and the makeup will fix

it.” Lexi crossed off the idea and laughed. “We all want to think we’re gorgeous and the makeup only accentuates it.”

Vincent nodded his head in agreement and hoped she’d continue. Instead, she stood up and arched her back, her breasts thrusting out, shirt hiking up and her body making an erotic curve as her arms stretched high over her head.

“Absolutely beautiful.” The words fell from his mouth before he could stop himself. Lexi froze, her arms still in the air as she quirked an eyebrow at him and smiled.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, just repeating what you said. Women want to feel absolutely beautiful.”

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