Page 16 of Where We Fall

It takes me a minute to realize who she's talking about and what she's insinuating.

"Oh," I begin as we walk to the front. "He's not mine, or we aren't—he's my boss."

"We'll see about that," Stacy says mischievously.

When we get to the front, Marcus is sitting in one of the chairs looking preoccupied with his phone. I'm surprised he made it this entire time without losing his mind. Most men wouldn't be able to wait this long if it were their wife or girlfriend.

He looks up at us and then back down at his phone. I'm hit with a wave of disappointment. I was hoping for a bit more of a reaction from him.

Then it hits me, he didn't recognize me.

He's back to typing away at his phone like we aren't standing in front of him waiting for him to notice.

Stacy coughs while her shoe taps away on the hard floor. Marcus looks back up at us then does a double take at me.

His jaw falls open. His eyes drag slowly down my body from my feet up to my face then back down again.

I shift uncomfortably in place, waiting for someone to say something—anything. I'm not used to having attention on me, and Marcus being stunned into silence is unnerving. Lucky for me, he seems to recover with a small shake of his head.

"Damn!" he smiles as he stands up. "Is that my IT Director or a runway model?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't be dramatic."

He chuckles at himself, almost like I just imagined his reaction a moment ago.

Maybe I did.

"Let's go, Lexi. Let's see which one of my siblings falls out of their chair first when they see you."

"My money's on Luke," I tell him, granting me another deep laugh from him.

I like being the one to do that to him.

Marcus pays the front desk while Anna and Stacy say goodbye to me. Anna gives me the makeup she used on me as well as an entire bag of other eyeshadows and lipsticks. She assures me Marcus insisted he'll pay for whatever she thinks I should have.

Who knew agreeing to help the Giannelli's would result in so much free stuff? I want to feel guilty, but I can't, considering what I have to do on Saturday. I just hope I can pull it off.

Chapter Six

Marcus

Idrainmysecondcup of coffee of the morning as I try my best to catch up on the work I didn't get done yesterday. Who knew it took so long to do hair and makeup?

The most concerning part of it all was realizing Lexi was the beauty standing in front of me. I recovered quickly—I hope.

How could I have been so blind to what was hiding underneath the baggy clothes and glasses?

But this is business, so I shook it off and moved to lighter territory. I've found a good joke or a foolish remark eases the tension in a room and I'm all about making everybody in the room feel at ease.

My siblings never meandered to our side of the hallway yesterday, so they never actually saw Lexi's new look.

Today is now Thursday and we leave for Chicago tomorrow. I have a mountain of work to get done to prepare for being out of the office early tomorrow. There never seems to be enough time in the day, but I love it. I thrive on being busy.

There's a light knock at my door.

I look up and see Lexi standing in front of me in one of the work outfits that her and Trudy must have picked out.

Fuck me, she looks good. This new Lexi is going to take some getting used to.

---