Break Me Down (Alexis and Reid, Book Two) (A Sexy New Adult Romance)

by Locklyn Marx

  “You can charge it to your room if you didn’t bring cash with you,” the waiter offered helpfully. He had a perfect smile and longish brown hair. Probably some kind of aspiring model or actor.

  Alexis sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was run up some big tab on Reid’s company. It wouldn’t be right.

  “No, thanks,” she said.

  “Go ahead,” a voice said behind her. “Get a drink if you want.”

  She turned around, and when she did, her breath caught in her chest. Reid was standing there, wearing a pair of black board shorts and no shirt. Damn. She knew he had broad shoulders and that he ran every morning, but this – this was more beautiful than she could have imagined.

  Every muscle of his upper body was cut and defined. He was lean and strong-looking, with the perfect amount of bulk. His stomach was tan and flat, with more than a hint of a six-pack. A thin line of hair started at his belly button and disappeared into his shorts.

  Alexis swallowed hard

  “I thought you had a meeting,” she said weakly.

  He dropped a bottle of suntan lotion and a book onto the chair next to hers.

  “Meeting was cancelled.” He turned to her and grinned. “So I’m all yours.”

  ***

  His meeting had been cancelled. That wasn’t a lie. But Reid had come down to the pool not because he’d wanted to – he still had a lot of things to get done, and the extra time he’d been given would do nothing except make him work harder to come up with more ideas – but because he’d been worried about Alexis.

  The whole time he’d been in his room, he hadn’t been able to concentrate. He just kept thinking about the way she’d looked last night when he’d gotten that buzz on the intercom. Obviously she was afraid that someone was going to find her. And obviously it had something to do with the panic attack she’d had. She’d said it was an ex-boyfriend. But what was the story? Why was she so afraid of him?

  After a couple hours of driving himself crazy, Reid had gotten the call from Richard Mueller that the meeting with Vista Collection had been cancelled. Someone at Vista had apparently decided to call the agency phone, and the receptionist had called Richard. At least, that was Richard’s story. Reid had suspected that Richard had given Vista his own personal cell number and told them to call him if anything came up.

  God, the guy was such a tool.

  Once he was done talking to Richard, Reid had felt restless. He needed to get out of the room. He needed to check on Alexis. He’d knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer. So he’d headed down to the pool in the hope that he’d find her.

  And he had.

  She’d been sitting there, lounging on a pool chair, looking longingly at the tray of drinks the waiter was holding. When Reid had taken his first steps into the pool area, the waiter’s back had been to him, and all he’d been able to see was Alexis staring up at the dude with a big smile on her face.

  Jealousy shot threw him like a sharp arrow, along with a raging desire to protect her. He was halfway across the pool area, on a mission to punch the guy out, when he realized it was a waiter.

  “Are you sure it’s okay?” Alexis was asking now. “To get a drink, I mean?”

  “It’s fine.” It was true. His company didn’t give a shit about a couple of drinks.

  Hell, they’d love it if they knew he was wining and dining women on this trip. If word got around, The Lawson Agency would be able to steal away whatever advertising executives they wanted. Everyone wanted to work at a company that encouraged its employees to play as hard as they worked.

  Reid surveyed the tray. “What would you like, Alexis?” he asked. “Pina colada?”

  “Perfect.”

  Reid grabbed two and charged them to his room. Pina coladas weren’t usually his thing – they were a little girly – but all the waiter had on his tray was fruity drinks, and Reid didn’t want to order something different, because then the water was going to come back. Reid didn’t like the way the guy was looking at Alexis, like a shark who couldn’t wait to just sink his teeth into her.

  He gave the dude a good tip anyway. It wasn’t the waiter’s fault that Alexis was hot, even covered up in that ridiculous t-shirt.

  Once they were alone, Reid sat down in the chair next to her.

  Alexis’s legs were stretched out in front of her, long and tan and gorgeous. She was wearing sandals with purple and white beads on them, and her toenails were painted a hot pink. Reid wasn’t really into feet – he didn’t understand the allure when there were so many other, more interesting parts of a woman’s body to spend time on – but Alexis’s feet were sexy.

  He let his eyes linger on her skin, taking his time as he moved his gaze up her body slowly. To Reid’s disappointment, her t-shirt ended just above her knees. He thought about her in that towel again, and he felt himself harden in his shorts. Stop, he told himself. The girl obviously has some kind of tortured past. Letting anything happen between them would be taking advantage. And while he liked a random dalliance as much as the next guy, he wasn’t a complete scumbag.

  Well. Depending on who you asked.

  “Good drink,” he said, taking a sip and resisting the urge to grimace.

  “Yeah.” Alexis crossed her legs.

  “You going in the water?” he asked hopefully. If she went in the water, she’d have to take that t-shirt off.

  “You said I shouldn’t swim.”

  “Did I?” He was a stupid, stupid man. “I changed my mind. You seem fine.”

  She did, too. He wasn’t just saying that. As much as he wanted to see her half-naked, the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt. “You should go in if you want.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Why not definitely?”

  “Are you going in?”

  “Of course.” He hadn’t planned on it, but if that’s what it took, then that’s what he’d do.

  “Really?” She was looking at him incredulously. “You?”

  “Yes, me.” He took another sip of his drink. “You know, I think you have me all wrong.”

  “I do? How come?”

  “Because you obviously think I’m some kind of uptight asshole.” He set his glass down on the table between them, then stood up and held his hand out to her. “Come on.

  We’re going in the pool.”

  She hesitated, and from the look on her face, Reid could tell she wanted to say no.

  So he played his hole card. “Unless, of course, you’re scared.” He gave her a grin.

  Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not scared.”

  She stood up, unfolding her legs and grabbing the bottom of her t-shirt. She pulled it off in one quick movement and dropped it on the chair. Reid felt himself harden all over again. Her body was perfect – voluptuous and curvy in all the right places. Her bikini clung to her chest, and the bottom was held together with two skimpy looking strings. It was all he could do not to reach out and untie them.

  When they got into the pool, it got worse. The bathing suit clung to her like a second skin, turning every inch of her into a temptation. Since it was the middle of a work day, and this was a business hotel, they were mostly alone. They swam and splashed around for hours, taking breaks only to get out of the water and sip on their drinks.

  By the time five o’clock rolled around, they were exhausted and hungry.

  “Wanna get room service?” he asked as they headed back up to their rooms.

  She hesitated, and Reid felt his heart speed up. Now that he’d spent the afternoon with her, he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. She’d seemed so carefree in the pool.

  It was the first time she’d allowed herself to let her guard down around him. He liked that side of her, and wanted to see more of it.

  “Sure,” Alexis said finally. “Just let me change.”

  He dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and waited.

  Wh
en she knocked on his door a few minutes later, she looked radiant. Her hair was still wet from the pool, and she’d pulled it back into a loose ponytail. Her skin had a slight glow from the time she’d spent in sun, and she was wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans. Reid caught a glimpse of a pink bra strap peeking out from her tank top.

  “We should order steak,” she said, flopping down on the bed.

  He grinned. “Sounds good to me. How do you like it?”

  “Medium.”

  He ordered two steaks, mashed potatoes, corn, and salad.

  When the meal came, the hotel had added a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries to the tray.

  As soon as the bellboy was gone, Alexis began to open the champagne.

  “They sent you this for free?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes. They know it’s good for repeat business.”

  “Makes sense.” She poured two glasses, and he watched as the bubbles fizzed up in the glass.

  They sat at the long glass table in the kitchen area of his suite, and cut into their steaks.

  “So, what’s your meeting about tomorrow?” Alexis asked, taking a long sip of her champagne.

  “It’s just a meeting to see if we’re on the right track with our potential ad campaign.”

  “For the women’s clothing company?” The tip of her tongue snaked out of her mouth and licked a drop of champagne off her bottom lip. It was all he could do not to jump across the table and strip her naked. He averted his gaze and forced his attention back to his food.

  “Yes,” he said. “For the women’s clothing company.”

  “So what’s your idea?”

  He looked at her incredulously. “You want to know my idea for the pitch?” Any woman he’d ever dated in the past had had no interest in knowing anything about his work. Not that he blamed them – a lot of it was boring.

  “Yeah.” She shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? You spend so much time working on it. You’ve peeked my curiosity.”

  Reid hesitated. The last thing he wanted to talk about was work. But it would be nice to get another person’s perspective. And it would be a distraction from the wicked thoughts he was having. So he grabbed his laptop from the other room, then pulled up the rough storyboard of the concept he’d come up with. He watched as Alexis’s lips wrinkled and she frowned.

  “What?” he demanded. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, it’s just…” She shook her head. “Why do guys always think that women spend their time frolicking around?”

  “They’re not frolicking,” Reid said, offended. “They’re dancing. Ballroom dancing. It’s supposed to be sophisticated and playful.” Everyone knew ballroom dancing was the it thing right now. Dancing With The Stars was the hottest show on television. Part of his job was to know exactly which shows were the most popular, so that he could estimate how much it was costing companies to run their commercials during those time slots.

  Alexis shook her head again and took a bite of mashed potatoes. “Well, whatever. Either way, it’s cheesy.”

  “But the brand is supposed to be playful.”

  “You can be playful without looking like you’re seven.”

  He tilted his head. “Okay, Ms. Smarty Pants,” he said. “What do you think I should do?”

  “Well, if they told you it was playful yet sophisticated, I’d try to play off both those themes.” She fingered the key card that was sitting on the table in front of them.

  “Why not do something with keys?”

  “Keys?” Reid frowned. “I don’t get it.”

  “You give the customers key cards,” she said, “that open the door to the store.

  Like an access pass into another world. It’s playful and fun, yet sophisticated because it seems exclusive. You’re not just selling the clothes, you’re selling a mood.” She took a sip of her champagne, her blue eyes thoughtful. “And then you could use the card to track people’s purchases, so that you could send them targeted coupons. And they could unlock different offers, or scan the key card in-store to get a certain percentage off on pre-determined days.”

  He started at her incredulously. It was so ridiculously simple and perfect that it bordered on brilliant. Of course, they’d need a tagline. Something that played off the idea of exclusivity and unlocking a different world. But that would be the easy part.

  “You just came up with that?’ Reid asked her. “Just now?” He turned the computer screen back toward him, and his fingers began googling, making sure the idea wasn’t something Alexis had seen somewhere else.

  “Yes.” Alexis shrugged. “Sorry, I know you probably think it sucks. But trust me, it’s way better than frolicking around in – ” she peered over his shoulder at the screen. “What is that, a hot air balloon?”

  “Yes,” he said defensively, somehow still protective of his idea even though he knew that compared to hers it was completely ridiculous. “And anyway, I love your idea.”

  “You do?” She blushed. “Thanks.”

  “I’m going to have to come up with a tagline,” he said. “And I’ll have to put some materials together, but there should be a twenty-four hour print shop around.”

  “You’re going to do all this tonight?” Her eyes widened as she took another sip of champagne.

  “Well, the meeting’s tomorrow. So I don’t really have a choice.”

  “What about your frolicking idea?”

  “What about it?” He was on a stock image site now, looking for images of keys.

  He wondered if there was any way to put a rush order on a key card with Vista Collection’s logo embossed on it.

  “You’re going to just scrap it?”

  “Yup.” He scrolled through images on the site, trying not to think about all the work he’d done. And he tried not to think about Richard Mueller, who was probably going to freak the fuck out when he got wind of the fact that Reid had changed the whole direction of the pitch.

  “Don’t do that!” Alexis said. “What if my idea sucks?”

  “It doesn’t.” He turned the screen around so she could see it. “What do you think about something like that? As an image for the key card? Along with their logo?”

  She frowned. “Pink?”

  “Yeah. It’s playful.”

  “It’s also safe and kind of girly.”

  “You don’t like pink?”

  “No, I love pink,” she said. “But not all women do. I think you should go for something a little more whimsical, maybe deep purples and light blues.”

  Alexis took the computer, her fingers flying over the keys, entering search terms on the stock image site until she found what she was looking for. She turned the screen back to him. On it was a picture of an old fashioned skeleton key that was dark purple at the top, and then changed slowly to a light blue.

  “That’s perfect,” he said in awe.

  “I know.” She smiled at him.

  “Now I just need to find a place that’s going to be able to work on this on such short notice.” He was back to googling.

  “I should probably go,” she said, standing up. “I mean, you have so much work to do.”

  “No way,” he said, putting his hand on her arm to stop her. Her skin was soft, and she smelled like chlorine and shampoo. “You’re staying here with me. I need you.”

  Chapter Two

  They worked all night. Alexis felt a small wave of tiredness wash over her at around three in the morning, but it quickly passed with a shot of Red Bull. They worked and planned and perfected the pitch and the tagline – “Step Into A Good Mood.”

  At five am, they broke to have breakfast at a cute little diner while they waited to pick their order up at the twenty-four hour print shop next door. They ordered blueberry pancakes and bacon and egg sandwiches, talking and laughing as they ate.

  When the sun had risen completely over the horizon, they headed over to the print shop to pick up the boards that laid out their campaign, along with the key cards they’d s
omehow managed to get designed in time.

  “Wow,” Alexis said as Reid paid for everything. “That shit’s expensive.”

  Reid laughed, like he thought this was hilarious. “I guess that’s what happens when you wait until the last minute.”

  When their taxi dropped them back off at the hotel, there were still a few hours left before Reid’s meeting at ten.

  “I guess I should probably let you get some sleep,” Alexis said. “I mean, so you can at least be a little bit rested for your meeting.”

  “Yeah.” They were standing in the hallway, both of them leaning against the doors to their respective rooms. Alexis didn’t want to leave him. Something about being around him was soothing, and it wasn’t just because working on the project had been such a distraction.

  Working with Reid had taken her mind off everything, it was true. But there was something else. Reid’s presence was comforting. Nothing rattled him. It was like he had this unshakeable confidence, like he believed that no matter what went wrong, he’d be able to handle it.

  For example, when she’d come up with that idea for his pitch – he hadn’t freaked out or complained that now he was going to have to do a bunch of new work. He’d immediately sprung into action, trying to come up with a plan and find the best way to execute it. It was apparent that he had a ton of self-belief, and Alexis found it extremely comforting.

  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep,” Reid said, shaking his head. “I’m too wired.”

  “Probably from all the Red Bull we drank.”

  “Yeah.” He took a step toward her. “Thanks for all your help. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

  “No problem.”

  He moved even closer, and Alexis swallowed hard. The whole night – no, the whole day -- something had been simmering between them. Something they’d both ignored. But she’d seen the way he’d looked at her in the pool earlier, the way his eyes had lingered on her body, the way he grinned at her when she caught him staring, like he wanted her to know he was thinking wicked thoughts.