Splendor (Inevitable #2) (15 page)

“Do
not
,” he’d warned her ominously, “ask him how his evening was, or what he had for lunch, or anything at all that doesn’t have to do with work. He’s not one for idle chatter, and sticks to his schedule religiously.”

But Tessa hadn’t been able to keep her pulse rate from accelerating any time she was near Ian, or all the other ways her body reacted to him involuntarily. Earlier today she’d cursed beneath her breath to realize her nipples were hard and poking very noticeably against the thin fabric of her blouse. And, unfortunately, she was pretty sure he had noticed, too, since she’d been placing a steaming mug of tea on his desk at the time. She had made a hasty exit, and had struggled to control the reaction of her treacherous body for the rest of the day.

She couldn’t believe how quickly the past four days had flown by, and she wished that Andrew was taking two weeks off instead of just the one. Of course, he’d sent her several emails, both to check in and also to remind her of the various tasks she needed to do. Tessa realized that even when Andrew was on vacation he was really still at work.

The reactions of her co-workers had been mixed when they’d learned she would be the one to fill in for Andrew this time. Marisol, who most often subbed for him, was actually relieved because she’d been battling a nasty case of bronchitis for over two weeks and was worn out. Gina had seemed a little miffed at the news but not overly concerned. Kevin had teased her about moving up to the big time, while Shelby had shuddered at the very thought of having to train so closely with Andrew for a whole week. And Alicia had been downright catty about it, wondering how Tessa was going to cope with such a high profile assignment given her lack of experience and education.

It was nice to be away from the rest of the team this week, to have all this space and privacy, and to finally know what it felt like to work at the top level of this company. She would miss it a lot when she had to return to her small cubicle on Monday.

And she loved being able to take care of Mr. Gregson in subtle little ways – hanging up his suit jacket; preparing his tea the way he preferred – Darjeeling blend with one lump of sugar, which, very coincidentally, was exactly the same way she took hers; answering his phone and managing his appointments. And he always smiled his thanks whenever she did something, making her feel like a million dollars.

She’d spent the better part of this afternoon preparing a complex spreadsheet that Mr. Gregson needed for a late afternoon meeting. She’d finished printing it out mere minutes before he had to leave, noticing with a grimace that the printer was now flashing a low ink warning. Since she had a slew of reports to print out first thing in the morning, it seemed that she would need to change the printer cartridge before leaving for the day.

Tessa had just finished collating and stapling a dozen copies of the spreadsheet when Ian emerged from his office, shrugging into his suit jacket.

“The copies are all ready, Mr. Gregson. Just let me put them in a folder for you.”

She reached into a file drawer and extracted an empty folder, then neatly slipped the papers inside.

Ian took the folder and slid it into his leather briefcase. “Thank you, Tessa. An excellent job as always,” he told her with a warm smile.

She smiled back, the pleasure of his complement making her feel like the most special girl in the world. “I hope the meeting goes well, sir. And the dinner reservations are all set. I just called the restaurant a few minutes ago to confirm everything again.”

He reached across the desk and gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder. “You’ve been doing a marvelous job filling in for Andrew. I’ve barely noticed he’s gone. Except,” he added with a wink, “you look far better sitting behind that desk than he does.”

Tessa stared up at him, too flustered by his teasing to think of an intelligent reply. “Um, thanks” was all she could think of to mumble.

Ian chuckled. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Or blush. But it seems I’ve managed to do both so I’d best head out before I say anything else. Have a pleasant evening, Tessa, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good night, sir.”

She groaned softly after he left, burying her face in her hands in mortification. God, could she be any more of an idiot when he was around? It was obvious that her shyness and tendency to blush at the drop of a hat amused him, and she guessed her very perceptive boss was aware of her silly crush on him. She was going to have to do a much better job of managing her reactions to him.

But that was proving to be extremely difficult, given the close proximity they’d been working in this week. Tessa had seen facets of both his work and private persona that she had never before been given the opportunity to observe. She’d already known that he was a man who was always in complete control, who commanded and received respect from everyone around him, but who also treated each person fairly and with the same amount of respect they gave him. But she had never seen him like this – like a king managing his vast empire, dealing smoothly and efficiently with telephone calls, meetings and correspondence without missing a beat. He was precise, organized, and highly efficient, the sheer amount of work he managed to get through each day staggering. Ian was not a man content to rest on his laurels, or rely solely on others to take care of things for him. He worked harder than anyone else in this office, even though he could have easily delegated a great deal of his responsibilities to his very qualified management team. Tessa was in awe of his strict work ethic, and how he refused to take advantage of his family’s name and prestige by shirking his duties. He was extremely intelligent, with most of the conversations she’d heard him engage in way over her head, and about subjects she had very little knowledge of, mostly involving finance and marketing. She had also heard him speaking in at least three different foreign languages – Spanish, French, and Italian – and wondered with some astonishment if he knew any others.

And she had also seen a much lighter-hearted side of him this week, too. He’d been in an excellent mood all week, looking relaxed and well rested, and had smiled and laughed more in the past few days than she could ever remember him doing before. Of course, up until this week she’d had little to do with him day to day, mostly just seeing him walk past her desk or observing him conducting meetings when it had been her turn to set up the conference room.

Ian’s manner towards her had been mildly teasing, almost – well, flirtatious at times, though Tessa figured that had to be her overactive imagination playing tricks on her. Ian Gregson did not flirt – he was far too dignified and regal for that sort of behavior, and he most certainly didn’t flirt with silly little admin assistants like herself. She told herself that he was simply being kind, and probably felt sorry for her after learning about the divorce.

The divorce that was going to be final very soon now. Tessa had tried very hard not to dwell on that fact, or that she hadn’t corresponded with Peter since Christmas. She knew this was his way of cutting her loose for good, for giving her that much needed push to stand on her own and not depend on anyone else to take care of her.

She’d spent Christmas alone, for Kevin had gone out of town to visit his family and she really didn’t have any other friends who might have invited her. Julia had tentatively suggested spending the holidays with her family down in Carmel, but Tessa had refused, especially since she’d had to work the day before and after the holiday.

Being alone hadn’t been so bad, anyway. She’d spent the day watching movies, reading a book, and making herself comfort food. But she’d missed Peter terribly, and hadn’t been able to completely hold back the tears at the end of the day.

She had spent New Year’s Eve alone, too, even though Kevin had returned by then and urged her to attend a party he and Terence were hosting. She hadn’t felt in the least like celebrating anything, and instead had taken the time to write down any number of New Year’s resolutions – the top one simply reading
Be Happy
.

Tessa frowned as she recalled another resolution a little further down the list – this one involving finding a cheaper place to live before the lease expired in April. She’d already started to do some research and had been appalled at the skyrocketing cost of rents in San Francisco. Unless she lucked out and found some fabulous deal, she was most likely going to have to settle for a shared rental with two or more roommates, or consider moving out of San Francisco and having to commute. But she still had a little time before having to get serious about moving, so she pushed that troubling thought out of her head and returned her focus to work.

It was drawing close to five-thirty before she finished and began shutting down the computer and tidying up. And then she remembered about needing to change the ink cartridge for the printer and groaned. The printer that Andrew and Mr. Gregson used was a much more expensive, high-tech one than she was used to, and she’d kept her fingers crossed all week that nothing would go amiss with it.

Fortunately the directions on the package for the replacement cartridge were fairly straightforward, and she was able to install it without much trouble. But then, as she went to dispose of the old cartridge, she realized it had leaked and that she now had black printer ink smudged all over her hands and on her blouse as well.

“Crap!” she muttered loudly, grateful that no one else was around to hear her outburst. Not only had everyone else left by now, but these offices were set far apart from all the others down their own private hallway.

Almost without thinking, Tessa dashed into the private washroom in Mr. Gregson’s office. She doubted he would mind, especially since she didn’t want to risk getting ink on any other surfaces in the office. She scrubbed her hands thoroughly, relieved to see the ink had all washed off. Then she turned her attention to her badly stained blouse.

‘Oh, no!’ she thought in dismay as she saw the black blotch that covered far more of the fabric than she’d initially noticed. Not only was this silvery gray blouse one of her favorites, but she’d just recently had to discard two other items from her already limited wardrobe – a sweater that she’d snagged on something and torn an irreparable hole in, and a blouse that had simply become worn and frayed from so many washings. She’d stretched her budget far too thin after buying the dress and shoes for last month’s Christmas party, and certainly couldn’t afford to buy anything new for some time to come.

Tessa bit her lip uncertainly, for the stain would be almost impossible to get out, especially given its location along the side of her torso. How the ink had landed in that particular spot was a puzzle but if she had any chance at all to salvage the blouse she was going to have to do some serious – and swift – scrubbing.

Quickly, she unbuttoned the blouse and stripped it off, shivering a little as she stood there in a pale gray lace bra and her navy skirt. She pumped some liquid hand soap directly onto the offending stain and dampened it before scrubbing the fabric almost desperately.

“Darn it!” she cursed, as the ink stain seemed to be spreading rather than disappearing. Not willing to give up hope just yet, she applied more soap and continued trying to wash the stubborn blotch away. But after a third application of soap, Tessa had to regretfully admit defeat. The stupid ink stain wasn’t budging and she was going to have to throw out the blouse. She could try to have it dry cleaned, of course, but that would likely cost almost as much as the bargain rack blouse was worth.

She was wringing the water out of the garment since she still had to wear it home, stained or not, when she froze in horror at the sound of Ian’s deep voice as he walked inside his office.

“Are you still here, Tessa? It’s well past time for you to have called it a day. What – ”

His voice trailed off abruptly as he caught sight of her framed in the doorway of his washroom. Tessa felt like a deer trapped in a hunter’s scope, knowing she ought to move or look away but too shocked to do so. He stared at her in stunned disbelief, his gaze raking over her nearly nude torso, her full breasts almost spilling out of the fragile lace bra.

Horrified, she clutched the damp blouse to her chest, her cheeks on fire as she glanced away and began to babble almost incoherently. “I’m – I’m so sorry, Mr. Gregson. I – ah, got printer ink on my blouse and I was just trying to rinse it out. I didn’t know you’d be returning and, oh, God, just let me put – ”

“Look at me.”

Startled, she responded immediately to the commanding tone of his voice, one that didn’t allow for disobedience. She raised her gaze to his and gasped when she saw the barely controlled lust on his handsome face – eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, his cheeks darkly flushed. She was petrified and enthralled at the same time, and dimly became aware of how badly her legs were shaking.

“Come here.”

Another of those brief, succinct commands. He was a man of a few words but they were more than enough to make himself understood. Slowly, her gaze remaining transfixed on his, she walked across his office until she was standing a few inches away, still holding her ruined blouse up to cover as much of her breasts as possible.

But Ian apparently had other ideas, for he clasped both of her wrists, forcing her to release the blouse as it fluttered to the carpet. His eyes took in every inch of her bare skin, lingering on the heavy swell of her breasts, and Tessa closed her eyes in embarrassment as she felt her nipples harden in reaction.

“No. Look at me. Open your eyes and look at me, Tessa.” Another command from him that she didn’t dare resist.

She was starting to tremble all over as she forced herself to open her eyes and meet his intense, burning gaze. Without breaking eye contact, he backed her up until she was standing against a wall of the office, effectively trapped between it and Ian’s tall, powerful body.

He drew both of her arms above her head, then pinned her wrists against the wall with just one of his big hands. He used his other hand to caress her cheek, his thumb brushing gently over her lips and causing her mouth to gape open in surprise. His hand continued its downward path, brushing over her collarbone and shoulder, traveling down her arm and the side of her ribcage and then, ever so slowly, back up her abdomen until it stopped just below her breasts.