Less Than Three: A Romantic Comedy

by Maggie Dallen

  “You better tell me what happens with the Greek god or I’ll tear your—”

  She hung up on her friend and turned a bright smile to the Greek god in question. “Hey, what’s up?”

  He gave her an apologetic look. “I’ve got to, uh, run out for a quick bite with an old friend. Is it all right if we pick up where we left off tomorrow?”

  Old friend? More like hot piece of ass, but yeah, sure, why not? We’re all just friends here.

  She forced a smile and gestured toward her computer. “Go for it. I’ve got a lot of paperwork to catch up on anyway. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She wished she could smack the gorgeous grin from his perfect face.

  “Thanks, Lace. I’ll see you later.”

  Lacey eventually stopped fuming long enough to send off an email to her immediate supervisor outlining her untraditional ideas.

  Her cell rang less than a minute later. “Don’t do it.”

  “Hi, Rick.”

  “Seriously, Lacey, I’ve seen this happen before. New hires are so eager to prove their worth that they discard the tried and true methods Ackland taught them and try to be all … original.”

  Rick made “original” sound like a dirty word.

  “But Alex’s situation is different,” Lacey started.

  “Who’s Alex?”

  “Alex is Lawrence Newsom, the third. That’s what he prefers to be called.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Lacey could just imagine her boss on the other end, typing up an email while ordering at a restaurant and reading the newspaper. The man took multi-tasking to the extreme.

  “He’s different, Rick. He’s not like the other clients I’ve worked with.”

  “Yeah, sure, kid. They’re all special, right? Everyone feels this way about their first solo gig. Everyone wants to break new ground and go the extra mile—make a name for themselves with the bigwigs at Ackland.”

  “That’s not what I’m—”

  “But the truth is, kiddo—all of these jobs are the same. They’re high-level executives who have fragile egos. They need to have their hands held and to learn a few tricks so they’ll feel like they’ve accomplished something.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Ackland has been coaching executives for decades, the system has been proven time and again. You know that.”

  Lacey shifted in her chair, chafing at her boss’s condescending tone.

  “Just stick to the script, Lacey. Go through the methods and techniques with him and give him all the encouragement he needs.”

  “I will, but I think—”

  He hung up before she could say what she thought. Rick had no more time for goodbyes than he did for hellos.

  She started to see replies from her “teammates” in her inbox and soon found out that everyone on her team shared Rick’s opinion. Stick to the tried and true method that Ackland promoted.

  Were they right? Was she just another overly enthusiastic newbie who wanted to make a name for herself? Possibly. And was Alex just another executive, albeit a young and hot executive, who just needed to have his hand held?

  No.

  Oh, who was she kidding? It wasn’t like she was objective when it came to Alex. And her colleagues at Ackland had far more experience than her; that was why she needed their permission, right? It was exactly at moments like this that she was supposed to defer to the senior members of her team.

  But they’re wrong. They don’t know Alex like I do.

  She had a flash of Alex and Jessica looking cozy as could be in his office. Oh yeah, you know him really well. So well you didn’t even know he had a girlfriend when you slept with him. Hell, you didn’t even know his full name when you slept with him.

  Lacey’s groan sounded loud in the empty office. Even if her instincts were right this time and Alex was different, she couldn’t risk her job over it. Besides, she trusted Rick’s expertise far more than she trusted herself at this point. She gave a sigh and resigned herself to teaching the course as it was written, which meant typing up Alex’s individualized lesson plan for the following day—a variation of Ackland’s generic program.

  Chapter Six

  THE CONFERENCE ROOM looked like a battlefield by the time lunch rolled around the next day. Lacey and Alex squared off across the table. Alex wore a scowl of frustration and it was all Lacey could do to keep her patience.

  “Let’s try it again.” She pushed the cue cards across the table but he made no move to pick them up.

  “This is useless. We’ve gone over this a million times.”

  Twenty-one times, but who was counting? Lacey drew in a deep breath and pretended to consult the binder that was open before her. He was right, they’d covered every lesson in the book to no avail. The problem was, he was technically correct. He’d said it himself the day before—he had learned to maintain eye contact, had overcome any urges to fidget through years of military service and had taken Lacey’s advice to modify the speech so it was clear and concise. But he still sucked.

  Once he stood before the audience—or, in this case, Lacey—he seemed to become another man altogether. Gone was the mischievous, charming and confident young man she’d met at the airport. In his place was an uptight prick with no soul. It would have been fascinating to watch the total transformation if both of their jobs weren’t on the line.

  “Let’s start from the beginning,” she said, flipping the binder to the first page with more eagerness than she felt. She resolutely ignored his loud sigh of exasperation.

  “All right, let’s review who you will be addressing. It’s important to visualize your audience. Focus on what it is that they want to hear—what they need to hear.”

  Alex rubbed his temples as he listened to her and Lacey couldn’t help but take pity. He looked tired and frustrated.

  “I know who will be there,” he said. “The board. They’ll be there to judge every word out of my mouth and to see how I compare to my grandfather and father.”

  Lacey’s heart ached at the look of defeat on his face when he spoke the blunt words. She wished she could deny it. She wished she could take away his frustration, but she couldn’t. She’d never met the board members, she had no idea what they wanted from Alex.

  “Tell me about them,” she said, closing the binder and shifting her attention to Alex.

  He seemed to relax a bit at her conversational tone. It seemed they both needed a break from lessons. He gave a half-shrug. “What do you want to know? They’re a bunch of old stiffs in suits.”

  “Who are the key players? There have to be some who have more influence than others. Maybe some who have more ambition than the rest? Someone who is vying for your seat?”

  “That would be Marcus Brandt. He’s the newest addition to the board and he’s made it clear that he wants to be president.”

  Lacey blinked in surprise. She hadn’t realized Alex faced direct competition. “Does he stand a chance?”

  Alex shifted in his seat. “If it were my father who was giving this speech as we’d all anticipated? Marcus wouldn’t stand a chance in hell. My father was the obvious choice to take over for my grandfather.”

  “What do you think of this guy? Do you think he should be president?” she asked.

  Alex looked surprised at the question. “I’ve never met the man so I can’t speak for his character. I do know that he has the experience for the job. He’s run companies before and has developed a reputation for being cutthroat. Doing whatever needs to be done to run a successful, profitable company.”

  “Meaning …”

  Alex sighed. “Meaning massive layoffs.”

  Lacey watched as he wiped a hand over his eyes. He looked exhausted. She couldn’t imagine how much pressure he felt to save the day—for his grandfather and for the employees who relied on him.

  “Who else is competition for the position?”

  Alex shrugged. “No one, as far as I know. Arthur Wingate is the most senior executive on the
board but he was my father’s friend and ally. He’s always made it clear that he wasn’t interested in running for president.”

  “Wingate?” she repeated. “As in Jessica Wingate?”

  Alex seemed surprised that she knew the name. Clearly he too had forgotten that she was in the room when the other woman had arrived.

  “Yeah, she’s Arthur’s daughter.” There was awkward silence as Lacey resisted the urge to grill Alex on his relationship with her.

  “I see.”

  His eyes met hers and he looked like he was going to say something. She didn’t want to hear it. Before he could speak, she hurried on. “So let’s start from the top, shall we?”

  Alex surprised her by leaning across the table and covering one of her hands with his own. The feel of his skin was almost her undoing. A table sat between them, but the simple touch somehow felt more intimate than she could bear. She stared at their joined hands as though transfixed as a heavy silence fell over them.

  “Lacey—”

  “Don’t.” Lacey pulled her hand from beneath his with more vehemence than she’d intended and stood, putting more distance between them.

  She turned her focus to gathering up the handouts and pens that were scattered across the table.

  “I want you to understand. I want to explain.” His voice directly behind her came as a shock. She hadn’t heard him get out of his seat. Now he was so close, she could feel the heat of his body.

  She whipped around. “There’s nothing to explain. We both made a mistake.” She saw his eyes follow her hands as she toyed with her ring. It was a nervous habit but she knew that he would read into it. He probably thought she was racked with guilt just like he seemed to be.

  Well, she may have been a fool to sleep with him, but at least she wasn’t a cheat.

  His jaw clenched, but he gave a short nod. “You’re right. We agreed to let the past stay in the past. My apologies for bringing it up.”

  Alex’s voice was stiff and emotionless, and Lacey felt her heart plummet at his capitulation. She’d almost hoped he’d try a little harder. She wanted him to explain it all away. To tell her that this Jess meant nothing to him and that he only had eyes for her. But she’d told him not to, and he was respecting her wishes. Whether she liked it or not.

  It was for the best. Finding a man was not a priority in her life. Creating a career for herself—that was the goal here. She had to prove to everyone, including herself, that she could be responsible and committed.

  Sleeping with a random stranger while stranded? That was the move of a young, flaky recent grad, not a professional. There was no more room for error. She needed to be a better person, a more responsible person. Passion and romance would just have to wait.

  Dawn poked her head into the conference room and broke the tension. “Alex, your grandfather is looking for you. He’s in his office.”

  Alex never took his eyes off Lacey. “I’ll be right there.”

  Lacey met with Alex again shortly after lunch and had just as much success as they had that morning. They studiously avoided all personal conversation and repeated the same tedious exercises they had that morning. When he was called away again for a meeting with the account team, Lacey was relieved.

  With no client to coach, she headed to her makeshift office and started in on the paperwork. Ackland was big on paperwork. Everything had to be documented, right down to the tiniest detail.

  She was glad for the distraction when Morgan called. “So how’s the hottie job going?”

  “Horribly.”

  Morgan gasped. “Don’t tell me—you totally slept with him again, didn’t you?”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “No, I didn’t sleep with him. I told you; we’re keeping it strictly professional.”

  Morgan let out a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

  Great, even her best friend didn’t think she had what it took to be professional.

  “I’m serious, Morgan. I’m only here to coach him. And I can’t even do that right.”

  Morgan was silent for a moment on the other end. “Okay, what’s up? You sound like someone killed your cat.”

  Lacey let out of huff of frustration as she explained the situation to Morgan. “I’ve tried every trick in the Ackland playbook, and it’s not working. He’s not getting any better. He’s not like every other case, but my bosses can’t see that because they’re not here.”

  “Exactly. They are not there,” Morgan interjected. “How will they know if you go off book?”

  Lacey started to protest, but Morgan cut her off. “You said it yourself. You are there; they are not. You know this guy. And you’re good at what you do. Ackland wouldn’t have kept you on this long if you weren’t a good coach. Maybe it’s time you trusted your gut and did it your way.”

  “But if Rick found out, I could lose my job.”

  Morgan’s voice was dry. “And if you keep doing what you’re doing and Alex fails in front of the board?”

  Lacey sucked in a deep breath. “I’d lose my job.” And worse, much worse, Alex would lose his birthright and the company and all of its employees would suffer as a result. There was too much at stake here to worry about getting in trouble with Rick.

  Morgan was still prodding her on the other end. “All Rick and the other bosses care about is that you succeed, right? I mean, what do you have to lose?”

  Nervous excitement swept through her as Lacey pondered the possibilities. “I could still continue with Ackland’s lessons,” she reasoned. “And implement my own exercises on the side. They couldn’t fault me for going above and beyond, right?”

  “Right,” Morgan said. Lacey could hear someone calling her friend’s name in the background.

  “Sorry, Lace, I’ve got to get to work. But don’t give up, all right? You got this, girl.”

  “Thanks, Morgan.”

  Lacey hung up and got to work but as her fingers filled in the necessary blanks in Ackland’s tedious forms, her brain was formulating a new plan.

  She was just about done with the mundane paperwork when Dawn came into the office at the end of the day. “A bunch of us are heading to happy hour at a bar down the street. Care to join?”

  Hell yes.

  “Sounds good. Just give me a minute to finish up.”

  The bar was halfway between the office and her hotel, and it was packed when she walked in with Dawn and Heather. Raj waved to them from a crowded table in the back.

  “Looks like the gang’s all here,” Lacey said.

  “Friday happy hours are kind of a tradition at Newsom,” Heather explained.

  The three of them squeezed into a booth with two other assistants who were already several drinks in.

  Lacey was dying to get the gossip on Alex and Jess, and there was no better outlet than drunk employees. She was trying to figure out how to bring up the topic when Heather did it for her.

  “Did you guys see Jess at the office the other day?”

  Everyone, it seemed, had an opinion about Jess and her sudden appearance at the office. “I can’t believe she just showed up like that,” one assistant said. “I hope he kicks her to the curb.”

  Her friend took a sip of her Appletini and rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that because you’ve got the hots for Alex.”

  “No,” the first girl argued. “I just don’t want to see him get hurt again.” Her friend, Dawn and Heather all stared at her in disbelief until she relented with a giggle. “Okay, fine. And because I have the hots for him.”

  “Who doesn’t?” her friend said.

  Lacey could sense the topic was about to turn to hot guys in general, and she didn’t have nearly enough information to satisfy her curiosity. She took a quick sip and asked, “So what’s the deal there? I take it they have a long history?”

  “High school sweethearts,” Dawn said with some authority.

  “They split up when they went off to college, and they’ve been off and on ever since,” Heather added.r />
  “They were together when he joined the air force,” Dawn said.

  “Yeah, and then he went away, and she broke his heart,” Heather finished.

  Lacey bristled at the thought of Alex pining away over the lanky supermodel. “And you guys know all this because…?” her voice trailed off in a question.

  All eyes turned to Dawn, who blushed and offered an apologetic shrug. “I hear things.”

  Heather turned to Dawn. “Mr. Newsom must be over the moon that Jess is back on the market.”

  Dawn rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. It’s all he could talk about today.”

  Well, that explained Mr. Newsom’s willingness to have Alex skip his lessons. Why work for it when you can sleep your way to the top? Lacey couldn’t believe she hadn’t made the connection earlier. Was she so blinded by her feelings for Alex that she couldn’t see his true motives when it was right in front of her face?

  Lacey set her glass down with more force than she’d intended. She saw Heather’s eyes widen at the sight of something over her shoulder. “Oh my God, you guys, stop talking.”

  In one movement, every woman at the table turned toward the door in time to see Alex and Jess walk in. They weren’t the only ones who stopped and stared. It wasn’t every day two stunningly gorgeous people walked in as if they’d just stepped off a runway.

  Lacey turned away quickly. She didn’t want to be caught gawking. So when she heard Alex’s voice right next to her, she nearly dropped her drink.

  “Hey guys, you remember Jess.”

  Everyone but Lacey said hi to their old pal, Jess. Alex had the good grace to look slightly uncomfortable as he turned to Lacey.

  “Jess, this is Lacey, the consultant I was telling you about.”

  Jess smiled and offered her hand. “Nice to meet you. I hope Alex isn’t causing you too much trouble.”

  Lacey laughed politely at Alex’s expense and tried to hide the toxic anger that was making pleasant chitchat extremely impossible. Jess, with her gorgeous hair and perfect face, had a hint of an English accent, like Madonna or Gwyneth Paltrow. She also had the air of a possessive girlfriend.