Unlike Tessa herself, who admittedly didn’t look her best today. Because it was so cold outside, she’d worn one of her warmest outfits – a black and white checkered wool skirt paired with a plain black turtleneck sweater. Both pieces had been bought on clearance at a discount store, and the cheap fabric of the skirt already had tiny snags in several places. The sweater was a bit too snug after so many washings, and was the same one Alicia had made a rather snide comment about the first time she’d worn it to the office. Tessa’s own plain black pumps were low heeled and not the least bit sexy – unlike Julia’s towering stilettos. In her haste to get to the office this morning, she’d worn hardly any makeup – just a coat of mascara and some pale pink lipstick that had long since been worn off. She felt dowdy and plain when she compared herself to the glowing, perfectly put together Julia, and knew now how Cinderella must have felt huddled in her little corner by the fireplace – the corner where no one noticed her or paid her the slightest attention. The fairy tale had been one of her favorites growing up, the one she had most often begged Gillian to read to her. Somewhere along the way, however, during one of their many hasty moves, the book had been lost or left behind. It had probably, thought Tessa sadly, been right around the same time she’d stopped believing in fairy tales and begun to realize just how hard real life could be.

Once the meeting ended, a few of the attendees returned to their offices, but most of them stayed behind to converse in small groups. One such group consisted of Julia, Henri Bissette, Keegan Whittaker, and Ian. As Tessa began to discreetly clear away the dishes and cups from the table, she couldn’t help but overhear Tessa and Henri chatting in rapid French, with Ian joining in every so often. He was laughing, something he seldom did at these meetings, and Tessa couldn’t recall a time she had seen him in such a relaxed, jovial mood. Julia had quite obviously been responsible for this dramatic change in her normally reserved, very formal boss, bringing out an almost flirtatious side of him that Tessa had never seen before.

Tessa belatedly remembered that she’d hung Julia’s coat up, and went to retrieve it from the hallway closet. When she returned to the conference room, she froze in place as she observed Ian clasping Julia’s hand between his own, and smiling down at her warmly as she and Nathan made their farewells.

“What a delight it’s going to be to work with you, Julia,” Ian said with enthusiasm, then gave Nathan a quick wink. “You’ve got a real treasure here, Nathan. I hope you and Travis treat her well. Not only beautiful but extremely talented as well.”

Nathan gave him an answering smile. “Yes, I think we’re well aware of Julia’s talents.”

Once again Tessa sensed something simmering beneath the surface between Nathan and Julia, noticed how the interior designer’s cheeks flushed prettily at the compliment.

“Well, if they don’t treat you right, my dear, come and see me straightaway. I’d be honored to have you working for my company,” declared Ian.

“That’s very kind of you,” Julia replied, “but all is quite well at the moment.”

Tessa hovered in the background a bit uncertainly, Julia’s beautiful gray wool coat still in her arms as she waited for an opportune moment to hand it over. Ian happened to glance up just then, meeting her eyes all too briefly, and his expression sobered instantly. Gone was the warm smile he’d bestowed on Julia, replaced by the rather grim, austere face he normally presented.

Tessa felt like kicking herself for intruding on what had obviously been a personal conversation, and she wondered dejectedly if she’d interrupted Mr. Gregson from doing something like asking Julia for her phone number. Or inviting her out to dinner. Suddenly anxious to be anywhere but here, Tessa kept her eyes downcast as she held the coat out.

“I’ve brought your coat, Ms. McKinnon,” she said demurely. “I didn’t want you to forget it.”

Julia reached for her coat but Nathan beat her to it, holding it as she slid her arms inside. “Thank you, Tessa,” she told her gently. “And thank you for helping us out today.”

Tessa merely nodded as she felt her cheeks flush, all too aware of Ian’s unsmiling presence. “It was my pleasure,” she murmured, before hastily making her exit.

Terribly afraid that she’d displeased Mr. Gregson, Tessa made sure to remain firmly in the background as she tidied up the conference room. She refused to even glance in his direction again as she finished clearing off the big table, stacking the used dishes inside the large plastic tubs that the caterers would pick up later today, and covering the uneaten food with plastic wrap. It wouldn’t take long at all for the administrative staff to wander in here and whisk away plates of leftovers, something that Tessa had learned early on was an accepted practice.

One by one she returned the easels to the storage closet where they were kept, before retracting the screen used to display PowerPoint presentations. She grimaced to discover several smudges on the conference table, and retrieved the package of furniture wipes kept in one of the cabinets. Normally the night cleaning crew would have taken care of this, but she knew from the master schedule that Mr. Gregson had another meeting scheduled in this room later today, and that he wouldn’t be at all pleased if the table was left in this state. And since she had evidently already displeased him a short while ago, she took the task of polishing the table upon herself.

Tessa’s spine shivered with the sensation that someone was watching her as she worked, and she grimly assumed it was that lecher Jason, probably staring at her ass or her breasts and thinking up something obscene to murmur in her ear. She ignored whoever it was, intent on finishing up here and making her escape back to her cubicle, where she could retreat back into her safe little world.

‘Just like Cinderella scuttling back to her little corner by the fireplace,’ she thought tiredly. “Except that there’s no Prince Charming waiting around the corner to sweep you off your feet.’

Ian had clenched and unclenched his fist at least a dozen times already, struggling to control his anger and annoyance, and resisting the urge to pull Tessa away from her rather manic tidying up. It always bothered him to see her clearing away dishes and putting away equipment, as though she were nothing better than a waitress or a maid. But to covertly watch her scrubbing that damned table made him want to throw something across the room.