Lexie Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Kimberly Dean
slumped. “Anne Marie is sick about this. You know I don’t like her upset. I had to tell her what kind of place that dive is…what kind of things happen there…”
Lexie threw another look at her siblings, but not one of them stepped up to defend her. Not one of them came forward to admit it was a prank…their fault… Blaire was crying now, but the rest were watching the whole thing unfold with some kind of bizarre fascination.
What was going on?
Her father finally turned to face her. “I want this mess cleaned up, Alexandra, and I want it cleaned up now.”
“So do I.” There were pranks, and then there was cruelty. This went way past the line. “I’ll get to the bottom of it, I promise.”
“Good. Get on it.”
What, right now? “But—”
His blue gaze swung up to meet hers, and it was as hard as a sapphire. “This company can’t afford that kind of bad exposure. Not now. This needs to be handled.”
Bad exposure from her face…
Lexie tried to let the backhand slide. For some inane reason, her proposal was still of prime importance to her. It could help. “I’ll find out what happened, I swear, but I have an idea that I think will gain us some new business. If we could just get back to the quarterly meeting and show everyone we’re still strong together—”
“I don’t want the kind of business your kind of marketing is going to bring.” Her father’s voice lifted again, and Lexie realized his pale hands were shaking. He pushed away the paper on the desk as if it repulsed him. The family name was everything to him. His legacy.
And someone had smeared it using her.
Rowe stepped between them. “This isn’t productive, Julian.”
Her father stared at his right-hand man for a long, long moment. The old guard facing off against the new. “She’s up there for the whole world to see, Cam.”
Rowe picked up the newspaper, studied it and finally shook his head. “She said she didn’t do it, and look at the damn thing. It’s not even her.”
Yes, Lexie thought. Just look at it. Couldn’t Julian see that wasn’t her? Didn’t he know her better than that?
Her hopes fell when her father’s chest puffed out and his jaw stiffened. He hadn’t gotten where he was by being soft. He might trust Rowe’s recommendations regarding the company, but he wouldn’t put up with a direct challenge of authority.
“It doesn’t matter,” Julian said in a clipped voice. “Whether she did it or not, it’s her face up there—and we have to give our report to our investors in two weeks. You know that pornographic billboard will be all anyone wants to talk about.”
It didn’t matter…
This time the verbal backhand was harder to ignore. Lexie flinched as if she’d been struck.
“I’ll go,” she said, her throat constricted. Without thinking, she caught Rowe’s arm. This wasn’t worth him fighting over. At her touch, his biceps clenched. For some reason, the reaction made her lungs, heart and stomach squeeze together, trying to crowd into the same aching spot inside her chest. “I’ll fix it.”
She went to gather up her things but was surprised to find them still in the crook of her arm. Spinning away from everyone, she nearly ran right into Cam. She pulled up short but kept her gaze at tie level. With as much dignity as she could muster, she circled around him and headed towards the door.
“Julian,” Rowe growled.
If there was a response, Lexie didn’t hear it. She closed the door behind her but found herself right back in the mix of things. People stood in the hallway like statues, frozen when she caught them watching her. This time, there was no cover under which she could hide. She wove her way in and out of them, wishing she had a clear path to her office.
No wonder everyone had stared at her before. How many of them had seen the paper? How many of them had driven by that train-wreck billboard?
Which was not pornographic.
It was beautiful, in a stark, sexual way.
As
Lexie threw another look at her siblings, but not one of them stepped up to defend her. Not one of them came forward to admit it was a prank…their fault… Blaire was crying now, but the rest were watching the whole thing unfold with some kind of bizarre fascination.
What was going on?
Her father finally turned to face her. “I want this mess cleaned up, Alexandra, and I want it cleaned up now.”
“So do I.” There were pranks, and then there was cruelty. This went way past the line. “I’ll get to the bottom of it, I promise.”
“Good. Get on it.”
What, right now? “But—”
His blue gaze swung up to meet hers, and it was as hard as a sapphire. “This company can’t afford that kind of bad exposure. Not now. This needs to be handled.”
Bad exposure from her face…
Lexie tried to let the backhand slide. For some inane reason, her proposal was still of prime importance to her. It could help. “I’ll find out what happened, I swear, but I have an idea that I think will gain us some new business. If we could just get back to the quarterly meeting and show everyone we’re still strong together—”
“I don’t want the kind of business your kind of marketing is going to bring.” Her father’s voice lifted again, and Lexie realized his pale hands were shaking. He pushed away the paper on the desk as if it repulsed him. The family name was everything to him. His legacy.
And someone had smeared it using her.
Rowe stepped between them. “This isn’t productive, Julian.”
Her father stared at his right-hand man for a long, long moment. The old guard facing off against the new. “She’s up there for the whole world to see, Cam.”
Rowe picked up the newspaper, studied it and finally shook his head. “She said she didn’t do it, and look at the damn thing. It’s not even her.”
Yes, Lexie thought. Just look at it. Couldn’t Julian see that wasn’t her? Didn’t he know her better than that?
Her hopes fell when her father’s chest puffed out and his jaw stiffened. He hadn’t gotten where he was by being soft. He might trust Rowe’s recommendations regarding the company, but he wouldn’t put up with a direct challenge of authority.
“It doesn’t matter,” Julian said in a clipped voice. “Whether she did it or not, it’s her face up there—and we have to give our report to our investors in two weeks. You know that pornographic billboard will be all anyone wants to talk about.”
It didn’t matter…
This time the verbal backhand was harder to ignore. Lexie flinched as if she’d been struck.
“I’ll go,” she said, her throat constricted. Without thinking, she caught Rowe’s arm. This wasn’t worth him fighting over. At her touch, his biceps clenched. For some reason, the reaction made her lungs, heart and stomach squeeze together, trying to crowd into the same aching spot inside her chest. “I’ll fix it.”
She went to gather up her things but was surprised to find them still in the crook of her arm. Spinning away from everyone, she nearly ran right into Cam. She pulled up short but kept her gaze at tie level. With as much dignity as she could muster, she circled around him and headed towards the door.
“Julian,” Rowe growled.
If there was a response, Lexie didn’t hear it. She closed the door behind her but found herself right back in the mix of things. People stood in the hallway like statues, frozen when she caught them watching her. This time, there was no cover under which she could hide. She wove her way in and out of them, wishing she had a clear path to her office.
No wonder everyone had stared at her before. How many of them had seen the paper? How many of them had driven by that train-wreck billboard?
Which was not pornographic.
It was beautiful, in a stark, sexual way.
As