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Alexa
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Renee arrives, she’s even nicer in person than I hoped she would be. I love how she doesn’t try to talk business although she does let me know she’s looked over my contract and there’s every reason to believe she can get me a new one a dozen times better. She also has great news about a foreign language deal. We make plans to meet for lunch on Monday before she goes back to New York in the afternoon.
It’s almost six. My palms are starting to sweat. Leo grabs a glass of champagne, pressing it into my hand. “One glass only, for now, you are getting all tense. Take a deep breath and sip slowly.”
I’m not a champagne or sparkling white wine drinker, I prefer pinot noir over pretty much anything else. I make a face at it before giving it an experimental sip. The flavor bursts onto my tongue shiny, bright, vibrant, and delicious. While I’m trying not to suck it down, Leo lifts that knowing eyebrow. I stick out my tongue at him. He smiles as he pulls me closer.
I startle at the sight of Drake Hawthorne staring at us stunned from across the room. The pretty woman beside him is grinning wide, it’s such a glowing smile I can’t help but answer it with my own smile. She’s in a floral Dolce and Gabbana dress that screams money with a casual ease to her that I envy.
“I hope it’s okay we’re early. I’ve been dying to meet you.” She hugs me, it feels completely natural to hug her back.
“Of course, I’m glad you’re here. It will be nice to have some friendly faces here. I love your dress.”
“Thank you, I love yours too. You look fabulous. Isn’t Lydia the best? I don’t go shopping unless she’s available. She puts me in things I would never even take a second look at because of the price or I just wouldn’t think it looks good on me and I’m always talked into it.” With a teasing smile, she turns to her husband. “Drake, honey, go get me some champagne. Take Leo and your time.”
I hand my empty flute to a wide-eyed Leo. “A refill sounds great. Thank you.”
They go without a word looking at each other with matching bewilderment. “Aren’t they sweet? I’m so glad you let Leo kit you out. The necklace is gorgeous.”
I touch it with remembered agony.
“Sweetie, really it’s horrible but true the necklace was totally necessary for you to get the respect you deserve being at Leo’s side. Until Leo gives you the rock that matters, men and women will look down on you without a show of how much Leo respects you, those clothes, and that necklace is it.”
Ria laughs when I blush.
“This is so great. I was worried me and Elise would have to tag team interrogates you. I was going to be the bad cop, and Elise was going to be the good cop to find out if you really cared about Leo. But it’s all over you how much you love him.” She sees the fear in my eyes. “It’s okay, Leo has no idea. Just like he has no idea he’s in love with you.”
I blink, tears appear out of nowhere at the casual way she says it.
“Crap, hold on don’t cry where Leo can see you. He’ll kill me.” Her hand goes around my arm. “We’ll be back, you two. She has a case of the nerves before the big moment.”
I have no idea how we get to the bathroom so quickly, but before the tears fall we’re there. “I’m sorry.” I mutter as I press the tissue she gives me carefully against my eyes, so I don’t smudge my makeup.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blundered into this the way I did. Elise warned me. I’m just so excited and happy for the both of you. Especially Leo, he’s needed someone for a long time. Miguel told me all about you, and he thinks you’re awesome. I trust Miguel’s opinion. What’s the matter?”
The door opens, and a pretty woman with long black hair and bright blue eyes comes in. “What are you guys doing in here?”
“Alexa, this is Elise. Elise, I screwed up like you said. I made her cry. I could totally tell she’s in love with Leo, and it was totally obvious he was in love with her too.”
“Ah,” I’m enveloped in a hug by Elise. I give in and hug her back needing the reassurance. “It’s okay, sweetie. Is Leo being an asshole and behaving badly?”
I shrug, as I pull away. “Yes, but it’s all my fault.”
They both shake their heads.
“It is. It really is. This is on me, I screwed up. I lied to him, and I don’t know if he’s ever going to forgive me for it.”
Ria’s eyes are wide. “What did you lie about?”
Closing my eyes, I hide from what will no doubt be disgust. “I said I was married so I could get the job of being Leo’s assistant. At first, I totally did it for the money. I wanted to save money to write full time then the minute I met him I kept lying and took the job because I kind of had one of those stupid love, at first sight, things happen. Which I swear I never believed in.”
Both women hug me. I give up and cry.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Ria is saying.
“How can it be okay? He’s never going to forgive me.”
Elise nods. “It’s not going to be easy, you picked the wrong man to lie to. Leo is the epitome of proud and anything that threatens that threatens him. He’s going to struggle with letting his pride go in order to forgive you, but he’s already doing it without realizing it.” I’m confused.
Ria sighs as she starts wiping me up. “This book launch, hiring Miguel, that stunning necklace. Leo is going out of his way to make you happy. Sure, he’s throwing money this way and that, but he’s also putting in time. He was here all morning driving Miguel crazy. Drake is a little tired of hearing about you and what you think and how intelligent you are and how great your books are—”
“Same with Dmitri.” Elise is going through my bag pulling out my makeup.
“Until I told Drake that Leo took the day off to take you shopping and standby at a photo shoot. When we both heard that we knew it was game over. Leo takes a vacation like once every five years and it’s for like two or three days tops. The man redefines workaholic. Him taking the day off for you was a big deal for Leo, it means you’re important to him. You just need to give him a little time to come to that conclusion.”
“Yeah, but don’t let him get away with too much on the you screwing up thing. Trust me when I tell you from experience with Dmitri, being disgustingly handsome and a billionaire buys them their own way too often. They need not so subtle reminders you aren’t going to be treated like everyone else because you aren’t everyone else.”
Elise is firm. “You screwed up, it happens. I have no doubt whatsoever Leo has screwed up with you too. I’m also a hundred percent positive you let it go in an instant because you get no one is perfect and shit happens. You’d rather forget it and let it go so you can enjoy the good stuff. Leo is holding onto your screw up because no doubt he still finds it hard to believe anyone dared to lie to him, but it’s also a way of keeping the upper hand.”
“I hurt him though. I know I did.” I want so badly to believe what she’s saying. But after him pulling away, I just don’t know anymore.
Ria tugs me to look at her. “Alexa, I cannot believe our stories are so similar and we did it for the exact same reason. I lied to Drake and told him that I was married to keep him at bay. You lied to Leo to keep him close but we both did it for the same reason, we loved them. Drake was pissed I lied to him, but he didn’t even blink. Because deep down he knew the truth about why I lied. It’s not about the lie, it’s about the truth behind the lie. When Leo stops and thinks about it, really thinks about it, he’ll forgive you.”
Elise bumps Ria from in front of me with her hip. Then starts fixing my makeup. “Come on, Alexa, you got this. We’ll talk about this later. Right now, you need to get it together so we can send you out to enjoy your night. You should be smiling and happy, not in here crying with us.”
“Man, life is weird. I never thought I’d meet someone who did the same crazy thing I did.” Ria muses as she hands over a tissue to Elise.
Elise laughs, “What, meet a gorgeous man and fuck up? I’m pretty sure every woman does that. One day I’ll tell you about how I was stupid enough to walk out on Dmitri. I was trying to push his buttons to get his attention. Only I pushed him a little too far. Learn from me, Alexa, push their buttons but don’t push them away. There’s a difference.”
“Huge difference, oh yeah. Crap, Drake is texting me. Come on, you look great. Let’s go.”
We open the door to find Leo waiting, looking angry. His hand goes around my arm, pulling me close. “What is going on? Why were you in there for so long?”
“I’m sorry. I was just a little overwhelmed and got cold feet. They were helping calm me down. Please don’t be mad.” He looks really mad.
Shaking his head, he sighs. “I am not mad. I am frustrated I could not find you and was concerned about you. Are you sure you are okay?”
With Elise and Ria’s words echoing in my head I can see it now clearly. Leo is worried, it isn’t anger I’m seeing. Now I’m wondering how often what I thought was anger in the past was actually frustration or worry. The tightness in my chest eases. Ria and Elise could be right, about everything. “I’m better than okay. I’m sorry I’m being such a baby today, thank you for being so patient.”
His relief is clear. “You are not being a baby, it’s normal to be nervous, I understand. It’s going to be amazing though because you are, and tonight is all about you.”
Miguel tugs my hand. “Gorgeous, come on. You have to mix and mingle. You can make goo-goo eyes at Leo anytime. Here’s some champagne, small sips only.”
I stumble after Miguel, with Leo at my back which is where he stays almost the entire night. Only twice is he pulled away but he’s still close. Whether he’s talking with Dmitri, and Drake or having an intense conversation with Renee. When he’s not at my side, Elise and Ria are, and I’m kind of falling for these women. They are so freaking nice I want to cry. They fend off intrusive questions about Leo and me with humor and cutting comments. Their humor about the women and men in the room have me laughing.
The night passes in a sweet, happy blur, leaving me a little sad it went by so fast. Elise gives me a hug, “That’s exactly how my wedding felt. All this build up until the big day then it was just a whirl of flowers, and champagne, and smiling faces I didn’t even know. I’m sorry I have to leave so early. Gone are the years of late nights. If I yawn again people are going to think it’s a review of tonight not that I’m a mom of four and haven’t been out after nine since the second kid.”
“I’m so happy you came. Thank you,” Leo is only a few feet away saying his goodbyes to Dmitri, “for everything.”
“I just spoke the truth, of which we will meet up to talk about soon. I’ll be calling you. We will be having lunch soon.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Elise, come.” Dmitri’s hand is possessive on his wife’s waist. “Alexa, you did well tonight. You should be proud of yourself.”
Dmitri has never paid me a compliment before, the ice-cold billionaire still intimidates the hell out of me. I know for a fact he didn’t pay many people compliments. I’m still standing stunned after he’s gone. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“Did Dmitri Markhoff just give me an actual compliment?”
“Yes, he did. He was right, you earned it.”
“Has he read my books? Was that what he was talking about?”
“Dmitri does not read anything that is not a financial report or the news. He was talking about the way you handled yourself tonight. Ninety percent of the truth is perception and tonight you were the intelligent, witty, impressively articulate author on the precipice of breakout mode. You missed his best compliment though, if you were stock, now was the time to buy.”
Only Leo would think that was the best compliment. I giggle and a lightbulb flashes. Leo’s hold tightens as he steers us away from the photographer. No matter how often it’s happened tonight, I flinch every time it does. I can’t shake the fear that if Ria and Elise saw my emotions so clearly, the pictures would too.
Closing my eyes, I don’t even want to think of that crazy private photo shoot. The things Graham said to entice a response, about Leo, for Leo. I can only hope since Leo hasn’t even made a passing mention of the pictures he didn’t see it then. Of all the things that has stayed with me that the women said was that Leo wasn’t ready to acknowledge his feelings. I’m more than willing to give him time. I just worry about what might happen if he sees it in print.
Elise and Dmitri leaving seems to have been a signal, slowly the store empties. Ria manages to get me away from Leo. “Do you hate me?”
“Hate you? Why in the world would you think that? You were so great tonight. I don’t know what I would have done without you and Elise. I love Leo, and Miguel is great, but you two were the ones who really helped settle my nerves tonight.”
She sighs with relief as she hugs me. “I’m so glad. I was worried you’d still hate me for making you cry about you and Leo.”
“No, if anything that was the best part of the night. What you guys said was worth all the stress and fear of tonight.”
“Good, I’m glad. I’m going to be calling you soon, we’ll do lunch. Elise can’t do dinners. She’s here in the city though and now that the kids are in school I actually leave the house during the day for things that aren’t kid related, and we do lunch often. Next time you’ll be there.”
“I’m already looking forward to it.”
Her phone goes off. “Sorry, we have to go. My kids are nuts. Drake, your son, set off the house alarm again. Gretta is threatening a long vacation.”
Drake laughs as he kisses my cheek. “You did a great job tonight, Alexa. Congratulations on your new book.”
“Thanks, and thanks for coming.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it. Leo, I’ll call you Monday about the Lincoln property and send some pictures over.”
Once Ria and Drake leave we turn to find the place is pretty much empty and clean up has begun. Miguel is directing things then spots us. “I told you it was going to be a fabulous night.”
Leo laughs and nods. “You did good. You will be getting that case we talked about. If there is anything left, feel free to take it home.”
Miguel sighs. “I love my job.”
“Thank you, Miguel, you did better than good. You were the one who made tonight what it was.”
“I wish I could take all the credit, Gorgeous, but your man knows his stuff, and without you as the centerpiece everything else was meaningless. Go on you two, have a good night. I’ll finish up here.”