Covet (38 page)

When she returned to the conference room, it was to find that everyone else had arrived – including Mr. Gregson. Of course, she never really needed to look around to determine if he was in the room, because she could feel his presence like a physical thing. Not to mention the fact that almost everyone’s attention always seemed to be focused in his direction – including the very, very pretty Julia McKinnon’s. And, more notably, Ian’s attention seemed to be fixated on the charming interior designer.

Tessa’s heart sunk a inch or so at a time as the meeting began, and as she was forced to notice the way Ian continued to smile and converse with Julia. He had seated her at the place directly to the left of his, and paid her far more attention than Tessa was used to seeing him do to anyone. They smiled at each other like old friends – or potential lovers – and Tessa rather reluctantly admitted they would make a stunning couple. They were both extremely attractive, well dressed, and personable, and when it was Julia’s turn to make her presentation she sounded every bit as confident and knowledgeable as Ian always did at these meetings.

Moreover, Julia McKinnon seemed – at least at first impressions – like the sort of woman a man could get very serious about very quickly. She was something special – not just beautiful but also refined. intelligent and talented. Tessa knew next to nothing about interior design or architecture, but even she recognized that the sketches Julia had made for the new hotel were far superior to anything that her predecessor had produced. Ian seemed especially interested in them, asking a number of detailed questions, and looking pleased when Julia gave her quick, informative replies. They seemed to have hit it off immediately, and Tessa realized that she’d never seen Ian smile as often and as warmly as he’d been doing throughout the meeting.

‘At least she seems nice,’ thought Tessa rather glumly. ‘I mean, if he has to pick someone, maybe get serious about somebody, it’s good that she seems worthy of him. I’d much rather see him pick someone like Julia over Alicia.’

She kept her attention focused on her notepad, even when there was really no need to take notes at that particular moment, and tried very hard not to feel dejected. It was nothing to do with her – not one tiny bit – if Ian was interested in a woman. Tessa was still amazed that a man like him hadn’t been snapped up a long time ago, that he hadn’t been married for years already and had several children. It was ridiculous of her to feel any sort of jealousy or envy towards Julia McKinnon, or any of the women Ian was purported to date. He was a single man, after all, more than entitled to date as many different women as he liked. She had no claim on him whatsoever, especially since he barely even acknowledged her existence. It was just – well, she only wished that he might smile at her once in awhile the way he was smiling at Julia right now. But, she acknowledged glumly, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing, because any attention Ian paid her would only make her yearn that much more for things that could never be.

Tessa was startled from her musings when Julia began to converse in rapid French with one of the managers – Henri Bissette – who seemed overjoyed to find someone who was so fluent in his native tongue. And of course Ian looked even more impressed with Julia, his smile broadening as she continued speaking in French with Henri.

‘One more thing they have in common, I guess,’ she thought with a sigh. She had heard Mr. Gregson speak not just in French but also in Italian and Spanish at one time or another, and had wondered in awe how he’d managed to become fluent in three different languages.

But as Tessa returned her attention to her notepad, she happened to glance at Nathan, and her eyes widened a bit to notice the expression on his handsome face. Unlike Ian – and a number of the other men seated around the conference table – the dark haired architect did
not
seem pleased to watch as his new interior designer charmed everyone in the room. Tessa couldn’t decide if the look in Nathan’s light blue eyes as he watched Julia intently was one of anger, jealousy, irritation, or pure lust. He gazed at her so intently, in fact, that Tessa wondered if the two of them were somehow involved outside of the office.

But that couldn’t be, she corrected herself. Nathan was still engaged so far as she knew. There was, however, no denying the sparks that flew between him and Julia, even if the two of them chose to ignore that fact. There
had
to be something more to their story, thought Tessa,
had
to be some history there in order for Nathan to look at her that way – as though he couldn’t decide whether to strangle her or kiss her senseless. And Nathan most assuredly was not liking the sort of easy camaraderie that had sprung up so quickly between Ian and Julia, almost as though they had known each other for years.

About halfway through the meeting, Tessa got up to start another pot of coffee, trying to be as quiet about it as possible. As she took her seat a few minutes later, she happened to catch the eye of Jake Harriman, the associate architect who was working with Nathan on the hotel project. He was grinning at her in a rather suggestive manner, and even had the audacity to wink. In response, she merely threw him a tight-lipped glare of annoyance and looked away determinedly.

At least, she thought wryly, Jake was relatively harmless. Oh, he tried to flirt with her like mad, but she had yet to feel threatened by him, and his comments had all been rather on the silly, immature side. Unlike the repulsive Jason, who continued to make her skin crawl on a regular basis, and murmur disgusting, filthy things in her ear on the very few occasions he’d been able to corner her alone. Fortunately, there had been very, very few such occurrences as of late, due largely in part to the circuitous route she took to avoid walking by his office, as well as the way Andrew seemed to appear out of nowhere at times to run interference.

But at present it seemed that Jason’s attention was caught by a different female, given the way he was regarding Julia McKinnon with great interest. Julia, however, seemed like the sort of woman who could take care of herself, one who was confident and self-assured enough to quickly dissuade someone like Jason. And after observing the rather possessive glances Nathan had been giving Julia, Tessa was pretty sure that he wouldn’t stand for a creep like Jason putting the moves on her.

As a matter of fact, observed Tessa, just about every male in the room seemed fascinated with the pretty, vivacious Julia as she began to wrap up her presentation. Little wonder, she mused, considering how Julia’s very fashionable dress clung to her petite, curvy body so flatteringly, but without being too tight. Tessa decided that someday, somehow, she wanted a pair of those beautiful Louboutin stilettos for herself, even if she had to buy them secondhand at a consignment store. Julia’s thick, caramel colored curls shone with vibrant health, making Tessa all too aware of how long it had been since she’d had her own hair trimmed. And she was willing to bet that Julia’s shampoo and conditioner hadn’t been purchased at a chain drugstore like the generic brand Tessa used. Same thing with the cosmetics Julia had used to highlight those amazing cheekbones, big green eyes, and full lipped mouth. Julia looked like the sort of sleek, well groomed woman who only shopped at luxury department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys, places where Tessa only dared to glance in the window, knowing she could never afford to actually buy anything there. She looked, realized Tessa glumly, like the sort of woman a man like Ian Gregson would be proud to bring home to meet his parents and family.

Unlike Tessa herself, who admittedly didn’t look her best today. Because it was so cold outside, she’d worn one of her warmest outfits – a black and white checkered wool skirt paired with a plain black turtleneck sweater. Both pieces had been bought on clearance at a discount store, and the cheap fabric of the skirt already had tiny snags in several places. The sweater was a bit too snug after so many washings, and was the same one Alicia had made a rather snide comment about the first time she’d worn it to the office. Tessa’s own plain black pumps were low heeled and not the least bit sexy – unlike Julia’s towering stilettos. In her haste to get to the office this morning, she’d worn hardly any makeup – just a coat of mascara and some pale pink lipstick that had long since been worn off. She felt dowdy and plain when she compared herself to the glowing, perfectly put together Julia, and knew now how Cinderella must have felt huddled in her little corner by the fireplace – the corner where no one noticed her or paid her the slightest attention. The fairy tale had been one of her favorites growing up, the one she had most often begged Gillian to read to her. Somewhere along the way, however, during one of their many hasty moves, the book had been lost or left behind. It had probably, thought Tessa sadly, been right around the same time she’d stopped believing in fairy tales and begun to realize just how hard real life could be.

Once the meeting ended, a few of the attendees returned to their offices, but most of them stayed behind to converse in small groups. One such group consisted of Julia, Henri Bissette, Keegan Whittaker, and Ian. As Tessa began to discreetly clear away the dishes and cups from the table, she couldn’t help but overhear Tessa and Henri chatting in rapid French, with Ian joining in every so often. He was laughing, something he seldom did at these meetings, and Tessa couldn’t recall a time she had seen him in such a relaxed, jovial mood. Julia had quite obviously been responsible for this dramatic change in her normally reserved, very formal boss, bringing out an almost flirtatious side of him that Tessa had never seen before.

Tessa belatedly remembered that she’d hung Julia’s coat up, and went to retrieve it from the hallway closet. When she returned to the conference room, she froze in place as she observed Ian clasping Julia’s hand between his own, and smiling down at her warmly as she and Nathan made their farewells.

“What a delight it’s going to be to work with you, Julia,” Ian said with enthusiasm, then gave Nathan a quick wink. “You’ve got a real treasure here, Nathan. I hope you and Travis treat her well. Not only beautiful but extremely talented as well.”

Nathan gave him an answering smile. “Yes, I think we’re well aware of Julia’s talents.”

Once again Tessa sensed something simmering beneath the surface between Nathan and Julia, noticed how the interior designer’s cheeks flushed prettily at the compliment.

“Well, if they don’t treat you right, my dear, come and see me straightaway. I’d be honored to have you working for my company,” declared Ian.

“That’s very kind of you,” Julia replied, “but all is quite well at the moment.”

Tessa hovered in the background a bit uncertainly, Julia’s beautiful gray wool coat still in her arms as she waited for an opportune moment to hand it over. Ian happened to glance up just then, meeting her eyes all too briefly, and his expression sobered instantly. Gone was the warm smile he’d bestowed on Julia, replaced by the rather grim, austere face he normally presented.

Tessa felt like kicking herself for intruding on what had obviously been a personal conversation, and she wondered dejectedly if she’d interrupted Mr. Gregson from doing something like asking Julia for her phone number. Or inviting her out to dinner. Suddenly anxious to be anywhere but here, Tessa kept her eyes downcast as she held the coat out.

“I’ve brought your coat, Ms. McKinnon,” she said demurely. “I didn’t want you to forget it.”

Julia reached for her coat but Nathan beat her to it, holding it as she slid her arms inside. “Thank you, Tessa,” she told her gently. “And thank you for helping us out today.”

Tessa merely nodded as she felt her cheeks flush, all too aware of Ian’s unsmiling presence. “It was my pleasure,” she murmured, before hastily making her exit.

Terribly afraid that she’d displeased Mr. Gregson, Tessa made sure to remain firmly in the background as she tidied up the conference room. She refused to even glance in his direction again as she finished clearing off the big table, stacking the used dishes inside the large plastic tubs that the caterers would pick up later today, and covering the uneaten food with plastic wrap. It wouldn’t take long at all for the administrative staff to wander in here and whisk away plates of leftovers, something that Tessa had learned early on was an accepted practice.

One by one she returned the easels to the storage closet where they were kept, before retracting the screen used to display PowerPoint presentations. She grimaced to discover several smudges on the conference table, and retrieved the package of furniture wipes kept in one of the cabinets. Normally the night cleaning crew would have taken care of this, but she knew from the master schedule that Mr. Gregson had another meeting scheduled in this room later today, and that he wouldn’t be at all pleased if the table was left in this state. And since she had evidently already displeased him a short while ago, she took the task of polishing the table upon herself.

Tessa’s spine shivered with the sensation that someone was watching her as she worked, and she grimly assumed it was that lecher Jason, probably staring at her ass or her breasts and thinking up something obscene to murmur in her ear. She ignored whoever it was, intent on finishing up here and making her escape back to her cubicle, where she could retreat back into her safe little world.

‘Just like Cinderella scuttling back to her little corner by the fireplace,’ she thought tiredly. “Except that there’s no Prince Charming waiting around the corner to sweep you off your feet.’