Ramsey was standing and shaking the blonde’s hand. Lexi hadn’t even noticed. She was too engrossed in the fact that the guy she had slept with—Adam’s brother, the person Ramsey had found out existed only yesterday, the person she was supposed to figure things out with when she got back to New York—was right in front of her in Atlanta.
“Jessica, this is Lexi,” Ramsey said, introducing her to the blonde girl.
“What a pleasure to meet you,” Jessica said.
Lexi shifted her gaze to the other woman and mechanically shook her hand.
How could she fix this? She needed to clue everyone in on the train wreck they had just walked into. Ramsey didn’t know who John was, and John didn’t know who Ramsey was. She was just standing there in the middle, wondering how the hell she could make all of this less embarrassing and awkward.
“Ramsey,” Lexi whispered, turning to face him and dropping Jessica’s hand. She needed to be blunt about the impending collision.
“One second,” he said with a smile. “You must be John. Thanks for consulting with Bridges.”
“Pleasure,” John said, shaking his hand.
Lexi could see the flicker of confusion in John’s eyes, but he was trying to stay professional. If she could just collapse back into the booth and throw her head into her hands, it would be better than what was going on right now.
Instead, she just stood there and waited for her chance to butt in.
“John, this is—” Ramsey began.
“Lexi,” she said, sticking out her hand immediately before Ramsey could say anything further.
John slid his hand into hers. He had such big hands with long fingers that grazed her wrist when they shook. “Hello, Lexi.”
He didn’t immediately release her hand, and she had to clear her throat as she pulled her hand back.
“How have you been?” John asked, never breaking away from her gaze.
“Good. Uh, Ramsey,” Lexi said frantically, “this is John.”
“Right. We met,” Ramsey said.
“No, Ramsey…this is Adam’s brother…John,” she said softly.
And there was the realization. Ramsey’s entire body went rigid, and all conversation halted. He stared into her eyes, then to John, and then back to Lexi, like he couldn’t believe what she had just said. She couldn’t blame him for that either.
“I’m sorry. Am I missing something?” Jessica asked. “Do you know each other?”
All three stared off uncomfortably, not sure who should be the one to answer that question. Lexi knew that they all needed to stay professional. Nothing good would come from blurting out that she had slept with both of these men.
“It’s a bit complicated,” Lexi finally admitted. “John is the brother of my best friend’s boyfriend. I just graduated from NYU Law, and I still live in the city.”
“Oh, a New York girl and law at that. I love it,” Jessica said with a genuine smile. “We should get drinks in the city when we get back. I always love to consult after-hours.”
“Jessica is a partner at Global International. She’s the main point of contact for the project,” Ramsey explained, finding his voice.
“Wow, congratulations.”
Jessica looked really young to be a partner. Either her looks were deceptive, or she was an unbelievably driven, ambitious person. Lexi suspected a bit of both.
“Thank you,” Jessica said. “Mind if we sit now?”
“Of course not,” Ramsey said, taking his seat next to Lexi again.
John and Jessica sat across from them.
Lexi’s eyes found John’s across the table, and he was giving her a pointed look. He had questions. She was sure of that, but she wasn’t sure how to answer them. She would have preferred to have that conversation when she got back to New York—in the safety of her own city and thousands of miles away from Ramsey. John’s eyes slid from her face to her chest, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Jessica immediately launched into a full campaign of information and began presenting how they were going to get the entire Bridges medical wing on its feet in just one year. She was certain that it was possible. Lexi didn’t know how much of that was bullshitting and how much of it was determination. Lexi didn’t think these things happened that fast, but apparently, based on the packet of information and the tablet full of slides, Jessica was going to make this happen. She covered everything Lexi could think of and more—building construction, insurance, employment, equipment acquisition, security systems, and so on.
As far as Lexi could guess from the presentation, the Bridges project was the first full-scale assignment Global International was allowing John to consult on, which would explain why he was here and not working on an international case. Just her luck.
Lexi kept her eyes glued to Jessica’s display. She wouldn’t even let her eyes wander to John when he was discussing his aspects of the plan.
She was here for Ramsey. She was here for Ramsey. She kept repeating that over and over in her head, hoping it would sink in.
Over an hour later, when it seemed Jessica’s project overview had come to a close, the four stood from the table to leave.
“Thank you so much for meeting with us today,” Ramsey said. He shook Jessica’s hand and then John’s. “It was really rather enlightening.”
“Thank you for trusting us with your medical wing. It is a huge step for your company, and we’re glad to put the Global name behind it,” Jessica said.
She was clearly a pro.
“I’ll be in contact to schedule meetings for the rest of the week. I’d like to introduce you to the other half of my team, so we can start setting the foundation as soon as possible,” Ramsey said. He seemed to speak to both Jessica and John, yet only Jessica at the same time.
Lexi tried not to look at anyone in particular as they walked out of the restaurant.
As Jessica asked Ramsey a few additional questions about the project, John turned to Lexi. “Can I speak to you privately before you leave?”
“Um…” She glanced over at Ramsey. She thought his undivided attention was on Jessica, but it was clear that he was watching her. “Let me see if we have time. I have a flight to catch tonight.”
“Ah, right…you’re going back to New York,” John said.
“I thought you were going to be in the city when I got back,” she said quietly.
“I was, but this was a last-minute job. I heard about it on Friday, and I just got the to come down here yesterday afternoon. We’ve been working on our proposal all night. Otherwise, I likely would have found the time to let you know I would be in town,” John said. Leaning in a bit closer than he should have under the circumstances, he spoke softly, “Just give me five minutes, Lexi. I want more, but I can wait. I’m patient.”
Lexi swallowed and stepped back. She pushed her hair behind her ear and then dropped her hand, remembering that it was her tell. “Sure. Hold on.”
Five minutes would be okay. She would totally be fine in that amount of time. She would just tell John the truth and break things off, and then everything would be peachy keen. Because that was how simple everything was in her life…
“Sorry for interrupting,” Lexi told Jessica. “Ramsey, are we okay on time still? I’m going to talk to John for a couple of minutes.”
Ramsey’s green eyes searchingly bore into hers. She knew he was trying to trust her, like he wanted to. She knew he was trying to let it all slide off of him with ease, but it couldn’t be easy. He had only found out about John yesterday.
“Yeah, we should be fine,” Ramsey said, bending down. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her full on the lips.
Lexi came back blushing when he released her. Since when was Ramsey the type to stake his claim so publicly?
Maybe since she ha left him, and he ha found out that she had slept with Jack before his engagement and John when she returned to New York…
“I’ll, uh…be quick,” she murmured. She turned and walked back to John.
He still looked calm despite the display Ramsey had just put on.
“Five minutes,” she told John.
They walked out into the parking lot and away from prying eyes and ears. John storde over to a black BMW and leaned back against one of the doors.
“Is this your rental car?” she asked, making small talk.
“You’re dating Ramsey Bridges?” John asked incredulously.
“Uh…yeah. Kind of.”
“Well, that’s inconvenient. I’m pretty sure you weren’t yelling his name when we were together,” he mused.
Lexi laughed, which she immediately turned into a cough, as she glanced away from him. This was not the territory she wanted to venture into.
A little over two weeks ago, she had slept with the irresistibly handsome man in front of her. When she had returned to New York after breaking up with Ramsey, she had been distraught from another failed relationship, another lie, another heartbreak. Chyna had been in Milan, and her roommate, Rachelle, had been away, working as a law associate for the summer. Adam had been the only one around who she had wanted to hang out with. He had been the only one who could understand since he and Chyna had broken up before she left.
Hanging out with Adam meant being around John, who Chyna despised for an instance that had occurred earlier that year when John had come on to her. But with Chyna gone, Lexi had found that she got along easily with John. She had let herself hang out with him without Adam, and then that had moved on to a couple of dates, which then moved on to the bedroom. To be honest, she had just liked not having to think or act or tiptoe or anything else. She hadn’t cared that it was a rebound. It had felt comfortable, and that had been what she needed. She wasn’t going to apologize to Ramsey about what had happened, but she couldn’t let it continue either.
“So, how long have you been together?” John asked casually.
She could tell he wasn’t as casual as he sounded though. His eyes were vigilant, and he seemed to be assessing her in a way she wasn’t used to from him. He was usually so relaxed and in control. This must have thrown him off-balance.
“We were together for almost a year, but I broke up with him and moved back to New York at the end of June,” she confessed. “I came back to Atlanta for a, uh…mutual friend’s wedding, and we decided to try to work it out.”
“And you were going to tell me…”
“When I got back,” Lexi said.
“Why are you getting back together with his guy?” he asked.
She shifted her feet uncomfortably and chanced a glance back into his hazel eyes. He seemed legitimately interested, and she wasn’t sure how to answer.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you broke up with him, moved back to New York, and started your life over. You don’t seem like the type of person who just runs back to a guy who hurt her. He did hurt you, right?”
She nodded softly.
“So, what made you change your mind?”
“Why does it matter?” Lexi asked, sidestepping.