Lexi glanced at Vincent, smiled, and said, “Actually there’s no place I’d rather be on a rainy Saturday. So, what’s up?”
Elizabeth motioned to Vincent’s office and followed them inside. Vincent stood off to the side, allowing his mother to sit at the desk. Lexi sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, her knee bouncing gently with excitement.
“The date of the Marradesi meeting has been moved up. It’s this week. Paolo just called. They’ll be in town for an opening, and he told me he was anxious to talk to the man who charmed his wife at the gala, so it looks like you’re up, Vincent.”
He confidently nodded his head. “That’s fine. I’ve been researching them for weeks. I’m interested to talk to them and find out what direction they want to take.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I want Lexi at the meeting, and I want her to design the campaign with you from beginning to end.” Elizabeth waited for the argument from her son, but Lexi chimed in first.
“Elizabeth, this is a huge client. I’m happy to just watch Vincent work. I really don’t think …”
“I agree. Not that she doesn’t have wonderful ideas, but she’s never been in a negotiation before, let alone one this high profile.” Vincent began pacing back and forth across the room.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked pointedly at her son. “And what exactly do you know about makeup, Vincent? Or the way women feel about makeup? You have the marketing part down, but I have a feeling they’re looking for the best niche for them in the American cosmetics market, and from there they’ll go global. This needs a woman’s touch; I can feel it.” She crossed her arms and sat back in his leather chair. “It’s her or me. Pick
your poison.”
“Her!” Vincent said emphatically.
“You!” Lexi said at the same time.
“I’ll try not to be offended by how quickly I was cast aside by my own son.” Elizabeth pretended to wipe a tear, but her warm smile overpowered any dramatics. “Lexi, you can do this.” There was no doubt, no convincing, just a clear statement of fact from Elizabeth.
“I can do this,” Lexi whispered to herself. A warm hand gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“We can do this.” Vincent’s hand lingered on her shoulder, and Lexi reached up, grasping it for dear life, hoping his confidence would wash away her selfdoubt.
“So, now what?” Lexi’s voice was still shaky as she asked the question.
Elizabeth clapped her hands together and then handed each of them a folder. “Well, I hope you didn’t have a date or anything this evening because we have a lot to work on.”
Lexi’s cheeks immediately reddened, and she grimaced. “I think I better go make a phone call.”
Vincent stiffened and watched Lexi exit the room. By the time he bothered to look back at Elizabeth, she had her hands folded sweetly on the desk
and smiled angelically at him.
“Are you sure about this? Because if this is you playing matchmaker, you picked one hell of a client to put at risk.”
“I know I’m right. And this is all about business. I’d never risk the Marradesi account. Honestly, the two of you together are magic, even if you can’t see that yet.” With a knowing smile, she stood up, patted his cheek, and headed for the door. “A mother knows,” she said cryptically. “Enjoy your evening. And you can thank me for this later.”
Lexi came back into Vincent’s office after wrapping up her phone call and began studying the file Elizabeth had left for her.
“Was he mad?” Vincent asked without even looking up from the paper he was jotting notes on.
“Who?”
“Peter.” He peered over the top of the paper, carefully gauging her reaction.
A chuckle slipped from her lips. “Oh, I think he’s fine.”
“If you have plans …” Vincent tried to do the right thing and give her space even though he wanted nothing more than to keep her close.
“Vincent, trust me. Peter will be fine. He’s nice and makes me feel sexy and desirable, but can I tell you a secret?” She crooked her finger and leaned toward the desk as Vincent did the same. “I highly doubt he’ll ever love someone as much as he loves himself.”
There was no stopping the belly laugh that Vincent felt coming. “He gives Narcissus a real run for his money?”
“This is terrible, and I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he took me to a gallery opening Friday night. It was modern art, which I enjoy, but some of it i just don’t get. Anyway, one of the artists graffitied a trash dumpster and named it The Globalization of Evil. Another took Styrofoam cups, arranged them in circle, colored one red, and named it The Tenth Circle of Hell. This one woman basically hung a bunch of mirrors and called it Contemplation of Self. I thought the name fit because as I looked at it, I definitely thought ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ but when I turned to see Peter’s reaction, he was busy winking at himself in the mirror. He did it all night. No matter where he was in the room, he looked at the mirror, saw his reflection, and winked.”
She broke out into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. Vincent doubled over with his head lying on the desk as his entire body shook with laughter. He gasped for breath after a few seconds. “Great, now I’m going to have that in my head every time I see him, thanks.”
“Glad to help.” Lexi sat back in her chair and smiled while Vincent laughed.
“What?” Vincent asked when he caught her staring.
“It’s just nice to see you laugh. You’ve seemed stressed the last few days, like something is bothering you.”
He began moving around the room, trying to figure out how to answer. Finally, he dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans, stared at the floor and sighed. “Yeah, something is going on, but I can’t talk about it right now.”
“Professional or personal?” Lexi asked a little uncertainly.
“I guess a little of both, but mainly professional. The personal will work itself out.” He leaned back on the edge of the desk and smiled apologetically.
“I’ll tell you soon.”
He could see by her expression that she wasn’t buying it, but she let it go, for now. “Well, I’m here if you need me.”
“Thanks.” Vincent smiled and relaxed a bit. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
An awkward silence fell between them. “So, are we okay then?” she asked, waving her hand back and forth between the two of them.