Next, a representative from the children’s hospital launched into a speech about the generosity of Hunter Advertising over the years. Through Hunter’s charitable giving, many programs and buildings at the hospital had been improved, allowing for a higher quality of healthcare for children at the San Francisco hospital.
Vincent casually reached for something off a passing server’s platter and stepped closer to Lexi. His earthy cologne filled the air, making Lexi’s head swim. She tried not to react as his shoulder brushed against hers, but her heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings when she felt his head dip towards hers, his deep voice whispering in her ear.
“So, who’s here?” He kept his head tilted toward hers so he could hear her response without disturbing the people around them with their discussion.
“Most of the people on our list,” Lexi said in a low voice, sipping her wine to hide their conversation. She listed who she had seen in attendance as they compared notes.
“Paolo Marradesi?”
Lexi nodded and made the mistake of looking up at him. The proximity of his face, the curve of his luscious lips, and the heat of his body sent her senses into overdrive. She found herself staring at his lips longer than she should have, wondering if they were as soft as they looked and imagining, for just a second, what they would feel like skimming down her neck or along her collarbone.
She cleared her throat and answered his question. “Yep. He’s here. I tried to spy on him, but he got away.” Lexi took a long swig of her wine and looked anywhere but at Vincent’s face. Even so, out of the corner of her eye she saw him looking at her and doing something completely out of character—smiling.
“Explain that one, please.”
“Oh, don’t panic, I wasn’t hiding under the table, wearing a fake mustache or lurking behind a large fern. I just tried to get close and eavesdrop on his conversation to see if I could pick up anything we could—I mean anything that you could use when you spoke with him later.”
Vincent came even closer, his lips right next to her ear. “And how did that go?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice.
“He was on to me and ran away with his wife.”
“Stalk anyone else before I arrived?”
“Stalk is such a harsh word. I prefer corporate reconnaissance or intentional overhearing.”
Vincent’s shoulders shook as he silently laughed. Lexi gave him a quick elbow to the side, and then joined him in hushed laughter.
“Wow, I made Vincent Drake laugh. Do I get a plaque or something?” Lexi was happy to see Vincent let his guard down with her even for just a few moments.
“You’re absolutely ridiculous sometimes, do you know that?” He quickly composed himself and put back on the usual Vincent façade before anyone noticed.
“Be nice or I won’t tell you about my conversation with Julian Stone.”
Vincent snapped to attention at the mention of Stone’s name, moving even closer to her, not wanting to miss a word she was about to say. All hint of playfulness was gone. He was again focused on business as his large body crowded hers, waiting for an explanation.
“You spoke to Julian Stone?”
“Technically, he came over and spoke to me.”
Vincent’s mouth fell open and he was about to ask for every detail, but then a loud round of applause echoed through the room when Elizabeth took
the stage, halting their conversation.
Lexi glanced up at Vincent and saw him smiling proudly at his mother as she made her way to the podium. She listened as Elizabeth spoke lovingly of her father who had founded Hunter Advertising when she was a young girl. She shared a few anecdotes from her childhood and explained how philanthropy was ingrained in her at a very young age by her parents and that she was proud to be continuing the Hunter tradition of giving back.
She thanked everyone for their astounding generosity, then invited them to take to the dance floor and enjoy the rest of their evening.
The music started again. Some guests sauntered out to the dance floor while others began milling around the room, getting a drink or grabbing a bite to eat. A loud trio of men came over to Vincent with hands extended.
Lexi immediately recognized them from the hit list as the Lewis brothers from the successful line of board games. The word on the street was that they were going to modernize some of their classic games and wanted to do a huge national and international ad campaign. Vincent smoothly greeted each man by name. He even cast a quick glance in Lexi’s direction to see if she noticed he’d done his homework. Lexi smiled and gave him a quick nod of praise. With him buried deep in conversation, she tried to slip away, giving the men some privacy to discuss the business matters at hand. She wasn’t able to take two steps before she felt Vincent’s strong hand clamp down on her wrist and hold her in place.
“And who is this beautiful young lady that’s tryin’ to sneak away from us?” James Lewis, the oldest of the three sons asked in a deep southern twang.
Vincent released her wrist and slid his warm hand to her lower back, gently ushering her toward the gentlemen who were so interested in meeting her. She was acutely aware of the physical contact, her body warming in response to his light touch. She tried to steady her breathing but nearly turned to jelly when he gave her back a reassuring pat.
“Good evening, Mr. Lewis. I’m Lexi White, Mr. Hunter’s assistant. How are you all doing this evening?”
“We’re great, little lady. Thank you for askin’. So what’s it like to work for old Vince here?”
“Vince,” Lexi smirked, knowing he probably wanted to strangle her for calling him that, “is wonderful to work for, but probably not as much fun as you gentlemen are. I hear you three are quite the pranksters.” Stories of them having one another’s cars towed from fancy restaurants under the guise of being repossessed or of them having thousands of pumpkins delivered to each other’s lawns on Halloween made the tabloids constantly. So many rumors swirled around these three that no one could tell the fact from the fiction anymore.
“Ha! You’re right darlin’, we do know how to have fun. Did you hear my latest?” Lexi smiled and shook her head as James Lewis laughed loudly. “i convinced Joey there that he was invited to have dinner with the president. I made fake invitations and everythin’, had my girl call his girl, made it sound all official. He strolled up to the White House like he owned the place and told them he was invited personally by the president himself. The Secret Service had him flat on his stomach in the bushes in less than twenty seconds flat. He cried like a baby as they threw him in the pokey.”