Splendor (Inevitable #2) (56 page)

And it would certainly explain why she’d quit her job, a question the whole team had puzzled over for weeks. No one had been able to figure out where she was getting the money to travel or take an extended break, though Kevin had half-jokingly guessed she had some rich new boyfriend taking care of her. Alicia had dismissed his theory as ridiculous, but now it all made horrible, awful sense.

Tessa had left the company because she’d been fucking the boss. Now wouldn’t
that
make for some really, really juicy gossip. Except, thought Alicia with a snarl, it would be humiliating beyond belief to admit to her co-workers – and especially her roommate, best friend, and staunch supporter Gina – that the man she’d salivated over for the past four and a half years had chosen a slut like Tessa over her.

And any thoughts she might have of causing trouble for Ian were swiftly abandoned. First, she couldn’t prove a damned thing, especially since Tessa had already quit. Alicia was willing to bet that righteous prick Andrew knew everything, but trying to pry any information out of him was a complete waste of time. If Alicia was foolish enough to ask him anything the least bit personal about Ian, Andrew would merely give her a scathing look and tell her to get back to work.

And that was yet another problem. Admittedly, she’d been slacking off a bit on the job lately, though no more so than any of the others. Andrew, however, had chosen to make some sort of example of her, calling her under the carpet for a variety of grievances – tardiness, taking too many breaks, sending personal emails (which the bastard had actually had the balls to read), and screwing up on some travel arrangements she’d made for several of the managers. Andrew had let her off with a warning, but the dickwad had actually threatened her with formal probation next time.

No, making any accusations or spreading gossip about Ian at this time would be extremely unwise, and that realization only made Alicia angrier. The need to lash out was overwhelming, but with her parents present she was forced to keep a damper on her emotions.

It became harder and harder to control her temper, though, as the evening wore on. From her place at the dinner table, she unfortunately had a good vantage point of the table where Ian and Tessa were sitting, and it made her stomach hurt to observe how lovey-dovey the two of them were acting. Each time Ian kissed the bitch’s cheek, Alicia wanted to follow it up with a hard slap. When he caressed the nape of her neck, Alicia’s fingers itched to yank a long strand of Tessa’s blonde hair out by the roots. And when the dancing started and she watched how closely Ian held Tessa in his arms – not to mention the tender, loving way he gazed into her eyes – she feared she might upchuck the small amount of food she’d been able to consume.

But when she spied Tessa leaving the ballroom and heading towards the ladies lounge, Alicia surged to her feet like a panther scenting its prey. She ignored Ross’ voice asking where she was going, or her mother calling after her in concern. She was more than a little tipsy at this point, and had to weave her way carefully around the tables. But she was determined to corner that little bitch and get a few things off her mind.

Tessa was visibly startled when she left the toilets to find Alicia pacing back and forth in the adjoining lounge. It gave Alicia great satisfaction to see the fear in Tessa’s blue eyes, the same look a small animal had when it knew it was trapped. Alicia noted with some relief that the two of them appeared to be the only ones in the lounge, though at this point she was so worked up it wouldn’t have mattered if three dozen people were present.

“It won’t last you know,” Alicia told her boldly. “He’ll get tired of you quicker than you can blink an eye. You’re nowhere near good enough for a man like him, Tessa, not even close. What the hell does he see in a stupid bitch like you anyway?”

Except for the slight tightening of her mouth, Tessa didn’t betray the slightest emotion, which only infuriated Alicia more.

“He loves me,” was all the bitch said in a calm, serene voice that made Alicia want to scream. “And I love him. He doesn’t care about anything else.”

“But he will. One day soon when he gets tired of banging you, he’ll realize what a mistake he’s made,” raged Alicia. “You’re nobody, Tessa, fucking nobody. You have no education, no family, no breeding. You used to buy your clothes from Ross Dress for Less, and wear shoes with worn out heels. And you might be all dressed up tonight but deep down you’re still nobody and that’s never going to change.”

It gave Alicia great satisfaction to see the tears pool up in Tessa’s eyes, and the way her lip started to tremble. But still the bitch wouldn’t break, despite the fact that her voice was a little less steady.

“None of that matters,” replied Tessa quietly. “To either of us. He loves me for who I am, not what school I did or didn’t go to, or where I bought my clothes. Ian’s a good man, the very best, and
you’re
the one, Alicia, who will never be good enough for him.”

“How dare you!” screamed Alicia. “I’m exactly the sort of woman he needs. I went to fucking Wellesley, the best women’s college in the country. I was a debutante, my mother’s family is one of the oldest in San Francisco, and my father is the top criminal attorney in the state. You couldn’t pick a more perfect woman to be worthy of Ian Gregson.”

“Except for one very important fact,” murmured Tessa. “He doesn’t love you, Alicia. In fact, I don’t think he even likes you very much.”

“Shut up!” Alicia’s rage was off the charts by now and she advanced on Tessa until she was close enough to grasp her by the arm. “How would you like it if I told everyone in the office that the boss was fucking one of his employees? I don’t suppose that would go over very well with the higher ups, would it?”

Tessa grimaced as Alicia dug long fingernails into the flesh of her bare arm. “First of all, I don’t work there any longer as you well know. And second, considering that his father is about as high up as you can get and that he knows all about us, I’m not really sure what sort of trouble you think you can cause.”

“Oooh, meek little Tessa is finally growing a spine I see,” sneered Alicia. “You make me sick. You were always so prim and proper, sticking your nose up in the air when we would gossip about other people in the office. I wonder why you never said anything all the times we’d talk about the boss man. Afraid of showing your cards, I’ll bet. Exactly how long have you been screwing him, Tessa?”

Tessa’s mouth tightened angrily. “Our relationship is none of your business, Alicia. I have no intention of talking to you about it.”

Alicia shook her head. “No wonder you always seemed to get the best assignments, why Andrew always seemed to favor you. It was because the boss wanted you for himself all along. Tell me, bitch, when he asked you to do all those spreadsheets for him, were you spreading something else at the same time? Your legs, maybe?”

Tessa gasped, and was struggling to maintain her composure when a pair of heels clicked rather loudly on the marble floor of the toilet area. Alicia glanced up, ready to tell the unwelcome intruder to mind their own business, when the words caught in her throat.

Joanna Gregson was regarding Alicia like she was something scraped off the bottom of a shoe. Both Alicia and Tessa were silent as Ian’s mother glided their way with carefully measured strides, a smile on her face that somehow chilled Alicia to the bone.

“Tessa, dear, you really ought to get back. Ian will be missing you,” said Joanna gently. “Tell him and my husband that I’ll be along shortly.” When Tessa hesitated, Joanna gave her a little push. “Go, my dear. I’ll join you once I have a little chat with the young – er, lady.”

Tessa gave a quick nod and then hurried out of the lounge.

Mrs. Gregson refocused that chilling smile on Alicia. “You’re a very pretty young woman. Your name, dear?”

Alicia swallowed with some difficulty. “Alicia Spencer, ma’am.”

Joanna fingered the fabric of Alicia’s pale lilac gown. “Lovely dress. Dior, I believe?” At Alicia’s nod she continued. “Pretty face, beautiful dress, but such an ugly soul. And frankly, it doesn’t seem that your years at a prestigious school like Wellesley did much to teach you things like good manners.”

Alicia flushed and began to stammer an apology. “I’m very sorry you had to overhear all that, Mrs. Gregson. I’m just - ”

“Disappointed that Ian didn’t choose you?” Joanna raised a dainty brow. “My dear, there have been a great many girls like you over the years who’ve pursued Ian – pretty, well-bred, well-educated. The woman he was engaged to once was very much like yourself. But do you know why none of them ever held his attention – why he didn’t pick you over – ah, what did you call Tessa – oh, yes, a nobody?”

Alicia could only shake her head, too cowed to utter a reply.

“It’s because that girl loves him for who he truly is,” replied Joanna softly. “She sees far beyond the man that everyone else sees, beyond his obvious attributes like good looks and wealth and power. And that is why there will never be anyone else for either of them. Because deep down, where it really matters, they are two of the kindest, purest souls you’ll ever meet, and somehow they’ve managed to find each other.”

Alicia stared rather sullenly at her shoes, refusing to acknowledge what Ian’s mother had just said. She knew – just knew – that bitch Tessa was most likely telling Ian all the awful things she’d just said to her, and wondered wildly how she was going to talk her way out of this, especially when his mother had apparently overheard every word.

“How long have your worked for our company, dear?”

Alicia was a bit startled at the question but replied, “Almost five years, Mrs. Gregson.”

Joanna nodded. “Ah, well, that will look impressive on your resume, won’t it? And if you don’t have it up to date, I’d strongly advise polishing it up, dear. Maybe at the same time you’re typing up the letter of resignation I’ll tell my son to be expecting on his desk tomorrow morning. Now, do be sure and enjoy the rest of your evening, Alicia. And lay off the alcohol, dear. Otherwise your complexion will start to look like your father’s before you know it.”

With a charming smile, Joanna exited the lounge, allowing Alicia the dignity of sobbing her heart out in private.

Chapter Twenty-Two

June

“Hmm. Good morning.”

Ian glanced up from his newspaper and smiled at the sight of the gorgeous blonde framed in the doorway. Her hair was rumpled and she was in the middle of a very wide yawn. He knew that beneath her long white cotton robe with its ruffled neckline that she would be nude, and his blood immediately started pumping a little hotter at this realization. Even with a severe case of bedhead and not a scrap of makeup, his girl never failed to arouse him, often just by being in the same room.

“Tired?” At her nod, he gave her an indulgent look. “You should have kept sleeping then, love. After all, we were up a bit late last night and will probably be so again tonight.”

Tessa shrugged, causing the gaping neckline of her robe to slide over her bare shoulder. “I got lonely in there without you. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Ian chuckled. “For the same reason I ought to be tucking you back into bed right now. You obviously need your rest, darling. We have plenty of time until the wedding, you know. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit?”

She shook her head and started walking over to where he sat on the sofa. He sat up a little straighter, watching with unabashed interest as her robe parted with each step, revealing the endlessly long length of her legs. Ian held out his arms as she sat down next to him, cuddling her close and kissing the top of her head.

“Mmm, this is so nice,” she purred, burrowing her head against his shoulder. “I missed waking up with you.”

He stroked her tangled curls lovingly, and couldn’t prevent the way his body responded all too quickly to the feel of her unbound breasts crushed against his ribcage. “I promise to stay in bed with you tomorrow morning. We’ll sleep in as late as possible, all right? After all, another perk of owning this place is that I don’t have to worry about trivial details like check-out times.”

They were spending the weekend at the company’s luxury resort in Pebble Beach, the gated community adjacent to the quaint coastal town of Carmel. Today was Julia and Nathan’s wedding, and Ian was glad to see that the couple would be enjoying warm, sunny weather on their special day.

Ian nearly always used the owner’s suite when he visited one of the company’s properties, unless there was some dignitary or celebrity who’d requested it. At those times he would simply stay in another, smaller suite, much like the one he and Tessa were occupying now. As part of their wedding present to the couple, Ian had arranged for them to stay in the owner’s suite, though Nathan had had the plush accommodations all to himself last night. Even though he and Julia had been living together for almost a year, she’d insisted on sleeping apart the night before their wedding as tradition called for, and had stayed at her parents’ home in nearby Carmel Highlands. Ian gave Nathan a great deal of credit for abiding by his bride-to-be’s wishes; for himself, he honestly didn’t think he could ever willingly spend a night without Tessa in his bed.

“Why don’t you let me fix you some tea, love? Then we can call down for breakfast when you’re ready,” he offered.

Tessa gave another yawn. “I can get it. Why don’t you go back to your newspaper?”

“Hush. I’ll read it later. I’d much rather spend time with you. Be right back.”

Their suite was equipped with a state of the art beverage bar that included a Nespresso single serve coffeemaker with a wide assortment of brews, and a sophisticated electric kettle and selection of Tazo teas. He brewed them each a cup of their favorite Darjeeling blend, then carried the two steaming mugs back into the living room area.

“Mmm, thank you,” murmured Tessa after taking the first sip. “Just what I needed.” She had tucked her legs up under her, and he ran his hand up and down the back of her calf.

“My pleasure, love. And the least I can do, considering how many other times you’re the one brewing our morning tea.”