Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(26)
Author: K.A. Linde

Sighing despite herself, Lexi meandered through the busy foyer and walked up to the first available representative. Lexi cringed as she noticed the tiny Asian woman that was standing in front of her. She had managed to get the same woman who had been absolutely useless to her when she had been here looking for Jack.

"Hello ma’am. How may I help you?" the woman asked politely

Deciding she might as well attempt to get some information out of the woman, even if it was going to prove to be fruitless, Lexi cleared her throat and said, "I’m here to see Mr. Bridges."

The woman nearly dropped the pen she was holding, she was taken so off guard. "Excuse me?"

"I’m here to see Mr. Bridges. Can you direct me to his office?"

The woman glanced over at the man who was working at the other computer and then back to Lexi. "Mr. Bridges does not take clients, unfortunately. What concerns are you having? Perhaps I can place you with another associate."

Lexi tried to keep from rolling her eyes. "Ramsey’s here. I just need to see him. So if you would be so kind to tell me where he is, that would be fantastic," she stated dryly.

"Ramsey? Oh Ramsey! Mr. Bridges," she muttered putting the pieces together. "He does not take clients either ma’am."

"I’m not a client. I’m his girlfriend."

This seemed to send her for an even bigger loop. She sputtered clicking on her screen a few times more out of habit than anything. "I…uh…I’m not authorized…"

She was cut off mid-sentence, "Perhaps I can direct you."

Lexi swiveled around and found herself face to face with a familiar face though she couldn’t exactly place where she knew him from.

"Mr. Calloway…" the woman sighed breathily leaning forward against the desk.

"I can take it from here Tiff, thanks," he said charmingly adding a wink in her direction. Lexi could tell that the woman was melting behind her. And with good reason. The man before her was handsome with classic, boy-next-door, good looks. He was nearly six feet tall with short, cropped brown hair stylishly spiked in the front and chocolate brown eyes. His teeth were perfectly straight and white, and the smile he sent her way was nothing less than friendly. He had a square jaw line with light stubble across it. He wore a crisp navy suit with charcoal pinstripes over a light grey button-up and red tie. She couldn’t help but think that he could have been a politician. "Lexi right?"

"Right…you said Calloway?" Lexi asked following him to the elevators surprised that he knew her name.

"You don’t remember me?" he asked hurt coming into his eyes.

"Should I?"

"Brandon Calloway. We met in the elevator. I gave you my business card," he said trying to bring back the memories.

Lexi gasped and reached into her purse pulling out a wallet filled with various cards. She rifled through them until she came across what she was searching for. "Brandon Calloway," she murmured softly. "You were so helpful. Thank you. Sorry I didn’t remember you."

"No problem. I mean we only met once for all of five seconds," he said smiling at her charmingly again.

"Well I appreciate you taking me to see Ramsey," she told him stepping into the elevator.

"Why do I always seem to be taking you to see other men?" he questioned her leaning against the metal railing in the elevator.

Lexi blushed pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. She hated that someone else had knowledge of the last time that she was in the building, but she couldn’t take it back. She wasn’t certain how fast gossip passed through the building, but if it was anything like any of the other offices she had worked in, then he probably knew exactly what her visit to see Jack had been about. Nonetheless she held her head high, just like she promised herself she would, and smiled back into his endearing face. "I’m a popular woman," she teased.

"As you should be," he agreed his eyes flashing from her face to her bust to her h*ps and back. The elevator abruptly stopped and several people entered. Just as the doors were about to ding closed someone shot their hand out and stopped it.

"Calloway, you have those reports ready?" a man in his late forties asked.

"Uh yeah, they’re on my desk," Brandon answered.

"Well go get them and take them to Mr. Bridges. He needs them today…now," he added hastily.

"Fuck," he muttered angrily under his breath.

"Now, Calloway!"

"Yeah yeah," he said reaching forward and pressing the number 24 on the elevator. "Pit stop?"

Lexi followed Brandon off of the elevator and down the hallway. She had no other tour guide, so the only thing she could do was to follow him to his office. She entered the office and couldn’t help but to compare it to the only other office she had ever seen in the building. It was much smaller, but still had a series of glass panes behind the desk overlooking the city. The view wasn’t quite as spectacular and the room was sparsely decorated, but Lexi kind of liked it. A medium-sized desk sat in the center of the room in front of two cushioned chairs. Lexi moved forward cautiously and took a seat as she waited for Brandon to finish what he had to get.

"So what do you do here?" she asked surveying the artwork on the walls.

"I’m an accountant. It’s all a little technical. I’ll save you from the boredom, but I crunch numbers for the big guy," he muttered rummaging through a stack of papers.

"Oh nice."

"Don’t kid yourself. It’s a job," he said stuffing the papers into a clear binder and clipping everything together. Lexi didn’t really know what to say to that so she remained silent as Brandon finished up with his paperwork. "Sorry," he finally muttered standing up straight and stuffing the binder under his arm. "Ready to go."

"Yeah sure," she said hopping up and smiling brightly.

"So…Ramsey Bridges?" Brandon asked knowingly.

"Uh, yeah," she murmured brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"How do you know all of these high ranking people within B.E.? Jack Howard. Ramsey Bridges."

"Oh well, Ramsey and I are dating," she told him as they took the elevator to the top floor.

"Why does that not surprise me?" he said sullenly. "How long has this been going on, if you don’t mind me asking?"

"Oh!" she said slightly taken off guard. "I guess officially since Thanksgiving, but we’ve been seeing each other since August I suppose."

"August," he gasped surprise written all over his face. He quickly hid the look, but she had seen it and heard the disbelief in his voice.

"Uh yeah."

"August," he said more calmly. "I didn’t think he had it in him."

"What?" Lexi asked scrunching her eyebrows together at his statement.

"Nothing sorry. I’ve just known Ramsey for a long time, and no offense, but it just doesn’t sound like him."

"Well none taken I suppose," Lexi said taking in what he was saying. This guy actually knew Ramsey. Not only that, but he was surprised by her existence as his girlfriend. She bit her lip deciphering the statements. Ramsey had flat out told her that he hadn’t had a girlfriend, but the concept was so foreign to her. She wasn’t entirely sure how to process it even now. And yes, Ramsey had been a player, but was he still?

She couldn’t think like that. Ramsey obviously wanted her to be here with him or else he wouldn’t put in so much effort to have her around as much as she had been recently. They talked on the phone nearly every day. It was irrational to think that he would be with anyone else when he was the one who had said that he wanted to be exclusive. She had never even mentioned that to him before it happened.

Yet this guy knew a side of Ramsey that she didn’t, and she would be stupid not to use the assets in front of her. She didn’t want to but her curiosity got the best of her. "So how long have you known Ramsey?"

"Uh…we grew up together," he told her obviously a bit more tentative now that he knew that she was dating someone else.

"Really?" she asked surprised that she hadn’t met him yet. She had hung out with his high school friends several times since the night of the bonfire, and she had never heard a Brandon Calloway mentioned.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I’ve just never heard him mention you is all."

"Well I could say the same thing about you honey."

Lexi cringed but pushed forward with the conversation. "Well I’m going to be in Atlanta for the next week maybe we could all get together. I’m sure Ramsey would like that."

Brandon chuckled to himself. "Yes, I’m sure he’d just love that," he said sardonically. "You just bring it up to him and see what he says about that."

"What you don’t think he’ll want to?" she asked carefully.

"Not particularly."

"Oh," Lexi said a bit confused by his demeanor.

"You should probably just stick to his bidding if I were you," Brandon told her standing up straight as the elevator dinged to the top floor. "It’s really just easier that way."

Before Lexi could say anything further, the elevator doors popped open and she found herself standing in an enormous foyer connecting several enormous offices. Unlike the other floors, it appeared that the entire top floor was devoted solely to the highest management of Bridges Enterprise. So there were very few offices, but each other them was ten times the size of ever other office in the building. Each was bigger than Lexi’s entire apartment in New York, and she found herself gaping at the luxurious surroundings.

"May I assist you?" a beautiful brunette asked walking forward on her kitten heels to greet Lexi.

"Kace," Brandon purred falling back into his cool demeanor instantly.

"Mr. Calloway," she stated her eyes narrowing, "what brings you to the big leagues?"

Lexi choked out a cough. "I’m here to see you darlin’, of course," he suavely stated ignoring her jab and moving towards her.

"Then you can turn yourself right around and get back on that elevator," she told him twirling her fingers at him.

"Also I have this," he muttered revealing the binder he had been carrying. "Which Mr. Bridges needed on his desk oh…yesterday."

"You’re insufferable," Kace murmured reaching out to snatch the papers out of his hand. He grabbed her wrist instead yanking her forward to only an inch from his face. She gasped as he tilted her off balance coming dangerously close to his lips. When she regained her composure, she pushed him forcefully in the chest and straightened out her pencil skirt.

"Oh and Miss Lexi is here to see Ramsey Bridges," he muttered pointing his thumb at Lexi.

"Ramsey isn’t seeing anyone today…or ever," she mumbled under her breath.

"I’m not a client," she told the woman brushing a lock behind her ear.

"That’s his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" she asked incredulously.

Brandon let loose a loud laugh at her expression. "Exactly what I said."

Lexi couldn’t figure out why everyone found it so unbelievable that she was his girlfriend. She knew they hadn’t officially announced it to the universe, but geez this was completely different. "Yes, I’m his girlfriend. Can you please show me where he is?"