Splendor (Inevitable #2) (2 page)

And, as if that wasn’t sufficient cause, Andrew had another weapon in his arsenal. “Also, Tessa comes very highly recommended by her previous manager – a Mrs. Francine Carrington.”

That
name got Ian’s attention and he stared at Andrew in mild shock. Andrew realized he’d seen his normally unflappable boss show more emotion in the past ten minutes that in the entire three years they had worked together.

A slow smile crossed Ian’s features. “It’s hard to imagine Mrs. C. recommending anyone, much less highly so. Let me see that letter, please.”

After scanning the sheet of paper, his smile broadened. “Well, I suppose that settles it, then. If Tessa made this sort of impression on Mrs. C. – the toughest boss
I
ever had – then she must be qualified. There’s just one more thing, then.”

Andrew raised a brow expectantly, wondering what else his boss could possibly object to. “What’s that, sir?”

Ian grimaced. “Keeping her as far away from that bastard Jason Baldwin as possible. He’ll think Christmas and his birthday have arrived wrapped up in one big shiny package when he sees Tessa for the first time. We are
not
going to have a repeat of the Sarah incident with Tessa. Not to mention the previous two sexual harassment incidents my uncle swept under the rug.”

“Three, sir. There were actually three incidents on his record prior to this most recent one with Sarah,” pointed out Andrew. “But in regards to Tessa, I doubt that Mr. Baldwin will bother her under the circumstances.”

Ian frowned. “What circumstances would those be?”

“Tessa is married, sir. Hopefully that knowledge will keep all the males in this office at bay – whether they happen to be married themselves or not.”

Ian thought he’d received all the shocks one person could handle in one day, but the knowledge that the beautiful, golden girl - who had caught his attention like no other woman ever had before - belonged to another man was almost enough to knock him on his arse. “Married?” he repeated hoarsely. “How is that possible? I mean – she’s too damned young to be married.”

“I happen to agree, sir, but the fact of the matter is that she’s a married woman. Married to a Peter Lockwood. He’s evidently a journalist.”

“Children?”

Andrew glanced up from Tessa’s personnel file in surprise at the almost desperate tone of his boss’ voice. “No, sir. At least none that she listed as covered dependents for her medical insurance. And I’ve spent a good deal of time showing her the ropes these past two weeks so the topic of any children would certainly have come up. An unplanned pregnancy is most likely not the reason she got married so young.”

‘No,’ thought Ian with a sense of near-despair. ‘Her husband is probably as young and attractive as she is, and the boy wisely snatched her up before someone else could. Lucky little bastard.’

Andrew left his office moments later, leaving Ian to mull over everything they had just discussed. Almost without being aware of his actions, he pulled up the employee directory for the Tucson resort on his computer and dialed in directly to the woman who’d once put the fear of God into his nineteen-year-old heart.

“I was wondering when I might hear from you, young Ian,” greeted the austere, no-nonsense voice of Francine Carrington. “I assume from this long overdue call to your former manager that you’ve met Tessa.”

Ian couldn’t help chuckling, recalling as though it were yesterday the first time he’d met the very intimidating and extremely daunting Mrs. Carrington. She had been in charge of the entire administrative staff at the company’s worldwide headquarters in London, and Ian had been assigned to work under her direction during his summer break from Oxford. He and his brothers had been required since the time they entered their teens to learn the family business from the ground up. That meant spending school breaks working at one of the hundreds of worldwide properties owned by the Gregson Group, and most assuredly not at a cushy, executive level position. Ian and his siblings – Hugh and Colin – had all worked a wide variety of jobs – bellhop, front desk clerk, gardener, housekeeping, janitor, hotel laundry, and busboy. As they grew older and graduated from university, they had moved on to desk jobs and began the long, gradual climb up the managerial and executive ladders until each had achieved the position of Managing Director. Hugh, as the eldest, oversaw all of their European properties; Ian was in charge of the North and South American hotels and resorts; Colin, the youngest, worked out of their Hong Kong offices and was responsible for the Asian and South Pacific divisions.

Ian had learned a great deal from his formative years working in a variety of entry level and clerical jobs, but never as much as he had the one summer he’d spent under Mrs. C’s stern eye. She cared not a whit that he was the company founder’s grandson, and gave him zero leeway or tolerance. Like all of the employees under her direction, he’d been terrified of her and had done his utmost to abide by her strict rules of conduct and live up to her lofty expectations. But her Draconian-like rules had had the desired affect his father and uncle had hoped for – Ian and his siblings had emerged from their summers under Mrs. C’s direction as capable, steadfast employees, ready to take on any task.

He’d kept in touch with Mrs. C. over the years, exchanging emails and popping in for a quick visit whenever he was in London. He recalled now that she had requested a transfer to the Tucson resort several years ago since her husband suffered from some type of pulmonary disease and would benefit from the drier climate of Arizona.

“Yes, I’ve met your dear Tessa,” agreed Ian. “For a few moments I found it hard to believe that the Mrs. C. I knew could ever write such a glowing recommendation for anyone. So initially I had to assume that either the letter was forged or that you’d gone soft.”

“Pah!” exclaimed Francine in mild disgust. “You know me better than that, boy. If anything I’ve become crankier and even harder to please in my old age. As for forging a letter, Tessa is the very last person who would think of doing something so unethical. The girl is the most timid little thing I’ve ever met, afraid of her own shadow half the time.”

Ian drummed his long fingers on his desk. “So everything you detailed in your letter is true, then?”

“Every word. She’s a good girl, Tessa is. Hardest worker I’ve ever seen, never slacks off, doesn’t gossip – which you know I detest – no excuses, never late. She dragged herself in once sick as a dog and wouldn’t leave until she’d finished some reports.” Francine’s voice quieted as she added, “You know how difficult it is to earn my respect, Ian, and Tessa has it in spades. She’ll make an excellent addition to your staff. You’re lucky to have her. Meanwhile, I’m left to deal with the nitwit who was hired to replace her. Useless, annoying girl – I give her two months tops before I have to fire her or she runs out of here crying.”

Ian couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Go easy on her, Mrs. C. It sounds like your Tessa is going to be a hard act to follow.”

“She’s
your
Tessa now, my boy. And you’d better treat her well. She’s - ” Francine hesitated. “Well, let’s just say she’s had a rough time of it in her young life. I admire her all the more for how she’s overcome her misfortune.”

“What sort of misfortune?”

“I can’t discuss that with you, Ian, as I’m certain you know,” admonished Francine. “Not to mention I’m not sure that even I know all of it. Tessa is a very private person, not one to broadcast her life’s story around the office. Another admirable trait that I value. Just – go easy on the girl, Ian. Trust me, it won’t take you long at all to realize her value. Not to mention,” she added slyly, “she’s quite easy on the eye, isn’t she?”

Ian chose his next words carefully before replying. “She’s a lovely girl, yes. But is it really true that she’s already married at such a young age?”

Francine sighed. “Yes, it’s true. It’s – complicated, Ian. That’s all I can say on the matter. Tessa rarely discusses her husband but he definitely exists. Nice enough boy and she dotes on him, but there’s something a bit odd there.”

He decided not to question her further about Tessa’s marital status, not wanting to betray even the slightest indication to the extremely perceptive Mrs. C. that he was attracted to the girl.

“I am a bit worried about how Jason is going to act around her,” confessed Ian. He knew that Francine had met his smarmy cousin-in-law on more than one occasion, and that she had an extremely low opinion of him. “Tessa’s predecessor requested a transfer because of some difficulty with him.”

Francine’s voice was as biting as a whip crack. “Ian, promise me right now that you’ll keep that randy bastard Jason away from Tessa. If I learn that he’s so much as blinked at her the wrong way, I swear I’ll pack Oliver into the car along with my brand new shotgun and drive up there to deal with the little weasel myself. And I’m quite a good shot these days. They like their guns in Arizona.”

Ian smiled in spite of himself at the ferocity of Francine’s words. “You’re quite the protective mama bear about this girl, aren’t you?”

“She needs looking out for, Ian. More so than anyone I’ve ever met. So, please, do me the greatest favor and keep an eye on her, would you? Discreetly, of course, she can be quite stubborn when it comes to asking for help.”

“I promise,” he assured his former mentor gently. “And – thank you for sending her my way. If she managed to make this sort of impression on you, then I know she must be an excellent employee.”

They exchanged pleasantries for a few more minutes before bidding each other good-bye. Ian replaced his phone receiver then shut his eyes, massaging the beginnings of a headache he felt welling up near his temples.

‘Good Lord, what a disaster,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘How in the world are you going to cope with this one, mate?’

Against his will, the tempting image of Tessa invaded his thoughts once again. He longed to spread all of that glorious golden hair out against his pillow; to gently remove that discreetly sexy red dress and bare her lush, curvy body to his eager gaze; to wrap those long, shapely legs around his waist. Ian grew hard instantly as he imagined having her – nothing as crude as a quick, hard fuck - for Tessa was worth so much more than that. Instead, he would linger over her for hours, kissing, caressing, arousing, and making love to her over and over until he was finally sated. For a while, anyway, for he feared that Tessa was the sort of woman he could never truly have his fill of.

It would have been oh, so easy without the unexpected and inconvenient complication of her marital status. Had she been a single woman, the first thing he’d do would be to find her a job of equal pay and rank at another luxury hotel in San Francisco. The Gregson Group had a very strict policy forbidding managers and executives from dating an employee who could be deemed their subordinate, and frowned on employees in general dating each other. Ian in particular held himself to extremely high standards when it came to this rule. He’d fended off too many eager advances from female employees over the years, and each had received the message loud and clear. Except, of course, for the obnoxiously persistent Morgan Cottrell, his current Business Development Manager. When he’d transferred to San Francisco three years ago, the blonde had made it very clear on numerous occasions that she found him extremely attractive and would be open to any sort of after-hours relationship he liked. After several firm but polite brush-offs, he’d finally had to take the gloves off and let Ms. Cottrell know in no uncertain terms – and in a very icy tone – that if she wished to keep her elevated position in the company – or any position at all – that she’d keep her distance from now on. Morgan had been the model of professional decorum from that moment on.

After ensuring that Tessa was safely employed elsewhere, he would have pulled out all the stops to make her his own. Ian had rarely courted or seduced a woman before, for he’d never really had to make the effort. From the time he’d reached his teens, women had flocked to his side, attracted not only by his looks but by his money, his well-bred British family who could trace their roots back several centuries, and by his high-powered position in arguably the top luxury hotel chain in the world. He could at any given time have his pick of gorgeous women – executives, socialites, celebrities, models.

But Ian was picky and somewhat fastidious about his taste in women, unlike his brothers. Hugh had married his longtime sweetheart, a girl he’d met at university, and they’d been happily wed for years, parents to four children. Colin had been quite the notorious playboy for years, much to their mother’s dismay, until he, too, had finally settled down just two years ago. He was married to a strikingly beautiful Eurasian woman from Hong Kong and they were expecting their first child in a few months.

That left Ian as the only bachelor among his siblings, and he didn’t envision that status changing anytime soon. Since his one failed engagement more than six years ago, he’d kept busy with work and hadn’t really let himself think about settling down.

That is, until a ridiculously young, breathtakingly beautiful, and delightfully sweet girl had tentatively walked into his office a short time ago. He’d known – just
known
somehow – that she had been made for him. It had been the biggest shock of his life to realize that she’d already been claimed by another man.

And now, he was going to have to man up and find some way to keep his wayward emotions under control in her presence. Transferring her out of the team would raise too many red flags, especially given her level of competency and the shockingly glowing recommendation from Mrs. C. Ian knew he’d have to call on every ounce of self-control he possessed to treat young Tessa in a professional but impersonal manner, to keep her and his rampaging desire for her at arm’s length at all times, and to remind himself constantly that she was strictly forbidden to him for more reasons than he wanted to count.

‘Damn it,’ he cursed beneath his breath. ‘What in hell was Mrs. C. thinking of sending her my way? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that old witch was still trying to let me know who’s really in charge around here.’