The Hardest Part (5 page)

My stomach dropped.
What? Me? He wanted
me
? But, he didn't even know me.

"
He did?" I talked around the lump in my throat. "I'm not really sure what to say." A strange feeling crept up inside me and paranoia oozed its way in.
Could Jake have found me? Could he have something to do with this? Was the man in the suit working for him?
It sounded ridiculous because I knew if Jake had found me, I'd probably be dead, yet I couldn't help wondering the worst.

"
It really doesn't matter. I'm glad he came to our company," Sharon said, breaking into my thoughts. "This is one of the biggest events of the year. Or it was until a couple years ago." Her eyes glazed over and, for a moment, she looked upset, like she was remembering something very disturbing. Shaking her head, as if she were trying to remove a memory from her mind, she continued. "Now, I know this is going to be a lot for you to take on, but you've done such a great job this past month. I think you’ll be just fine. This type of event can overload even the most experienced event coordinator." She paused, hesitating. "So I'd like you and Christine to work on this together."

My stomach turned. Work with Christine? Didn’t she just get through telling me this was the biggest event of the year? I wasn’t sure I was ready for this.

"
Are you sure you even want me on this event? I've only had a few small jobs. I'm not certain I'm ready for this."

"
Well, Mr. Alexander requested you and I couldn't exactly tell him no. Don't worry about it. I'll be here to help you along the way and so will Christine. We'll hold a meeting first thing tomorrow morning and go over the details."

I nodded and swallowed hard, still feeling uneasy about all of this.

"
Don't look so worried, Emily. You should be happy. This could be a great opportunity for you."

"
Thank you." The words came out of my mouth sounding more like a question. It was just this morning I thought I might not have a job tomorrow.

"
You should thank Mr. Alexander, but I'd wait until we pull this event off first. I think we will all be going full speed until it's over. I've got a ton of phone calls to make. You should be getting the details of the event by tomorrow morning. I'll let you break the news to Christine. Just remember, don't let her push you around. She's a fabulous coordinator, but sometimes she thinks she runs this place." She smiled reassuringly.

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Okay, I'll tell her."

Isabel was on the phone when I walked past her desk, her eyes growing wide with curiosity when she saw me. She mouthed,
"What was that about?" as I walked by.

Shaking my head, I tried to play down the situation, even though I knew she would be begging me later to tell her what happened.

Christine turned her chair around when I walked into our office. She stared at me, waiting for me to say something, but I said nothing as I made my way over to my desk. I think I was still in shock.

"
Okay, so you're not going to say anything?" She waited a few seconds for me to answer. I still remained silent. "What was Reed Alexander doing here?" she asked, annoyed.

"
He hired us to coordinate the Black and White event."

Her mouth dropped open.
"No way! Holy shit! This event is huge. Sharon must be freaking out."

I nodded.
"Yeah, she seemed pretty excited that we got it."

"
Uh, yeah, that's because most companies have to fight to get this event. I mean, it's usually a long, drawn-out process that goes through bidding wars and all that. Actually, I didn't think another Black and White event would happen again… I mean, not since what happened to his parents and sister."

"
What happened to his parents and sister?" I asked.

"
I guess you wouldn't know about that either."

For the first time in months, I actually saw Christine's face soften, like she was remembering something horrible. It was similar to the face Sharon had made.
"I think you need to read up on it, just so you're not completely shocked when it’s all over the press. With Reed back in town, and the Black and White event happening again, the press will surely be all over it."

"
Okay." I started to turn back around and then stopped. "Oh…" I swallowed hard. "Sharon wanted me to tell you that you and I will be working together on it."

"
Working on what together?" The bitchiness and bitter tone in her voice was back.

My shoulders fell. This was going to be miserable.
"You know what."

"
That's why Sharon wanted to see you? To give
you
the job?"

"
She's giving
us
the job," I corrected her. "We'll get the details on it tomorrow."

"
No way. She's letting you work this? This is bullshit." I couldn't ignore the distaste in her voice when she said
you
. If I actually thought of Christine as a friend, I probably would've shared with her my shock with this whole thing, but she was far from ever being considered a friend.

I wondered how we were ever going to work together.

"
I've been here for two years.
Two years
of working my butt off for that woman. This event should be
mine
. Mine alone."

"
Let's just try our best to work together, okay? It could be really good for the both of us."

She rolled her eyes at me and then turned to face her computer again.

Great, this was going to be fun.

I
TOOK
a seat at the bar to wait for Lexi. She texted me after lunch, asking if I still wanted to meet her for dinner. With the craziness that had happened at work this morning, I welcomed a distraction.

"
What can I get for you?" the bartender asked as he set a napkin down in front of me.

"
A glass of Cabernet, please."

He nodded, but then he just stood there, narrowing his eyes as he looked curiously at me.

"
You look really familiar," he finally said.

"
I've been in once before. My friend lives in the building next door." I pointed toward Lexi's building.

He shook his head.
"No, it's from somewhere else." He tapped his finger on his chin. "I know. You work with Christine, don't you?"

Unease filled me. Just the sound of her name gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Yes," I answered and tried my hardest to smile.

"
Thought so. I stopped by her office a few weeks ago and we met. I guess I didn't make a lasting impression."

Now that he’d said something, he did kind of look familiar.

"
I'm Ben, in case you don't remember." He gave me a quick wink and smiled.

"
Emily." I smiled apologetically.

"
I'll go get you that wine."

He stepped away as I looked around the restaurant, wishing Lexi would hurry up and get here. She was already ten minutes late.

Ben returned a minute later, placing the wine down in front of me.

"
So are you meeting someone?" He leaned against the bar, coming only a few inches from my face, way too close for my comfort. I slowly leaned away, hoping I wasn't being too obvious.

"
Yeah, my friend, Lexi."

"
Oh, okay, just let me know if I can get you anything else." He winked again and then turned his attention toward the customer a few seats down from me.

My fingertips tapped nervously on the wine glass as I prayed for Lexi to get here soon.

"
Mr. Alexander, it's so nice to see you again." A man with a deep voice spoke behind me. The name
Alexander
immediately caught my attention.

Turning around, I saw Mr. Alexander standing there shaking hands with a shorter, gray-haired man at the host stand near the front of the restaurant.

"
It's very nice to see you, too, Paul. It's been a long time."

"
I'm glad you're back, sir. We've all missed you."

"
It's nice to be back in the city."

I knew it was rude to eavesdrop on their conversation, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't even look away from him. Earlier today, when Mr. Alexander had come into the office, I hadn't gotten a great look at him because I couldn't necessarily gawk at him in front of Sharon. Seeing him now, he was very attractive. Okay, if I were being honest, Isabel was right. He was pretty yummy looking. He was dressed more casual than earlier, now wearing dark jeans, a white shirt with a navy-blue sports jacket, and brown boots.

"
Are you home for good or just visiting?" the short, gray-haired man asked.

"
I'll be here for a while," was all he said.

I was just about to turn around when his eyes caught mine. I couldn't move or look away. He gave me a small smile and a quick nod before turning his attention back to the man in front of him.

"
Emily." A cold hand landed on my arm.

I flinched and looked to my right. Lexi was standing there, smiling.

Exhaling loudly, I placed my hand over my heart.
"Lexi," I said and swallowed hard. "You really need to stop sneaking up on me like that."

"
Sorry, I'm terrible about that," she said and then glanced over her right shoulder, waving and smiling in the direction of none other than Reed Alexander himself. Lexi must’ve been another admirer, although she didn't seem like the type to flirt with a guy so blatantly. I knew how nervous she’d been talking to Brandon for the first time.

"
Come on," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me off the stool. "My brother's here."

She couldn't be talking about Mr. Alexander, could she? No. No way.
Lexi's last name was Adams.

I glanced between Lexi and Reed, and my stomach squeezed. The resemblance between the two of them was clear.

"
Wait." I stopped, causing her to turn and face me. "Reed Alexander is your brother?"

She nodded and smiled.

"
But you're Lexi Adams."

"
Yeah, I changed last names. There's an explanation for all of that—after dinner."

I looked back toward Reed and found him staring at me. Then something else began to make sense; it was all perfectly clear.

"
It was you?" I looked back to Lexi. "You're the one who requested me for the Black and White event." I didn't phrase it as a question. I knew it was her.

"
Yes." She had a guilty look on her face, but there was a wry smile there as well. "Are you mad? Please don't be mad," she pleaded.

Mad? No. Confused? Yes.

"
But why?"

She shrugged innocently.
"I knew you were stressing out about work. Reed and I have been talking about hosting the charity event again for a few months now. At first, I wasn't sure I was ready for it, but when I finally decided it was time, I wanted you to help organize it."

"
Lexi, you didn't have to do that.”

"
I wanted to do it. You've been a great friend to me. I wanted to do something to say thank you."

"
I wish you would've asked me. I mean, there are much more qualified people who could do a better job." Christine's face popped into my head.

"
This charity event was very important to my mother and me." She paused, closing her eyes. "It was very important to my family. I know you're going to be great."

"
I don't know what to say," I said.