“Do it again, Uncle Vince!” Madison laughed, kicking her “pony” in the ribs with her tiny heels. Vincent reared up on his back legs and neighed as Madison grabbed him around the neck to keep from sliding off.
He was a completely different man. This man was playful and acting silly without hesitation. The smile that lit up his face transformed his features from serious and sullen to youthful and carefree, something that up until now Lexi didn’t think he was even capable of anymore. And yet with Madison, he wasn’t Vincent Drake the VP of Hunter, he was just Uncle Vince, and from the looks of it, he was loving every minute of it.
“He really is amazing with her,” Anna whispered in Lexi’s ear, back from her trip to Sean’s office. With a smile, the women continued their spying.
“Whenever he gets in a really bad mood, all I have to do is bring her around and he glows. She thinks he hung the moon just for her.”
Lexi watched as Anna walked in and announced it was time for the pony ride to end and helped Madison get her shoes on to leave. Vincent’s laughter stopped, and he shot up when he noticed Lexi standing in the doorway watching him.
“What are you smiling about?” Vincent asked in a clipped tone.
“Nothing, it was just … nice. That’s all.”
“What was nice?” Vincent asked as he slipped his shoes back on his feet, brushing the lint off his slacks.
“Seeing you smile again. I thought maybe you had forgotten how to after all these years.”
Vincent shot her a sarcastic smirk.
“You really should do it more often,” Lexi said softly and smiled before going back to her desk to answer the phone.
“Bye bye, Uncle Vince. I gotta go home. Don’t forget to come play Barbies soon.”
Vincent scooped her into his arms and gave her a big hug. “I will. I promise.”
“Bye, Vincent.” Anna stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “And please be nice to Lexi. She’s a very sweet girl and smart. You need to keep her around.”
“Bye, ladies.”
Just as Vincent began wiping the cookie crumbs off his desk, Lexi came crashing through his door.
“Vincent!” She grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and began shoving his arms into it. “Drop the crumbs and get this jacket on. Now.”
“Would you please tell me what the hell is going on?” Vincent wiggled out of her grasp and fixed the jacket himself, tucking in his shirt at the same time.
Lexi took a deep breath. “Sean just called. He’s stuck on the bridge with a flat tire, and he’s supposed to meet—” She didn’t even need to finish.
Vincent’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “He was going to meet with Mr. Walden, from the bookstore chain and get the contract signed.
Christ. How long do I have?” He immediately ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the messy mane.
“Twenty minutes, but traffic should be light at this time of day, so I think you’ll make it.”
Lexi stepped closer to him and without thinking, wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, fumbling with the collar of his shirt. Vincent shivered as her warm fingers brushed against his neck and her soft body pressed into his while she adjusted his collar. In her hurry to get him ready, Lexi didn’t notice how overwhelmed Vincent suddenly seemed by her closeness.
“Aha!” She wrenched his neck to the side, pulling his tie back to the front of his shirt. When Vincent stared at her in confusion, she snickered. “You need this up front now, unless you were planning on playing pony with Mr. Walden too.”
Her green eyes sparkled playfully as she smoothed the silk down his chest, quickly adjusting the knot so it was once again neat and perfect. She reached up and wiped Anna’s lipstick off his face with her thumb.
“I’m never going to live this down, am I?” His self-deprecating words broke her focus.
“Which one? Not remembering me from high school or being caught playing pony?”
“Both,” Vincent answered as she stepped back and buttoned up his jacket. He was once again the picture of dark, masculine perfection.
“Probably not.” Lexi laughed as she handed him the address of the restaurant and a copy of the papers that needed to be signed. Just before Vincent rushed out the door, she said, “And just wait until Sean hears about this.”
He groaned and cursed slightly under his breath, then disappeared out of the office to save the day for Hunter Advertising once again.
∙ 8 ∙
Le xi, you know I love you, right? But this is just creepy,” Hope mumbled with a spoonful of Captain Crunch in her mouth. “I mean, who the hell are these people?”
“They’re on the hit list for the gala.”
Hope’s eyebrows shot up at the words “hit list.” “So, who gets whacked first, Mrs. Soprano?”
“You’re hilarious, Hope. Seriously, I need to know these people on sight by the end of the week, so it seemed like a good idea to…live with them for a while?”
“Well, your apartment looks like a police station, not that I’ve ever personally been inside one. I’m a law-abiding citizen, I swear. But you’ve got the big suspect board of possible axe murderers, and a bunch of well-dressed murderers at that. Is that an original Valentino she’s wearing?” Hope let out a low whistle, then shoveled more cereal into her mouth.
“Francesca Marradesi? Yep, she comes from the one of the wealthiest families in Italy. They own a cosmetics company. She and her husband Paolo and his brother Dante run the corporation, and they—”
Hope put her hand firmly over Lexi’s mouth, silencing her. “It’s six o’clock in the morning Lexi, and honestly, I don’t care who the hell they are. I just like her dress. Now pass me those Rice Krispies. All of a sudden I feel like some puffed rice.”
Lexi arrived at work at 6:45 just like she had every day. Leigh, of course, had been there for half an hour already and handed her a small pile of messages for Vincent. Continuing with the morning routine, Lexi printed out his schedule, made the changes, and got the coffee ready.
The more time Lexi spent with Vincent, the easier it was to be around him. He still made her heart race when he smiled or glanced in her direction, but instead of seeing him as the unattainable god he’d been to her in high school, she saw him for the man he was, flaws and all.
To Vincent, there was nothing more important than his work. Everything he did was for the benefit of Hunter Advertising. He put in ridiculously long days, and Lexi received text messages and E-mails from him at all hours of the night, so she knew that even when he went home, work continued to be his priority.