Covet (50 page)

Tessa reluctantly followed Gina’s gaze back towards Ian, who now stood with his hand resting lightly on the arm of a strikingly beautiful woman. The tall, gracefully slender beauty had raven hair cut into a sleek, perfect chin-length bob, her face expertly made up with dark eyes and carmine lips. She wore a stunning gown of deep burgundy, with long, fitted sleeves, and a long skirt slit to just above her knee. Tessa just assumed the rubies and diamonds that sparkled at the woman’s ears and throat were real.

“She’s beautiful. They make a good pair, don’t they?” asked Tessa in a small voice.

She wasn’t sure why seeing Ian with a date was unsettling her. She would have just assumed he’d be here with someone tonight, just as he’d brought a date to the previous Christmas party she’d attended. And if the gossip around the office was to be believed, Ian dated a lot of different women – all of them beautiful, sophisticated, and accomplished. And so very, very different from herself – a young, gauche and not very bright admin assistant who would likely never rise above her current lifestyle.

Gina shrugged in response. “If you say so. She seems a little cold for him, actually. Her name is Rebecca Mellar, and she’s the President of Golden Gate Bank. I think she and His Hotness are just friends from what I’ve read.”

Tessa didn’t really want to think about the striking Rebecca’s relationship with Ian. Instead, she gave Gina a teasing smile and asked, “Yes, but more importantly, who designed her gown?”

Gina laughed, then replied without hesitation. “Elie Saab. I saw that dress at Barneys last week. Do I have the gift or what?”

The cocktail hour passed by quickly, and Tessa was careful to make her one flute of champagne last. Meanwhile, Kevin and Alicia had both put away several drinks before dinner, and were well on their way to getting sloppy drunk. Gina was also drinking heavily but seemed to be holding her liquor a lot better than her roommate was, while Shelby and Marisol kept their drinking to a minimum.

From her peripheral vision, Tessa kept sneaking discreet little glances at Ian as he and Rebecca circulated the room. She knew from having helped compile the list of RSVPs that his parents were here this evening, over for a brief visit from England. It had been easy to pick the elder Gregsons out, for Ian greatly resembled his father. Edward was a bit shorter than his middle son, and his dark hair was liberally shot through with gray. Joanna Gregson was surprisingly petite, her delicate form beautifully gowned in glittering emerald green, her frosted blonde hair cut in short, feathery layers about her almost elfin face.

Ian’s parents were every bit as regal and sophisticated as he was, and they would certainly expect him to eventually marry a woman with the same sort of elegance and class. Most definitely not a naïve, ordinary girl like Tessa, with her clearance rack shoes and rumpled raincoat and borrowed costume jewelry. It was a very good thing, she thought firmly, that she recognized her ever growing attraction to Ian as nothing more than a harmless fantasy.

But then she happened to glance his way only to find his own intense gaze upon her. Her heart slammed erratically against her rib cage as she stared back, mesmerized. Ian was unsmiling, his expression almost brooding, but his eyes remained locked with hers, silently refusing to let her look away. Tessa couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, as she just stood there shell-shocked, too dazed to even begin to wonder what this all meant, and why he continued to stare at her as though he’d never seen her before tonight.

And then, the stare down that seemed to have lasted forever but had in actuality only been for long seconds, ended abruptly as the beautiful Rebecca touched Ian’s arm and called his attention back to her.

Completely flustered, Tessa turned away and offered up a silent prayer of thanks that the call was being made to sit down for dinner. She was practically the first one to arrive at their table, and was relieved to realize her assigned place would not put her in any sort of direct view of Ian’s table. She knew, after that last odd visual exchange, that she wouldn’t have been able to resist sneaking frequent glances his way throughout the rest of the evening otherwise.

Even though Andrew was officially in charge of organizing tonight’s party, he had delegated as much of the work as possible to the team. Gina and Alicia had jumped on the opportunity, for they loved to handle all the social and travel related functions, as opposed to more mundane work such as word processing or filing. They had been working on invitations, seating charts, place cards, and little else it seemed for the past few weeks, so Tessa had been afforded ample opportunity to take at glance at where everyone would be sitting.

It had been something of a nasty shock to learn that Jason Baldwin would be attending this evening. But Alicia had explained that quite a few of the hotel managers in California would be at the party, and since Jason actually lived in the city it was taken for granted that he would be at the party. Not to mention the fact that his wife was a member of the Gregson family.

Tessa had spied the Baldwins once or twice this evening, but fortunately Jason had kept his distance thus far. The very last thing she wanted tonight was any sort of confrontation, for he most certainly would not be happy with having been transferred, and most likely demoted as well, and he probably blamed her in some way for what had happened.

Her good fortune, however, wasn’t to last for long. After dinner and dessert, the dancing started. No expense had been spared for this lavish party – from the open bar to the expensive wines to the beautifully prepared sit-down dinner – and that included the excellent seven-piece live band. They played a wide variety of music, from big band and standards to current pop and rock songs.

Tessa loved to dance, often doing so around the apartment with the music blaring, and she missed having a partner of her own tonight. Kevin and Terence had each taken her for a spin on the dance floor, but mostly she had just remained sitting at the dinner table, wistfully watching all the other couples having fun. Alicia’s date Ross – who’d kept glancing Tessa’s way on numerous occasions this evening – had asked her to dance once, but Alicia had glared at her with such malice that Tessa had quickly mumbled some excuse and declined.

She was alone at the table – everyone else either on the dance floor or at the bar – when someone sat down next to her. Tessa glanced up in alarm into the smirking face of Jason Baldwin, and immediately tensed up.

He was also wearing a tuxedo, his dirty blond hair slicked back, and she supposed most women here tonight would find him extremely attractive. Tessa, however, couldn’t shake off the revulsion she felt at his unwanted presence.

“Good evening, Tessa. You look smashing tonight, by the way.” His voice was low and deliberately husky, and each word out of his mouth made her skin crawl.

When she refused to reply or even look at him, Jason persisted. “Where’s your husband tonight? I can’t imagine any man leaving someone as tempting as you are alone this way.” He leaned closer to murmur in her ear, “After all, another man might not be able to resist the temptation and try to steal you for himself.”

Tessa subtly moved her chair over a couple of inches, desperate to escape from him but not willing to make a scene in front of this large group of people. “My – husband is out of the country working,” she stammered.

It wasn’t precisely a lie. Peter was indeed working and currently in Egypt. And technically he was still her husband, at least for a short while longer until the divorce was final.

Jason trailed his fingers up her bare arm, and she quickly jerked it away. He made a low, snarling noise at this obvious display of her revulsion. “So, no one here to protect precious Tessa this evening then, hmm? Your husband has foolishly left a prize like you alone, while your avenging hero Ian is occupied with his current fuck buddy. He’s smart, I’ll give him credit for that, and with the patience of a bloody saint. But he doesn’t fool me one bit. His shipping me off to that godforsaken hotel wasn’t just a punishment for breaking his little rules – it’s because he wants to fuck you himself.”

“What?” Tessa’s head jerked swiftly back in Jason’s direction, not at all certain she’d heard him correctly or believed a word he said.

Jason chuckled. “Ah, got your interest now, do I? I suppose you’re attracted to him, aren’t you? Most women are with his sort of money and power. But you’re way out of your league with him, little girl. A man like Ian would take what he wanted from you, and then move on to the next woman without missing a beat. Trust me, you’d be much better off with me. I’d hang onto a prize like you for a long time.”

Tessa’s anger was slowly beginning to overtake her fear. “And what would your wife have to say about that?” she snapped.

He looked at her in amusement. “Ah, so the sweet little kitten does have claws after all. I’d love to make you purr, little kitten. But don’t worry about my wife – she tends to turn a blind eye to my little – er, friendships.”

Tessa shook her head in disgust. “That’s horrible. And I’m not interested in being your friend. Or ever speaking to you again for that matter.”

His good humor faded rapidly, his fingers clamping viciously around her upper arm. “Someone is getting very brave, isn’t she? But your would-be knight in shining armor wouldn’t dare sweep in to save you tonight – he won’t show his hand in front of all these people, and especially not to his very charming companion. So I’d advise you to be a little nicer to me, kitten.”

“Or what?” she challenged defiantly. “You wouldn’t dare try anything in front of all these people, either – including your wife.”

Jason’s handsome face contorted into an ugly, snarling mask. “You little bitch. It’s all your fault that I’m stuck down in fucking Scotts Valley. Do you know that I have well over an hour’s drive each way every day? And for someone of my ranking within the company, it’s a bloody insult to be a lowly hotel manager. You’ll pay for all of that one of these days, Tessa, and pay dearly.”

She jerked her arm away. “Go to hell. And leave me alone. I’m not interested in you, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself, being a married man.”

“You’re damned lucky there’s so many people here tonight,” hissed Jason. “Otherwise I’d be teaching you that lesson you need to learn so badly.”

“It sounds like you’re the one who hasn’t learned his lesson, Jason. Perhaps Mr. Gregson ought to ship you to another continent next time.”

Tessa whirled around at the sound of the familiar – and very, very welcome – voice of Andrew. He was standing behind her chair and glaring icily down at Jason.

Jason grimaced. “I was wondering when Tessa’s guard dog would show up. Your boss send you over here to do his dirty work for him again?”

Andrew’s mouth tightened grimly as he and Jason continued to glare at each other. “That’s none of your business, Jason. And neither is Tessa. In fact, she’s promised me a dance that I’ve come to collect on. Oh, and I believe Mrs. Baldwin is looking for you so you’d best run along back to your own table. Tessa – if I may?”

Tessa surged to her feet and gratefully placed her hand on Andrew’s proffered arm. Without a backwards glance, she allowed him to guide her onto the dance floor. A slow song was playing as Andrew held her lightly at a casual distance from him.

“Thank you,” she told him in a meek voice. “I – he was saying -”

“I can imagine what he was saying, Tessa,” stated Andrew rather matter-of-factly. “You’re not the first female employee he’s harassed, after all. Jason Baldwin is a menace and no one was happier than I was when Mr. Gregson kicked him out of headquarters.”

Tessa attempted to lighten the mood by joking, “Maybe we should have had a farewell party for him – without his being in attendance, of course.”

Andrew never laughed, and really didn’t smile, either, but she was certain she saw the corner of his mouth tilt up slightly. “That’s the general idea, yes. Your husband wasn’t able to attend this evening?”

Tessa was a bit taken aback by this abrupt change of topic, and hesitated before replying. She figured that since she had told her co-workers the truth about her marriage that she owed Andrew the same consideration. “Peter and I – aren’t together any longer, Andrew. Our divorce will be final in a few weeks.”

She didn’t think she’d ever seen Andrew shocked – or speechless – but apparently her news had had that precise effect. It took him a little while before he told her in an oddly gentle voice, “I’m so sorry, Tessa. When did this happen?”

“September. I – I haven’t said anything until very recently. The only ones in the office who know are the rest of the team. I just –” her voice lapsed off weakly.

“You just don’t believe in broadcasting all the details of your personal life around the office,” finished Andrew in his usual brisk manner. “And I’ve always appreciated that, Tessa. But you should have told us sooner. I’m sure you could have used the moral support.”

She gave him a small smile. “I suppose I’ve just grown used to depending on myself. Well, and Peter, of course, but now it’s just me.”

Andrew frowned. “We’ve never really discussed this sort of thing, but where’s your family? Aren’t they around to help you through this?”

Tessa shook her head. “There’s no one. My mother died when I was still a teenager. Peter was all I had and now he’s left, too.”

Andrew looked dumbfounded and stumbled a bit, stepping on her toe. “Sorry,” he murmured as she uttered a low yelp of pain. “I’m not a very good dancer, I’m afraid. Thank God this is a slow number.”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “You can step on my toes for the rest of the evening if it means I don’t have to see Jason again.”

“Yes, well, not to worry. I think he’s got the message loud and clear. Mr. Gregson was adamant that I get you away from him, and assured me he’d make certain Jason stays away after that.”

Now it was Tessa’s turn to be startled. “Mr. Gregson sent you after me? Has – is that why you’ve always seemed to be nearby whenever Jason was bothering me?”