A Twist of Fate (8 page)

“Lexi, I’m so
glad you made it.” James walked out; he’d obviously showered and
changed and smelt amazing. He reached out and gave me a warm
hug.

“Hey, how’s the
patient doing?” I asked.

“He’s doing
great. They are moving him out of ICU this afternoon. I’m hoping
that we can move him back to our hotel with some private nursing
staff but only once I get the all clear from his Doc. How are you
doing? You look like you got that shower you were desperate for
this morning.” He gave me his megawatt smile.

“Yeah... I took
two actually. How are you doing? Get any sleep?” I smiled back.

“Yeah, the
nurses have been very accommodating” he boasted. HA! I’m sure they
had been. “Well he doesn’t remember the accident but we’ve told him
everything. Jackson is being released today so he’s in there with
him now. Mike is really anxious to meet you,” James took my hand in
his. “You ready?”

“Sure, lead the
way,” I gulped as we walked through the door.

Jackson
immediately leapt to his feet as we entered, “Lexi! It’s so good to
see you again!” He had one arm plastered and in a sling but threw
his other arm around me as best he could.

“Hey Jackson,
you’re looking good. Nice cast! You got quite a collection of
signatures on it!” I mused. I couldn’t help but notice Alex Stone’s
unmistakable scrawl near Jackson’s wrist.

“You want to
sign it?” He exclaimed.

“Sure, no
problem” I grabbed the marker he handed to me and wrote Get Better
soon, Lexi xx. Jackson examined it carefully.

“Mike’s over
here... he’s awake. He wants to meet you.” He put his arm around my
waist and walked me over to the edge of the bed. James stood to one
side of me and Jackson to the other, his hand still around my
waist.

Two confused
eyes surveyed me up and down before turning to James and asking
“Who is this?”

“Mike, this is
Lexi... Remember, Lexi? We spoke about her before.” James reassured
his little brother. Mike squinted slightly.

“
You’re
Lexi?” He asked.

“Sure am,” I
whispered back.

“Seriously?
You’re the one?? Wow, you’re HOT! They didn’t tell me you were so
hot!” His face became more animated.

“Well, thank
you!” I laughed “Although you have a pretty nasty concussion so you
probably don’t have the best judgement right now.”

“Oh no...
You’re hot!” Jackson volunteered. James just smiled and shook his
head.

“What? You’re
not going to weigh in here?” I teased.

“You already
told me you weren’t attracted to me despite my best efforts, I’m
not sure my wounded pride can sustain any more damage” James
chortled. Jackson and Mike were bewildered by our private joke.

The room was so
unwelcoming and sterile, white washed walls accentuated the
harshness of the metal bed and limited furniture. A large leather
La-Z-boy had been placed to the side of the bed where there were no
monitors. For James, no doubt. I’m sure it was the nurses
“accommodating him”. It seemed so out of place given the rest of
the landscape. Two regular chairs had been pushed up against the
back wall.

Despite this
extraordinary situation, I felt at ease and relaxed. Any
reservations I had about coming had dissolved, fate had firmly put
me on this path and I was resolved to see it through. My mood
softened as I took in the seriousness of Mike’s injuries. I
understood why James had been so desperate last night. Seeing his
brother in this condition, it’s something no loved one should ever
have to endure.

I sensed rather
than heard someone entering the room behind me. “Well, Well, it
seems I’m missing the party in here! Mike, you’re looking better.”
The words slipped off his tongue like honey and I had to turn to
take in his magnificence.

“I’m Alex; I
don’t believe we’ve met” Alex Stone sauntered over to me and held
out his hand. I gazed up at his astonishingly handsome face. His
6’4” frame dwarfed me. He was dressed simply in a pair of dark
jeans, a tight black t-shirt and a leather jacket. His sunglasses
hung from the collar of his shirt, the reflection of the lenses
accentuating his angled jaw and fine chiseled nose. His brilliant
blue eyes sparkled as he studied me with curiosity. I felt myself
shiver with excitement just from the intonation of his voice. He
could make me come just by looking at me; I could already feel my
panties getting moist.

“I’m Lexi” was
all I could manage.

“Lexi. Well, it
is a pleasure.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. My
insides quivered. Seriously, is it possible to achieve an orgasm
just from a kiss? ‘Cause I was pretty close right now. Alex studied
me intently as if contemplating a thought. Could he read minds? Was
I giving off some weird pheromone?

“Is something
wrong?” I asked, slightly perturbed by his glance.

“Hmmmmmm,” he
commenced “James told me about what you did for Mike here... how
you saved his life.”

“Yes,” I said,
not fully comprehending where he was going with this.

“You pulled him
from the wreck. Administered CPR. You made a tourniquet out of your
shirt to stop the bleeding in his leg.” It was like each word hung
in his mouth, caressed by his tongue before it slid out
effortlessly. He still had a hint of his Nordic accent. God this
man was hot. He unnerved me so I slipped into defence mode.

“Thanks for the
re-cap Alex, but I do remember - I was there. Is there something in
particular you wanted to ask me about?” I watched the corners of
his mouth twitch, he was making me squirm and he was enjoying
it!

Damn he was
good at this game. It was almost like looking into a mirror; the
smooth, level tone, the same self-assurance, each word dripping in
open ended possibilities but to the untrained ear seemed nothing
more than conversation. The casual smile, the eyes engaging my
gaze... a manoeuvre I had perfected over the years, was now being
reflected right back at me.

“Well... I was
just thinking.” He paused for effect “It’s a pretty extreme measure
that was undertaken by Mike here to get your top off... I’m not
sure I condone his behaviour but now that I’ve seen you, I
understand,” he concluded.

My mouth
dropped open and I heard gasps from Jackson and Mike.

“Alex!” James
barked “Outside... now!”

“No, No. It’s
okay.” I assured James as I put my best game face on. “Why Alex,
that is very flattering,” I breathed. “If poor Mike wasn’t still in
such a precarious state I’d take my top off right now, seeing as he
missed it the first time.” I slid my hand provocatively to the hem
of my top. I heard the beeps on Mike’s heart monitor speed up
slightly as his face flushed bright red.

Alex dissolved
in fits of laughter. “I like this one, we should keep her
around.”

“Well if she
can handle you, I’m guessing she can handle anyone.” James smiled
back, enjoying the fact I had cracked Alex’s steely facade.

“Indeed she
can,” he gleamed. “Although at the risk of changing the topic and
talking business, we need to decide what we are going to do about
the rest of these shows. Chris has been on the phone with me all
morning and you know I hate talking on the phone.”

“Well, we need
a new opening band, Jacks can’t play and the guys don’t want to do
it without him,” James responded. I was surprised they were having
this conversation while I was in the room. Jackson looked about
nervously; I focused my eyes on him and gave him my best “it will
be okay” smile.

“You guys need
a band?” I asked. Both men turned toward me as if suddenly
remembering I was there. “I can get you a band” I fished into my
handbag and pulled out a business card. “Here, call Jamie. He’s an
agent here in Melbourne. He has everything from corporate bands to
garage bands and everything in between. He owes me a favour because
I planned his daughter’s 16th birthday party.”

James inspected
the card. “You know any good PR firms? We fired our local
representation after they leaked news of Mike’s accident to the
press.”

“Are you
shitting me?” I almost choked. I reached back into my bag and
grabbed my business card out and handed it James.

“Lexi Reed,
Cole Public Relations and Events” James read aloud.

“Well, I stand
corrected... it seems saving Mike was a rather extreme way for Ms
Reed to get a job interview” Alex chuckled.

“Congratulations Lexi Reed of Cole Public Relations and Events. I
believe your services have just been retained” James announced.

Yesterday had
been such a whirlwind. I went straight from the hospital to the
office to inform Kate of the unexpected new account I had won.
“What do you mean we are now representing Power Station?? Isn’t
that the band you have an unhealthy obsession with? Am I going to
have to talk to the legal department again and defend you in a
stalking charge?” Kate scoffed at me.

“Relax Kate, I
ran into them, they needed a support band so I hooked them up and
then they asked if I knew a PR company... it’s totally legit, you
don’t need to stress” I reassured.

I don’t know
why I continued to be so cagey about how I met the band and what
had actually happened that night. Part of me didn’t want to share
the personal information of these people who had let me into their
small circle of trust and part of me didn’t want the 5 billion
questions that would follow. I wanted it to be my secret. No one
needed to know and I didn’t want to share it with anyone. Evasion
was so easy for me, I barley blinked... I wasn’t pathological,
there was always a reason but it was part of my makeup and I had to
accept it.

“Well, then
that’s quite a coup you’ve pulled off. WELL DONE! I’ll make sure I
do what I can to lessen your work load to assist you. You have a
full roster as it is but this is obviously the kind of business we
would never turn down. Get Matt on board if you need anything.
Looks like that bonus cheque is getting fatter by the minute!” Kate
congratulated me.

So it was only
natural that today when I came into work, it was like a minefield.
I spent my time wading through the list of clients I could offload
and ones that would pitch a fit if I even suggested it. I had been
buried since arriving at 8:30am, it was almost noon and I hadn’t
left my desk except to pee.

“Lexi… there is
someone here to see you. He looks important and is really pushy; he
says he won’t leave until he meets with you!” Jane didn’t often
make a visit to my desk. Kate’s personal assistant would get
extremely irritated when people assumed she was just a secretary.
She was in her late twenties with short feathery red hair and no
matter what time of year it was, she ALWAYS had a tan.

Jane was one of
those people who was content with mediocrity. It’s not that it was
a bad thing but she really didn’t feel the need to strive for
anything else. I just couldn’t relate to her on that level. She had
a personality that needed to be cared for, which was reflected in
her choice of men. Rich guys with lots of disposable income were
her usual MO. It’s not that she was a gold digger, she just enjoyed
the finer things in life and if someone was willing to provide them
for her while she kept a nice home, then what’s the harm? She was
young at heart and despite leaving adolescence behind years ago was
clearly still clinging to her youth.

“Send him
through to a meeting room, Jane” I motioned, barley looking up from
my computer screen.

I walked to one
of our meeting rooms to meet my visitor. I had so much work to do
and did not welcome this interruption but I was going to follow the
protocol which dictated we meet clients in our receiving rooms.
These stylish rooms had come in handy over the years when I wanted
to have discussions in private, away from prying ears. I peered
through the glass window and saw that he was already inside.

The man waiting
for me in the ugly brown suit reluctantly stood and stiffly
introduced himself as I entered the room. “Hello Ms Reed. My name
is Sol Rossum, I represent James Bowden and his interests,” he
drawled in a thick Queens accent. He was a burly man, in his late
40s. He had thinning hair and as I looked closer I realised that it
was a REALLY ugly but expensively made brown suit. He bristled with
displeasure and he was making it clear that my mere existence
offended him. Perhaps he was one of these “women belong in the
kitchen” kind of guys. Either way... I hated lawyers.

“Call me Lexi,
Please. What can I do for you Mr Rossum?” He annoyed me and it was
conveyed in my curtness. I gestured for him to take his seat and I
slid into my seat at the square meeting table.

“I just have
some documentation I need you to sign, I like all my I’s dotted and
T’s crossed. Call me old fashioned.” He smiled, yet I felt no
warmth in it.

“Huh... a
courier couldn’t have organised that?” I chided.

“No, these
documents require your immediate attention. I would like your
signature NOW if I could.” He placed a pile of documents in front
of me with little “sign here” flags protruding from the sides. I
glanced over the lofty pages. A confidentiality agreement.

“I believe I
signed this earlier today with the other business contracts Chris
faxed over... it seems you wasted your time Mr. Rossum. Rest
assured that here at Cole our clients’ privacy is of paramount
importance.” I practically spat out the company line.

“Yes I have
those, but this is for your personal relationship with my client. I
am aware that you offered his brother some medical assistance
during the course of his vehicular collision, and I’m here to see
that all information about your personal dealings with Mr Bowden,
his family members and his colleagues remain private and out of the
tabloids.” He took a breath then continued “Of course we have
compensated you in what I’m sure you will agree is a more than
generous amount.” He pulled out a cheque from the pocket of his
ugly brown jacket and sat it on top of the pile of documents meant
for my immediate attention. One hundred thousand dollars. I blinked
in disbelief.