“They make the place look like a funeral home if you ask me,” Jade muttered, crinkling her nose in disgust at the beautiful buds. “So, what are we doing today?” Jade asked with an utterly bored look on her face.
“We aren’t doing anything. I need to make a few idea notes on an account.” Vincent’s voice trailed off as he fell back into deep thought about the campaign. An idea struck him, and without thinking, he asked the question. “Is Lexi at her desk?”
Jade’s head couldn’t have whipped toward him faster if he’d told her he was selling everything, shaving his head, and becoming a Tibetan monk.
“You did not just ask me about her.”
This time Vincent did groan out loud. “Jade, I’m not in the mood for this. Was she at her desk or not? That’s all I’m asking. I need to have her do something for me.”
“And I bet she’d be happy to oblige you anything you asked, Mr. Drake.”
“Do we have to do this again?”
“Supergirl wasn’t at her desk. She’s probably off kissing someone else’s ass. Try not to get too jealous.”
“Why do you have to act this way, Jade? She’s never done anything to you,” Vincent asked in a tired voice.
“Are you kidding?” Jade was on her feet, her hands waving wildly as she spoke. “That little bitch talked shit about me to Julian Stone, and now he won’t return my calls. This is my career she’s messing with, my livelihood. What the hell, Vincent? I’m your girlfriend, in case you’ve forgotten. I would think you should be pissed at her for screwing with my life.”
“I know who you are.”
“Well, maybe you need to see who she is. I called that office at their request. My agent got a message that Stone wanted to talk to me. I called twice. Once I left a message and this was the second call. Whatever she said, that wench of Stone’s …”
“Christina,” Vincent offered through gritted teeth as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Yeah, that Christina bitch put me on hold, then got all snippy. The next thing I know, I’m talking to Lexi, who is bitching me out for calling.”
“It was an important day, Jade. We had been up all night.”
“I don’t need to be reminded that the two of you spent the night together, thank you very much.” Jade walked to the window and glared out over the city.
“For the millionth time, we were working. She’s my employee. We do have to work together on occasion. Are you telling me you weren’t up all night at least once while you were on your latest trip? And were there other men in the vicinity? Of course you were, and you were probably at a nightclub, drinking and dancing every night. I’ll bet I can go on-line right now and find photographs of you stumbling into a taxi at dawn. But I’m not giving you a hard time, so why am I being accused of something I most certainly did not do?” Vincent was on his feet now, angrily stuffing a file into the tall cabinet.
“I don’t like her, and I don’t trust her. And for the record, I hate the way she looks at you.” Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest.
Jade’s all-consuming paranoia was getting old. She didn’t trust Lexi? What a joke. The real problem was that she didn’t trust him. People were drawn to Lexi’s radiant personality, whereas Jade repelled humanity. Lexi was everything Jade was not, and then some. For a minute he wondered if Jade could see that he was developing genuine feelings for Lexi. Was he was that transparent, or was this just her general insanity rearing its ugly head again?
Lexi had never done a thing to Jade other than stand up to her instead of cowering at her feet. That was one of the things Vincent admired most about Lexi—the fact that she wouldn’t let Jade intimidate her.
He also wasn’t exactly sure that Jade was telling the truth on this whole phone call incident. Julian had never once mentioned Jade when he described the look he’d prefer for the models in the print ads. As a matter of fact, he wanted to do something completely away from Jade’s severe, high society look. If he had contacted Jade’s agent and was actively pursuing her, that would have come up during the meeting. Sean’s words again floated into his head.
Screw Jade.
Jade’s screeching pulled Vincent from his thoughts. “You have to be blind not to see that she wants you. Her eyes are always on you, like you’re the source of the air she breathes. She gets this puke-inducing grin on her face when you thank her or tell her she did something right.” Jade crept closer to him, her finger pointing in his direction as she spoke. “When you have your back turned, her eyes are all over your body, and the little stolen glances and smiles between the two of you are downright disgusting. I get the feeling you’re quite enjoying all the attention from the Girl Wonder too. Doesn’t Hunter have a no fraternizing policy?”
“For the last time, we are not fraternizing.” Vincent’s voice was cool and icy, his fury bubbling under the surface. If he lost his temper, he knew he would be confirming Jade’s suspicions about his interest in Lexi and just how much he had thought about fraternizing with Lexi as he made the long, lonely drive home from Anna’s that night.
There was a swift knock on the door, interrupting the argument.
“Come in.”
“Vincent, I need to talk to yo—” Lexi stormed into the room and stopped mid-sentence when she saw Jade perched with her hand on her hips in the center of the room. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.”
“Why do you do that? Why do you let her call you Vincent when every other person in this office has to call you Mr. Drake? What makes her so special?” Jade snapped.
Without acknowledging Jade, he turned his attention solely to Lexi. “Would you mind excusing us, please? But don’t run off, I need to talk to you when we’re done in here.” The warm tone of his voice and his smile caught Lexi totally off guard and made Jade fume all the more. She dared a quick glance in Jade’s direction to find her eyes blackened with hate as she glared back at Lexi.
“Um, okay, sure. I—I’ll be at my desk, Vincent.” She raised an eyebrow at Jade in challenge then quietly left the room.
“Did you see that?” Jade screeched as the door closed.
Vincent shrugged and picked up his coffee. “You started it, and she just finished it.” He knew he was goading Jade into a fight, one that would end badly, but maybe he was ready for that.