Less Than Three: A Romantic Comedy Read online

  He was acutely aware of the fact that Lacey’s hand was still on his arm. He wanted to reach out and cover her hand with his own. He wanted to lean into her and pull her against him. He wanted—

  “No.” Her quiet voice stopped his mind from wandering into dangerous territory.

  “Excuse me?”

  “No, this isn’t the way it was supposed to happen,” she said. “But it’s the way it happened. So now we have to deal with it.”

  He looked over in surprise to find the sympathetic look replaced by stubborn conviction. She leaned in closer until her face was right in front of his. “Let me ask you something. Do you want this? Do you want to be the president of Newsom Industries?”

  Alex stared at her for a moment. No one had ever asked him that question before. Hell, he’d never asked himself that question before. He thought about his father. About learning to fly. He thought about the countless hours he’d spent in his grandfather’s office as a child and of the countless more he spent at his father’s side as a teen. He thought of the employees who’d known him since birth and their families who counted on them.

  “Yes. I want this.” Hearing the words came out of his mouth, he knew they were true—and terrifying. He had so much to lose. But it was also solidifying somehow. He had a purpose. He had an aim. And it wasn’t just for his grandfather or even his father. This was what he wanted.

  Lacey’s smile was so proud, for that one moment, he felt like the king of the world. He put his hand over hers. “Thank you.”

  She glanced at his hand on hers, and he saw telltale color creeping into her cheeks. He was very aware of how close they were. All he had to do was lean over a couple of inches. Her lips parted as though she could read his mind. The air seemed to thicken, and all he could think about was narrowing that gap between them.

  She jerked away from him, nearly toppling the bar stool in the process. He reached over to steady her, but she shied away from his touch. She quickly downed the rest of her glass and threw some money on the bar.

  “It’s been a long day. I think I’m going to head up to my room.”

  She was halfway to the door by the time she’d finished talking.

  Lacey held her phone to her ear with one shoulder as she unpacked her luggage.

  “He said it first,” Lacey repeated, her tone laced with significance.

  “I still don’t get it.” Morgan, her best friend and roommate, was crunching on chips on the other end of the line. “I thought you wanted it to be strictly business with the Greek god.”

  Lacey sighed. “I did. I do. But I wanted to say it first,” she whined.

  She had been all set to give Alex the speech earlier today but was cut off by the sudden appearance of the impromptu audience. When she’d seen him alone at the bar, she was ready to give him a proper talking-to. But then he’d gone and done the unthinkable—he’d given her the speech.

  “Um, no offense, but I think maybe you’ve lost it.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “I still don’t get why you don’t just enjoy the hottie while you’ve got him. I mean, it’s not like you’re getting a ton of action at home.”

  The very thought of having a hot and heavy affair with Alex was enough to make her heart race.

  “I love your cat and all,” Morgan continued, “but if you spend one more night snuggling with Sam, I’ll have to start referring to you as my crazy cat-lady roommate.”

  Lacey opened her mouth to argue but couldn’t. Her friend was right. She’d been so exhausted from all the training and traveling over the past six months that when she was home in San Francisco, all she wanted to do was stay in. She hadn’t had a proper date since the breakup with Ethan. No wonder her reaction to Alex had been so over the top. Her body was clearly starved for attention.

  “It’s tempting. Believe me, it’s tempting.”

  “So what’s the holdup?”

  Lacey sat on the edge of her bed. “Because this is my job. I kind of need it to live, you know?”

  “You could always work here again. You know Jimmy would rehire you in a heartbeat. The dude thinks you hung the moon.”

  Morgan was a waitress at the same bar where Lacey had worked until six months before. At moments like this, when she was alone in a hotel room, going back to her old life sounded incredibly attractive. But if she did that, if she gave up now, she just knew she would be stuck at that bar forever.

  Okay, maybe not forever, but she couldn’t expect another dream job opportunity just to fall into her lap. The universe had given her a shot. She had to see this through. She had to prove to her company and her clients that she had what it takes to be a professional consultant.

  But what if she didn’t?

  “Lace?” Morgan’s voice at the other end sounded worried. “You know you can always come home, right?”

  Lacey flopped on the bed and smiled up at the ceiling. Morgan had been hinting that she should quit since the day she’d joined Ackland. She couldn’t understand why Lacey was pushing herself to be something new, somebody different.

  “Thanks, Morgan, but I think I’m pretty good at this job. And I like it … most of the time. I need to see this through.”

  She could practically hear Morgan rolling her eyes. She was not a fan of corporate America and couldn’t imagine why stability and a reliable income were so important to Lacey. But then, Morgan came from money and hadn’t grown up with the constant fear of being broke.

  And Alex? He clearly never had to struggle for money but still… she’d seen the look in his eyes when he talked about his family’s company, and she’d recognized it. Despite his background, or maybe because of it, he had drive.

  “Alex wants to run his family’s company. He deserves to have a fair shot at this election.” Her words gave her a buzz, like the adrenaline rush she’d felt on her very first day of training when she’d first realized she had a knack for this job. “I can help him,” she said with new confidence. “He needs me.”

  “Fine,” Morgan said. “But if you change your mind, Whiskey Bob will be psyched to see you.”

  Lacey snorted with laughter at the reminder of one of the more eccentric barflies. “Gee, thanks. I’m heading to bed. Give Sam kisses for me and don’t forget his medicine.”

  “Okay, but just remember—you are not a nun. Now go get some action while you can.”

  Lacey hung up and clicked on the TV. Maybe some mindless shows would take her mind off of the gorgeous man who was rapidly becoming an obsession. Hair down, wearing an oversized T-shirt and having a late night chat with her BFF, Lacey felt like herself for the first time all day. She felt sane—except for the way she was reacting to Alex.

  Even as she’d complained to Morgan, she knew she was being ridiculous. She should be glad that Alex had been the one to broach the subject, and she should be relieved that they were on the same page. And she was. Sort of.

  Lacey groaned in frustration and rolled over in bed to bury her face in the pillows. Two weeks. She just had to keep her head in the game for two weeks. Then she could go home and overanalyze and obsess to her heart’s content. But for now, she had to make sure they kept their distance, no matter how tempted she might be to let her guard down.

  He’d agreed to keep their relationship strictly professional, and so would she. It would just be so much easier to do if she didn’t keep imagining him naked.

  Chapter Five

  “SO YOU want me to, uh … just start?” Alex was manhandling the cue cards and shifting from foot to foot, looking like a little kid called to the front of the classroom. She fought a laugh and instead ended up pursing her lips and blowing out her cheeks a bit like a puffer fish. But she didn’t laugh.

  Pull it together, Ames. He’s never going to take this seriously if you don’t.

  Adopting her best schoolmarm tone, she crossed her arms and leaned against the conference table. “Cue cards are your best friend. Learn to love them.”

  He glanced at the cue cards a
nd up at her with a look of disbelief. “You think these are going to help?”

  “If you have cue cards in your hands, you’ll never flounder.” Was that her voice she was hearing? It sounded like Ms. Malcott, her third-grade teacher.

  The scowling schoolmarm act seemed to be doing the trick, however. He shifted a couple more times, toyed with the cards a bit, and started.

  She tried to keep her expression neutral whenever he glanced up from the cards to see her reaction. Following company protocol, Lacey had sent an evaluation to Rick and a couple of other team members for their feedback. Ackland prided itself on being a collaborative team environment. “We’re in this together,” they’d told her over and over again during training. “You’re never alone with Ackland.”

  Oh yeah? Where were they now while she was trapped alone in a room with a man who made her salivate and whose problems were so much worse than anything she’d seen before?

  Every other assignment she’d been on, and even those she’d shadowed alongside Rick—the clients all had the same issue deep down. Lack of confidence. Every client hid it in a different way but once you knew what to look for the root of all their problems was clear. Low self-esteem was the common denominator.

  Once you determined that cause and the myriad of ways the client tried to hide their fears, it was fairly easy to come up with an individualized program that would build up confidence and help the clients overcome their fears.

  But then there was Alex. If his issue was with self-confidence then he hid it better than anyone she’d ever seen. If anything, when he started talking in front of a crowd, or just her as the case may be, he seemed anything but vulnerable. He seemed downright cocky.

  Maybe it was his military training, but when he began to speak, his spine went ramrod straight, his voice took on the tenor of a drill sergeant, and he not only made eye contact, he glared down his audience as though they were enemies at the front line. She wouldn’t have been overly surprised if he’d whipped out a weapon and demanded that she surrender.

  She’d said all of that in her memo to Rick and the team, but she still hadn’t heard about what course of action to take. Maybe Rick was just as stumped as she was. Whatever the reason, she certainly wasn’t feeling like part of a team. She was feeling incredibly alone and way out of her league.

  “So what did you think?” Alex’s voice brought her back to the present. Crap, he was already done.

  She made a production out of stopping the video recorder and fiddling with the buttons to stall for time.

  He kept talking, justifying himself. “I made eye contact. And I spoke loudly enough, right? That’s what they say you’re supposed to do, right?”

  “Mmmhmm,” Lacey murmured. “That is what you’re supposed to do. But you may need to take it down a notch … or three.”

  Alex’s brows drew together in a scowl that would have been frightening if she didn’t know better. And she guessed the board members didn’t know better.

  “How well do you know these people? The board members who will be voting on whether or not you succeed your grandfather?”

  He seemed taken aback by the change of conversation. “Not well. I mean, I’ve met a few of them over the years when I would visit the office when I was in town but—“

  “You’ve never interacted with them outside of the office? Never been to a company function or anything like that?”

  “No,” he drawled, clearly confused by her line of questioning. “Do you think that I should have?”

  Before she could respond, his grandfather walked in unannounced, followed closely by a harried-looking Dawn.

  “Alex has to leave his lessons for a while.” Lawrence Newsom’s command left no room for argument.

  Dawn explained in a far more pleasant manner, “Jessica Wingate is here.”

  Alex’s eyes widened in surprise and Lacey looked from him, Dawn and the old man for some explanation. But it seemed Lacey had suddenly turned invisible at the mention of Jessica Wingate’s name.

  “Tell her I’m on my way,” Alex said to Dawn, who raced out of the office to do just that. Alex straightened his tie and ran a hand through his hair before following close behind. Only Lawrence stayed and he looked as though he would chase after them if his old body allowed.

  “Pardon me, but what was all that about?”

  Lawrence looked surprised to find her still standing there. “There will be time for lessons later. Right now, it’s more important that Alex meet with Jess.”

  Feeling rather offended by the way she and her work had just been casually dismissed, she felt compelled to argue. “Actually, sir, there is not a great deal of time for ‘lessons,’ as you call them. Not when the board meeting is less than two weeks away.”

  The old man made to leave the room. “Yes, well, that can’t be helped.”

  “Can’t it? It seems to me, you have the power and the ability to postpone the announcement.”

  Lawrence turned his gaze to her and Lacey fought a surge of nerves at the cold glare. “Young as you are, I’ll assume you are not overly experienced in the politics of the boardroom. Is that correct?”

  Lacey gritted her teeth to keep from answering him with a sarcastic comment. She hated it when people threw her age and lack of experience in her face. She gave the old man a curt nod, and he folded his hands in front of himself in a show of exaggerated patience. “Well then, you’ll just have to take my word for it, won’t you?”

  He turned to leave. “Mr. Newsom, your grandson needs more time.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. He faced her with an enigmatic smile. “I told you the timeline, young lady, and I was promised results. I expect you to see through your end, or I will see to it that you’re no longer a consultant for Ackland. Am I making myself clear?”

  Flushed with anger at the obvious threat, Lacey clenched her fists to maintain a calm demeanor. “I understand, Mr. Newsom. I just thought you should know that Alex is not like other clients I’ve worked with. He doesn’t suffer from the typical difficulties—”

  “Well then don’t treat him like you would every other client. Use any means necessary. I don’t care what you do, just make sure he’s ready to take his position at the head of the board by the time the next meeting comes around. Is that clear?”

  “Very.” Lacey watched Mr. Newsom walk out of the room as his words echoed in her ears. Use whatever means necessary.

  Maybe it was time to think outside the box.

  A plan was starting to formulate. She needed to get permission from her boss at Ackland before she went off course but for the first time since she arrived at Newsom Industries, she was starting to feel optimistic about her assignment.

  Laptop tucked under one arm, she went off in search of an empty office that she could use while Alex was in whatever meeting his grandfather felt was so important it meant interrupting their session.

  She stopped by Heather’s receptionist desk. “Do you know where I could work without disturbing anyone? Are there any offices free?”

  The young girl led her down a different hallway, past another row of glass-walled offices. Most were filled with the typical sights—suit-clad strangers typing away at computers. But Lacey paused before one, her heart momentarily caught in her throat.

  Alex was sitting at the desk and a woman—a young and incredibly attractive woman—was leaning toward him. Lacey stopped just long enough to take in the scene. The woman had long auburn hair and the features and build of a supermodel. Tall and slim, she had one hip perched against the side of the desk and a possessive hand on Alex’s arm.

  Partly because she was afraid of being caught and partly because Heather called out to her, Lacey kept walking until the receptionist motioned for her to enter an empty office.

  Lacey moved behind the desk and thanked Heather for her assistance as she set up her laptop.

  Heather was about to walk out of the office when Lacey stopped her. “Hey, Heather, that woman who was here for a meeting
with Alex—”

  “Jessica Wingate?”

  “Yes. Is she, uh—is she—”

  Heather raised her eyebrows at Lacey’s awkward stuttering. “Is she Alex’s girlfriend?” she supplied.

  Lacey let out a breath. “Yes. Is she?”

  Heather rolled her eyes. “Who knows? The two of them are always off and on, it’s impossible to keep track.”

  Lacey tried to return Heather’s smile despite the fiery green jealousy that was threatening to tear her from limb to limb.

  He is not your boyfriend. He is not your boyfriend. Her new mantra didn’t help to ease the rage. Once Heather left she turned to deep breathing techniques. When that didn’t help, she pulled her cell from her handbag and dialed up the one person who could talk her down.

  “Whoa. Easy tiger. I thought you said it was a one-night fling.” Lacey could hear the busy bar crowd in the background as Morgan talked.

  “Now is not the time to play dumb, Morgan. Obviously, I like this guy, all right? Are you happy now that I’ve admitted it?”

  “Yes, actually. So now what are you going to do about it?”

  Lacey groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “There is nothing to do about it. Like him or not, it doesn’t change my circumstances. If anyone found out, I’d be fired.”

  “So then, don’t let anyone find out.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes at her friend’s nonchalant attitude. Like having a secret affair was an everyday occurrence for her.

  “And it may not matter anyway because he might have a girlfriend who’s cozying up to him in his office as we speak.” Her mind rushed to their night together and an entirely new surge of anger had her spitting nails. “And if he had a girlfriend when we— ew. God, what a jerk.”

  There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Wait, so are we back to not liking him now? I’m confused.”

  “Me too,” Lacey wailed.

  Alex seemed to appear out of thin air in the doorway, startling her so badly she nearly dropped her phone. “Morgan, I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you later.”