But it had all been for naught, because he hadn’t felt a damned thing for any of the women he’d dated. Every one of them had been beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent, and well-educated – on paper, at least, a perfect fit for someone like himself. He had spent an enjoyable evening with each woman, conversing easily over dinner and then enjoying the symphony or the theater. But then, when it had come time to take his date home, he’d felt no urge whatsoever to take things further than a chaste goodnight kiss, despite the eager promise in the woman’s eyes, or her bold attempt to seduce him. There had been nothing there, not even a flicker of physical attraction, and he’d cursed anew beneath his breath at the realization that his obsession with the breathtaking blonde in his office had well and truly done him in.

He wasn’t prepared to give up quite so easily, though, and had a couple of other dates set up over the next weeks. And when he flew to England in December for the holidays, he had vowed to look up a former lover or two in the hopes that he could reignite the flame between them. Something – anything – needed to happen soon in order for him to get over this ridiculous fixation.

Ian remained behind once the meeting wrapped up to chat with a few of the others present. Out of the corner of his eye, he could observe Tessa begin the tidying-up process, and tried very, very hard to keep his lusty gaze from lingering on the delectable curve of her ass. He’d thought more than once that she truly had the perfect figure – at least, in his opinion – and wouldn’t want to change one damned thing about the sensual body that was both curvy and toned at the same time.

As she bent over to retrieve a napkin from the floor, Ian had to resist the urge to gulp – or stare – or, even worse, drool. The motion unwittingly caused the wrap front of her dress to gap away from her skin, exposing a tempting amount of cleavage. Fortunately for her sake no one else seemed to notice, and equally fortunately for his sake she stood up quickly, and he released the breath he’d been holding for several long seconds.

But when she began to clear empty plates and cups off the conference table, it didn’t take long for Keegan Whittaker – the newest member of Ian’s management team – to take notice.

“Now, that’s a damned pity for sure,” he commented wryly. “And such a waste, don’t you think, Ian?”

Ian frowned at Keegan, who was also the youngest member of the management staff. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Keegan shook his auburn head. “Your new girl over there. Tess, I believe her name is? She’s got every man in this place panting after her, but what’s the use when she’s already spoken for? Some of us have a bet going on that her husband is some sort of big, buff athletic sort or a male model. He’d have to be something special to have snagged a prize like her.”

Ian struggled mightily to keep his raging temper from boiling over. “Her name is Tessa,” he replied in a taut, strained voice. “And I would strongly advise both you and every other male in this office to treat her with the utmost respect. Not only is she a married woman, she’s also a member of my support team and I won’t stand for any of them to be harassed. Do I make myself clear, Keegan?”

Keegan gulped, visibly intimidated by both the icy tone of his boss’s voice and what Ian surmised must have been an equally stern expression on his face. “Of – of course, Ian. And I, ah, meant no disrespect, sir. It’s just – well, there’s no denying that she’s a beautiful woman. Every one of us envies that husband of hers.”

‘Including me,’ thought Ian sourly. ‘But give whoever the man is some credit for snatching up a prize like Tessa before someone else could. I just hope he realizes how lucky he is to have her, and that he treats her like a queen.’

If she was his, he would lavish her with anything and everything her heart desired – clothes, jewels, cars, luxurious vacations. She would be pampered and cherished, waited on hand and foot, and would certainly not have to clean up after other people as she was doing now.

But she wasn’t his, and for the first time in many years Ian felt helplessly out of control, realizing that his money and power and authority wouldn’t be enough to get him what he wanted. Always before he’d found a way to make things happen according to his plans, had never been denied what he wanted, and it was a frustrating, rather humbling experience at this point in his life to have reached such an insurmountable stumbling block.

He’d been back in his office for several minutes, going over some notes for an afternoon conference call, when there was a tentative rap on his office door. He glanced up, startled to see Tessa hovering uncertainly in the open doorway, a nervous expression on her face.

“Um, I’m s-sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gregson,” she said haltingly. “An-Andrew isn’t at his desk and I thought you might need this, sir. You – you left it behind in the conference room.”

She was holding out the black leather portfolio that he always carried with him. It had been a gift from his parents when he’d first begun working for the company right after graduating from university. The well-worn portfolio was embossed in gold with his initials, and held both a writing pad and the classic Montblanc fountain pen that was his favorite.

Ian stood and held out a hand as Tessa walked over to his desk. “My thanks, Tessa,” he replied smoothly. “I’m not normally so forgetful. I suppose I was just distracted when I left the meeting.”

He didn’t add, of course, that she was the reason he’d been so distracted, and likely why he had rushed out of the conference room willy-nilly.

Tessa nodded as she handed him the portfolio. “I expect you’re very busy, Mr. Gregson. Is – is there anything in particular I might be able to help with?”

Once again her offer was completely innocent – and genuine – and not some immature attempt to flirt with him. Ian wondered wryly if Tessa even knew the meaning of the term double entendre, much less how to use one. He gazed across his desk at her, taking a moment to fully appreciate her youthful beauty, to stare into the fathomless depths of her enormous blue eyes before dropping to the lush fullness of her glossy pink lips.

He wrenched his gaze away as he took the portfolio from her, shaking his head. “I appreciate the offer, Tessa, but there’s nothing at the moment. Which reminds me.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I’ve been meaning to commend you on the very fine work you’ve done on all of the spreadsheets. Andrew and I had nearly given up hope that we would ever find someone capable of handling that particular job. The reports are a tremendous help to me, so thank you for your hard work.”