Love, Inc

by Lily Zante

  Wayne didn’t seem to hear what she was saying. He was too busy looking at her. He felt so comfortable with her. He noticed that Lexi was standing up. She had started to gather the rubbish to put into one bag when something fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and he saw her face crumple before him. In her hand she held the post-it note.

  He had forgotten all about it. Her lips opened slowly and her shiny brown eyes, shaded by long, luscious eyelashes, looked down at him with sadness. “You want to get rid of me?” she asked incredulously. Her eyes betrayed her hurt. She sunk slowly back down onto the chair, still holding onto the yellow post-it note. She placed it in the middle of the table where he would see it. Wayne shook his head with regret. He had forgotten all about it. He remembered writing it on the first day, just after they had first met.

  Replace Lexi asap

  He could kick himself. He shook his head. “No. This is old Lexi. It’s from weeks ago.” But Lexi hardly heard him. A myriad of thoughts went through her mind. She had worked tirelessly for this last week, staying late each night. She had gone over and above her job duty and helped in so many ways, even putting her own business after his. And yet he had wanted to fire her.

  “I thought you liked my work?” said Lexi slowly. She was still not listening to a word that he had said. For some reason, seeing that note had bolted down a strong metal casing over her heart. This would make it easier for her to keep away from Wayne.

  She would see the presentation through and then she would get in touch with Karn and see if there was any way she could go and work for Rudy Grange again. To think that she had done everything, had been such a model employee and earlier this week she had turned down what would have been a very lucrative contract for her. All for what? For this? For a man who didn’t appreciate the slightest thing about her? He was, exactly as she had first guessed, an ungrateful brute. She wanted nothing more to do with him. She had seen the way he treated Terri and now he was doing the same to her.

  “Lexi, listen to me!” Wayne pleaded. What was wrong with this woman? Why could she not see reason? He put down his food and walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her. He grabbed the post-it note.

  He ordered, “Lexi! Look at me!” But she wouldn’t. He persisted, “I wrote this note-” He picked it up off the table and held it in front of her, inches from her face. “I wrote this soon after we first met.” He had one hand on the side of the chair and the other clasping the post-it note.

  “My whole impression of you changed soon after the first time we met. Don’t you remember, you didn’t think much of me either!”

  “You want to fire me?” she repeated. “I just turned down a fantastic six month contract to work for a top law firm for you, for this, for your company!”

  She wasn’t having any of it. She got up and he instinctively moved back, then slowly got up off the floor. He could see that he wasn’t going to be able to make an impact on her today. Not when she was feeling like this.

  “I need to get back home, it’s late. Please,” she sounded hurt and distant. The magical closeness they had just shared had quickly evaporated. He hated that she felt like this. And it was all because of him. He regretted that the evening had ended like this.

  He shouted after her, “Lexi, it’s not what you think.” But it was too late.

  She charged into the office she shared with Greta, grabbed her things and stormed out, slamming the main door shut.

  Wayne was left standing all alone with his table full of Chinese food and the yellow post-it note sticking to his fingers. He ripped it up savagely and threw it into the bin. Then he gave the bin an almighty kick that sent it hurtling against the far end of the room.

  The minute Lexi got into her car she knew she had overreacted.

  She didn’t fully understand why either. She drove back to her apartment, got changed and lay in bed, thinking over the day’s events. She knew Wayne was right. That note probably was written just after they had first been introduced to one another. Looking back, she hadn’t thought much of him either and she recalled how eager she had been to get out of this hellhole as she had referred to it when she had phoned Karn that first day.

  It didn’t surprise her that Wayne would have wanted to get rid of her too. She must have come across as a snooty little upstart to him. She knew that what had happened wasn’t his fault entirely. It was just that the power of her emotions had overwhelmed her. She had gone from feeling exquisite happiness to downright despair in the space of about thirty seconds.

  She had to face the facts: she was falling in love with him.

  But it was all so complicated. She couldn’t completely gauge his feelings for her. And she also felt guilty about Terri too. Maybe it was just that she had been overworking this week, working hard at WB Enterprises and then at home on her ASL clothing line.

  Last night she had finished late at WB Enterprises and she had then stayed up until three in the morning to complete the lingerie orders which seemed to be increasing from week to week. She needed to update her spreadsheets, a task she did at least once a week to keep on top of her numbers. She hadn’t updated them this week. She had to remember her ultimate goal: she was only doing the temporary contract work until her own side business took off. It was her goal to be the boss in her own business. She knew she had the drive, determination, guts and persistence to see it through. In that moment it dawned on her why she had reacted the way she had. It had come back to Jamie, her first serious boyfriend back at college and how she had caught him with Celia. How when he had dumped Lexi, he told her via a text message. The spineless coward. The effects of that rejection, coming as it did from those words on her phone had sent a powerful surge of negative feelings through her.

  Back in Wayne’s office, she had enjoyed his easy company but seeing the scribbled note in Wayne’s office had produced the same effect on her as that rejection text from her college years.

  She was all mixed up inside. There was too much going on. She would see the presentation on Monday and then she would get back up to date with her orders.

  Suddenly, an image of red-headed Karn flashed into her head and she pushed it to one side. She would figure out what to do about her contract at WB Enterprises later.

  Chapter Ten

  The next day at work, Wayne called a company meeting on the warehouse floor. It was the only place big enough with enough floor space to house all the twenty plus members of staff.

  Lexi followed Greta towards the warehouse and took a few deep breaths. She wanted to be calm and collected when she saw Wayne again.

  As they walked into the warehouse, the warehouse staff all stood in a group, with their backs to them and she saw Wayne at the front, facing her way. He hadn’t seen her yet and she had the luxury of watching him without him realizing she was doing so. He looked tired and he was unshaven. His dark growth gave him a dangerously rugged and unkempt look but his green eyes stood out, shiny and alert. He wore his usual dark blue jeans and a plaid shirt over a white t-shirt. He had the physique of a younger man in his early twenties. How he got the time to work out and develop that washboard stomach she didn’t know, because she had always seen him at his desk. According to Greta, he was there most weekends too. But, oh goodness, Lexi thought, licking her lips, he looked pretty good from where she was standing.

  She groaned as Greta cut a line through the throng of warehouse workers and went and stood at the front of them, dragging Lexi along with her. She could see George and Terri standing just to her right. Greta took up position beside them with Lexi next to her so that she stood almost directly opposite Wayne. Lexi looked up to see Wayne’s eye on her and caught her breath. The shock of standing so near to him after last night unsettled her slightly. She managed a little smile but he had missed it.

  For his part, Wayne saw Lexi walk in behind Greta and knew he was going to forget what he was going to say next, so he made it a point not to stare her way
for too long. The fact of the matter was he had hardly slept a wink last night. He had felt so bad about how their evening had ended and whenever he tried to fall asleep, he kept seeing Lexi, with her dark hair and eyes and those luscious lips, looking at him, lying alongside him. But she had barely acknowledged him as she walked in this morning.

  Blocking out Lexi from his thoughts, Wayne looked at George and the rest of the warehouse workers.

  “This is our big chance to show investors what we are capable of,” he said, looking at them all. “All I ask is that on Monday, you go about your daily routine and be mindful that others will be watching you.” He wanted them all to show WB Enterprises in the best possible light. He knew he had a good team of workers. He rewarded them very well. This contract was important to him and he wanted to win it. He scanned everyone’s faces before asking “Any questions?” His eyes settled on Lexi briefly and she stared back at him, shaking her head.

  “I have a question,” Luke, one of the oldest workers shouted out. “If you win the contract what do we get?” he asked more in jest than greed. And everyone laughed.

  “I’ll give you all a pay rise!” responded Wayne, and he was serious about it too.

  “How about a nice meal and an evening out for us all as well as the pay rise?” ventured another one, Andy.

  “Done.” Wayne smiled and looked around for any other questions. When there weren’t any more, he ended the meeting and the workers slowly returned to their places in the warehouse.

  Greta took Lexi’s arm in hers as they walked back to their office. “You don’t look like your normal cheerful self,” she said in a low voice so that only Lexi heard. As she turned to walk away, Lexi saw that Wayne was trying to make a bee line for her, but that Terri had managed to grab him instead. Lexi shrugged her shoulders.

  “I’m fine Greta, please don’t worry about me,” she reassured the older woman. The way Greta looked at her, Lexi knew she hadn’t managed to convince her but she also knew that Greta was prepared to let it go. She nodded her head in understanding.

  Back at their desks Lexi showed Greta the new slides she had worked on. Greta’s face and the enthusiastic noises she made indicated to her that she loved the edits.

  “I think we are more than ready for them Lexi,” she said eagerly before getting up to announce “Wayne wants to go through the presentation one more time, before lunch.” Lexi groaned but not loud enough for Greta to hear. She wanted to let Wayne know she had overreacted yesterday but now the sudden prospect of being face to face with him in a presentation where she hoped she wouldn’t look silly, made her hesitant.

  “He’s off this afternoon and not back until Monday morning, so let’s get it done with now,” Greta said, eager to get on with it.

  “Good morning ladies,” Wayne was in a cheerful mood. “Let’s go through this thing one more time shall we?” He glanced at Lexi, who managed to respond affirmatively.

  They went through all the slides and their notes all over again.

  Lexi found herself putting on a brave face and was determined to do her very best. Much to her surprise, she was back to her usual self again; poised, at ease and confident. Just as she had always been before she had met Wayne. She might not have known the ins and out of the construction industry but she could read financial data and she had, after all, prepared all the slides.

  “You show me in a poor light,” concluded Wayne, attempting a bit of humor with her, “seriously Lexi, that was a great performance.” He was so proud of her.

  “Thanks,” said Lexi, brushing away the lock of hair that had fallen across her temple. Greta nodded approvingly. She knew she had made the right decision getting Lexi to lead part of the presentation. Wayne made them commit to getting to work at eight sharp on Monday morning to go through the final preparations and to be ready for the start of the presentation at ten.

  Both women got up to go when Wayne said, “Lexi, can I have a word please?” She stopped in her tracks and sat back down again whilst Greta discreetly removed herself from the room. Wayne walked over and closed the door shut. Then he strode back to his desk again but instead of sitting across it as he usually would do, he pulled over another chair and sat facing Lexi. There was no table between them now and they were sitting very close to one another.

  “I am really sorry about what happened yesterday.” He apologized in a low voice. He wanted to be honest and open with her. Lexi knew that their little misunderstanding had simply been just that. A little misunderstanding. She also knew that she had blown it out of all proportion. So before he continued with his needless apology, she stopped him. “Wayne, don’t. Please.” She put up her hand as if to ward him off. “I can’t have you apologize to me Wayne because, and I’m embarrassed to admit this, I think I overreacted.” He sat back, a little relieved and totally not expecting this. He watched her guardedly, not knowing what to expect from her.

  “I-I think it’s just been a hard week for me,” Lexi said, looking at him hopelessly. He nodded in agreement, still watching her but not saying a word. When she didn’t elaborate, he said, “Then let’s leave it at that. But I want you to know, I am very happy that you came here. You’ve done a fantastic job. You are appreciated more than you know.” He said the last words quietly, almost to himself. But she heard them. There wasn’t anything else to say.

  “Greta says you’re off this afternoon?” Lexi asked. She realised she was prying.

  He blushed and murmured, “Yeah, stuff to do.”

  “Well, have a good weekend. See you on the big day.” She left his office, feeling much better than she had for the past few days. So they were friends after all.

  After lunch Greta and Lexi allowed themselves to slow down for the afternoon.

  Wayne was gone, the warehouse workers were winding down and the prep for the presentation was complete. Everything rested on Monday. Not wanting to leave any untied bits over the weekend, Lexi checked her emails to see whether Terri had replied to the orders she had sent over for processing. “I wish she’d hurry things up,” Lexi murmured in annoyance. She was always waiting on Terri to do this and complete that. Lexi was sure that she could quite easily leave Terri out of the loop and streamline the process altogether. But she would never suggest anything like that to Wayne.

  “Who are you waiting on? Terri?” Greta asked, tidying her desk up. “She’s off for the afternoon. You won’t see her until Monday.” And she carried on sorting out her desk tidy. So that was what he was up to! Lexi felt as though a glass had shattered inside her heart. So many emotions exploded her. At first she felt a sudden surge of jealousy, shortly followed by a burst of anger and then an aching sadness settled within her.

  Wayne and Terri? Well, now she knew they were definitely together. She had started to think that maybe for once she was beginning to read the signs. She thought he liked her. But she had it all wrong. And it wouldn’t have been the first time either. She felt foolish. What was it with that silly apology today? It was so obvious. Really it was. Wayne didn’t harbor any such feelings for her. Not like she did for him. No, Wayne, for all his charisma, passion, commitment and drive, was really only interested in his business. Apparently, Terri held some kind of fascination for him though what that was Lexi couldn’t tell. And the only thing that she, Lexi, was good for, in Wayne’s eyes was delivering the presentation which would help him to get the contract on Monday. That was it. There was nothing more to it.

  Greta glanced over at her. “If you want to leave early today, go ahead. You’ve worked hard enough this week as it is.” She stopped re-arranging her desk for a moment and looked pensively at Lexi. “Anything you want to talk about Lexi?” she asked gently, seeing the frown settle on Lexi’s face.

  “No, nothing. I think I’ll process as many of these orders as I can and then I’ll finish for the day Greta. Thanks.”

  She put her head down and did what she had always done when her personal life, love life
mainly, was in the doldrums. She focused hard on her work and got on with things.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lexi resolved to look her ultimate best for Monday.

  Over the weekend she shopped for a crisp white shirt. She already had a beautiful Prada skirt suit that showed off her slim figure and her long legs at their best. She wore this with a slim fitting white shirt and killer heels, stud pearl earrings and had decided to wear her hair up. She knew she would turn heads. Not that she was a fashion victim. On the contrary Lexi was able to afford a few nice things every now and then. She had a certain knack for putting her outfits together so that they accentuated her best features without seeming to be too over the top. She never looked overdone or as though she had spent hours getting dressed. She didn’t. She could get ready in as little as fifteen minutes and still look breathlessly beautiful. Hers was a tall, lithe figure and her dark coloring with her chestnut colored hair gave her a rather exotic and sophisticated look.

  During the last month that she had been at WB Enterprises, Lexi had dressed more casually but even in jeans, or Capri trousers and a shirt and loafers, she always looked effortlessly stunning.

  To her quiet bemusement, Lexi noticed that Terri had stopped wearing tops that were a few sizes too small for her and had started wearing jeans and shirts similar to the ones Lexi was wearing. “She’ll be dying her blonde hair brown next,” Greta had muttered, once when Terri had walked in to discuss some orders. Lexi had started to take a liking to Terri up until recently. She hadn’t seen her as a rival because she hadn’t believed that she and Wayne were together, even though Terri liked to give that impression.

  But since the two of them had been off work on Friday afternoon at the same time, the thought that they might have something together was particularly galling.