Vincent I don’t need to leave early. I’m not coming to the presentation, remember? We had a whole conversation about it yesterday. Good luck.
“What did he want?” Hope asked innocently, even though Lexi knew she’d seen the message.
“He’s acting like I’m still coming.” Her phone beeped again. “Was he even listening when I was talking to him?” She read the new message and groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Alexandra You’re coming. I know you’ ll be there. Quit being stubborn and get dressed.
“How dare he!” Lexi snarled and pecked away at her tiny keyboard.
Dickhead Cut the Alexandra crap. I’m not coming.
“Well, well,” Hope said, grinning like a fool. “Someone finally has that twinkle back in her eye. Are your cheeks flushed too, my dear?”
“This man drives me crazy!” Lexi slammed her phone onto the counter.
“And you love it.”
“I do,” Lexi said, pathetically shaking her head. She wanted him in her life. It didn’t mean she was ready to forget what happened, rather that she was ready to take a step toward fixing what was broken between them so they could see if they had a real chance together. “There’s still a lot of stuff we need to work out.”
“Have you seen today’s paper, by chance?” When Lexi shook her head, Hope grabbed it out of the trash, unfolded it, and laid it across her lap. The headline read:
P ro of of t h e Su pe r mode l Su pe r s c a n da l The words jumped off the page, and Lexi’s stomach rolled. She skimmed the blurb under the picture. It said that evidence from an unknown source had surfaced supporting Vincent’s allegations against not only Jade, but David Reid. The full story could be found on page five. Lexi’s fingers couldn’t get her there fast enough, and when she finally spread the paper out in front of her, she gasped.
Three large pictures of Jade and David in various stages of physical contact stared Lexi in the face. All of the photos seemed to be taken while they had been tucked in the dark corner of the garden where Lexi had discovered them that night. One of the photos was grainy, like it had come from a security camera, but the other two were crystal clear. If you looked close enough, you could practically see his tongue snaking down her throat. The source of the photos asked to remain anonymous, but she was quoted as saying she “hoped they both are now seen for the scum they truly are.”
Lexi couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “How …”
“Everyone remembers that ugly dress.”
“Now there’s proof in black and white that I wasn’t making everything up.
Proof that Vincent was telling the truth.”
“Yep, and the two of them are screwed because they’ve both publicly stated that they weren’t having a relationship. I just saw on the internet that Jade’s been dropped from three modeling contracts already this morning.”
“Karma’s a bitch.”
“So, think about it. Now that Jade’s out of the picture and everyone knows what a liar she is, don’t you think that Marradesi would love to hear a presentation from the brilliant young woman who figured out who the mole was at Hunter Advertising and spoke the truth, even at great personal cost?”
“No, they deserve to hear it from a skilled presenter who oozes confidence and power and knows what the hell he’s doing.”
“Come on, Lexi. You know you want to do it.”
“I have plenty of other accounts I’m working on. I can build my portfolio that way, even without Marradesi Cosmetics.”
Hope smiled wickedly. “Don’t ya even want to try, just to see if you can do it?” The wheels started turning in Lexi’s head. “Can you imagine?” The problem was that she could imagine it perfectly. She could see herself in that board room with Paolo, Francesca, and Dante, giving the presentation with Vincent at her side. Instead of scaring her, the idea made her genuinely excited about the possibilities.
For some strange reason, she flashed back to high school, to graduation day, and heard Michelle’s voice in her head. “And so my fellow classmates, I encourage you to leave this place and find yourselves. Become the person you are destined to be. Find that which truly makes you happy and have the courage to go after it, fight for it, and attain it. Let nothing stop you, because each one of us is special, and we have something unique to offer the world. Never forget to be true to yourself and go after your dreams, for dreams really do come true.”
This was her chance to go after her dreams and possibly get everything she ever wanted in life—an amazing job and a man she loved. The question was, did she have the courage to go for it?
Her head started to clear. The fog of uncertainty that had settled in since the confrontation with Vincent slowly faded, and she began to picture her future again. Hope was right. It was time to take a step. If it turned out to be in the wrong direction, that was fine. The great thing about life was that she could always change course. But for now, she was going to take a chance, and the first thing she was going after was Marradesi.
“Time to take a step toward my future. Come help me pick out something to wear.”
∙ 33 ∙
l exi flew down the highway toward the local offices of Marradesi Cosmetics with an excited smile. For the first time in days she felt alive again.
Even if things didn’t work out and they lost the account or she looked like a bumbling idiot, at least she was living the life she’d been blessed with and going after her dreams, both of them. No regrets. Harry would be proud.
The receptionist greeted her as she stepped off the elevator and ushered her into a conference room. Lexi stopped short when she found the room empty.
“Where’s Mr. Drake?”
“He called and said he would be delayed, but that I should go ahead and get you settled because you’d have materials that needed to be set up.
Help yourself to coffee, and if there is anything you need, feel free to ask.”
“Wait,” Lexi called to the receptionist started to leave. “Did Mr. Drake say how late he was running?”
“He only said that you would know what needed to be done until he arrived.” The door closed with a click and Lexi whipped out her phone and dialed Vincent.
“Where the hell are you? You left before I did. You should be here by now.”
His deep chuckle on the other end of the phone made Lexi see red. “I had to make a stop and was delayed. You know what you’re doing. Just get things ready.”