Gina smirked. “She still talks about doing that all the time. The fact that she hasn’t actually quit must mean she doesn’t think he’d ask her out regardless.”

Alicia threw a wadded-up piece of paper at her roommate. “Hah, hah. I haven’t noticed you turning in your resignation, either.”

Gina shrugged. “I’ve got my hands full with Alex at the moment. He’s not as hunky as His Hotness, and of course nobody’s even half as rich, but he’ll do for now.”

Kevin heaved a dramatic sigh. “Well, whoever the lucky lady he escorted last night was she’s probably wobbling around this morning. If that man isn’t built like a bull, I’d be shocked speechless. And for me, you know, that’s saying something. No pun intended.”

Shelby emitted one of her annoyingly chirpy little giggles. “What’s that saying about a man’s shoe size? I’ll bet he wears at least a size thirteen.”

Kevin cackled with glee, and for the next twenty minutes the conversation turned downright bawdy as he, Shelby, Gina and Alicia continued to speculate on Mr. Gregson’s sexual prowess. Tessa kept her attention focused on the report she was working on, trying desperately to conceal the embarrassment she felt and the flush that stained her cheeks. It certainly wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before – or much worse after sitting next to Kevin for two years. But she was more embarrassed for Mr. Gregson than herself, finding this talk about the size of his “equipment”, or how many women he’d nailed, or what sexual position he would probably prefer, to be completely disrespectful to a man who wasn’t just their boss and part of the family who owned this company, but a kind, dignified and almost regal man. If Mrs. Carrington could overhear even a snippet of their crude commentary she would fire every one of them on the spot.

Tessa missed the cantankerous office manager who had been her boss, her mentor, her friend, and at times her surrogate mother. She doubted any of her co-workers would last a day with Mrs. C., and the stern office manager would certainly be outraged to hear the gossip being spread about Mr. Gregson. Tessa only wished she had the nerve to stand up and tell her co-workers to shut up, that they were being horrible, rude people to discuss such a dignified gentleman like Mr. Gregson like he was some sleazy gigolo. Like that nasty, creepy Jason Baldwin, for example.

She shuddered at the very thought of her tormentor, and forced his smirking image from her mind. Fortunately, she hadn’t presented him with the opportunity to harass her as of late, making sure she stayed out of his path. And somehow, as though he had radar, Andrew always seemed to appear whenever Jason was being especially obnoxious, leaving Jason to mutter something like “here’s your guard dog again” before slinking off.

It was close to ten a.m. when Mr. Gregson arrived at the office after his morning appointment. Tessa could hear him greeting other employees before he reached her cubicle, his crisp British accent giving her a little thrill as usual.

“Ah, His Hotness is finally here,” said Kevin in a stage whisper. “It’s show time, ladies.”

Six heads popped up simultaneously as Ian Gregson walked past their cubicles with his long-legged, supremely confident stride. He gave the team an almost perfunctory nod, greeting them with a “Good morning, ladies. And Kevin.”

There followed a rousing chorus of “Good morning, Mr. Gregson”, including Tessa’s own softly murmured reply. And then he continued on his way to his office, leaving half a dozen admiring gazes trailing in his wake.

Gina sighed. “God, he just gets hotter with every passing year. Most men get fat and gray as they age but not him.”

“He’s wearing the Savile Row suit today,” volunteered Alicia. “And wearing it very well, I might add.”

Kevin sniffed. “We’d all look good if we wore custom sewn five thousand dollar suits. Unfortunately, most of us are doomed to shop at Banana Republic for the rest of our lives.”

The mere thought of spending so much money on just one suit was so far beyond Tessa’s scope that she failed to comprehend the idea. Her entire wardrobe – including underwear and shoes – wasn’t worth the total of that sum. It was yet one more fact that widened the cultural gap between her and someone as splendid as Ian Gregson.

The rest of the morning went by quickly. Tessa had received the data she needed from Andrew, and was busily constructing the intricate spreadsheets. But as she was reviewing the completed sheets before sending them on to Andrew, she frowned, for one of the pie charts didn’t look quite right. Remembering Mrs. Carrington’s teachings to proofread everything at least three times, Tessa checked and re-checked the data Andrew had sent her, and was flummoxed over where the chart discrepancy was originating from. She hated to bother Andrew with anything, fearful that he would see her as incompetent. But she wasn’t about to send an incorrect file to Mr. Gregson, either, so she printed out the offending sheet along with the back-up data, knowing that Andrew would prefer looking at the physical sheets rather than a computer monitor. It was already past the noon hour, and half of the team was at lunch. Marisol was off making photocopies, which left just Shelby and Tessa to mind the fort.

“I need to ask Andrew about one of these reports,” Tessa told her co-worker. “Are you okay here by yourself for a few minutes?”

Shelby visibly trembled at the mere mention of her tormentor. “God, poor you, having to deal with the Ice Man. Maybe you should put a sweater on so he doesn’t give you frostbite.”

Tessa merely smiled and headed towards Andrew’s office. The PA had his own private space just outside of Mr. Gregson’s expansive office suite, and the space was as tidy and organized as it always was. Except that Andrew himself was nowhere in sight. Tessa knew that he took his lunch break at precisely one p.m. every day, so she guessed he was off doing some task for Mr. Gregson.

She bit her bottom lip uncertainly, not wanting to just hang around as though she had nothing better to do. She was in the middle of jotting a detailed note to leave for Andrew with the reports when a voice from just behind startled her.

“Tessa. This is a surprise to see you here. Was there something you needed?”

She dropped the pen she’d picked up from Andrew’s desk abruptly, and looked up as Ian Gregson appeared by her side. Tessa immediately felt like all of the air had been sucked out of her lungs, and she suddenly forgot how to breathe. He had this effect on her every single time she got within a few feet of him, and she felt her cheeks flush, hoping wildly that she wouldn’t say something stupid.