“Be sure to snap a picture of that rat bastard if he looks hot,” Hope yelled from the kitchen.

Lexi leaned back inside the door and chuckled. “I’ll tell Sean you said he was hot!”

“I said he was a rat bastard with the potential to be hot!” Hope screamed as the door shut.

Lexi laughed all the way to the elevator. When she had called Hope to work on the Ferrari, Lexi knew her friend was the only one who could pull it off, and as expected, even the guys from the dealership couldn’t tell where Sean had damaged the car. Hope was that good. The photo shoot went off without a hitch, and in the end, Sean got a really great price on a yellow Ferrari.

From the moment Sean had sauntered into the Crowbar and laid eyes on Hope, Lexi could tell that he was shamelessly smitten with her friend.

Marco had informed Lexi when she called the shop later that day that Hope had been so beyond pissed off by Sean’s chauvinistic assumptions that she hadn’t even spoken to him for the entire hour hour he sat at the garage. Not a single word passed her lips in his direction. And when she was done with the bodywork, Marco said she’d grabbed Sean by the ear, led him into the garage and pointed at the car, then shoved a bill for over two grand in his face and held out her hand, waiting for payment. When the check hit her hand, she’d reached down into her bra and pulled the keys from their hiding place deep between her breasts and tossed them at Sean’s head. Then she’d locked herself in her office for the next half hour.

The next day at work, Sean had peppered Lexi with questions about her friend. He’d wanted to know if she was seeing anyone, what her favorite flower was, her favorite restaurant, what kind of guys she dated, had she said anything about him? He’d tried to call again and thank her personally, but for some reason, every time he called, Marco told him Hope was busy with a customer. After two days of phone calls, he gave up his attempts to woo her and sulked.

Lexi grinned as she stepped outside and saw Leigh waving from inside the car. For the first time in a long while, life was exciting, and instead of stressing, Lexi took a deep breath and prepared to live a little.

Leigh put her at ease and had her laughing before they even made it to the highway. Through the laughter, Leigh helped her see that her job at the event was to be an observer and a reference for Vincent. He needed her assistance, but she didn’t need to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Feeling more at relaxed, Lexi planned on quietly fading into the background until she was needed.

The ballroom was gorgeous. Elegant maroon and gold fabrics were draped everywhere, and the huge glass windows gave a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. The grand staircase allowed the guests to make their entrance in style and be seen by everyone in the room. Spectacular floral arrangements adorned the center of each table; the scent from the roses filled the room, welcoming the guests as they arrived.

Lexi took a deep breath, and with Leigh at her side, she began the long journey down the staircase. Once safely at the bottom, she stopped and watched the flurry of activity before her. Well-dressed servers glided across the room in elaborate crisscrossing patterns, carrying large silver platters covered with succulent finger foods. How they maneuvered around the guests and each other without colliding was nothing short of miraculous.

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Leigh tugged on Lexi’s arm and pointed across the ballroom. One of the tall bar tables was already filled with a small group of people laughing and drinking. From the bar, Leigh grabbed a glass of wine for both of them, and then they joined the group.

“Leigh!” A girl with short black hair popped out of her seat and hugged Leigh then stuck out her hand to Lexi and smiled. ”Hello, I’m Erica. I work

at Reid. Have we met before? You look familiar and I never forget a face.” She stared at Lexi quizzically.

“I actually interviewed with Reid about a month ago. I’m Lexi White.” Lexi shyly waved to the others at the table as she slid into her seat and took

a sip of her wine, hoping it would help calm her nerves.

“That’s right! Now I remember you. I’m Mr. Reid’s secretary. Sorry about all the annoying phone calls. The guy took quite the liking to you, and he has a problem taking no for an answer.”

Lexi blushed, not quite sure what to say. “It was a very tough decision between Reid and Hunter, but I had to follow my gut.” She tried her best to be diplomatic and avoided mentioning how the thought of working with David Reid made her skin crawl.

Erica rolled her eyes and turned to Leigh. “You didn’t tell her she could speak freely about my freaky boss yet, did you?”

Leigh laughed. “No, sorry. I forgot. Lexi, Erica’s cool. Her Christmas card last year was a picture of Reid practicing his smile as he recited his daily affirmations to himself in the mirror. I still want to know how you got that picture of him.”

“God bless cameras on cell phones.” Erica grinned and winked at Lexi. “Come on, we’re all friends here—tell me the truth; what grossed you out the most, meeting David in the flesh, or the freakishly large homage to his narcissism that greets you when you get off the elevator?”

“Actually, I think it was the way he talked to my boobs rather than my face.” Everyone at the table burst out laughing.

“Word to the wise,” Erica warned with a laugh, “avoid David like the plague tonight. I’m sure he’ll remember you, and the man has an irrational love of the tango. If the music starts, he grabs someone and then writhes around them on the dance floor. It’s quite awful, trust me. I speak from experience.” She shuddered at the memory.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Lexi laughed as she scanned the growing crowd for any faces she might recognize.

The conversation flowed easily between the small group of women. Erica worked at Reid, another woman, Kim, the most laid back person Lexi had ever met, worked for Erik, Anna’s husband. Kim kept them all entertained with stories of Madison on set with her dad. The last person to join them at the table was Claire, who had recently been hired by Parketti. Her heavily painted-on makeup made her look like the perfect porcelain doll. Lexi wondered what ugliness Claire might be hiding underneath all that fake perfection. When Claire sat down at the table, she remained very quiet, but listened intently to every word. Leigh gave Lexi a small kick under the table, but Lexi had already figured out that Claire was doing recon for her bosses and was not there to socialize. The conversation immediately veered away from work and onto their personal lives.




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