Authors: T Gephart
Tags: #romance, #love, #sex, #public relations, #music, #fashion, #nyc, #melbourne australia, #power station, #alex stone, #lexi reed
A Twist of Fate
T Gephart
Published by T Gephart
at Smashwords
Copyright 2013 T
Gephart
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by T Gephart at Smashwords.com or at
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~~~~~~
Contents
Chapter 2 - Well, Hello Cowboy!
Chapter 3 – A Little Screwed Up
Chapter 4 – Roomie With a View
Chapter 7 – A Moment of Your
Time
Chapter 10 – Dinner and a Show
Chapter 12 – I’m With the Band
Chapter 13 – The Hair of the
Dog
Chapter 14 – Terms to be
Negotiated
Chapter 17 – New Beginnings, Old
Endings
Chapter 18 – Just Being
Friendly
Chapter 19 – Cross-Town Traffic
Chapter 21 – The Showdown and the
Lowdown
Chapter 22 – Thanks for Coming
Lexi Reed
“REED! My office… NOW!”
Crap. The fact
that she was yelling to me from her office was a sure sign that
Kate was fuming. I did a quick mental stocktake of the last few
days, wondering which indiscretion I would have to own up to this
time. I breathed deeply and slid off my chair, preparing to face
the music.
“What have you
done now, Lexi?” smirked my desk mate Rachael.
“Me?” I
questioned, giving my best innocent
what could I have possibly
done
look. Rachael threw her head back into a full throaty
laugh. “Kate’s pissed. I hope it was worth it!” she said, fishing
for a scoop on the latest office gossip.
“Mmmmm, it’s
always worth it Rach.” I grinned and flicked my hair over my
shoulder as I sauntered into Kate’s office.
Kate Cole and I
had known each other since Uni. Kate was a year ahead of me and
while we were not friends during our tenure at University, we were
firm friends now. Kate was a force to be reckoned with, a strong
woman with a keen business sense, amazing style and (most
importantly) she saw the genius in the way I operated. She had
built this events/PR company from the ground up and the fact that
Cole now had partnerships with offices on most continents of the
world was testament to her genius and a key reason why I loved
working with her. The other reason was that she welcomed my “take
no prisoner” attitude, which had been too full on for my previous
employer. He had claimed that I intimidated clients and thought I
was some kind of placard toting feminist or lesbian. Lord knows, I
couldn’t just be a strong opinionated woman who knew her job.
I closed the
door to Kate’s stylish office behind me. It was a remarkably simple
and sleek space, a reflection of her. She was not what you would
call a “girlie girl”. Kate loved sports and had very little
tolerance for drama – a trait that made her instantly appealing to
me as both a boss and a friend.
“So... anything
you want to tell me Lexi?” Kate paced the room as she deliberately
breathed – a sure sign someone was in trouble. I still had no idea
what I could have possibly have done - let’s face it; the list of
trouble I get into daily is long, so trying to narrow it down would
prove a challenge for anyone.
“You want to
give me a hint Kate, or are we going to play mental charades?” I
mused.
“Cut it out,
Reed.” Kate picked up the only file on her desk and came around to
perch on one of the leather conversation chairs she used when she
wanted to try and put her clients at ease. “I’m in a difficult
situation here. You are forgetting I know you, and your history.
Just help me understand if I need to hire a lawyer?” I took a long
breath and settled into the seat opposite Kate. Clearly this was
not going to be a 5 minute conversation.
“Kate, whatever
it is, I am sure we can resolve it. Don’t stress, ok?” She knew
that this was not the first time I’d been threatened with legal
action.
“Stacy is on
stress leave. Effective immediately. She is claiming you called her
crazy and have been tormenting her. She had a meltdown in front of
our newest client yesterday afternoon during her presentation,
calling us all a bunch of lying C U Next Tuesdays.”
I tried to
stifle my laughter. “Are you shitting me Cole? That girl has been
unhinged since the day she was hired! She is obsessive and
overbearing... And when pray tell was I tormenting her? I haven’t
spoken to that bitch in 3 months.” While I had done lots of things
which had the potential to lead to trouble, I was not going to be
blamed for something I had had no part in.
“Lexi, I know
the girl is certifiable but I need to be 100% sure. I do not want
an HR issue here...” Kate’s pause for breath told me that she was
really worried about this situation. “Did you tell someone she was
on anxiety meds? She claims that you made some social media
comments last week, on Facebook to be exact.”
My head was
pounding with fury. “What the fuck Kate?! I didn’t even KNOW she
was on meds... and if she IS on meds, then clearly they aren’t
strong enough. As for my Facebook, you are on there - did you see
any comments??? I wasn’t even in town last month, I was in New
York, remember... too busy screwing and shopping to be on Facebook.
What a fucking whore, she can’t hold her own and she blames me? Get
her on the phone; let me confront her with these fucking
accusations.”
“Lexi, calm
down and for god’s sake, stop swearing...it’s still an office.” I
relaxed a little as Kate clearly believed the truth of my story.
“Look, I had my suspicions that the accusations were unfounded but
you have to understand my position. For now she is on stress leave.
It screws me over as she was supposed to be going on this exchange
program. I have a guy coming in from Texas tomorrow; she was
supposed to go there on Friday - I’m asking Rachael to go instead.
I’ve already been on the phone all morning trying to sort this shit
out.”
My ears pricked
up with interest – a guy from one of our partners in Texas? Hmmmm I
hadn’t had one of those before.
“Now before you
start getting all hot and heavy, he’s off limits.”
Off limits? Oh,
Kate – don’t you know that’s like waving a red flag to a bull?
“I know you are
a sucker for an accent but I don’t want to have to pick up the
pieces of your sordid romp. Don’t forget that this is my business,
ok? Keep your hands, mouth and other body parts to yourself. We
clear?” I was mentally rubbing my hands together in anticipation.
“Lexi, I can see the cogs in your head turning... Seriously... I
need to trust you on this one!”
I widened my
eyes in a show of false innocence. “Kate, you’re making me out like
I’m some insatiable fiend!”
“Yeah, Yeah,
you are so offended... Remember, I know you. Keep it in your pants,
Reed!” she said trying to force back a smile.
“
KATE,
Justin is on line one, the school has called and Sam is at the
principal’s office again”
- the intercom with Jane’s sugary
sweet voice burst into the office uninvited.
“Thanks Jane”
Kate replied, taking a breath and clicking her finger over the
flashing light. I waved silently and decided now was a good time to
take my leave, “Justin, I swear... This kid isn’t going to make his
next birthday.” I shut the door behind me.
I had spent a
lot of time with Kate’s four excitable, rambunctious boys. All of
them were super competitive and sporty. The youngest, Sam, was the
most challenging. He wasn’t a bad kid, just very spirited, and he
was the one I most identified with. Sometimes I wondered how Kate
managed; I think the fact that her husband was so even-tempered was
a calming influence. I really liked Justin. He was an uncomplicated
guy, he worked hard but when he came home it was all about his wife
and his boys. He doted on Kate, allowing her to be the woman she
was and, most importantly, he wasn’t threatened by her competitive
ambition. She definitely wore the pants in that relationship and he
didn’t really care. His tastes were simple - he loved his football,
loved to have a beer and he loved his family. He was the yin to her
yang. As sappy as it sounded, they had a perfect marriage and I
hoped one day if I was ready to settle down (and that was a BIG
if), I would find someone as honest as Justin.
~~~~~~
“So! Did Kate
tell you? I’m going to Texas!” gushed Rachael as I returned to our
cubicle. I could tell she had been holding onto her news,
desperately wanting to share but still trying to respect the “chain
of command” and not making her announcement. However in true
Rachael style she couldn’t help herself. “Stacey flipped out and
went all psycho yesterday! Oh my God... it’s so tragic, but her
loss is my gain... I feel kinda bad but at the same time I’m really
excited. Is that wrong?... Shit, I need to pack... Can you imagine
the shopping over there?? Everything is biiiiig in Texas...” her
excitement was palpable, bordering on annoying but it was par for
the course with Rachael.
“Rach, take a
breath” I said, sitting down to my meticulously maintained desk and
switching my monitor back on.
“I tell you
this couldn’t have come at a better time; Will is doing my head in.
I went out for coffee the other night and I had to check in! I told
that man, relax... I barely have enough time for you as if I’m
going to have time to cheat. He wouldn’t listen. The break will be
good for us; it will help me figure out what I want to do… Not that
he’s happy about it... oh well, I’m so excited... can you believe
this shit?... Oh my God, I swear- I haven’t been this excited since
my sister and I hit up Sydney!”
Watching
Rachael rush around in a frenzy, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge
of jealousy. It would have been nice to jet off to a new city for
six months but I knew that Kate needed me here and my role as a
senior team member meant that I would to be initiating this new guy
into the office. New guy - I wonder what he looked like? I hadn’t
even asked Kate his name. The whole Stacey losing her shit drama
threw me off my usual A game. I needed details. I would need to
take a walk down to visit Jane and see if I could pump her for
intel. Kate’s loyal PA could usually be persuaded to come up with
the information.
“LEX... are you
even listening to me???” Rachael’s voice rose an octave.
“Sorry Rach, I
was distracted. Umm...what were you saying?”
“I asked if you
had any good book suggestions for the plane? I wanted to load up my
iPad with some trashy novels for the long journey. But not any that
are too sad. You know I’m a crier... Who knows, I might even find
myself a new romance while I’m there...”
I wasn’t
exceptionally close to Rachael. It’s not that we weren’t friends,
we just moved in different circles. She was effervescent and full
of life and always spoke like she was running a race. She was a
really good person, with a great heart but we just didn’t have a
lot in common. I pushed my jealousy aside, realising that she was
perfect for this new challenge. Those Texans were going to take one
look at her massive personality and accept her as one of their own.
I nodded in my silent resolve and gave her a big hug. “You’re going
to do great Rach, and if Will knows what’s good for him, he’ll
realise what an ass he has been and jump on a plane and hopefully
jump you too.”
Rachael
blushed. “Ummm... Gee... Thanks... Lexi... ummm... yeah.”