He left just as quickly as he arrived, not giving her an opportunity to reply, and she was just about to resume working on the spreadsheet currently displayed on her monitor when she glanced over at Shelby. The other girl was in tears, practically wringing her thin hands in despair, and Tessa took pity on her.

“Anything I can help with?” she asked gently.

Shelby shook her head. “N-n-no. It’s my fault, I know it is. I was in a hurry to meet my sister for lunch yesterday and didn’t check my work, just like Andrew said. I should know better, I guess.”

Tessa nodded sympathetically. “My former boss used to make me re-check everything I did three or four times, no matter how simple it was. It was a good lesson to learn.” She paused before offering, “If you’d like, I can look it over once you’re through making your updates. It never hurts to have a second pair of eyes.”

Shelby brightened some, wiping her eyes. “Really? I mean, I know you’ve got your hands full with all of those horrid spreadsheets. I don’t want to bother you.”

“Can one of the others look it over? Gina or Alicia maybe?”

Shelby snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding. Gina would just say it’s not her job, while Alicia would be mean enough to say everything was fine even if she caught a mistake.”

“I’ll be happy to give it a lookover then. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

Shelby smiled. “You’re really nice, Tessa. I’m glad Andrew hired you. And Mr. Gregson is going to like you a lot. Not just because you can do all of those fancy Excel functions he wants, but, well, you’re quiet and don’t gossip and work really hard. He’s the sort who admires all that.”

“I hope he’ll like me,” agreed Tessa. “I know Andrew was a little hesitant to give me this job because I don’t have a college degree or much experience. But I didn’t think any of us really had a lot to do with Mr. Gregson on a regular basis.”

“We don’t. Not really. But he’s the sort who never misses a trick, you know? When he looks at you, it’s like he knows everything about you. Kind of eerie in a way. But of course he’s so yummy that you never mind him looking your way, no matter what the reason.”

They both returned their focus to their respective projects then, but Tessa couldn’t help wondering for the remainder of the day if Shelby’s words would prove to be true. Would Mr. Gregson in fact like her and admire her work? Or would he concur with Andrew’s initial impression and think her too inexperienced to work at this level?

With a renewed focus, she attacked the next of the spreadsheets on the list, pleased to see that she now had fewer than ten to go.

It was already half an hour past her normal quitting time, and once again she was the only one remaining of the team still working. But as she began to shut down her computer, it was with a sense of tremendous satisfaction, since she had done the near-impossible and finished every single report update in time for Mr. Gregson’s return tomorrow morning.

She was tired, albeit pleasantly so, and as she gathered her things up she debated on whether she wanted to fit a workout in or simply head straight home. Tessa had been delighted to discover that there was an employee fitness room located three floors below the executive level, and that it was well equipped with various cardio machines, free weights, exercise balls, and other equipment. She’d already made use of the facilities several times, and had brought along a set of workout clothes with her this morning.

There was no reason for her to rush home, acknowledged Tessa glumly. Peter had left town three days ago, flying out to his first official assignment in Beijing and then Shanghai, and wouldn’t be back home for almost three weeks. She’d resolved to stay as busy as possible during his absence, knowing that it was something she was going to have to get used to quickly. Spending as little time as possible alone in the tiny apartment was one of her coping mechanisms, so as she made her way towards the elevators she decided to go ahead with her workout.

But she stopped short just prior to entering the elevator lobby, shuddering a bit as she overheard Jason Baldwin’s voice. Tessa quickly ducked behind the archway leading to the elevators so that he wouldn’t see her as he continued chatting on his cell phone. She waited nervously until she saw him step inside an elevator car, and then breathed a sign of relief as the doors closed behind him.

Even so, she waited another full minute before pressing the down button to call another car, not daring to take the chance of encountering the man. Almost from the first day she’d started working here, Mr. Baldwin had been giving her very interested looks and equally suggestive smiles. She grimaced now to recall how tightly he’d squeezed her hand when they had first been introduced, and how he had told her “It’s a great pleasure to have you here with us, Tessa. And it will be an even greater pleasure to work with you – frequently, I hope.”

The innuendo in his deliberately sexy voice had been unmistakable, even to someone as relatively naïve as Tessa, and she’d learned quickly to avoid him as much as possible. Her resolve had strengthened when Kevin had told her about Sarah – her predecessor – and how a seemingly innocent flirtation with Jason had evolved into outright harassment, and Sarah’s eventual transfer out of the corporate office.

“So watch yourself around him, sweetie pie,” Kevin had cautioned. “Especially since you’re a whole lot prettier than Sarah was. A shark like Jason Baldwin would eat you up alive.”

Tessa had frowned upon hearing what had happened to Sarah. “I don’t understand why Sarah was the one who had to leave. Didn’t she complain to HR or Mr. Gregson? I mean, it sounds like she had grounds to file a sexual harassment suit.”

Kevin had shook his head. “Don’t you know? Jason is part of the Gregson family, at least through marriage. His father-in-law is Richard Gregson, the co-CEO of the company. No way is the old man going to have his grandkids’ daddy put out of a job. Rumor has it that this isn’t the first time the company bigwigs have swept this sort of thing under the table for lover boy Jason.”

“He’s a married man?” Tessa had been aghast. “And he flirts like that with all these women?”

Kevin had assured her that she was far from the only attractive female in the office that Jason had targeted. He’d hit on both Alicia and Gina multiple times, but the two of them had been careful never to let things progress beyond a very mild flirtation. Kevin had gone on to share the conjecture that Jason slept off and on with Morgan Cottrell, in addition to other women here at the corporate offices.