Kevin arched a brow at her. “I hope he knows how lucky he is to have a wife like you. Not just because you’re gorgeous and most men would kill to be in his shoes. But you’re understanding and supportive and, well, just plain nice. And maybe this isn’t any of my business but I think you deserve someone who pays you more attention than Peter seems to do.”

His phone buzzed with an incoming call before Tessa could think up a reply, but she would have vehemently denied everything Kevin had just said. Of course Kevin couldn’t even begin to know the whole story of her relationship with Peter, how much Peter had sacrificed for her, and all he had done to help her. If Kevin had known everything there was no possible way he would have said what he did.

But she couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful as she looked around at everyone’s flowers, couldn’t help being a little sad that she was the only one who would be alone on Valentine’s Day. She’d overheard all of their plans to celebrate tonight – Alicia was going to a black tie holiday ball, Gina to a party at a friend’s house, Kevin a dinner cruise on the bay, while Shelby and Marisol had plans to go out to dinner with their significant others. Whereas she – well, she’d be spending Valentine’s Day pretty much the same way she did every night when Peter was away on a business trip – alone and struggling to combat the loneliness and depression that tormented her.

She politely declined Kevin’s offer to go out to lunch, not wanting to accept his pity and also being aware that she had less than ten dollars in her wallet right now. Determined not to feel sorry for herself, Tessa made plans to watch one of her favorite movies this evening – Sleepless in Seattle – which was ideal for Valentine’s Day. She really couldn’t afford to get takeout, but she would make herself something yummy to eat – homemade nachos or chicken pot pie – and splurge just a bit by buying a cupcake at the bakery near her bus stop. Tomorrow morning she had plans to go for a hike along the trails in the Presidio, and on Sunday she’d found a free yoga class to attend. In between she had laundry to do and the apartment to tidy up and groceries to buy, and before she knew it the three-day weekend would fly by and she’d be back at work. And then, just over a week from now, Peter would return and she wouldn’t be alone for a little while.

It was early afternoon when yet another delivery man walked into their corner of the office, carrying a cut-crystal vase of the most breathtaking roses Tessa had ever seen. They weren’t the traditional red found in most Valentine’s Day arrangements, but rather a pure, snowy white with delicate pale pink tips. And somehow, shockingly, it seemed that the fabulous bouquet was for her.

She stared at the delivery man in stunned disbelief as he carefully placed the vase on her desk. “I think you’ve made a mistake,” she told him haltingly. “I really don’t think these are for me.”

The rather harried looking delivery man, who’d undoubtedly been working like a fiend all day long, shook his head impatiently. “If you’re Tessa Lockwood then there’s no mistake. See, your name is typed on the card.”

She plucked the small cardboard card from its plastic holder and saw her name was in fact typed on it. But there was nothing else to indicate who had sent them – no signature or message, not even the name of the florist on the card. The delivery man dashed off before she could quiz him further, and all she could do was touch the delicate blooms with reverence before taking a deep, appreciative sniff of their heady perfume.

“Omigod, I take it all back!” declared Kevin when he spied the beautiful arrangement. “Sweetie pie, these are gorgeous! So much more original than red roses, aren’t they? And that vase – holy crap. It’s the real deal, Tess, not just some cheap piece of glass. This is a bonafide Wedgewood vase, probably cost at least a couple hundred bucks.”

“What?” She stared at Kevin in alarm. “You’ve got to be joking.”

Kevin shook his head. “Nope. See, here’s the little logo. And, hang on a sec.” He quickly tapped some data into his smartphone and then triumphantly showed her a picture of what looked like the exact same vase. “Told you. Only my estimate was a bit off. It actually costs three hundred.”

Tessa ran a finger over the gleaming crystal, wondering who in the world could have sent her something like this. She knew, just knew, that it hadn’t been Peter. There was no way he would have spent that sort of money on two dozen hothouse roses, much less a horrendously expensive crystal vase. She wondered briefly if it could have been Kevin, but based on his startled reaction it was extremely doubtful. Did this mean she had a secret admirer somewhere that she was unaware of? The thought made her feel more than a little uneasy, especially when she wondered if perhaps the odious Jason Baldwin might have sent these to her.

Tessa shuddered at the thought, but sending her an expensive gift didn’t really seem to be Jason’s style. Instead, he tended to murmur suggestive, semi-obscene things in her ear, only to hurry away when he noticed Andrew approaching.

Just last week Jason had cornered her in the hallway as she was returning to her desk from the copy room, sliding an arm around her waist and whispering to her in a deliberately suggestive voice, “Every time you walk past my office all I can think about is bending you over my desk and shoving my cock inside your cunt, and then fucking you for a couple of hours. I get hard just thinking about it. And I’ll bet the idea is making you nice and wet, isn’t it, honey?”

Tessa had cringed in embarrassment at his crudity, and had very firmly removed his arm. “Please, Mr. Baldwin. You know this isn’t appropriate. I – I don’t want to file a complaint but I will if you keep saying those sort of things.”

It had taken all of her courage to work up the nerve to say something like that, but she was growing weary of his persistent attempts to flirt with her and repelled at the nastier comments he made.

But rather than react angrily, Jason had only hooted with laughter. “Complain to who, sweet thing? I’m one of the family, after all, and no one is going to give a bloody damn about anything an inconsequential little secretary has to say. So I’d advise you to keep your pretty little mouth shut, Tessa, because if you dare to complain I’ll see to it personally that you either get demoted or fired.”

She’d felt tears begin to well in her eyes, feeling both powerless and furious. But before she could think of a suitable retort, Andrew had thankfully come striding down the hallway, a rather fearsome scowl on his face.