Lacey had an idea where this was going and her hands clenched into fists at her side. “Why not?”
“You know as well as I do why not.” His temper was beginning to flare as well. But Lacey couldn’t let it go.
“Because of Jess. You want them to get back together,” she said.
“I want what’s best for my grandson and this company. And in this case, that means the support of Arthur Wingate.”
Lacey couldn’t hide her disgust. “Wingate will support Alex because it’s the right thing to do.”
The old man’s bark of laughter gave her a start. “You’re so young. So naïve. Yes, in the perfect world, Arthur Wingate and all the other board members would vote for Alex because it’s the right thing to do. But in the real world, they will vote for the person who can give them what they want.”
Lacey’s jaw dropped at the man’s cynicism.
“Wingate wants his daughter to be happy and Jess, unfortunately for you, has decided that what she wants is to be Mrs. Lawrence Newsom, the third.”
“And you’re all right with that? You’d be happy to see your grandson marry a woman he doesn’t love for the sake of the company?”
The old man leaned against the conference room table and for the first time, Lacey noticed how tired he looked.
“Of course that wouldn’t make me happy,” he said. “But I don’t have a lot of time left, and I need to look out for my employees. Alex understands that.”
“That’s what Alex wants too,” Lacey said. “He wants to lead this company and ensure the jobs of all of its employees. But surely marrying Jess Wingate isn’t the only option.”
“It’s the safe option. It’s a sure thing. It’s what Alex needs.”
Lacey struggled to keep calm. She drew in a deep breath. “Mr. Newsom, I know you’ve lost your son and for that, I am truly sorry. But please remember that Alex also lost his father.”
Lawrence Newsom looked shocked, but she forced herself to continue. “What he needs is for you to believe in him. Alex needs your trust more than he needs your guidance right now. He needs for you to be his biggest champion rather than his toughest critic.”
The old man looked like he was going to protest but Lacey kept going. She was on a roll. “Making a commitment to a woman he doesn’t love may be the safe way to ensure he wins the election but at what cost? Do you want him to be the kind of leader who doubts his leadership abilities? Or one who questions his own integrity?”
Dawn’s sudden appearance in the doorway saved Lawrence Newsom from having to respond. It seemed he was needed immediately for a conference call that had started several minutes earlier.
He left the room without a backward glance, and Lacey slumped into a chair. His sudden exit might have saved her job—for the moment at least. But there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t call her into his office to fire her the moment his call was through. And she couldn’t blame him.
She dropped her head into her hands with a groan. Did she just confront the CEO of a world renowned corporation over the way he treated his grandson?
“What was that all about?”
Lacey hadn’t heard Dawn enter the room, but now she was perched in a chair across the table from her looking eager for gossip.
“What do you mean?”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Oh please. I could hear your voice from the end of the hall. So tell me, what did the old man do now?”
Lacey rubbed her hands over her face. “We had a difference of opinion.”
“About?” Dawn prodded.
“Alex’s future and the best way for him to win this election.”
“Ah. So it was about Jess and how he wants them together.”
Lacey’s head popped up as she turned to look at her new friend who was grinning at her. “Don’t look at me like that,” Dawn laughed. “I’m an executive assistant. I see everything that goes on around here.”
“Okay, Ms. Know It All, what’s your opinion? Do you think Alex should get back together with Jess for the sake of the company?”
Dawn shook her head. “Of course not. Nobody wants to see Alex miserable. Not even Mr. Newsom.”
“But he just said—”
Dawn waved away her protest. “Yeah, I can only imagine what he said. But trust me, I work with him day in and day out. He’s not as tough as he’d like to believe. He wants his grandson to be happy.”
“So then why is he pushing this? Why does he want him to take the easy way out?”
Dawn’s smile was sad. “Because he’s scared.”
Lacey considered the other woman, unsure of what to make of this new revelation. “Scared of what?”
Dawn threw her hands up. “Scared of losing control of the company, scared of dying, scared of losing someone else he loves … take your pick.”
Lacey rolled her eyes and groaned. “Great, so you’re telling me I just yelled at a lonely, scared old man?”
“Pretty much.” Dawn stood and patted Lacey’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure he had it coming.”
As if Lacey’s day wasn’t bad enough, that afternoon while Alex was being held hostage by his grandfather, Lacey had a run in with the she-devil herself.
“Lacey, I’m so glad I ran into you.” Jess was making a beeline for her as she neared the elevator banks. It had been a long morning and all Lacey wanted was a minute to herself to get some fresh air and a bite to eat.
She tried to force a smile. “Hi, Jess, what brings you to the office today?”
Jess’s heels clicked as she crossed the hallway. “I dropped by to see if Alex was free for lunch but it seems he’s stuck in a meeting.” She pursed her lips in a pouty face that made Lacey’s stomach turn.
“That’s too bad.”
Jess’s eyes skimmed over her from head to toe. “That outfit is just adorable on you.”
Lacey looked at the pinstripe pantsuit she’d paid way too much money for. Adorable was not the look she’d been going for. “Um, thanks.”
Jess’s face brightened. “Maybe you and I could grab a bite together since Alex is tied up.”
Why on earth would we do that? But Jess seemed to be back to her old chipper self after the not-so-pleasant chat at the club a few days earlier. She supposed whatever had transpired between Jess and Alex after she’d left the club had been enough to convince her that Lacey was no threat.
“I was just going to grab a quick sandwich at the deli downstairs and eat it in my office,” Lacey lied. “I’ve got a lot of work to get done.”
The other woman’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Your office? I hadn’t realized you’d moved in.”
Lacey looked up in surprise. Or maybe Jess hadn’t quite come around. “I’m temporarily using an empty office. Just until my contract ends.”
Jess’s smile was brittle. “And when is that?”
“After the election on Monday. Unless they want me to stay on during the transition.”
Jess followed her into the elevator. “I can’t imagine that will be necessary.”
Lacey stared up at the numbers above the elevator door as the floors flew by and took a deep calming breath. She would not engage in a petty fight with this woman. The words came out anyway. “I don’t believe it’s up to you.”
The silence was tense, and Lacey glanced over to see Jess watching her with narrowed eyes. Gone was any pretense of pleasantries.
“I’ve talked to your employer at Ackland, you know.”
Lacey’s mouth dropped open at that. “What? Why? Wait, you talked to Rick?”
Jess looked amused by Lacey’s flustered response. “No, not Rick. I believe his name was Mr. Crowley.”
Lacey could only stare at the other woman now as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened with a ding. Mr. Crowley was the big boss. He was her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss.
Jess had already exited the elevator, and Lacey stumbled to catch up. “Why?”
Jess looked amused. “You don’t think I’d trust Alex�
�s future success to just anyone, do you? I’m extremely invested in his future since I plan on sharing it with him.”
Lacey had to hustle to keep pace with Jess’s long strides. She found herself following the other woman out the front door of the building and past the deli where she was supposedly grabbing a sandwich.
She reached a hand out to grab Jess’s arm, bringing her to a halt. “What did you tell him?”
The tall stunner looked at her with a mix of amusement and disdain. “I didn’t tell him much. Mostly, I asked questions. And the answers were fascinating. This job is quite a step up for you, isn’t it? You’ve come a long way from waitressing.” Lacey wished she could slap the smirk off Jess’s face. “But he assured me that you have been well trained and have had great success on the other projects you’ve been a part of.”
Lacey swallowed down her panic. Okay, maybe this wasn’t a disaster after all.
“He did seem interested in your methods, though,” Jess added as she turned to continue walking.
“What did you tell him?”
Jess shrugged. “Not much. I just passed along what I’ve overheard.” She flashed Lacey a saccharine-sweet smile. “But don’t worry, honey, he and I both agreed that we’d support any means necessary as long as it gets the job done.”
We? Lacey didn’t know whether to laugh or scream at the woman’s nerve. Through clenched teeth, she matched the other woman’s smile. “I hadn’t realized you were such an expert on public speaking.”
Jess laughed. “Of course I’m not. But I am an expert on Alex. I know what he needs. And right now, that seems to be you.”
She stopped short to face Lacey, seemingly oblivious of the annoyed passersby who she’d cut off mid-stride.
“But that ends with the election. Is that clear?”
“What’s your point, Jess?”
“My point is this—I am tolerating your presence for Alex’s sake. My father and his grandfather seem to believe he’s doing quite well with your particular brand of coaching.” The word coaching came out as a sneer, and Jess heaved a deep breath before continuing. “But don’t believe for one moment that I’m not keeping an eye on you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and the way that you look at him—”
“We’re not—” Lacey tried to interject.
“Oh, I know you’re not. And you never will be. Alex might be angry with me at the moment. He’s still hurt over things that happened in the past. But I’m good for him. He needs me, and he knows it.”
“If that’s the case, then why am I such a threat?”
Jess raised an eyebrow as though impressed that Lacey had stood up to her. “You’re not a threat, sweetie. You’re a distraction. You may be a useful distraction at the moment, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. You don’t have a future with Newsom Industries, and you don’t have a future with Alex. Is that clear?”
“Jess, Alex and I are just—”
Jess cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hands. “Please spare me the excuses. Save those for your fiancé, if you still have one when you return to San Francisco.”
Lacey’s eyes widened. Was this woman seriously threatening to ruin her fake engagement? She knew she should be furious but the image of Jess outing her to Sam her cat was just comical. But Jess’s next words drained any humor from the situation.
“At the moment you don’t have a future with Alex, but you have a very promising future with Ackland, from what I understand. All it would take is one word from me for that bright future to come to a jarring halt. Don’t jeopardize that over some infatuation.”
Lacey’s mouth open and shut as she struggled for words as Jess strode away and got lost in the crowd.
Lacey wasted no time getting Rick on the phone. If her job was in danger, he would know. As usual, Rick seemed to be waiting for her call. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, blondie.”
Lacey swallowed the rude retort that sprang to mind. “Did you know that Jess Wingate called Mr. Crowley?”
“Yeah, he called me the minute he got off to ask what the hell was going on over there.”
The anxious knot in her stomach grew ten times bigger.
“Nothing, I swear.”
“I believe you, and that’s what I told Crowley. I told him you were a consummate professional and that you can’t help it if you happen to be a looker as well.”
Lacey rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”
“Look, kid, I’ve been on your side since day one with this. Even when you went off script, I’ve had your back. I’ve reassured the higher ups that you know exactly what you’re doing.”
“Thanks, Rick, I appreciate—”
“Don’t screw it up.”
Lacey opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the dial tone. Fantastic.
“Right,” Lacey muttered to herself. “No pressure.”
Chapter Ten
JESS’S WORDS WEIGHED on Lacey for the rest of the afternoon. The bubble of optimism and romance she’d been happily living in had popped.
Lacey didn’t hear Alex come up behind her. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee from the carafe on a side table when she felt him. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck, and she cursed her body’s sudden and intense reaction.
“So about Monday night,” Alex said. “I figure we’ll start with a celebratory drink at—”
Lacey spun around and stopped him with an upheld hand. “Stop it.” She couldn’t take it. For the last hour he had been charming and sweet and wonderful, and it was driving her crazy.
He blinked in surprise at her serious tone. “What’s wrong?”
There it was. The question he’d clearly wanted to ask but hadn’t. Until now. She struggled for a moment, wanting to tell him everything that Jess had said and all about her job being in danger, but this was not the time. He had problems of his own. He couldn’t be distracted by Jess or her career or anything else, for that matter. She could vent all she wanted after the election on Monday. After that, Jess would have no say over Alex’s future or her career.
Unless Jess decided to get revenge.
Lacey’s heart ached as she stared at the gorgeous man before her. Who was she kidding? Even if he won the election, the moment they started dating, Jess would do everything in her power to ruin Lacey. Jess was not a gracious loser; it didn’t take a psych major to figure that out. What would she do if she knew that she’d lost her bright shining future to Lacey? She would do whatever it took to make her miserable. And all it would take is one word about wrongdoing or the slightest hint that her relationship with Alex was anything less than businesslike, and she would be out on the street. Or at least, back at the bar. And if she and Alex were a couple, Jess’s rumors about an illicit affair in the workplace would be completely vindicated.
So basically, even if Alex won, they still lost. The unfairness of the situation made her want to cry. Or throw the coffee carafe against a wall.
Alex was watching her with concern. “Hey, are you all right?”
God, he was gorgeous. The tender look in his beautiful green eyes was almost her undoing. He reached out a hand and cupped her cheek and she jerked away.
“We can’t,” she said.
He was watching her with concern, but he gave her a little grin. “I know, I know. I have to wait until Monday.”
Lacey winced and shook her head. He didn’t get it. Was it possible that he didn’t know how vindictive and jealous his ex was?
“Hey, what’s going on? What happened since this morning? I thought we agreed that after the election on Monday—”
“That what? Suddenly all of our problems will magically disappear?” Lacey hated the bitter edge to her voice, but she couldn’t stop it. She despised the fact that her future happiness was in someone else’s hands. She hated that she was being forced to choose between the career of her dreams and the man she loved.
Loved. The very thought of the L word made Lacey’s body turn numb. She blinked up at Alex
as he continued to study her, concern written all over his face.
“Lacey, whatever’s wrong you can talk to me about it. You know that right? We can figure this out, whatever it is.”
For a moment she couldn’t respond. Her brain had latched on to that one word and couldn’t let go. Was this love? Oh holy cow. This could not be happening. She was in love. She had finally met someone she could spend her life with. This was it, standing right in front of her. What she’d been looking for since she’d read her first fairy tale about happily ever afters. She had found her prince.
And he was off limits.
The prince in question reached out to clasp her shoulders, cocking his head for a better look at her face. “What is it? What’s happened that you’re not telling me?”
Lacey struggled with what to tell him. Much as she wanted to spill her guts and let him tell her it would all be okay, she couldn’t do it. Because it wasn’t okay. Whether or not he won the election, she would have to choose between this man and her career. It wasn’t fair.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said, swallowing the words that threatened to spill out. “You need to focus on the election. No more talking about us until this is all over, all right?”
He studied her for a moment, his expression a cross between disbelief and concern. He dropped his hands from her arms and for a moment Lacey thought he would drop it.
“No,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“We’re going to talk about this now.”
“We can talk Monday,” she insisted.
“No, it can’t wait.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking remarkably like a small child about to stamp his foot.
“Why not?”
He rolled his eyes as though she was deliberately obtuse. “Because the promise of Monday night is the only thing getting me through all of this.”
Lacey’s breath caught in her throat at the simple, sincere confession. “That’s … sweet.”
“It’s not supposed to be sweet; it’s just the truth. I like you, Lace. A lot.” He reached out a hand to grab her hand but she jerked away.
“Stop being so nice to me,” she said. As soon as she did, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. If he was a child about to stamp his foot then she was a toddler having a temper tantrum. Perfect, two children making a decision that would affect the rest of their lives.
Less Than Three: A Romantic Comedy Page 11
