by Locklyn Marx
“In order to be successful, one must portray success at every turn,” Reid recited.
Alexis rolled her eyes. “That’s such bullshit.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is. If you’re truly successful, you don’t give a shit about what other people think, because you’re too busy working and being successful.”
He tilted his head, thinking about it. “Huh,” he said. “Not a bad point.”
As they made their way through the marble-tiled lobby, Alexis began to feel more and more out of place. The girls here all looked like they’d walked out of a fashion magazine or a music video. It wasn’t even that they were good-looking, although all of them were. It was something else. A sense of style, or maybe the way they carried themselves. They all had expensive bags slung over their shoulders, long hair that hung in perfect tousled curls, and impeccable tans that didn’t make them look orange or aging.
Even the two women she saw coming from the pool wore elegant cover-ups and trendy high heels, with huge oversized sunglasses perched on their noses.
Alexis was wearing the new jeans she’d bought yesterday, along with a long-sleeved white t-shirt. She was probably going to have to at least buy a bathing suit while she was here. She’d taken three hundred dollars out of the ATM before they’d left New York this morning. It was the most the bank would allow her to take out at one time.
She didn’t want to have to use her ATM card in Florida if it could be avoided.
“I got us adjoining rooms,” Reid said, coming back from the check-in desk. He held up the key cards.
“Are you sure it’s okay that we’re doing this?” she asked, taking one of the keys from him. “I mean, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“For getting you a room and putting it on the company’s tab? Nah, they don’t care.” He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear, “If you want to know the truth, I’m kind of a big deal.” His breath tickled her skin, sending warmth and desire sliding all the way down to her toes. Stop. Just because he’s gorgeous doesn’t mean your hormones have to get all crazy.
“Oh, really?” she asked, stepping away from him and walking toward the elevator.
“Yeah.” He stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor.
“And so they want to keep me happy.”
“By letting you book hotel rooms for random women?”
“Yup. Even though I don’t need hotel rooms to get random women.” He grinned and she rolled her eyes.
They stepped off the elevator and made their way down to rooms 304 and 306.
“Here they are,” Reid said. “Right next to each other, as promised.”
“Thanks.”
“So I have a meeting in a couple of hours,” he said, and she saw the look of worry that passed over his face. He was probably concerned about leaving her alone.
“I’m fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You do your work. I’m going to take a nap and then maybe relax by the pool.”
“I don’t know if you should be sitting in the sun,” Reid said. “What if your head starts acting up?”
“The sun is good for you. And besides, there are probably a million people down there. I’ll be safer down there than I would in my room.”
He hesitated. “Fine. But I don’t think you should go swimming.”
“I won’t swim.”
“Okay.” But he still hesitated.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She slid her keycard into the door to her room, and then pushed it open. “I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Reid glanced at his watch. As he did, the arm of his suit slid up and revealed a muscular forearm. Her pulse quickened. She shook her head and pushed the feeling of attraction away. It’s just because he’s being nice to you. That’s the only reason you’re getting all hot and bothered.
But Reid was being more than just nice to her. He’d let her stay in his apartment.
He’d brought her to Florida with him. He hadn’t pushed her to talk about what had happened last night. She watched as he slid his key card into the slot and then disappeared into his room.
He didn’t seem like he was a particularly nice guy. So why was he being so kind to her? She shook her head and told herself to stop thinking about it. He probably had some kind of weird thing about rescuing women.
And besides, she was definitely not in any shape to be thinking about a man, romantic or otherwise.
***
Alexis immediately curled up in bed and fell asleep. The bed in her room was ridiculously comfortable, with silk sheets and soft pillowcases.
She’d never stayed in a place like this, ever. Most of the hotels she’d been in were Super Eights or Holiday Inns. They didn’t leave mints on your pillow or have a stocked mini bar. Not that she was going to take anything out of the mini bar. The bag of M&M’s alone cost eight dollars. Eight dollars! And it wasn’t even a full bag -- it was one of those snack-sized ones.
But she did need food. So when she woke up at around two o’clock, she took a shower, dried her hair, and slicked on some lip gloss. She pawed through her bag until she found a hot pink t-shirt that wasn’t too wrinkled.
She headed downstairs and poked around in the little hotel store, browsing through the sandwiches and flipping through the rack of bathing suits. But everything was ridiculously overpriced, and so after a few minutes, she walked outside.
A few blocks down there was a string of little boutiques and shops, and Alexis started looking through stores until she found a reasonably priced bathing suit that was semi-flattering.
“You should definitely get that,” the clerk said when Alexis emerged from the dressing room to look at herself in the three-way mirror. “It looks fabulous on you.”
“I don’t know.” She pulled at the straps on the top of the red bikini. “I usually only wear a one piece.”
The clerk laughed. “Honey, nobody wears a one-piece in this town. Not even my grandmother.”
Alexis checked the price tag again. Forty-nine ninety-nine, but it was on a seventy-percent off rack, probably because no one else in Tampa was a size eight. From what Alexis had observed so far, if you weren’t a zero or a two, you were practically plus-size.
She paid for her bathing suit and a pair of flip-flops, then stopped at the deli next door and bought a cobb salad and a lemonade. She sat outside on a little wrought-iron table, watching people pass by as she ate.
When she returned to the hotel, she headed back up to her room, changed into her bathing suit, and then pulled on an oversized t-shirt to use a makeshift wrap. She slipped into the beaded purple flip-flops she’d picked up at the swimsuit store for three dollars.
Something told her that beaded and purple weren’t going to exactly be the footwear of choice at a place like this, but it was the best she could do on a budget.
When she got to the pool, she picked a chair down by the end. The sun was bright, with just the perfect amount of warmth, and she turned her face to the sky and sighed contentedly. Luckily, whoever had been there before her had left a huge stack of trashy magazines – Cosmo, US, InStyle, and Star
Alexis was happily ensconced in an article about Kourtney Kardashian and all her fashion problems, when a waiter in white shorts and a hunter-green polo shirt came by and offered her a drink.
“Would you like a cocktail, ma’am?” he asked.
Of course she would have liked a cocktail. The air was warm, and the drinks looked delicious – all bright-colored and icy, with little umbrellas poking out of the top.
“Oh,” Alexis said. “Um… “ She was pretty sure the drinks weren’t complimentary. The hotel couldn’t just go around giving away alcohol, could they?
“You can charge it to your room if you didn’t bring cash with you,” the waiter offered helpfully. He had a perfect smile and longish brown hair. Probably some kind of aspiring model or actor.
> Alexis sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was run up some big tab on Reid’s company. It wouldn’t be right.
“No, thanks,” she said.
“Go ahead,” a voice said behind her. “Get a drink if you want.”
She turned around, and when she did, her breath caught in her chest. Reid was standing there, wearing a pair of black board shorts and no shirt. Damn. She knew he had broad shoulders and that he ran every morning, but this – this was more beautiful than she could have imagined.
Every muscle of his upper body was cut and defined. He was lean and strong-looking, with the perfect amount of bulk. His stomach was tan and flat, with more than a hint of a six-pack. A thin line of hair started at his belly button and disappeared into his shorts.
Alexis swallowed hard
“I thought you had a meeting,” she said weakly.
He dropped a bottle of suntan lotion and a book onto the chair next to hers.
“Meeting was cancelled.” He turned to her and grinned. “So I’m all yours.”
***
His meeting had been cancelled. That wasn’t a lie. But Reid had come down to the pool not because he’d wanted to – he still had a lot of things to get done, and the extra time he’d been given would do nothing except make him work harder to come up with more ideas – but because he’d been worried about Alexis.
The whole time he’d been in his room, he hadn’t been able to concentrate. He just kept thinking about the way she’d looked last night when he’d gotten that buzz on the intercom. Obviously she was afraid that someone was going to find her. And obviously it had something to do with the panic attack she’d had. She’d said it was an ex-boyfriend. But what was the story? Why was she so afraid of him?
After a couple hours of driving himself crazy, Reid had gotten the call from Richard Mueller that the meeting with Vista Collection had been cancelled. Someone at Vista had apparently decided to call the agency phone, and the receptionist had called Richard. At least, that was Richard’s story. Reid had suspected that Richard had given Vista his own personal cell number and told them to call him if anything came up.
God, the guy was such a tool.
Once he was done talking to Richard, Reid had felt restless. He needed to get out of the room. He needed to check on Alexis. He’d knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer. So he’d headed down to the pool in the hope that he’d find her.
And he had.
She’d been sitting there, lounging on a pool chair, looking longingly at the tray of drinks the waiter was holding. When Reid had taken his first steps into the pool area, the waiter’s back had been to him, and all he’d been able to see was Alexis staring up at the dude with a big smile on her face.
Jealousy shot threw him like a sharp arrow, along with a raging desire to protect her. He was halfway across the pool area, on a mission to punch the guy out, when he realized it was a waiter.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Alexis was asking now. “To get a drink, I mean?”
“It’s fine.” It was true. His company didn’t give a shit about a couple of drinks.
Hell, they’d love it if they knew he was wining and dining women on this trip. If word got around, The Lawson Agency would be able to steal away whatever advertising executives they wanted. Everyone wanted to work at a company that encouraged its employees to play as hard as they worked.
Reid surveyed the tray. “What would you like, Alexis?” he asked. “Pina colada?”
“Perfect.”
Reid grabbed two and charged them to his room. Pina coladas weren’t usually his thing – they were a little girly – but all the waiter had on his tray was fruity drinks, and Reid didn’t want to order something different, because then the water was going to come back. Reid didn’t like the way the guy was looking at Alexis, like a shark who couldn’t wait to just sink his teeth into her.
He gave the dude a good tip anyway. It wasn’t the waiter’s fault that Alexis was hot, even covered up in that ridiculous t-shirt.
Once they were alone, Reid sat down in the chair next to her.
Alexis’s legs were stretched out in front of her, long and tan and gorgeous. She was wearing sandals with purple and white beads on them, and her toenails were painted a hot pink. Reid wasn’t really into feet – he didn’t understand the allure when there were so many other, more interesting parts of a woman’s body to spend time on – but Alexis’s feet were sexy.
He let his eyes linger on her skin, taking his time as he moved his gaze up her body slowly. To Reid’s disappointment, her t-shirt ended just above her knees. He thought about her in that towel again, and he felt himself harden in his shorts. Stop, he told himself. The girl obviously has some kind of tortured past. Letting anything happen between them would be taking advantage. And while he liked a random dalliance as much as the next guy, he wasn’t a complete scumbag.
Well. Depending on who you asked.
“Good drink,” he said, taking a sip and resisting the urge to grimace.
“Yeah.” Alexis crossed her legs.
“You going in the water?” he asked hopefully. If she went in the water, she’d have to take that t-shirt off.
“You said I shouldn’t swim.”
“Did I?” He was a stupid, stupid man. “I changed my mind. You seem fine.”
She did, too. He wasn’t just saying that. As much as he wanted to see her half-naked, the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt. “You should go in if you want.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Why not definitely?”
“Are you going in?”
“Of course.” He hadn’t planned on it, but if that’s what it took, then that’s what he’d do.
“Really?” She was looking at him incredulously. “You?”
“Yes, me.” He took another sip of his drink. “You know, I think you have me all wrong.”
“I do? How come?”
“Because you obviously think I’m some kind of uptight asshole.” He set his glass down on the table between them, then stood up and held his hand out to her. “Come on.
We’re going in the pool.”
She hesitated, and from the look on her face, Reid could tell she wanted to say no.
So he played his hole card. “Unless, of course, you’re scared.” He gave her a grin.
Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not scared.”
She stood up, unfolding her legs and grabbing the bottom of her t-shirt. She pulled it off in one quick movement and dropped it on the chair. Reid felt himself harden all over again. Her body was perfect – voluptuous and curvy in all the right places. Her bikini clung to her chest, and the bottom was held together with two skimpy looking strings. It was all he could do not to reach out and untie them.
When they got into the pool, it got worse. The bathing suit clung to her like a second skin, turning every inch of her into a temptation. Since it was the middle of a work day, and this was a business hotel, they were mostly alone. They swam and splashed around for hours, taking breaks only to get out of the water and sip on their drinks.
By the time five o’clock rolled around, they were exhausted and hungry.
“Wanna get room service?” he asked as they headed back up to their rooms.
She hesitated, and Reid felt his heart speed up. Now that he’d spent the afternoon with her, he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. She’d seemed so carefree in the pool.
It was the first time she’d allowed herself to let her guard down around him. He liked that side of her, and wanted to see more of it.
“Sure,” Alexis said finally. “Just let me change.”
He dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and waited.
When she knocked on his door a few minutes later, she looked radiant. Her hair was still wet from the pool, and she’d pulled it back into a loose ponytail. Her skin had a slight glow from the time she’d spent in sun, and she w
as wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans. Reid caught a glimpse of a pink bra strap peeking out from her tank top.
“We should order steak,” she said, flopping down on the bed.
He grinned. “Sounds good to me. How do you like it?”
“Medium.”
He ordered two steaks, mashed potatoes, corn, and salad.
When the meal came, the hotel had added a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries to the tray.
As soon as the bellboy was gone, Alexis began to open the champagne.
“They sent you this for free?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. They know it’s good for repeat business.”
“Makes sense.” She poured two glasses, and he watched as the bubbles fizzed up in the glass.
They sat at the long glass table in the kitchen area of his suite, and cut into their steaks.
“So, what’s your meeting about tomorrow?” Alexis asked, taking a long sip of her champagne.
“It’s just a meeting to see if we’re on the right track with our potential ad campaign.”
“For the women’s clothing company?” The tip of her tongue snaked out of her mouth and licked a drop of champagne off her bottom lip. It was all he could do not to jump across the table and strip her naked. He averted his gaze and forced his attention back to his food.
“Yes,” he said. “For the women’s clothing company.”
“So what’s your idea?”
He looked at her incredulously. “You want to know my idea for the pitch?” Any woman he’d ever dated in the past had had no interest in knowing anything about his work. Not that he blamed them – a lot of it was boring.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? You spend so much time working on it. You’ve peeked my curiosity.”
Reid hesitated. The last thing he wanted to talk about was work. But it would be nice to get another person’s perspective. And it would be a distraction from the wicked thoughts he was having. So he grabbed his laptop from the other room, then pulled up the rough storyboard of the concept he’d come up with. He watched as Alexis’s lips wrinkled and she frowned.
“What?” he demanded. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” She shook her head. “Why do men always think that women spend their time frolicking around?”
