“Sleepy?”
Lexi scowled. “I’m fine. Did you get the approval for the covers?” He confidently shrugged his shoulders. “Of course. I told you I knew a guy.”
Too tired to argue, Lexi held up her hand to stop him. “Good enough for me.” She pulled the flash drive out of the computer and wearily made it to her feet. “I’m going back upstairs to pull in the new demographics package. I need the projection numbers and cost analysis, but it’s on my laptop. If you need me, that’s where I’ll be.” Lexi’s eyes closed for a second as she took a few steps forward and crashed into something hard. She felt Vincent’s arms wrap around her to keep her from falling.
“I think I better go with you so you don’t end up wandering around on the wrong floor.” He laced his fingers with hers and guided her toward the elevator. “Come on, honey, let’s get some coffee in you.”
She caught snippets of what he said, but she wasn’t really listening. There was a playful twinkle in his eyes as he held her, a look that she adored and rarely got to see anymore. Lexi knew she was half out of her mind from lack of sleep, but her body was begging to touch him, to get closer, to feel every inch of him. She fought the urge to gently place her lips to the exposed skin of his chest and feather kisses up his neck. Delirium must have set in, because she could have sworn she heard him call her “honey.”
She followed him down the hall, her eyes remaining focused on their interlocked hands. When she felt the pad of his thumb gently brush back and forth over her hand, but her pulse soared and her temperature rose with each pass of his finger. He tugged at her hand, pulling her into the tiny elevator with him.
“What time is it?” Lexi grabbed Vincent’s wrist and wrenched his arm so she could read his watch. “Holy crap, three thirty a.m. already?” She quickly checked her reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator. “Great, my hair looks like a shrub.”
Vincent smoothed out a few of the stray strands. “There, perfect.”
“Thanks.” Her eyes pulled away from his and lifted up to watch the illuminated floor numbers on the elevator.
The large doors slid open and the couple slowly sauntered past Leigh’s empty desk. It was odd to be in the office and have the hallways quiet and free of the normal hustle and bustle of Hunter Advertising. No ringing phones, no beeping intercoms, no laughter, just the quiet padding of their feet on the carpet.
“Why don’t you go home, Lexi. You look exhausted.”
She shrugged. “I can’t. I don’t have my car. Hope gave me a ride here this morning and was going to pick me up.”
“I can give you a ride,” Vincent offered. “It’s the least I can do considering how much you helped me tonight.”
“When you’re ready to go home for the night, I’ll take you up on that, but I can wait.”
Vincent looked at the clock and shrugged. “Actually, I was just planning on crashing here. By the time I get home and get to bed, it’ll just be time to wake up, so why bother? I can run you home. It’s no problem.”
Lexi leaned back in her desk chair and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. There’s still plenty of work to do. How about that coffee you promised?”
Grinning, Vincent went straight to the coffee machine and poured two cups, then handed the one with cream and sugar to an exhausted Lexi. “Here, drink this. It should help.”
Lexi held the mug tightly in her hands, allowing the warmth of the coffee to spread through her body. The air conditioning of the office put a chill in the air at that hour of the morning. Vincent led Lexi into his office where her laptop was still lying on his couch. While she merged the files, Vincent found his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders to help keep her warm.
Her hand came up and met his as it rested on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
An hour later, Vincent began running through the new pitch. He only had a few hours to practice and had to get all traces of the old campaign out of his memory. Lexi stayed huddled under Vincent’s jacket while as he presented. Occasionally, she corrected him or suggested he reword the phrasing to make it seem less stiff, remembering Julian’s concern with Vincent. But for the most part, she sat back and watched a master work.
Of course, Lexi noticed, there was nothing stiff about Vincent as he strode back and forth across the room, passionately explaining the idea of the campaign and why he felt it was the right path for Julian to take. He exuded confidence and power when he spoke. Each gesture, each facial expression was designed to give emphasis to all the main points. Lexi remained captivated as she watched him move, and the deep tone of his voice washed over her like a caress. The sight of him in his element was extraordinary.
When he finished, Lexi sat stunned. “Vincent that was amazing. You’re so natural with it after only a couple run-throughs.”
Proud but exhausted, Vincent smiled and sat down next to her on the couch, his head tipping back and his eyes closing, but his smile never wavering. “Thanks. I think we did it, Lexi. This is so much better than the original. He has to love it.” He yawned, then tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch. “I’m going to review the PowerPoint one more time. Why don’t you get a little sleep?” He handed her a throw pillow then waited until she placed it under her head and closed her eyes.
“Fine,” she said through a yawn, “but only because you’re my boss and you ordered me to.”
Vincent laughed as he walked to his desk. She was by far the most stubborn woman he had met in a long time, and yet somehow, she was getting under his skin. He found himself looking forward to moments like this when they would banter back and forth like old friends. “Like I could get you to do anything you didn’t want to do.”
He waited for her snarky comeback, but was met only by silence. When he turned around, he saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest accompanied by the sounds of her deep breathing. The beautiful Alexandra White was already fast asleep.
As she lay there, Vincent couldn’t help but think about what a kind, selfless woman Lexi was. Who better than she to be jaded by the breaks she had been dealt her in life? And yet, through the death of her mother and then her father, which inevitably turned her life upside down, somehow Lexi came through it with her beautiful spirit intact.
He envied her—her strength, her perseverance, her grace, all of the tiny facets that made Lexi the most intriguing person he had ever met. How he wished he had her ability to be true to herself despite the rotten things life threw at her. But Vincent knew he was different, bitter and cynical because of the past, which he had unfortunately allowed to dictate who he was. While she was light and sunshine, he was nothing but clouds and darkness.