Hours later, crumpled pieces of yellow paper littered the office floor. Others were taped to the dry erase board Vincent had dragged in from Elizabeth’s office. He paced the room like a caged tiger, trying to come up with a tag line that felt right for the Stone project. On his five hundredth lap around the room, he nearly stumbled over Lexi, who was now sprawled out on the floor, flat on her back, her long, shapely legs running up the wall.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Shhhh, I’m concentrating,” Lexi whispered, holding a finger to her smiling lips. “Perspective is everything.”
“We’ll, I’m starving. Let’s order something to eat. Screw perspective, I’m far more creative on a full stomach.”
That perked Lexi up considerably. “Tell me you like Thai food.”
“Never had it, actually.” Vincent shrugged looking down as he loomed over her. “Is that what you want?”
Lexi quirked an eyebrow at him. “Do you like spicy food? If not, this might not be the thing for you.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “I think I can handle it.”
“Okay,” Lexi snickered, “then let’s eat.”
Vincent held out his hand and helped Lexi up from the floor. “Do you know a good place?” Lexi quickly rattled off a phone number. “Here,” he thrust a phone at her, “you make the call.”
“What do you want? Shrimp, pork, or chicken?”
“Surprise me.” Vincent smugly smiled, challenging Lexi. “And make it spicy.”
An hour later, boxes of food from a variety of entrees covered Vincent’s desk. There were noodles, dips, and sauces, as well as chicken, pork, and shrimp dishes to choose from.
“I think we’re getting closer, don’t you?” Lexi asked as she grabbed a plate. She filled it high with spicy chicken and rice, then went back to the couch and stretched out. She was surprised when Vincent came and sat on the floor, leaning his back up against the couch in front of her.
“Yes, but let’s take a break from the project talk until we’re done eating. Rest and refuel.”
“Done.” Lexi took a heaping bite of food.
“Think it’s a good sign we haven’t heard from Sean or Hope yet?” Vincent chuckled as he set his plate onto his lap.
“I think it means so far Sean has had the good sense to keep his mouth shut. Either that, or she’s killed him and is dumping his body into the bay as we speak.” Vincent laughed out loud. “Don’t let her size fool you. She knows how to wield a tire iron.”
“Don’t piss off Hope. Got it.”
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend, right?”
“No, he’d been seeing someone casually, but it wasn’t going well at all. Then recently, I think it was the day we went to Crowbar, as a matter of fact, he officially broke it off with her.”
Lexi hid a little smile. “Good to know.”
Vincent looked over at Lexi and cautiously stabbed at curry shrimp. “So, tell me what you’ve been doing for the last ten years.”
“It’s a long, boring story. You really don’t want to hear it.” Lexi shoveled some rice into her mouth to try to avoid any further discussion of the topic, but Vincent persisted.
“Actually, I do. And since I’m your boss, you can’t say no.” Lexi playfully kicked his shoulder with her bare foot. “Anna said something about NYU.”
“I made it through three glorious semesters.” Lexi sighed.
“Did you like living in New York?”
“Loved every minute of it.” Her eyes clouded with sadness. “I only wish I could have stayed longer.”
Vincent watched the pain flit across Lexi’s face as she became lost in her thoughts. He knew some of her story; Anna had filled him in. He placed his hand on her leg and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m so sorry about your dad.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek, but Lexi quickly wiped it away, unwilling to wallow in her sadness any longer. Harry wouldn’t have wanted that for her. She placed her hand over Vincent’s and held onto it for a second, relishing the contact. “Thanks.”
“I think what you did, dropping out of school to take care of him, is easily the most selfless thing I have ever heard of someone doing.”
“He is … he was my dad. There was no way in hell I was going to let him go through that alone.” Lexi paused, chewing the mouthful of spicy chicken.
“Even at the end, when he didn’t remember who I was, I knew who I was, and I knew I was doing the right thing by him, so it was manageable.”
Vincent gave her a sad smile, and then popped a piece of shrimp into his mouth. He tried to speak, but instead began sputtering, waving his hand in front of his mouth. “Hot!” He filled his mouth with ice from his drink, hoping to dull the pain, but his eyes started watering when no relief came.
Lexi stifled a laugh and ripped off a piece of bread, handing it to him. “You’re the one that said to get it spicy. Just put this in your mouth for a few seconds and breathe, Vincent, breathe.” She gently patted him on the back until his breathing slowed down.
“How do you eat this stuff?” Vincent wiped his eyes. “I think my taste buds were just incinerated.”
“Are you always such a baby?”
“When I swallow something that has the same effects as Drano? Yeah.”
Lexi threw another piece of bread at his head and seized the moment to change the topic of conversation to him. She pointed up at the diplomas hanging on his wall. “So after Stanford, you went to Columbia for grad school?”
“Yeah, from one end of the country to another.” He went and rummaged through the rest of the boxes, looking for something safe to eat. “What else in here won’t dissolve the lining of my stomach?”
Lexi groaned and got up off the couch to help him. “Here, eat this. It has an orange glaze on it, so it’s sweet without the heat of the chilies.” Vincent eyed her cautiously. “It’s on the kids’ menu at the restaurant so I think you can handle it.”
“Smartass.” Vincent popped a piece of pork into his mouth and grinned as he went and sat back down.
“It’s part of my charm.” Lexi joined him on the couch and watched him happily dig into the pork. “So, why the cross country move after undergrad?”
The smile slipped from his face, and he stared at his plate intently. “Never mind.” Lexi wished she hadn’t brought up the subject.