Read Online Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels - Free Book Online Page B

of them wished her luck, which Lexi found odd, but she had so much she wanted to get accomplished that she shrugged it off and headed for her desk.
    She no sooner sat down than the sound of her chirping bird ringtone filled the room, making her head throb. Suddenly, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest, when she wondered if it could be Vincent calling to check in for the day.
    “Lexi White,” she said nervously into her phone.
    43
    Victoria Michaels
    Hope’s laughter rang out. “Lexi White? That’s how you answer the phone now, not ‘Hey, Hope’?”
    Lexi let out the breath she had been holding. “Hope, I’m hung over, exhausted, and about ten minutes away from a nervous breakdown, and you called to give me grief?”
    “Absolutely,” Hope chuckled. “You need to lighten up and breathe, Lexi.”
    Drumming her fingernails on her desktop, Lexi waited. “Are you done?”
    “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
    44
    Trust in Advertising
    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