Splendor (Inevitable #2) (61 page)

Last evening had been the first time he’d seen either of them since Ian had effectively banished him from the regional office. His fists had clenched in fury to see the way Ian kept the gorgeous blonde tucked firmly against his side, refusing to release her even for a moment. He was too old for her, of course, and Jason had told Charlotte rather scathingly that Ian must need a boost to his ego after turning forty earlier in the year.

Charlotte had frowned at him disapprovingly. “Why would you say that? Ian looks marvelous for his age, a lot fitter than men ten years younger. He could have most any woman he wanted. No, according to Aunt Joanna he really loves this girl. And she’s crazy about him, too.”

“Probably crazy about his money,” Jason had muttered darkly.

That was yet another gripe he had against Ian – how much money the bloke had. It just wasn’t fair that he and Charlotte weren’t even a fraction as rich as Ian or his brothers were. While there was no possible way that scatterbrained Charlotte could have ever held a position of any significance in the family business, there was no reason at all why Jason shouldn’t be at an equal level with her three cousins.

Charlotte, of course, had insisted on saying hello to her cousin and had dragged a reluctant Jason over to greet Ian and his well-kept bitch. Tessa admittedly looked every inch the pampered and spoiled girlfriend of a very wealthy man, even in the more casual island style dress she’d been wearing. It had seemed that being Ian’s bedmate agreed with her.

And there was very little doubt that she was earning her keep on a regular basis. She’d had that just-fucked look about her, gazing up at Ian with almost sickening sweetness, and the looks that passed between the pair of them were nothing less than smoldering. Oh, no, Ian was enjoying her thoroughly and often, definitely getting his money’s worth from that hot, ripe body. The satisfied look on the prick’s face as he held Tessa tightly against him made Jason long to shove a fist into his jaw.

Charlotte had been predictably oblivious to the thick tension in the air when both Ian and Tessa had barely acknowledged him. It had been left to Charlotte to do most of the talking, and Jason had almost cringed when she’d happily babbled on about the four of them getting together for dinner soon, or inquiring if Tessa would be joining the family later in the year in England for the holidays. Ian had smoothly changed the subject each time Charlotte hit on something awkward, and the ninny had naively never even sensed there was anything wrong.

Jason had drank steadily during the evening, his fury building each time he happened to glance over in the direction of Ian’s table. It made him sick to his stomach to see the way that blonde whore fawned over Ian, touching his arm and gazing at him in adoration, like he was the fucking king and everyone else here in the room his doting subjects.

‘Fuck the pair of them,’ Jason had thought darkly. ‘He was probably screwing her the whole time she worked there. That’s why he shipped you off to bloody Scotts Valley – because you dared to poach on his territory.’

He’d thought often of filing a complaint against Ian, or at least blowing the whistle on his amorous activities with one of his staff. But every time he’d considered the idea, Jason knew it was virtually useless. Tessa had very conveniently resigned recently, removing any obstacle to having a relationship with Ian. And since Ian reported directly to his father and uncle – both of whom had been fully apprised of the situation – there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be disciplined for any of his past activities.

‘No,’ Jason had told himself firmly. ‘You’ll have to figure out a different way to get back at them. And they
will
pay for what they’ve done to you.’

***

Tessa had just pulled on a sheer green cotton cover-up over her emerald green bikini when a knock sounded on the door of the suite. She frowned, for the butler was usually off duty at this time of the afternoon, and Ian would have used his card key. As the knocking persisted, however, she heaved a little sigh and walked over to the front door.

It had been an especially hectic morning today, the last full day of the managers meeting, and Ian had insisted she take the afternoon off and go relax on the beach. Even Andrew had shooed her off, confirming that he and Shelby could easily handle the rest of the afternoon’s scheduled events. Still feeling more than a little guilty, Tessa had nonetheless returned to the suite and changed into her beachwear.

“Who is it, please?” she asked, unable to see anyone through the peep hole.

The voice on the other side of the door was the familiar Australian accent of the private butler assigned to the owner’s suite. “It’s Geoffrey, Miss Lockwood. I have a delivery for you and Mr. Gregson.”

Tessa still thought it a bit odd that Geoffrey was on duty at this time of the day, but supposed the rest of the staff was busier than usual because of the managers meeting. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

And then gasped as Jason rushed past her into the room before she could stop him, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her along with him as he kicked the door shut.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded. “What’s happened to Geoffrey?”

Jason snickered. “Most likely enjoying his afternoon break, I assume. I happened to notice him leaving this suite the other day, chatted him up a bit. Did you know I lived in Australia for a time, picked up the accent in no time?”

Tessa tugged on her wrist but his grip was like steel. “Let go of me, Jason. You don’t scare me anymore. And Ian will kick your ass if he finds you here.”

“Oh, but he won’t, sweet thing. When I snuck out of that god-awful boring meeting, he was about to start droning on about some budget bullshit. He’ll be there for hours yet. More than enough time for you and I to have a little chat.”

Tessa forced down the sense of panic that threatened to overtake her. “We have nothing to say to each other.”

“Then fucking listen, you little bitch.” His voice was filled with venom, and he twisted her wrist hard enough to make her yelp in pain. “You and your lover screwed up my life big time. He banished me to that stinking hotel, demoted me, all because I dared to put my hands on you. And all the time the fucking hypocrite was banging you himself.”

Tessa shook her head vehemently. “No, no. You’re wrong. We weren’t together then. Ian didn’t know I was separated from my husband at the time and he wouldn’t have - ”

“Fucked a married woman? Oh, yes, noble, honorable Ian, never doing the wrong thing, always the perfect gentleman,” spat Jason. “Well, maybe he wasn’t tapping you then, sweet thing, but he sure as hell wanted to. So he sent me away like I was a naughty child who’d tried to play with his favorite toy.”

Tessa wished fervently that she wasn’t barefoot, wasn’t quite so scantily dressed. She gave another experimental tug on her wrist, which only made him tighten his grip and she knew her skin was already starting to bruise.

“What do you want, Jason?” she asked with a calm she certainly didn’t feel. “Your insults aren’t going to change anything. And your being here is only going to make things worse once Ian learns about it.”

“He can’t fire me, if that’s what you’re thinking, sweet thing,” replied Jason arrogantly. “My father-in-law won’t leave the father of his grandchildren without a steady income. Besides, you and your lover owe me big time. And now it’s time for me to start collecting on that debt.”

Jason shoved her up against the wall, pushing his leanly muscled – and very obviously aroused – body against hers. Tessa turned her head to the side in revulsion as he ground himself against her.

“Come on, you hot bitch. Don’t pretend you don’t want to get fucked. Look at you,” purred Jason. “Mmm, I’ll bet Ian likes to take you for a good, long ride every night. But it’s time for that greedy bastard to start sharing a little. I mean, he’s got it all, doesn’t he? Money, power, prestige, and the hottest, sweetest piece of ass I’ve ever seen. I might not get my fair share of all the rest, but I’m damned sure going to take my share of you.”

Tessa tried in vain to shove him off of her, wishing that she was wearing a pair of her stilettos so that she could drive a spiked heel through his foot. “Guess what, asshole? Ian doesn’t share. And there is no way in hell you’re putting your disgusting hands on me.”

Jason laughed, an ugly, menacing sound. “And exactly how are you going to prevent me from doing that, sweet thing?”

***

“Sir, we have a problem.”

Ian glanced up in irritation as Andrew approached him, an anxious look on his face. “Can it wait? The break is up in less than ten minutes and I’m really not looking forward to hearing all the grumbling from the troops when they listen to my budget talk.”

“Jason is unaccounted for. Shelby was supposed to be keeping track of him but, well – she does tend to get distracted easily.”

Ian swore beneath his breath. “How long?”

Andrew hesitated. “At least fifteen minutes, Mr. Gregson. We think he slipped out before the break started. Shall I go look for him?”

Ian shook his head and handed Andrew his stack of notes and reports. “No. I’ll go take care of the matter. For good this time.”

“Very good, sir. Should I delay the start of the meeting then?”

Ian clapped Andrew on the shoulder. “No. I want you to start the meeting. You know every damned fact and figure in those reports better than I do, not to mention exactly what I’m prepared to say about them. Now all you have to do is get up there and deliver.”

Andrew looked shell shocked. “Mr. Gregson – I don’t think - ”

“I do. Don’t let me down, Andrew. I’ll be back as soon as I kick that bastard’s arse. Which shouldn’t take very long at all.”

Before Andrew could protest further, Ian was striding out of the meeting room, nearly breaking into a jog as he headed towards his suite. He had no doubt whatsoever that Jason had gone in that direction. He only hoped Tessa hadn’t encountered the bastard, or that Jason hadn’t gone a little crazy and attempted to harass her in any way. Ian’s hands clenched and unclenched as he continued on his way, almost hoping for an opportunity to put his fist solidly in Jason’s mouth, to shatter his jaw as he’d vowed to do all those months ago.

But the very last thing he’d expected to find when he burst inside the suite was a trembling Tessa rubbing her right hand and grimacing in pain, while an astonished Jason was gingerly feeling his nose, blood pouring down between his fingers.

Ian slammed the door to the suite shut decisively, and held out an arm for his girl. She rushed to his side and he held her close against him. He grimaced as he noticed the dark bruise around her left wrist, but then couldn’t help grinning when he saw the reddened knuckles of her other hand.

“Got him good, did you, love?” he asked in amusement. “What was it – a right hook?”

Tessa shook her head, wrapping her arms around his waist and burrowing her face against his shoulder. “Upper cut,” she mumbled.

He stroked her hair tenderly. “Well, that is your best punch, after all.”

“Fucking bitch broke my nose,” muttered Jason. “I need to go have this looked at.”

Ian’s voice was like a whip crack. “You’ll stay where the hell you are. I don’t give a damn if you bleed to death. I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Turning to Tessa, his voice became warm and gentle. “Now, I’d like you to go wait for me down at the beach, all right? I’ll be along in just a moment. Jason and I need to have a little talk.”

She shook her head, touching his cheek in concern. “Don’t. He’s not worth it. Please.”

“Shh.” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “Let me deal with this, darling. I promise everything will be fine. Now go, please. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Slowly, reluctantly, Tessa grabbed her beach tote and exited the suite onto the patio. Once she was safely out of sight, Ian grabbed a dish towel from the wet bar and flung it at Jason.

“Here. Try not to bleed all over the furniture, will you? And quit sniveling. If she’d actually broken your nose, believe me, you’d know it.”

Jason glared at him. “So are you going to finish the job for her then?”

Ian smiled, a cold, calculating smile. “Are you challenging me, Jason? Think I won’t do it? I believe I made it very, very clear what I’d do to you if you ever touched Tessa again.”

Jason flinched as Ian grasped his jaw between powerful, capable fingers. With his other fist, Ian tapped Jason on the jaw almost playfully.

“Such a weak, almost fragile jaw you have. Never realized it before now. Hmm.” Ian pretended to study him more closely. “Really wouldn’t take much more than a tap or two to shatter this. Ouch. Now
that
would hurt.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” hissed Jason. “I’d sue your ass off, have you arrested for assault.”

Ian gave a hoot of laughter. “Is that right? It’s almost tempting to try. Don’t forget, this is
my
hotel,
my
employees. There’s not one person here who wouldn’t back up my story if I were to state that you were assaulting Tessa and I was simply trying to protect her. You wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, Jason.”

He released his grip on Jason’s jaw, satisfied to see the imprint of his fingers on the other man’s skin. “But not to worry. I realize you’re flying home to your children tomorrow, and it wouldn’t do for them to see their father beaten to a bloody pulp. Besides, I’ve decided that breaking a few of your bones isn’t a fitting punishment for you. After all, bones do heal after a time, don’t they? And I intend for your pain to continue for a long, long time.”

Jason eyed him warily. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I suppose you’ve gone soft, hmm? Your hot piece of ass has you good and pussy whipped, does she?”

Ian growled, shoving Jason up against the wall and holding him firmly in place with an elbow to the gut. “Shut your filthy fucking mouth. You don’t get to talk about Tessa – ever. How dare you speak about her like she’s one of your dirty whores? Just remember, Jason. I don’t actually have to break any bones to cause you pain – a great deal of it.”

Jason threw up his hands in surrender. “My apologies. So tell me, mate. Where are you shipping me off to this time? Wherever it is you won’t hear me complain because anything has to be better than where you’ve got me now.”