Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding 2)

"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 hips 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.