Lex’s phone started ringing loudly. Her eyes met the cab driver’s in the rearview mirror. He was frowning. She hurried to take the phone out of her inner pocket.
Lex always answered her phone. There was rarely a reason not to take a call. This time, she hesitated after seeing the name of the caller on her screen.
Her chest tightened with anger and regret. She had not expected to hear from Vicky. Her thumb hovered over the red circle on the screen.
What had happened, wasn’t Vicky’s fault, she reminded herself. She reluctantly tapped the green ‘accept’ button and slowly brought the phone up to her ear.
“Hey Vicky,” she said. Her nose twitched.
“I thought you weren’t going to pick up,” Vicky replied, sounding relieved.
Lex looked out of the window. The cab had been stuck in the Monday morning traffic for most of the ride. They were at a standstill.
“I almost didn’t,” she admitted.
It took Vicky a moment to respond. “I’m sorry I waited so long to reach out.”
Lex opened the zipper of her leather jacket. It was getting hot in the car despite the cold weather outside.
“That’s okay,” she sighed. “You didn’t have to.”
“I did,” Vicky said, “You were the only one who believed me.”
Lex pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I found a new job,” Vicky continued. “And I probably never would have without your help.”
“That’s great news,” Lex said and meant it. “Where?”
“At Best & Richards,” Vicky replied, excited. “They even gave me a senior title. The recommendations really helped.”
Lex took in a deep breath. She felt a sharp pain in her right side and winced. “I’m, eh, really happy for you.”
“Thank you so much, Lex. I know I got those recommendations because of you.”
Lex shook her head. “No, you didn’t. You *earned* those.”
Vicky blew out a breath. “Yes, but they would have never given them to me if you hadn’t forced them to.”
Lex pursed her lips. Vicky was right. The bastards had wanted to destroy her. Lex had stopped them. Now they had destroyed Lex instead.
“How are you?” Vicky asked carefully.
“Fine,” Lex answered too quickly.
“Are you back at work?”
“Actually, yes, I’m supposed to start a new job today,” Lex admitted.
She glanced at the screen with traffic information. It was attached to the seat in front of her. The lines in the center of Manhattan were all bright red.
“You are?” Vicky asked.
Lex tried to muster up some excitement for Vicky’s sake. “Yeah, I am!”
“Thank God! I was so worried you wouldn’t find anything around here.”
“No worries, I did,” Lex responded with a grimace.
Vicky wanted to know more, of course. “Which firm?”
Lex closed her eyes. She hadn’t even told her mother about this yet.
“I decided to head into a different direction, career-wise,” she said, hoping it sounded as if she had had a choice.
“Oh? Did you start your own firm?” Vicky gushed.
“No,” Lex snorted. Not a single customer in the city would hire her after what she had done, she knew. “Different business.”
“Different business? As in?” Vicky inquired.
Lex leaned back in her seat. “I accepted an offer in the retail sector. Financial director,” she said, leaving out the part where she had to run a chocolate store for several years first.
“Wow! That’s fantastic!”
Lex glanced around nervously. The car still hadn’t moved. She needed an excuse to end this conversation. Today would be exhausting enough already.
“I never thought you would settle down like that,” Vicky chuckled. “You seemed like a consultant through and through, you know?”
Lex let her head fall back. “Times change,” she replied with difficulty.
“So what company managed to seduce you?” Vicky teased.
Lex didn’t know how much longer she could keep up this charade.
“I don’t think you know it. It’s a family business,” she answered. “Look,” she added quickly, “My cab just pulled up to the office. I really need to go.”
She felt the driver’s gaze on her. She avoided looking at the rearview mirror and turned in her seat.
“Oh, okay, of course. Good luck!” Vicky said excitedly.
Lex watched a biker maneuver between the cars at a startling speed.
“Thanks,” she said. “You too!”
She hung up before Vicky could say anything else. She lowered the phone. Her hand was shaking.
Lex hadn’t eaten yet and the two espressos she had gulped down before jumping into the cab were burning a hole in her stomach. She groaned in frustration.
“Can you let me out?” she called out to the driver, holding up her credit card.
He shrugged and tapped his terminal. The fare showed up on the screen and Lex swiped her card. She didn’t add a tip.
The cold air hit her like a ton of bricks. She hurried to the sidewalk, nearly clashing with another biker. Lex wondered if this day would get any worse.
Then she remembered her appointment.
“I guess it will get worse,” she thought. “I have to meet this Mary Alexander Hannah seems to adore.”
*****
Suzy pointed at a door further down the hallway. “Hannah will join you in 15 minutes.”
Lex nodded. “Can I get some coffee somewhere around here?”
Suzy smiled. “Yup, got you coffee and breakfast. It’s in the meeting room. Mary has already arrived.”
Lex had to forcefully stop the corners of her mouth from dropping. Shit.
“Thanks, I’ll go say hi then,” she said grudgingly.
Suzy picked up the phone. “Perfect.”
Lex stared at Hannah’s closed door. Was her cousin running late? Or was she in a meeting? Lex wasn’t used to being kept out of the loop.
She fidgeted with the new keychain and badge around her neck as she walked. She didn’t know who had decided to give her the ‘trainee’ title, but it sure was humiliating.
Her lips parted when she stepped into the meeting room. She instantly recognized the woman sitting at the table. It was the employee she had locked eyes with at the store.
“Oh, hi!” the woman said, putting her cup of coffee down and getting up. “Are you Lex?”
“Yeah,” Lex replied and stuck out her hand. “Lex Emsworth. Nice to meet you.”
A light brown eyebrow quirked up in response.
“I’m Hannah’s cousin,” Lex explained.
They shook hands. The woman had a firmer grip than Lex had expected. Despite being dressed rather casually in jeans and a purple blouse, she oozed confidence.
“Mary Alexander. Nice to meet you too.”
Their eyes met and Lex felt a shock of electricity run down her spine. She was entirely off balance today. She quickly looked away.
A large, glass pot of coffee, a plate with croissants and another one with chocolates were set in the middle of the table. She pointed at them.
“Better get some breakfast before Hannah arrives,” she mumbled.
Mary smiled. “The croissants are great.” She took her seat. “Coffee too.”
Lex sat down and selected a croissant. Her stomach was in knots, but she had to eat something.
“These are my favorites,” Mary said, picking up a small square of white chocolate.
She bit the candy in half and closed her eyes, flicking her tongue over her lips. Lex stared at her, holding the croissant in mid-air, mesmerized.
“The raspberry,” Mary continued, looking down at what was left of the chocolate. “Is just perfect. Don’t you think?”
Lex shrugged, inwardly kicking herself. “Eh, I haven’t tasted it yet.”
Mary tilted her head in surprise, chewing slowly. She swallowed before she spoke. “It’s one of our best sellers!”
Lex took a bite from her croissant to give herself some time to think. She hadn’t adequately prepared for her first day at the job, she now realized.
“I guess I’m a recent chocolate convert?” she uttered. “Still lots to learn.”
Mary arched her eyebrow again, picked up another one of the white chocolates and handed it to Lex. “Here, try it.”
Lex accepted the candy, too perplexed to refuse.
Mary’s hazel eyes scanned her face expectantly.
Lex felt heat creep up her neck. She was awfully self-conscious all of a sudden. She brought the chocolate to her lips.
“Close your eyes,” Mary said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s better when you close your eyes.”
Lex reluctantly shut her eyes. She took a careful bite. Raspberry jam seemed to burst into her mouth. It was an explosion of sweet and sour.
“Oh!” she mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Mary chuckled. “That’s why they’re called Raspberry Surprises.”
Lex met her eyes. “I see.”
Mary played with her earlobe and Lex noticed the small earring in it.
“I always recommend that one in the store,” Mary said with an enthusiastic smile.
“I see,” Lex repeated herself, feeling utterly lost. She needed to regain her composure.
“I guess we’ll need to start the transition with a day of chocolate tasting,” Mary joked, sipping her coffee.
Lex frowned. “I think I’d rather start with going over the numbers.”
This seemed to give Mary pause. She straightened and studied Lex. “Really? Don’t you want to start with the products?”
“No,” Lex said, shaking her head. “I want to know where the issues are first.”
Mary crossed her arms. “What kind of issues?”
Lex grabbed the pot of coffee and poured some into a cup. “I usually start with an analysis of what’s lowering the bottom line.”
“The bottom line?” Mary repeated, her skepticism evident.
Lex nodded, feeling more comfortable now that they were no longer discussing raspberry surprises. “Yes, that’s what running a business is about, isn’t it?”
Mary looked down at her hands. Lex could tell she disagreed. That was fine. Lex had run into countless people like Mary Alexander.
“If you don’t care how our products taste, how on earth are you going to sell them?” Mary asked.
Lex had to give Mary points for transparency. She had seen plenty of people roll their eyes in this type of conversation. Rarely did someone speak their mind.
“It’s not my job to care about how this stuff tastes,” Lex replied calmly. “My job is to make more money. So is yours.”
Mary snorted. “That’s not how we work around here.”
Lex stared back at her. “It should be then.”
Mary narrowed her eyes. “I suggest we let Hannah take the lead on this point. I’m sure she’ll clarify a thing or two about our approach when she gets here.”
Lex smiled thinly. She couldn’t believe Mary referred to her CEO by her first name only. “How about I call her to find out where she’s at,” she suggested, eager to demonstrate her relationship with her cousin.
Mary’s phone started ringing at that exact moment. She fished it out of the coat that was hanging over the back of her chair.
She glanced at the screen. “No need. Hannah’s calling me,” she quipped triumphantly.
Lex tightened her grip on the cup of coffee. Dealing with Mary Alexander was going to be an even bigger pain in the ass than expected.