Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding #1)(153)

She cautiously approached a tiny Asian woman working behind the reception desk. People milled around the lobby some entering and exiting elevators, stopping to chat with an associate, or waiting patiently for their important meeting. With a company this large it was necessary to have the office available to clients seven days a week.

"Thank you very much. Here at Bridges Enterprise we do everything we can to bridge the distance between you and your troubles. Have a wonderful day," she said hanging up the phone before looking up at Lexi. "May I help you?" the woman asked a genuine smile crossing her face.

"Yes, I am here to see Jack Howard," Lexi told the woman hoping to make it see more of a demand than a request.

The woman smirked and glanced down at the monitor in front of her. She clicked a few buttons before returning her eyes to Lexi. "Do you have a meeting with Mr. Howard?"

"Not exactly," she admitted, "but I do need to see him."

"Mr. Howard is a very busy man. So I hope you understand when I say that you would have to have an appointment to see him," she stated firmly.

"Right well does he have a full schedule today?" Lexi asked attempting to peer over the desk.

"He has the day marked off to be with Ms. Bridges."

"But he is in the office today," Lexi badgered anxious to get this over with.

"Is there anything I can assist you with?" the woman asked dodging the question effortlessly.

"Not unless you can tell me what office is his," she said deliberately.

"Ma'am unless you have an appointment, which you do not, then Mr. Howard is unavailable to you. However, there are many more trained professionals in his department that are free this afternoon if you would like to make an appointment with one of them."

"No thank you," Lexi said gnawing on her bottom lip. What a waste of time. This woman would be of any more help…not that she had been much in the first place. Obviously Jack was here in his office. The only problem was she had no idea where that was and the building was a million stories high with hundreds of offices. She could search all day and never locate him, but she didn't have that time.

She thanked the woman and walked away from the counter looping around towards the elevators. Hopping on the first elevator that dinged open, Lexi stood between several men in high quality suits. As she slowly approached the top floor, she found she was finally left alone with one of the men. Putting on the most girly look she could muster, Lexi cried, "Shoot!" She let the Southern drawl, which she typically didn't have, permeate through the word. The man glanced over at her in surprise, but she could see it was also intrigue. He quickly faced the front again not deeming it appropriate to intervene. "Um, excuse me," she cooed drawing his attention back to her.

"Yes ma'am?" he asked, the perfect gentleman.

"You see," she began huffing a little in embarrassment, "I have an appointment with Mr. Howard today." His eyes widened in surprise. "But I've forgotten where his office is," she told him casting her eyes down and hoping she could find some semblance of innocence in the gesture. "I was wondering if you could maybe point me in the right direction. The woman at the front told me, but Lord, I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body."

He marveled at her unadulterated beauty for a second before answering. "Sure not a problem," he said buying her act. He pressed another button on the elevator and turned to attempt to make small talk with her from there.

"What are you seeing Mr. Howard for, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked leaning back against the metal hand railing.

"Uh…" Lexi tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She hadn't thought this far forward with her plan and had no alibi for seeing Jack. No doubt she had always been a terrible liar so making something up on the spot wasn't going to work for her. She was amazed she had made it this far with acting.

"It's alright," he said immediately reading her discomfort. "You don't have to tell me. We have a number of people coming in with troubles that need to be solved. You're lucky you got Jack. He's one of our best," the man said admiringly. She had completely forgotten that she was in a place where talking about her problems was confidential business. At least something was working in her favor.

"Well that's wonderful," she stated dryly pleased and displeased at the same time that Jack was doing so well for himself. A part of her maliciously wondered how much Bekah had a hand in that.

"Here is his floor," he said when the elevator landed. "All the way down the hallway and on the right. Can't miss it. His secretary should be here. Her name is Gwen. She can take it from here."

"Thank you so much Mr…" she waited for his name. He had been an invaluable resource.

"Oh what was I thinking?" he asked smacking himself on the forehead. "Brandon Calloway." He pulled out his wallet and extracted a business card. She took it from him smiling to herself.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Calloway."

"Call me Brandon," he muttered huskily, leaning against the elevator door to hold it open for her while they chatted.

"Brandon," she repeated placing the card delicately into her purse.

"I hope everything works out for you. If Jack doesn't help, just let me know. I'm in office 2404. Stop in anytime," he told her invitingly.