“You can return to your seat now.”

Tessa nearly sprang to her feet at Andrew’s rather terse command, and was quick to comply. He sat back down behind his desk, made a few more notes on his pad, and then gave her a brief nod.

“All right, then. I’m prepared to give you a ninety-day trial in the position. If it doesn’t work out, then of course you’ll still be able to transfer to another job locally. But I believe you’ll do quite well, Tessa,” he acknowledged. “In spite of your lack of schooling, you’re bright and articulate and seem like the quiet, serious sort. I think that you and I can work well together. Provided, of course, that you’re willing to work very hard and abide by our code of conduct here.”

Andrew’s particular “code of conduct” consisted of not just a corporate dress code – a double-sided sheet of paper that he handed to her – but also an intolerance for tardiness or unexcused absences; a very strong dislike of any sort of gossip; the discouragement of discussing any sort of personal business while at the office; and not performing the tasks assigned on a timely and efficient basis.

“When can you start?”

Tessa fought mightily to not laugh in delight with the realization that she’d just landed a very plum spot with the company, one that she would never have imagined she’d even be considered for. “Tomorrow? Right now, if you need me,” she offered.

Andrew’s tight-lipped mouth actually quirked up very slightly at her enthusiastic reply. “It’s already Thursday afternoon,” he stated. “Monday will be fine. Eight a.m. sharp, please. And be ready to go. Get your coffee, bathroom stop, whatever, taken care of before you arrive.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Doherty,” she told him quietly. “I promise that you won’t regret hiring me. I’ll work harder than anyone who’s ever been on the team before.”

“Good. Music to my ears,” he replied dryly. “And it’s Andrew, not Mr. Doherty. Have a pleasant weekend, Tessa, and rest up. You’ll need to be on your toes all the time in order to succeed in this job.”

She stood when he did, reaching a hand across the desk to him. “I’ll be sure to do that – Andrew. And – thank you. Thank you so much for taking a chance on me. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Tessa had to contain herself from skipping out of Andrew’s office with glee, so delighted that she wanted to laugh out loud. Securing such a high level position had definitely not been something she’d ever allowed herself to hope for, or even consider. Based on the conversations she’d had with Mrs. C. before leaving Tucson, the best Tessa had expected was obtaining an administrative assistant position for some lower level manager. Working on the executive floor was far, far beyond anything she could have imagined. She could hardly wait to get home and call Mrs. C. to share the exciting news. And to think that she would actually be working for him made her feel giddy all over.

She hadn’t permitted herself to look at his photo on the corporate website for months now, having felt incredibly guilty and disloyal to Peter every time she did so. The erotic dreams in which he had been featured had also begun to diminish in both frequency and detail. But when she’d made the decision to move to San Francisco with Peter and pursue a job at the company’s regional offices, Tessa hadn’t been able to help herself from wondering if she would ever catch a glimpse of the compelling Mr. Gregson, or possibly even have occasion to speak to him.

Now, by some incredible stroke of good luck, she would actually be working directly for Ian Gregson. Well, not directly for him – Andrew, of course, was his PA – but she assumed there would be numerous opportunities to see and interact with the man himself. And she was going to have to find a way to keep herself from staring at him like some lovesick teenager whenever they were in the same room, or, worse – stammering and stuttering like she had no common sense whatsoever.

Peter wasn’t at home when she let herself into their apartment. Tessa knew he still had a lot of things to take care of before leaving on his very first assignment in less than a week – securing the visas he would need, buying some travel toiletries and other essentials, attending meetings and orientations at the local office. She would have to wait and share her good news with him until he returned, but knew that he wouldn’t mind in the least if she updated Mrs. Carrington on her job situation.

Mrs. C. did not like email, and used it as little as possible. She had often declared it to be wholly responsible – along with text messaging - for the decline in polite conversation and the almost complete absence of letter writing. So Tessa knew better than to email her former boss and picked up the phone instead.

“I knew you would make a good impression today,” Mrs. Carrington told her in a rather smug voice. “After all, my girl, you were trained by the best, weren’t you? Though even I must admit that I never thought you’d actually get to work on the executive floor immediately. It was your Excel skills that did the trick, Tessa. Aren’t you glad now that you took my advice about attending the extra training?”

“Yes, of course I am,” replied Tessa. “And grateful for everything you taught me these last three years. I’m just hoping I don’t make a huge mistake on my first day, or make a bad impression on Mr. Gregson.”

“Impossible,” huffed Mrs. Carrington. “Don’t forget that Ian worked for me one summer when he was nineteen, the same age you were when you started. He’s most definitely serious, hardworking, and all business, but he’s also very kind and always a gentleman. And he will like you, Tessa. You exhibit the exact sort of characteristics that he admires most in his employees. Speaking of which.”

For the next quarter of an hour, Mrs. C. proceeded to remind her of proper office etiquette and how she should conduct herself when she started on Monday. “You were told to be there at eight o’clock, yes? Arrive at seven forty-five instead. Don’t take your full lunch break, come back several minutes early. Strive to be the last of your team to leave each day, and definitely never the first. No personal phone calls – ever – unless it’s a dire emergency. And needless to say, none of that silly emailing or texting or whatever it is you young people like to do these days. The word gossip is not in your vocabulary, so of course you won’t even think of engaging in something so distasteful. And I assume you’re still adhering to the dress code?”