Page 56 of Wicked Flirt
Did she want to see Marcus?
Her mind flashed to his mom, Lia. They’d become friends. Even if she and Marcus were on the outs, she wanted Lia to know she was still available to her if she needed something. So far Lia hadn’t made any progress, not even to call the psychiatrist, but Lexi knew how important support and encouragement were for someone in the grips of agoraphobia. She called her just to check in.
“How’re you doing?” she asked.
“Something’s off with Marcus,” his mom said, getting right to the point. “Is everything okay with you two?”
“I don’t know. It’s a little complicated, but I wanted you to know I’m around if you need anything. I mean, if Marcus is in the city or busy.”
“I saw him earlier and he barely spoke two words to me. He’s hurting, Lexi.”
Lexi’s breath hitched. They were both hurting, but she didn’t want to get into it with his mom, which was why she found herself blurting, “The Mardi Gras event went so well I got another job this Friday. I need an assistant, and you’re the first person I thought of.”
“Oh, Lexi, I’m thrilled for you. I would love to help, but it’s so sudden.”
Actually it wasn’t such a bad idea. Maybe it would help Lia take a baby step forward. “I don’t live far from you, and I could drive you back and forth.”
“Gosh, thanks, but…I’m going to have to pass.”
“Well, anytime you want to stop by for lunch or whatever, feel free. I’ll be working from home and would love the company. I’ll text you the address. Or I could pick you up, no problem.”
“Thank you, sweetie. Marcus is lucky to have you.”
The stealth mom question hung in the air:does Marcus still have you?She swallowed hard. “Mmm-hmm. Well, I’d better go. I’m going to try a few ex-coworkers next. Just need a little help to get things set up.”
“I so wish I could help.”
“No problem. Maybe another time.”
“Yes. Another time,” she said softly. “Bye.”
Lexi hung up and sent a quick text to Lia with her address and a link to a local taxi service if she wasn’t up to driving. There. At least she could feel good about being supportive and encouraging to a woman who needed that.
She didn’t bother calling anyone else about being her assistant. That had been an impulse invite meant to distract from the Marcus situation. She’d power through on her own and hire if she got a bigger gig. She pulled out her laptop and set up an online invoice system linked to bookkeeping software. Then she searched for where she could pick up the needed party items closest to Red Arrow Marketing and locally, trying to make it all happen in the least amount of trips. The online search sent her down another rabbit hole reading about fun creative team-building games. She liked to have alternate options for events whenever possible, especially if something went wrong.
By the time she looked up from her laptop, it was dark outside. What time was it? Wow. Past seven. She’d really been deep in work mode. She should get something to eat.
Her doorbell rang. Her brain morphed from work mode to panic. Marcus. It had to be. No one stopped by unannounced anymore. She checked the peephole. Yup. She pressed her lips together and got a painful reminder of her lip injury from yesterday. Was it only twenty-four hours ago she’d witnessed him kissing another woman? Mere hours since she’d heard about the devastation he’d wrought on a young girl?
She opened the door. “Hi.”
He wore her favorite combo of sexy and badass—black leather jacket, jeans, and black work boots—yet she still needed some distance from him. “Hey, Lex, you eat yet?”
“No. I was just thinking about getting something.”
He hitched a thumb toward the hallway. “Let’s go out somewhere. Anywhere you want.”
“Actually I was thinking of staying in.”
“We’ll get takeout.” He clapped his hands together, rubbing them. “What’re you in the mood for?”
She eyed him. He sounded wired, probably because of the way they’d left things.
“Lex, can I please come in? We need to talk.”
She stepped back from the door, telling herself to try to be open despite all of her concerns.
He walked in, hands gesturing, his words tumbling out in a rush. “I realize you’re sensitive about cheating, and I know it looked bad before with Ellie, so I guess the right thing for me to do is not be friendly with women at all. Would that fix this? No darling, no sweetheart, no smiling, no flirting.”
