She knew it was wrong – this crush or whatever it was she had on Ian Gregson. She wasn’t supposed to be attracted to other men, not when she was a married woman. It didn’t matter to Tessa that hers was far from a normal marriage, that it had been months since the last time she and Peter had even tried to be intimate, or that Peter himself had repeatedly urged her to seek out other men or divorce him so that she could finally have a real relationship. In her mind, she and Peter were in this for the long haul, for better or for worse, and that definitely didn’t include having the hots for her very – well, hot boss.

As if on cue, Ian chose that particular moment to enter the room with that long-legged, supremely confident stride of his. And also on cue, Tessa felt her heart begin to pound so hard that she could scarcely draw a breath. She wiped her suddenly moist palms off on a napkin, and automatically began to brew Mr. Gregson his tea. She made it the old fashioned way – just like Mrs. C. had taught her – spooning loose leaf tea into a stainless steel infuser, placing the infuser inside a cup, and then pouring boiling water over it. She let it steep for the allotted time before removing the infuser and setting it aside, then added a single lump of sugar to the brew.

Ian had already set his leather portfolio on the table but had yet to take his seat when she carefully brought the tea over. He was deep in conversation with a man and a woman who were strangers to her, but he glanced up as she set the cup and saucer down.

“Ah, Tessa. Thank you,” he replied in his usual formal, rather frosty manner. “While you’re here, allow me to introduce two of our guests today. This is Sonya Klimova, who’ll be the interior designer for the new hotel project. And this is Nathan Atwood, the lead architect and co-owner of the firm we’ve awarded the contract to. Sonya, Nathan – this is Tessa Lockwood, one of my management support team. If there’s anything you need for the meeting, don’t hesitate to let her know.”

Tessa shook hands briefly with the newcomers. Sonya was a woman of about medium height, more than a little plump, and was dressed all in black save for the shawl she’d intricately draped around herself. The silk garment was of a bold graphic print in a virtual palette of different colors, and provided relief to her otherwise stark ensemble. Sonya’s jet black hair was cut in a very short pixie style, framing a face that had been rather boldly made up – dramatic eye liner, darkly shadowed eyes, carmine lips. With her dozen or so jeweled bangle bracelets and drop earrings that nearly reached her collarbone, the forty-something Sonya was definitely on the flamboyant side, a not so unusual trait for someone in her field.

The older woman barely spared Tessa a glance, focusing her attention on Ian instead as she all but drooled over him – even though she was nearly ten years his senior, and most definitely not his usual type. But the architect – Nathan – smiled at Tessa kindly and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

“Great to meet you, Tessa,” he told her warmly. “Will you be attending all of our meetings in the future?”

“I, um, think so, yes,” she murmured. “I mean, I haven’t been told for certain but Andrew generally assigns us to oversee the same meetings each time. Can I get you anything, Mr. Atwood? Coffee, perhaps?”

Nathan shook his head. He had luxuriously thick dark brown hair, sparkling light blue eyes, and was easily one of the handsomest men Tessa had ever met. He was also kind, and a gentleman, his gaze remaining fixed on her face and never venturing downwards to not so subtly ogle her figure – the typical reaction she tended to receive from most men.

“I’m good for now, thanks. I’ll just help myself to something if I get hungry later. Looks like quite a spread from what I can see.”

Tessa nodded. “Yes. We always believe in doing things up with class. An extension of the service we provide at all of our hotels.”

Nathan grinned. “You should be doing PR for the company instead of organizing meetings. I’ll bet business would really boom with your face on some ads. I’ll suggest the idea to Ian.”

She knew he was just joking, merely being nice, but the compliment made her cheeks flush. “Ah, I’m not much for modeling, I’m afraid. But please be sure and let me know if I can get anything for you, Mr. Atwood.”

“Call me Nathan,” he insisted. “And thank you, Tessa. I look forward to working with you.”

He was both businesslike and sincere, and she sensed instinctively that she would never have to worry about him making inappropriate comments or flirting with her. Of course, someone as attractive and personable as he was undoubtedly had a girlfriend or maybe even a wife. Not to mention the fact that Nathan was likely eager to make a favorable impression on Ian and the rest of the executive staff, and flirting with the hired help would do little to advance his cause.

The meeting began right on time, as they were wont to due when Ian was in charge, and over the next couple of hours Tessa focused on her duties – namely taking notes at the appropriate times, making sure the food and beverage service was kept tidy, and fetching any supplies or equipment any of the attendees needed. She ignored Jason Baldwin’s grinning, leering smile as she reluctantly passed by his seat to assist Nathan with the projector screen he was using for a PowerPoint presentation. It made her skin crawl just to have Jason in the same room, and she always made sure to sit as far away from him as possible. At least, she thought with a sense of relief as she re-took her seat, there was no way Jason would dare to approach her in this roomful of people, and she resolved to not even glance in his direction.

But it wasn’t nearly as easy not to look frequently and rather longingly in Ian Gregson’s direction – discreetly, of course, and hopefully without being observed. She loved listening to him speak at these meetings, the deep, cultured tones of his very precise British accent more than enough to make her sigh. There was really nothing, she thought with a small smile, like a man with a really sexy accent. And Ian’s was all that and much, much more – almost hypnotic and most certainly compelling.

When he had the floor, no one else present dared to direct their attention anywhere but on him. There wasn’t a sound in the room when he was speaking, everyone’s eyes fixed attentively on him and focusing on every word that came out of his mouth. He commanded attention with little to no effort, his natural charisma drawing everyone in like moths to a flame. Tessa had yet to witness him raising his voice or losing his temper, and when it was someone else’s turn to speak he paid them full attention.