Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels

continued to refer to her as Ms. White or Alexandra, however, told her he still had no clue who she was. The only other thing that made sense was that she owed Sean big time. Whatever he’d said to Vincent had made him back off and treat her like human being rather than a malfunctioning robot.
    Lexi brought the steaming cup of coffee to the door of the office and gently knocked, figuring it was better to be overly formal at this point rather than assume she could just walk back in there.
    “Yeah.” Vincent responded. He had stripped out of his suit jacket and loosened his tie. Distracted, he stared at the files in his drawers, deep in thought.
    Lexi carefully placed the mug on his desk and waited for Vincent to say something. She watched him stubbornly stare at those files for a good five minutes before he sat back and shook his head in frustration.
    “What the hell do the dots mean?” He spat out the question like it was the most awful thing that had ever crossed his lips.
    “It’s a color-coding system. I thought it would make it easier to distinguish different kinds of files.”
    “I get that it’s a system; I’m not a complete moron. What I am asking is—what do the colors represent?”
    Lexi stood up, her legs shaky from her nerves as she slowly approached him and knelt beside the opened drawer. She could smell the rich spice of his cologne when he bent over her shoulder to watch intently as she began her explanation.
    He was so close that she could actually feel the heat coming off his body. Her heart raced, and she desperately tried to keep her voice even as she spoke.
    “Files with a black dot are accounts we went after, but never got. Red dots are closed accounts. Yellow dots are files that are for campaigns that are over, but there is still some part that is active, or we are in talks with them about the next season’s ad. Green dots are active campaigns, or companies we are currently trying to acquire as clients.” Lexi pulled a few examples for Vincent to flip through.
    He handed back the folders, then reached around her to pull a file of his own, his larger body crowding hers. Lexi shivered as his tie brushed against her arm and prayed he hadn’t noticed her reaction.
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    Trust in Advertising
    “What do two dots mean?”
    Over the next half hour, Lexi explained every detail to Vincent. The system wasn’t elaborate or complex. It was actually very straightforward once the reasons for grouping certain items together were clear. During that time, Lexi also began to understand Vincent a little better. She watched him pause and try to figure things out himself before asking a question. Most people would have sat back and let her explain every detail, but not Vincent. He would stubbornly study things and get frustrated with himself when he couldn’t understand. Then he’d finally ask the question that he couldn’t answer. After the fourth time this happened, it was obvious to Lexi that Vincent Drake did not like to ask for help.
    That was probably what bothered him the most about Lexi’s reorganization—the fact that he couldn’t figure it out and was forced into the uncomfortable position of needing to rely on someone other than himself. Lexi saw him visibly relax as he felt more confident with his understanding of things.
    She was replacing some files into the tall file cabinet in the corner when the sound of his voice caught her off guard. What shocked her even more was what he said.
    “Thank you.”
    Lexi’s mouth hung open slightly as a pained look crossed his face when he said the words. Not wanting to irritate him further, she tried to be nonchalant.
    “Any time. It’s what I’m here for.” She closed the cabinet drawer and went back over to the other side of his desk.
    Before she could say anything else, he cut her off. “You can go now.”
    “I really am sorry, Vincent. I feel like we got off on the wrong the foot here.”
    Vincent didn’t say another word. Instead, he just