matters. Lee did not exactly take a liking to Alexa, for a reason
Alexa knew absolutely nothing about. She tried so hard to be nice to
Lee—to smile, crack a joke, do errands for her. But all yielding little
or no results.
Lee’s icy vibes toward Alexa froze her out every time. Lee
had been known to let go a lot of employees, mostly young women, for some odd
reason. Probably had something to do with that lawsuit.
Oh, great!
When she got off the elevator she ran towards the double
glass doors. TLC Advertising.
There, Pamsey, the receptionist, happened to be sitting at
her desk tapping away on her computer keyboard. She often came in early to
clear vendors’ e-mails and get an early start to the day. It took a while for
Pamsey to warm up to her. Or anyone for that matter. Pamsey was damn good at
her work, but different. Gothic in appearance with her jet black hair, blue
streaks of hair, black nail polish on her fingers and toes, black lipstick,
thick black eye-liner, pierced nose and yep, you guessed it. Black attire.
Always.
Still, Alexa admired her spunk. The whole team did. There
had been talks of promoting her to account coordinator—after Alexa was
promoted—and hiring another receptionist. Pamsey, may not be the best
people-person, smiling only on occasion. But she was professional and damn
efficient and had a head full of creative ideas. She got things done.
“You’re early.” Pamsey’s eyes were glued to the computer as
she spoke to Alexa.
“Oh, yeah. You know just trying to get a start to the day.
Did you have a nice weekend?” Alexa bit down on her lip as she tried to hide
the jitter in her cracked voice. Nothing seemed to be working out that morning
as planned.
Alexa had a sick feeling no one else was in the office. Most
of the lights were turned off in other areas. Including the I.T. area. It was a
loft office with high ceilings and an open concept. A large plant adorned
the reception area with comfortable couches and artsy coffee table for clients.
Ceiling to floor windows that gave a breathtaking view to Mercy Springs, Texas.
They weren’t the only advertising agency with that view. Apparently, Jess’s old
buddy from high school had an office in the plaza adjacent. Another advertising
agency.
“S’okay. How was your weekend?” she said nonchalantly, as if
she couldn’t really care less if Alexa answered.
“Good. Thanks. Got lots of rest.” Okay that sounds so
lame.
“Anyway, is Brett in? I needed him to look at something on
my computer for me.”
“Nope.”
“No?”
Pamsey looked up from her computer. Unimpressed.
Emphatically, she repeated, “No. He’s. Not.” She glanced
back to her computer screen then continued, “He’ll be in around noon. Had a
doctor’s appointment.”
What?
“Oh. Cool. That’s fine. I’ll wait.” No. That’s not cool.
Not at all. I can’t wait! Oh. No. I am so dead.
Pamsey looked back at Alexa with a ‘what-ever’ expression as
if she could somehow read her mind and sense her urgency. She then shrugged and
settled back to her work on her computer. Alexa got back to finishing her
silent panic attack which may very well morph into a full blown nervous
breakdown. If she didn’t have a Plan B beforehand, she had seconds to conjure
up one now.
Jess was about to receive Alexa’s e-mailed seduction. Part
of her—probably a larger part of her—wanted Jess to know exactly
what she felt about him in her heart. How much she longed to get close to him
in every sense of the word. Another part of her was terrified of what he would
really think of her salacious, uncensored thoughts of him. Would she ultimately
turn him on, or log him off her for good?
Moments later, Alexa sat in her cubicle and glanced down at
her sterling silver Guess watch without the numbers. It was 9:30 in the
morning—her Starbucks green tea untouched. As the tea bag seeped in the
container, thoughts of Jess Tandon seeped in her mind.
Her life would probably change
The Anthem Sprinters (and Other Antics) (v2.1)