Balancing Act (8 page)

“I–I should get up. We need to finish the contracts.”

She straightened away from Seth’s solid chest, her back ramrod straight. He reached into the inside breast pocket of his suit coat and produced a large white linen handkerchief. As he handed it to her, she noticed his initials were embroidered in the corner of it.

“Wipe your eyes, Tessa.” The order was gently spoken. “I’ve called the limo. I want you to go to the hotel and relax. All we have to do is sign the contracts, thanks to you, and I think I can handle that.”

Tessa opened her mouth to protest.

Seth set a finger against her lips. “No arguments. You’ve been through something that would have rattled anyone, let alone someone who’s claustrophobic, and you’ve still got to get back down to the ground floor. If you don’t want to get back in the elevator, I understand. I’ll be happy to walk down with you.”

Tessa scrambled off his lap and smoothed her skirt. She gulped. This man was her boss, and she had clung to him like some helpless airhead. She detested women who tried to appear weak and helpless. It so went against her grain, just thinking about it made her stomach tie up in knots.

There was a mirror in the far corner. She grabbed her purse from the chair where the security guard had left it and went over to repair her hair and make-up. It gave her something to do, a chance to regain her composure. She needed that now more than ever. She had never begged a man to hold her. How mortifying.

* * * *

Seth watched her, eyes narrowed as his mind worked overtime. He could still hear the fear in her voice as she’d begged him to get her out. He swallowed. There had been much more than simple claustrophobia there. She had sounded traumatized. He had expected her to be worse off than she was. As he watched her, she wiped the tracks of the tears she’d shed and reapplied some of her makeup. After that, long, nimble fingers set about smoothing and pinning the sleek French twist she always wore back into place. He’d never seen her hair down. He wondered again what she would look like with it loose and flowing.

He let his gaze drift down to her narrow waist and her heart-shaped bottom, outlined by the snug suit skirt she wore. He also remembered how that firm little derriere had felt snuggled in his lap. What did she wear beneath it? Something practical or silky? He could almost feel the touch of warm silk on his fingertips.

Seth shook his head in disgust at himself and where his thoughts had gone. She was his secretary–and a damn good one, for a change. So he had better watch his step.

“Are you about ready, Tessa?” he asked, a hint of gruffness back in his voice.

She turned from the mirror, her poise back in place. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, Mr. Barrett.”

“Seth,” he corrected her. “Call me Seth. It’s about time we dropped some of the formality, don’t you think?”

God in heaven!
What was he doing?
He just finished telling himself he needed to cool it, and in the very next breath he made things less formal between them? He began to wonder which head was doing the thinking for him when it came to Tessa Edwards, and he was afraid he knew the answer already.

Tessa smiled slightly. She picked up her bag, but when she bent to grab the laptop, Seth beat her to it.

“I’ll get this. Come on, Tessa, the limo driver can run you to the hotel. Once you’re there, take a dip in the Jacuzzi and relax.”

Tessa had booked a two-bedroom suite connected with a living room between the two bedrooms. In addition, it featured a terrace with a Jacuzzi, one of the little perks that a man like Seth could not only afford but was accustomed to having.

As they stepped into the hall, Tessa turned away from the stairwell and back toward the elevator. Seth grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Tessa’s blue eyes met his. “If I don’t do it now, I’ll never get back on one. I can’t live like that, Seth.”

He took hold of her hand as they stepped in, noting her surprise, but in a moment, her slender fingers relaxed within his grip. Not until the doors opened to the lobby did he relinquish his hold. He didn’t make any big deal out of it. In fact, he kept his expression as frowning as ever to ease her discomfort. She smiled at him, fingers trembling.

“Okay?”

Tessa nodded. “Thanks, Seth.”

Chapter 5

It didn’t take Seth long to finish closing the deal. He and Golding had enjoyed a very productive lunch. Tessa’s message had cut things short, but Golding understood. Once the contracts were signed, Seth shook hands with the older man and the board.

“We’ll make the announcement in the morning, Barrett, if that suits you. When you get to be my age, you don’t always want to field a bunch of questions late in the day.”

“Excellent, sir. Tomorrow morning is fine.”

“Can I take you and your assistant to dinner tonight?” Golding offered, his expression genial.

Seth shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I believe Miss Edwards has had enough excitement for one day.”

Golding smiled. “Another time, perhaps. It’s always a pleasure to meet a fellow journalist.”

The two men shook hands and parted ways in the lobby. Seth sat back in the limo, ran his fingers through his thick hair, and pulled his phone out to call his father. His conversation with Alexander Barlow-Barrett was short and to the point. The deal was closed pending shareholder and government approval. He shoved his phone back into the clip on his belt.

The conversation over his future role at Barrett Newspapers could wait until the ink had dried and he was back home where he could talk to his father face-to-face. What he had to say needed to be handled in person. It was time Alexander Barrett took a hard look at Brandon and realized he was grooming the wrong Barlow-Barrett to step into his shoes. Seth’s heart was not in it, Brandon’s was.

He turned his thoughts back to Tessa. Hearing the panic and fear in her message, he had felt an instant need to go to her. Getting her to think about the beach had helped. He wondered if she remembered it. Panic sometimes made people blank out about details, but he wanted her to remember. He was serious about taking her and Zach there. They could stay at his beach house, go for a nice easy sail, nothing too adventurous the first time out. He’d take Zach fishing.

Seth snorted at where his thoughts had led him. What was he hoping for? A ready-made family? Or some social life at all that didn’t involve elite clubs and the rest of his family? He flicked a speck of lint off his suit slacks. He was tired of meetings, trips, formal dinners, and making meaningless small talk on topics about which he cared nothing at all. He wanted… The limo stopped in front of the hotel and the doorman rushed to open the door for him. Seth tossed him a tip and sprinted up the steps.

He wanted Tessa, but he doubted that was possible or even probable. She gave off more than the usual volume of keep-off signals. Except for an odd moment now and then, he got the feeling she not only didn’t like him but secretly laughed at him. It was damned annoying and intriguing at the same time. Seth wasn’t sure that anyone had dared to laugh at him, with the possible exceptions of Brandon and Anna. Even their other siblings always seemed to regard him with awe.

He opened the door of the hotel suite, surprised by how quiet it was. A quick glance around the living room showed it was empty. He stepped out on the terrace, but the Jacuzzi was still, and Tessa was nowhere out there. Seth turned toward the smaller of the two bedrooms. The door was open a crack.

“Tessa?” he murmured, but got no response.

He pushed the door farther open, feeling a little like he was intruding but concerned enough about her in the wake of the elevator incident, he went ahead and peered inside. She was wrapped in a white terry cloth robe that swallowed her. Delicate toes painted a soft pink peeked from beneath the hem. She lay on her side, one arm resting on the bed and covering her breasts, the other curled beneath her cheek. Her lips were parted in sleep, and her thick, auburn hair spilled across the pillow and around her shoulders. Seth drank in the sight of her like a man stranded in the desert getting his first sight of an oasis. She looked so tiny…and so damn young. What the hell was he doing?

He had started to withdraw when she sighed and opened her eyes. He couldn’t leave now. It would seem like he was snooping. And hadn’t he been? A flush warmed his cheeks.

Her eyes opened wider when she spotted him.

“Seth?” she mumbled while she struggled to wake up. “Did everything go okay?”

Relieved she hadn’t taken offense at his looking in on her, he allowed himself a slight smile. “Yes. The contracts are signed. I thought I might take you out on the town. Are you up to it?”

Tessa sat up and pulled the bathrobe tighter, but not before he’d gotten a glimpse of one generous, rounded, creamy breast. “Sure. What time is it?”

“A little before five, so there’s no rush. I thought I might grab a drink and sit in the Jacuzzi for a few minutes. Care to join me?”

Tessa shook her head. “Not in the Jacuzzi. I tried that and it made me sleepy, but I will come outside with you.”

He nodded, pleased she would spend some time with him. She was already curled up in a lounge chair on the terrace when he came out in swim trunks, with a towel slung around his neck and a whisky in one hand. He sipped it and sighed.

“Hmm. I needed that. Would you like anything?”

“No, thanks. I have a bottle of sparkling water.”

They talked about work. It seemed to be the safest topic. He liked the way she flushed with pleasure when he praised her for her insight about Golding.

She ran one of her manicured nails along the arm of the lounge. “I’m sorry about the whole elevator thing, Seth.”

“Don’t be. As long as you’re all right, there was no harm done. Let’s forget about it, okay?”

Tessa smiled. “Gladly. Where are we going to dinner?”

He arched one brow at her. “Getting hungry?”

“Well,” Tessa drawled, “I didn’t get any lunch.”

* * * *

She watched in amazement as Seth downed the rest of his whisky in a gulp and stood up. Water dripped off his powerful body. It was all Tessa could do not to stare open-mouthed at him. The water accentuated what she had noted in the most abstract of ways before. He was muscled, as if he spent a lot of time outdoors. His golden-brown skin was covered with fine, blond hair arrowing down to the low-slung waist of his swimming trunks, which now clung to his body. Tessa’s eyes wandered lower and she averted her gaze. The man was her boss. What on earth was she thinking?

“I have reservations at Charlie Trotter’s for seven,” Seth was saying. “Did you bring something dressy?”

“Yes.”

“Great. Let’s head that way then.”

It was the proverbial little black dress. It had to be. Operating on a tight budget, Tessa was always careful to keep her wardrobe as classic as possible, so a short while later, she smoothed it over her hips. The material flared just past there into a swingy skirt that ended a few inches above her knees. The bodice was strapless and form-fitting, and her breasts swelled at the top of the heart shaped neckline. She added a strand of pearls and strappy stilletos.

Seth waited for her in the living room. He blinked when she walked in before he smiled at her.

“You look lovely, Tessa. Once again.”

So did he. Dressed in a dark dinner suit with a pristine white shirt and a conservative gold-toned tie that brought out his unusual eyes even more, he oozed power and money. He’d brushed his thick, wavy blond hair off his face. As he held out his arm, Tessa took it without hesitation. She stepped into the elevator, which faced a central lobby, with hardly a blink of the eye, though she did keep a firm hold of Seth’s arm the whole way down.

The restaurant was amazing, and so was Seth. He put himself out to entertain her. Tessa had never enjoyed such a wonderful time with anyone. For all his taciturn ways in the office, he could be a very amusing dinner companion.

“Would you like some wine to start?”

At her nod, he conferred with the sommelier before choosing a chardonnay. Once he tasted the wine and nodded, the sommelier filled her glass, then Seth’s. Tessa hid a smile. She had watched many men over the years botch this part of an evening. It was refreshing to see Seth pay it no more notice than he would putting his napkin on his lap. It was just another part of dining out for him, not an ornate ordeal.

“I know you were a little stressed in the elevator today when I talked about the beach,” Seth began, “but do you truly like it?”

“As long as I have a crate of sunscreen for Zach and me, we love to go as often as we can.” Tessa laughed. “Zach loves fishing. I’m not that keen on it, but I try to humor him. It gets him away from the video games some.”

Seth smiled. “What do you do for fun?”

“Swimming. There’s something so peaceful about it, whether I’m in the ocean or working out in a pool. It’s quiet, you know?”

“Mmm. That’s the way I feel about sailing. Perhaps not always the quiet part, but being able to be alone with my thoughts–that’s what I appreciate most.” The sparkle in his eyes made it obvious how much it meant to him.

“I’ve never been sailing. Riding, swimming… Those things I’ve done, but sailing was never part of the Edwards family hobbies.”