Crave (Splendor Book 2) (2 page)

Mr. Gregson was already in his office, unpacking his leather briefcase and powering up his computer, when she ventured inside. He glanced up at her with another of those knee-weakening smiles, and she had to force herself not to stammer as she asked if he wanted a cup of tea.

“I would love a cup of tea, Tessa,” he told her warmly. “Especially the way you make it. I was just telling my parents’housekeeper - who’s been with them for ages - that I’ve finally found someone here in the States who knows how to make a proper cup of tea. Mrs. Haggerty is still in disbelief, of course, but I assured her it was the truth. Thank you.”

She felt her cheeks flush, typically idiotic behavior for her when she was in his presence, and mumbled some incoherent reply as she hurried off to fix his tea. There was a built-in beverage bar next to the closet, fully equipped with a mini-fridge, a state-of-the art single-serve coffee system, a high-end electric kettle, filtered water tap, and all of the various supplies and serveware one could ever need. She’d already filled the kettle earlier this morning in anticipation of his arrival, and merely had to switch it on now to heat the water. While it was heating up, she spooned loose leaf tea - the expensive Darjeeling blend she knew Mr. Gregson always drank - into a stainless steel infuser before placing it inside an oversized black ceramic mug. After letting the brew steep for the allotted time, she added a single lump of sugar before carrying the steaming hot mug into his office.

He was already hard at work, alternately looking through the neatly organized stacks of reports and mail on his desk and checking data on his computer, and Tessa paused for just a moment to drink in the truly splendid sight he made. He had removed his suit jacket, and she nearly gulped as the fine white cotton fabric of his pristine dress shirt stretched over the impressive breadth of his chest and shoulders. It was rather mind-boggling at times to reconcile the fact that her classy, elegantly attired boss with his perfect manners and upper-crust British accent was also such a tall, powerfully built, and almost intimidatingly muscular man. The two factors seemed at direct odds with each other, but they were also what combined to make him so overwhelmingly attractive.

“Here’s your tea, sir,” she murmured softly as she gingerly set the mug down in front of him, willing her hand to remain steady and not spill even a single drop.

Ian glanced up from whatever he’d been studying on his computer monitor and smiled warmly. “You’re a lifesaver,” he told her earnestly as he picked up the mug and took a long sip. “Ahh. Exactly what I needed, Tessa. My flight arrived in later than scheduled last evening, so I’m fighting off the effects of some serious jet lag. A good, strong cup of tea should help alleviate that.”

She offered him up a tentative smile in response. “I’m glad. Just let me know when you need a refill.”

He nodded, taking another drink from his mug. “I’ll be sure to take you up on your offer. But tell me - how did an American girl learn to make tea this way?”

Tessa’s smile deepened. “I was taught by the best, sir - Mrs. Carrington, to be exact. She considered the art of brewing tea almost as important as knowing the correct way to format a letter.”

Francine Carrington had been her former boss at the Gregson hotel in Tucson, the woman who had initially hired her on as a part-time office assistant back when Tessa was still attending community college. Mrs. C., as she preferred to be called, had been a formidable employer, extremely particular about the way she liked things done, and had taken a young, impressionable Tessa firmly under her wing. It was largely due to Mrs. C’s teachings and encouragement that Tessa had wound up working in San Francisco at the firm’s American headquarters.

“Ah.” Ian nodded his dark head. “It’s all very clear to me now. Yes, I can just see the terrifying Mrs. Carrington hovering over you and making sure you brewed that tea to her exact specifications. If memory serves me right, that was one of many things I had to learn during the summer I worked for her. A summer that felt like a life sentence at times.”

Tessa gaped at him in shock. “But - but you were her employer, Mr. Gregson! At least, your family was. Why were you working for her?”

He chuckled. “I was nineteen years old, had just finished my first year at Oxford, and was brimming over with self-importance and arrogance. A day or two working for that old witch changed that attitude in a hurry. She didn’t give a holy damn that my grandfather had founded the company, or that my father and uncle were the CEO’s. I received no special treatment, wasn’t spared even one of her very scathing lectures, and didn’t dare to annoy her. But by the end of that summer I’d learned more about the corporate structure and operations that I could have done in an entire year with someone else teaching me. Mrs. C. was officially in charge of the administrative staff at our London headquarters, but she knew a great deal more that anyone ever realized. It was a tremendous loss to the firm when she moved out to Arizona to work at the hotel there.”

Tessa nodded. “It always surprised me a little to realize just how much she knew. But she’s also very devoted to her husband, and when his breathing problems became serious she didn’t hesitate to move him to a drier climate. I – I know most people were terrified of her, but she was always kind to me. She, well, was like a mother to me in some ways.”

Ian arched a brow in disbelief. “A mother? Mrs. C.? Are you certain we’re talking about the same woman - five feet tall, about ninety pounds soaking wet, tweed suits, horn rimmed glasses, and with the most terrifying scowl you’ve ever seen?”

She laughed. “I know it’s hard to believe, but - yes. In her own gruff way she was good to me, Mr. Gregson. I, well, I was just a teenager when I lost my own mother, and Mrs. Carrington would always give me advice when I needed it.”

“I’m very sorry to hear about your mother,” he replied gently. “As for any advice that old witch might have given you, I hope that she never recommended you buy a tweed suit like hers.” His hazel eyes twinkled as they flickered over her sweater and skirt. “I much prefer your own fashion sense.”

Tessa’s heartbeat fluttered erratically at his compliment, a compliment that sounded a whole lot like flirting to her. But that had to be her imagination, she scolded herself, because a man like Ian Gregson simply did
not
flirt. Ever. And especially not with someone like her.

“I, um, thank you,” she stammered awkwardly, unable to think of a wittier reply.

Ian smiled at her reassuringly, undoubtedly sensing her uncertainty. “Did you have an enjoyable Christmas, Tessa? At least,” he added gently, “as much as you were able to do given the circumstances.”

She knew he was referring to her imminent divorce. “It, ah, was a very quiet holiday, Mr. Gregson,” was all she offered in the way of a reply.

His smile was quickly replaced by a frown. “Surely you didn’t spend it all alone?” he asked in concern. “Your family…”

Tessa gave a quick shake of her head, hoping that Mr. Gregson wouldn’t press the matter further. “No family,” was all she said in response. “And I was invited to spend the day with some friends, but I just preferred to be by myself this year. I - I hope that you enjoyed your visit with your family, sir.”

Ian nodded briefly. “Very much, thank you. And I’m sorry that you had to spend the holidays by yourself, Tessa. No one should be alone at this time of the year. But I have a very good feeling that next Christmas will be a much happier one for you.”

She regarded him curiously. “Why do you say that, Mr. Gregson?”

He gave her another of those mysterious smiles. “Let’s call it a hunch, shall we? Or perhaps it’s just time for something good to happen in your life. You deserve it, after all.”

Tessa stared back at him in bemusement, but before she could question him further, his cell phone buzzed with an incoming call and she retreated back to her desk to afford him some privacy.

It was an extremely busy day, just as she’d known it would be after Mr. Gregson’s return from a two-week vacation. But despite the rather frantic pace she found herself operating at throughout the morning and then well into the afternoon, Tessa couldn’t help replaying those last snippets of conversation, and wondering why Mr. Gregson had sounded so very, very sure of himself when he’d declared that next Christmas would be a much happier one for her. What sort of “hunch” could he possibly be basing such a confidently uttered statement on?

Tessa shook her head, annoyed at herself for allowing her thoughts to keep drifting back to that conversation. It had only been, she told herself firmly, Mr. Gregson’s attempt to make her feel better, and she was being ten kinds of a silly goose to even try and read anything else into things. There was no possible way he could even guess at what her life might be like at this time next year, especially since
she
didn’t have the slightest clue herself.

***

Ian leaned back in his plush leather desk chair, resting his head against the padded headrest for a minute or two. It had been a tiring but productive day, a day that was surprisingly almost over. Things were always especially hectic after he’d returned from a vacation or one of the frequent business trips he took, but for once he hadn’t minded the many demands of his workday. And the sole reason for his change in attitude was sitting right outside his office.

He couldn’t prevent the wide grin that caused his mouth to turn upwards at the corners, just as he wasn’t able to suppress the tiny chuckle of satisfaction that escaped his throat. Everything was unfolding just as he had planned, exactly how he had envisioned his slow, careful seduction of the beautiful woman he’d been obsessed with for over two years taking place.

It had been just over three weeks ago when he’d heard the news - from Tessa’s own lips - that she and her husband were divorcing. And he hadn’t wasted any time in putting his plans to finally claim her for his own into action. He couldn’t rush her, of course, especially since she was most likely still sad and vulnerable over the break-up, and wasn’t emotionally ready to start seeing anyone new. But, at the same time, Ian was determined not to let her slip through his fingers, would make very, very sure that no other man was given the opportunity to get close to her. He’d waited for this particular moment for a long time, after all, and nothing and nobody would prevent him from making Tessa his.

But he had to be patient, he reminded himself now. Small steps, slow, steady progress. It would probably drive him half-mad, he thought wryly, to have to exercise so much self-control, when all he could think about was pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless. There had been at least a dozen times just today, in fact, when he’d had to clench his fists to stop himself from acting on his nearly uncontrollable instincts.

‘Take it down a notch or two, mate,’ he told himself sternly. ‘The last thing you can afford to do is scare her off. You’ve waited this long, surely you can hold off another couple of months.’

After the office holiday party, Ian hadn’t wasted any time in beginning his campaign of seducing Tessa. He’d started on the first day back to work after the party, in fact, when he had asked her to come to his office under the pretext of explaining a particularly complicated spreadsheet he had needed her to do. She had clearly been taken aback by this summons, for it had always been left up to Andrew to assign these sorts of tasks to the support team, but she hadn’t questioned him about the matter any further.

And he had gone out of his way to encounter her in the hallway or the elevator lobby or some other section of the office, and to make sure he spent a few minutes conversing with her each time. Such encounters, brief though they had been, were all part of his master plan to get closer to her, and when the time was right, to make her aware of his attraction towards her.

The timing of Andrew’s vacation - a week spent visiting his family in Seattle - had coincided perfectly with Ian’s plans for Tessa. And if his straitlaced PA had been startled when he had specifically requested that Tessa fill in during that week, Andrew had been far too disciplined to betray any emotion. He’d merely nodded, said something in reply like “Very well, Mr. Gregson”, and gone on about his routine. But he could only imagine what sort of thoughts must have gone through his quick-witted PA’s head - especially since Ian had always been adamant that Tessa was
not
to be considered as a temporary replacement.

All of that was different now, though, given her soon to be single status. Ian didn’t have to struggle with the moral dilemma of lusting after a married woman, didn’t have to avoid her or treat her with his usual distant formality. He could finally allow himself the luxury of having her close by, of smiling at her, talking to her, and subtly, carefully, make her aware of his true feelings.

Though the need for discretion, of course, would still be more important than ever. No one in the office, except for Tessa herself, could ever guess that he was so attracted to her. And if things unfolded according to all of his carefully laid out plans, the two of them would have to be extremely secretive about the relationship he fully intended for them to have. Eventually, she would need to leave the company so that they could be together freely.

But he was getting ahead of himself here, he realized. He was still weeks, if not months, away from such an occurrence. In the meanwhile, he was intent on making the most of this all-too-brief week with Tessa, and he wasn’t going to waste even a moment of it.

It wasn’t in his reserved, formal nature to actively flirt with a woman, and the few times in his life he had actually tried to do so he’d felt silly and more than a little embarrassed. But he had rather deliberately flirted with Tessa all day today, albeit in discreet, subtle ways. He chuckled now as he recalled the way her blue eyes had widened in surprise at a few of his lightly teasing comments, or how her cheeks had flushed whenever he’d given her a wink or a warm smile. She was so adorably shy that she’d been visibly flummoxed by this uncharacteristic behavior from him, and had only been able to stammer or stare most times in response.