Free Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels Page B

flip and her palms sweat.
    Hello to you too, Vincent. Long time no see. How have you been? I’m fine, thanks for asking.
    “Yes, Vincent, I’m looking at it now.”
    After a long, uncomfortable pause, he spoke. “There should be papers in there about the early pitches. What were the two layouts they rejected before finally accepting our campaign?”
    Another test? He thinks I’m lying about finding the file. Can you say “major trust issues”? What the hell happened to him?
    “Um, hang on … Well, from what I can find, it looks like they rejected the ‘Once in a lifetime’ pitch and ‘Say it with diamonds’ last October before finally accepting the ‘Eternal love’ concept in mid-June of this year.”
    Silence on the line.
    “Fax those numbers to Mrs. Kimber at B and B Associates. Their number is in my Rolodex. They’re the Hunter accountants, and they needed that information last week,” he said gruffly without a single word of thanks.
    “Anything else?” Lexi tried to hide the annoyance in her voice.
    “You’re not fired, yet . Goodbye, Alexandra.” And without even waiting for her response, he hung up.
    “The name’s Lexi, but thanks, Vincent. Your appreciation is really overwhelming.” She wanted to scream, but instead marched into Vincent’s office and found the Rolodex buried under a pile of magazines marked with a colorful array of Post-it notes.
    As she lounged in his large leather chair behind a wall of clutter, Lexi decided that her project for the next day was to organize Vincent’s desk.
    That way, she wouldn’t waste hours the next time he called with a ludicrous scavenger hunt.
    The following morning, Lexi walked into work in a comfortable pair of slacks and a sweater, the perfect outfit for crawling around on the floor of Vincent’s office, separating mountains of papers by category, project, and date.
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    Victoria Michaels
    “You have a message, Lexi.” Leigh held a tiny pink paper out to her.
    “Do I even want to know?” Lexi asked as she hesitantly turned the paper over and read it. Thankfully, it was from Sean.
    Thought you’d like to know Vincent cal ed me last night and said he was impressed with you yesterday. I know he’d never tell you himself. If he tries to fire you again today, my offer still stands.
    Sean
    Lexi grinned and tucked the paper into her pocket while she headed to her desk.
    “Have a nice day,” Leigh called after her.
    “Thanks!”
    Lexi’s morning reorganization project got off to a slow start, thanks to none other than Vincent Drake himself. He had her running all over the building picking up designs from the art department, faxing copies down to his hotel in Grand Cayman, and searching his desk for yet another missing file or microscopic piece of paper. She even had to go pick up his suit at the tailor’s. By lunchtime, she was ready to throw her phone out the window just for the sheer joy of seeing it smash onto the concrete and shatter into a million tiny pieces.
    “Who works this much while they’re on vacation?” Lexi wondered out loud as she stopped a stack of folders from toppling off Vincent’s desk. “Honestly, go sit in the sun, drink a fruity drink with one of those cute little paper umbrellas and a piece of pineapple in it, and leave me alone so I can get some work done.”
    She was sorting papers into the piles she had scattered across the office carpet when her phone chirped.
    Alexandra,
    I am still waiting on the phone number for the photographer we used on the Wilson shoot. If it’s more than you can handle, I can always hire someone who doesn’t find the job as challenging as you do.
    V. D.
    “You’re not going to fire me, pal, after I’ve run my fanny off for the past two days. I’m lasting long enough for you to get back into town so I can tell you I quit to your face.” She gripped the edge of Vincent’s desk and pulled herself to her feet. “And my name is Lexi!”
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    Trust in Advertising
    Vincent,
    If I