“Has the hunk called you yet?”
“Hope!” Lexi looked over her shoulder to make sure no one heard the little outburst. “His name is Vincent, and no, he hasn’t called yet.”
“So, what are you doing?”
Lexi shuffled the papers on her desk. “I’m looking over one of the files from his desk to find out what projects we’re working on.”
“Sounds exciting,” Hope said sarcastically. “So, are you still nervous to talk to him?”
“No, I figure I’ll keep my head down and my mouth shut.”
Lexi heard Hope snort over the phone. “Whatever you say, Lexi. I’ll let you get back to work. Text me later if anything exciting happens. I’ll be at work
with the meatheads.”
“Give them my love. Bye.” Lexi ended the call and flipped the phone around in her hand as she continued reading through the papers on her desk.
For a solid hour or two, Lexi poured over file after file, learning every detail of the projects Vincent was currently working on and the accounts he was in the process of acquiring. She was taking a pile of files back into his office when her phone chirped. Lexi rolled her eyes, wondering what Hope could possibly want now. When she saw “Vincent Drake” in bold letters on the display, she nearly dropped everything she was carrying onto the floor.
Lexi’s hand started trembling, her mouth going completely dry at the thought of having a conversation with Vincent. She breathed a much needed sigh of relief when she saw it was only a message.
Alexandra, Welcome to Hunter Advertising. I hope that you are more competent than your predecessor. You have three minutes to reply to this message.
Vincent Drake Lexi rolled her eyes at the obnoxious message. His clipped introduction, laced with a haughty arrogance, helped her push aside any leftover fantasies she had of him from high school, and her already throbbing head lowered the chances of a tactful response. “Leigh wasn’t kidding. You are a prick now.” Lexi typed out a quick reply and hit send.
Vincent, Thank you for the warm welcome. I’m sure you’ ll find me more than competent.
Lexi She set the phone down and had just gathered up the files when her phone chirped again.
Alexandra, Prove it. What is my middle name? V. D.
“Jackass sounds about right.” Lexi pecked out “Giovanni” without blinking and hit send. She sat at her desk for a moment, waiting to see what insane hoop he threw at her next, but her phone remained silent.
“Round one goes to Lexi,” she snickered as she picked up the files and put them back on top of the massive mess on Vincent’s desk. She wrestled with the mountain of papers in an effort to keep them from plummeting to the floor in a document disaster of epic proportions and grumbled, “Question my competency.”
Twenty minutes passed and still no response. No warm welcome, no “Alexandra White? From Riverdale? Didn’t we go to high school together?” Lexi realized the all too depressing truth: Vincent didn’t remember her at all.
Her plan to go through high school unnoticed had worked perfectly, much to her dismay. Still, she held out a slim hope that maybe seeing her in person might jog his memory, but until then, Lexi was just another assistant sent to infuriate him.
The tone of the messages he had sent weren’t the most welcoming, but Lexi could sympathize. To him, she was a complete stranger, and he was testing her. That was understandable if his previous employees hadn’t done their jobs effectively. He wasn’t going to give her the time of day until she proved herself worthy of his time. Never one to back down from a challenge, Lexi got back work.
Vincent Drake clearly wasn’t the same person he had been all those years ago, but neither was Lexi. She had been through too much in her short life, lost too much, to ever be that girl again. She was still struggling to find herself after all these years, and if part of that process required her to go toe-to-toe with this man to earn some much needed respect, she would do it. She would not be a doormat; she would prove him wrong and be the most competent hire in history. By the time he stepped off that elevator, Lexi would know Hunter Advertising inside and out. Then she’d make sure he stood up and noticed her this time.
Lexi was still deep in thought when Leigh came flying in through the office door. “Lexi!” she shrieked. The papers in Lexi’s hand flew up into the air and rained down from the ceiling like confetti at a ticker tape parade.
“What?” Lexi gasped as she started gathering the scattered sheets into a disorganized pile on the floor. “You just about gave me a heart attack, Leigh.”
“Giovanni.” Leigh snatched the Blackberry off the desktop and scrolled through the contact list. “His middle name is Giovanni.”
“I know. I replied already.” Lexi shrugged as she placed the last of the loose papers back into the folder.
Leigh just stared at her, dumbfounded. “You … you answered his question … without help?” She couldn’t have looked more shocked if Lexi had sprouted a second head.
“Yeah, it really wasn’t that difficult. I take it he tests all his new employees this way?”
“No one has ever,” Leigh continued muttering incoherently to herself as she wandered back to her desk, leaving Lexi to her work. “… not without my help.”
Just when Lexi started to relax, her phone chirped.
Alexandra, Congratulations on mastering Google. Now let’s see if you can use your brain. I need the advertising budget breakdown for the Fox Jewelers account. I want the advertising expenditures for the local Chicago affiliates and the greater Boston area. I needed them ten minutes ago or you’re fired. V. D.
“Google this.” Lexi flipped her phone the bird before popping another ibuprophen. “God, he’s even more arrogant now than he was in high school.” Lexi made her way into his office and blew out an exasperated breath as she looked at the mountain of papers on his utterly messy desk.
“What have I gotten myself into?”
She began searching through each pile, trying not to move anything for fear of messing up his organizational system, whatever that might be.
But after ten minutes it became clear—Vincent had no system other than total and absolute chaos. She was more and more discouraged with each hour that passed, knowing she would probably see the words “You’re fired” in Vincent’s next text message, but Lexi was nothing if not stubborn.
Before she let him fire her, she would find that damned file if it killed her.