Splendor (Inevitable #2) (44 page)

“I know,” admitted Tessa readily. “He’s the most wonderful man in the whole world, and I still have to pinch myself something like a dozen times a day to really believe he’s mine.”

Julia gave Tessa’s hand a squeeze. “Well, believe it, girl, because you snagged yourself a real winner. And I’m not talking about his money or his position. I mean the man he is inside – how kind he is and how well he treats people. If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with my Nathan, I’d probably have gone after Ian myself,” she teased. “Then again, I saw the way he looked at you during that very first meeting I attended, and knew right off the bat that no other woman would ever do for him.”

Tessa couldn’t help beaming with delight. “Really? I just never imagined that someone like him – God, he’s so perfect – would ever notice me.”

“Oh, honey, he noticed you all right. I told you that when we had lunch together the first time but you didn’t believe me. I’m glad everything worked out. Especially,” she added mischievously, “since I got this fabulous pair of Manolo Blahniks as a result.”

Tess smiled. “I can’t believe you made a bet with Nathan about whether Ian was really the new boyfriend I told you about. But I am glad you won the bet.”

Julia gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I tend to win most of the bets I make with Nathan. Let’s just say it all has to do with the timing. Now, as much as I’m dying to get the grand tour of this awesome house – God, from what I’ve already seen I might just move in here with you – we’d better get going.”

Julia’s silver BMW sedan – which she told Tessa had been a Christmas present from Nathan – was parked right outside. The women spent a busy but pleasurable morning and early afternoon getting Tessa’s new driver’s license, and then hitting the mall for lunch and shopping. Tessa was glad she had Julia, with her innate fashion sense, along for the somewhat abbreviated shopping spree.

“I don’t need much, just a few pieces to get me through the next few weeks until I quit work,” she explained. “And I don’t want to spend very much, especially if they aren’t things I’m going to wear again.”

Julia shook her head. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong. There’s no reason at all you can’t mix low and high end pieces, and keep wearing the stuff you buy today. Look, this blouse here – it’s on sale for thirty five dollars but it would look fantastic with those pants you have on. And I already know those are Stella McCartney which probably cost around four hundred bucks.”

“For these?” squeaked Tessa in dismay. “Oh, I’m going to have to talk to Ian again. I don’t want him spending that much money. You’re sure? For one pair of pants?”

Julia chuckled. “Uh, huh, pretty sure. And don’t fight it, honey. The man is absolutely crazy about you so let him spoil you rotten. Let’s face it, Tessa – he’s going to do it anyway so you might as well just accept it and count your lucky stars.”

But Tessa couldn’t help fretting over how much money he must have already spent on her, and worrying about what else he planned to buy her. As a result, she adamantly refused to purchase anything besides two skirts, half a dozen assorted blouses and sweaters, two dresses, one pair of plain black pumps, and an inexpensive purse. Everything was either on sale or from a clearance rack, and no amount of coaxing from Julia could convince her to buy even one more thing.

“This will have to do,” insisted Tessa as they walked out of Macy’s – which had fortunately been holding a huge storewide sale. “I don’t want to spend any more of Ian’s money, especially if what you’re telling me is true about these pants.”

“Look,” Julia told her gently, “if it’s any consolation, Nathan told me once what he guessed Ian’s net worth to be – considering the salary he probably pulls in and the percentage of the company he owns.”

She named a figure that nearly sent Tessa into a catatonic shock. She’d known he was wealthy, but not
that
wealthy. It was almost inconceivable that he could be worth anywhere near that much.

“So he can easily afford to buy you whatever you want without it even making a dent in his bank account,” assured Julia. “Most women wouldn’t blink an eye about accepting stuff from him. But I already know – that’s not you.”

“No. But it sounds like I’ll need to get used to that sort of thing,” sighed Tessa. “Especially once I start traveling with him and attending events. I’m just terrified that I’m going to embarrass him.”

“Not possible,” insisted Julia. “You’ve always been so gracious and helpful at our meetings. You’ll handle yourself just fine at whatever party or banquet he takes you to. But you do need to dress the part, honey. Ian’s right about that. If you think those two cats you work with can be vicious bitches, the society snobs you’ll meet will be licking their chops ready to cut you into little pieces. So you’ll have to make sure you look fabulous every single time. Fortunately, you’re young and gorgeous and have a killer bod so the rest is easy.”

Tessa smiled at her gratefully. “You’re so sweet. Would you – I mean, I know you’re super busy with work and wedding plans but – well, I need a little advice about what outfits to wear for certain occasions.”

Julia clapped her hands in glee. “I’d love to help you with that. After you give me the grand tour of the house, we’ll take a peek at your wardrobe. Anything in particular you need an outfit for?”

Tessa felt her cheeks grow warm when she remembered Ian’s instructions for tonight. “Um, well, Ian’s taking me out to dinner tonight – to Harris Steakhouse. I’ve never been there and don’t know the right thing to wear.”

“I do,” declared Julia. “We had dinner there in January with some clients. I’ll find the perfect dress for you.”

Julia was true to her word. After Tessa showed her around the house – with Julia oohing and ahhing over an antique table or a magnificently framed landscape or a priceless Oriental vase – she brought her into the walk-in closet.

Julia clutched the doorway in mock astonishment. “Oh, my God, Tessa. This is – awe inspiring. You have to let me take pictures of this set-up. Nathan and I are still finalizing the designs for my closet in our new home and this will definitely give me some amazing ideas. Oooh, look at those built-in drawers.”

After Julia had snapped a dozen or so photos with her phone, she turned her attention to Tessa’s clothes. With something akin to reverence, she ran her fingertips lightly over several garments, then gave a little purr of pleasure when she spied the racks of neatly arranged shoes and bags.

“Oh, honey, he’s bought you some gorgeous things,” she crooned. “Did the personal shopper you told me about pick all this stuff out?”

Tessa shook her head. “Actually, Ian chose most of it. He’s got wonderful taste, doesn’t he?”

“My God, that’s putting it mildly. Tessa, he’s got a gift. Everything is absolutely perfect for you – the colors, styles, all the accessories. It will be the easiest thing in the world to put outfits together for you.”

For tonight’s dinner, Julia helped her select a sophisticated sheath dress in a luscious shade of violet, pairing it with cream, peep-toe Louboutins. Ian had recently bought her another coat, this one of cream wool with large jeweled buttons that Julia insisted she wear tonight.

And Julia almost squealed with delight when Tessa showed her the drawers filled with exquisite, couture lingerie. Tessa carefully withdrew the gorgeous lavender bra and panty set Ian had instructed her to wear.

“He picked all these out for you, too?” inquired Julia.

Tessa couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed to admit the truth. “Um, well, yes.”

Julia laughed. “Well, they do say that still waters run deep. Underneath all that proper British decorum, our Mr. Gregson has a naughty side, doesn’t he? And I’ll just bet he’s a real tiger in bed. Though he’d have a hard time keeping score with Nathan. That man is – well, let’s just say stamina is never a problem for him.”

Tessa couldn’t help giggling at her friend’s bawdy talk. “Well, Ian is pretty – um, enthusiastic, too. Even though he always jokes about trying to keep up with me, it’s really the other way around.”

Julia smirked. “Sounds like we’ve both got our hands full with horny men, hmm? Trust me, it’s a good problem to have.”

***

Tessa’s co-workers showered her with empathy and support when she arrived back at the office on Friday. In addition to the rest of the team, almost every other employee on their floor – from the receptionist to the highest level executives – made it a point to stop by her desk and extend their sympathies for what had happened. She was deeply touched by all the offers of help that were given as well – did she have a place to stay, did she need clothing or shoes or blankets, did she need any financial assistance? Tessa was almost in tears by the outpouring of kindness and support, and assured everyone that yes, she was fine, that she was staying with a friend and had enough clothes and other supplies. She almost felt remorseful at having to hedge around the truth, but while she was still employed by the Gregson Group no one could know that the “friend” she was living with was really their boss, and that he had already showered her with more clothes than she knew what to do with.

The other members of the team had already taken the initiative to gather up some things for her. Marisol – ever the practical one – handed Tessa a bag filled with basics like toothpaste, deodorant, razors and shampoo. Gina had gone through her closet and picked out a few blouses, sweaters and scarves that she thought Tessa could use. Shelby and Kevin had pooled their funds to buy her a gift card at Macy’s so that she could buy some of the things she needed. Only Alicia was empty handed, though she did tell Tessa in a falsely sweet voice to let her know if she needed anything.

Tessa felt guilty accepting the things but realized it was necessary in order to keep up the charade, so she merely thanked all of them profusely.

Getting back to work a day earlier than planned turned out to be the best decision she could have made, for it was so busy that she didn’t have time to dwell on her recent trauma. With both Ian’s and Andrew’s blessings, she had elected not to tell the rest of the team about her impending resignation just yet. Word would get out soon enough, since Andrew was already hard at work searching for her replacement.

It was so busy, in fact, that Gina and Alicia didn’t have time to indulge in one of their usual gabfests until mid-afternoon, when the frantic pace of the workday had finally begun to ease up just a bit.

“Oh, my God, it’s been so crazy today that I forgot all about the news my mother gave me this morning,” Alicia began breathlessly. “She and my father were out at dinner last night with some friends from their club when they saw His Hotness. They were all at Harris Steakhouse and evidently the Boss Man was there with his new amour.”

Tessa’s fingers froze in midair poised over her keyboard, and she forced herself not to betray even the slightest reaction to Alicia’s gossip. She’d been dreading this moment of revelation all day, and had expected Alicia to bring up the subject long before now. Ian had warned her that it was extremely likely the news would travel very quickly to Alicia, once her parents had spotted him at the restaurant last night.

She’d been instantly concerned when he had rather casually mentioned that Alicia’s mother and father were seated a few tables away with two other couples
.

“Aren’t you worried?” she’d whispered urgently. “Alicia talks to her mother every single day and the subject is sure to come up.”

Ian had shrugged, not seeming in the least concerned, and had merely taken a sip of his wine. “Not especially, no. They won’t have the nerve to actually walk over here and say hello, particularly if I continue to ignore them. And you’ve never met her parents, have you?”

She’d shaken her head. “No. Alicia meets her mother for lunch quite a bit but she’s never brought her back up to the office.”

“Then there’s no problem,” he’d replied in a calm manner. “All she’ll be able to tell Alicia is that she saw me here with a young, beautiful blonde who I appeared to be extremely taken with. Alicia is such an egotistical little witch that she’d never begin to imagine that you were the woman I spent the entire evening staring at like a lovesick boy.”

He’d taken her hand in his, bringing it to his lips, and smiled fondly as her cheeks had flushed rosily. He had insisted on taking the seat next to her, instead of across the table, and so their shoulders had brushed up against each other continually during the meal
.

The pre-dinner cocktail and glass of wine she’d already consumed had given Tessa a heady sensation of boldness as she leaned closer against him
.

“Maybe we should really give her mother something to gossip about then, hmm?” she’d murmured in his ear, sliding her hand up his muscular thigh beneath the table
.

He’d hissed as her fingers brushed teasingly against his crotch before clamping his fingers around her wrist. “Not just her but the entire restaurant,” he’d growled. “And you are entirely too tempting, my love. Especially since I know what you’re wearing underneath that dress. Did Julia help you select what to wear?”

Tessa had nodded. “She said to tell you that you have wonderful taste in clothing, a gift in fact.”

“Did she?” He’d leaned over and given her a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. “I agree that I have exceptional taste – after all, I chose you, didn’t I?”

Gina and the others were all ears at Alicia’s big news, instantly clamoring for more details.

“Another brunette, I take it?” asked Gina. “He does seem to favor them.”

Alicia shook her head. “Uh, uh. A blonde this time. And young. My mother said she’s at least ten years younger than he is, maybe more.”

“Ooh, His Hotness is doing some cradle robbing, is he?” cooed Kevin. “Well, he’s such a stud it’s little wonder he needs a piece of sweet young ass. An older woman probably doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with him.”

Tessa couldn’t help the flush that seemed to spread throughout her entire body at Kevin’s ribald comment. At fifteen years Ian’s junior, she was constantly amazed at his sexual prowess and at the way he wore her out in bed.