“Be careful,” Hope whispered as Lexi started running up the stairs in search of Vincent.
The serenity of the warehouse loft was a definite contrast to the throngs of chattering people down below. Off in the distance, Lexi heard voices coming from one of the back rooms. She made her way down the hall, her stomach clenching with each step. She wanted Jade gone, but she’d never wanted to see Vincent hurt this way. With a trembling hand, she reached for the doorknob and turned it.
“V-Vincent, I’m sorry to interrupt.” Lexi stepped inside Julian’s office and waited for Vincent to acknowledge her. He was sitting in the large leather chair behind Julian’s desk. Jade was perched on the edge of the desk, her back to the door. She slowly glanced over her shoulder, and the sinister curve of her lips sent a chill down Lexi’s spine.
Jade’s voice broke the eerie silence that had settled over the room. “Just the person he wanted to talk to.” She stood up and stepped beside the desk, giving Lexi her first view of Vincent, who appeared to be devastated. His eyes were flat as he looked at her, devoid of all emotion. The tight line of his lips and furiously shaking knee scared Lexi more than anything.
“I need to talk to you,” Lexi pleaded but his expression didn’t change. It remained stone cold and dead.
“I don’t think he wants to hear anything you have to say anymore,” Jade snarled, her arms crossing over her chest.
“Back off, Jade. I’m in no mood for your bullshit right now.” Lexi took a step toward the desk, and Vincent leapt to his feet as if he couldn’t get far enough away from her. “Vincent, please?”
He wheeled around with fire in his eyes. “Please what, Lexi? What do you want me to do exactly? Listen to you? Put up with you overstepping your bounds in my office? With you worming your way into my family? Or should I just bend over and let you continue to screw me while you play footsies under the table with Reid? I just hope he paid you in cash for the information you gave him, because if he paid you with sex, you’re a damn fool. The man doesn’t know his dick from a rotten banana.”
The malice and rage in his words floored Lexi. Jade grinned victoriously just out of his line of sight. Lexi tried to process what he was saying, but her head was spinning. “I—I’m not doing anything with Reid. He tried to come on to me tonight, and I told him to take a hike. Wh-where is all of this coming from?” Her eyes darted over to Jade. “What lies has she been filling your head with now?”
He laughed darkly as he leaned against the far wall, still glaring at her. “You want to know where it’s coming from?” He pushed himself up and stalked toward her, scaring Lexi. “This is where it comes from.” His phone was in his outstretched hand. “Go ahead, take it. Read the text I just got.”
With a shaking hand, Lexi slipped the phone from his palm, careful not to touch him. The words on the screen stopped her heart.
Just heard from Reid’s assistant looking for a meeting the day before you. Prelim ideas same. Excalibur is in play. There’s your mole. - MJ
She read and reread the words a million times and still couldn’t believe them. He was accusing her of being the mole. If there was one person who had been on Vincent’s side, it was Lexi. Ever since she’d walked through the elevator doors of the twenty-third floor, she had put up with his crap, his yelling, his tirades, his satanic girlfriend with her fire and brimstone, all for him. Lexi’s eyes locked on Jade, whose smile seemed ready to burst from her face.
“Do you have anything to say?” Vincent snarled.
Lexi’s eyes flicked up to his and she held is gaze, her anger now growing to rival even his. She slammed the phone back into his palm. “I am not the mole. I haven’t shared that information with anyone. It’s been under lock and key since the second you gave it to me. I know where every copy is.
They’re all locked in my desk drawer and numbered.”
Vincent rolled his eyes.
“I did not sell you out to Reid.” Lexi bit out every word through her clenched jaw.
The two of them stood face to face, neither one breaking eye contact. Jade cleared her throat in the distance and spoke. “So then it’s just a coincidence that the leaks started about the time you arrived? Is it just a coincidence that Reid sent you flowers and that you two were huddled together in the corner tonight? Then, soon after, Mr. Johnson gets a call about the Excalibur account? Vincent isn’t stupid, Lexi.”
“He is the stupidest man alive if he’s listening to you and the load of shit you’re feeding him.”
“Why?” The strangled word came from Vincent’s lips. His eyes were no longer angry; they were lost. The sadness seeped out of his pores, nearly smothering Lexi.
“I did not sell you out, Vincent. But I know who did.” She cast a quick look in Jade’s direction, long enough to see her pale, and then Lexi returned her gaze to Vincent. “So it all comes down to this—do you trust me?”
Vincent flinched at her words, breaking eye contact and fidgeting nervously with the change in his pocket. Time stood still as she waited for his answer. He turned away and began pacing the room, his hands raking through his hair and tugging on the tangled strands.
Sadly, Lexi had her answer. His silence spoke volumes. Overwhelmed with grief, Lexi turned toward the door and started to walk away. She reached out and touched the knob when she heard Vincent speak.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving. I have my answer. If you had to think about it for even a second, you don’t know me at all.” She pushed open the door and turned back
around. “Oh, and Vincent?” When he turned, she wiped the tear that was skimming down her cheek. “I swear on Harry’s soul that I’m not the mole.
Jade is.”
And with that, she slammed the door shut and walked away from Vincent Drake.
∙ 30 ∙
Le xi! Wait.” Anna spun around as her friend tore past her down the hall, tears and mascara staining her cheeks.
“Can’t now, Anna.” Lexi slowed her pace, falling against the wall and slowly sliding to the floor.
Panic hit Anna, hard. “Lexi, honey, what happened?”
“Vincent happened. He thinks I’m the mole,” Lexi sobbed, her eyes wide and fearful. “I’m not, Anna. I swear.”
Anna hugged her friend. “Of course you’re not. You would never. Why would he say that? Is he drunk?” There was no way Lexi would sell out the family. She wasn’t that kind of person; Anna was certain of that. It had to be a set up, and if it was, there was only one person hateful enough to do it, and that was Jade.