“How are you, Tessa? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you here. I missed the last meeting due to an overlapping client appointment,” explained Julia.

“I’m well, thank you. I’d ask how you’re doing but I think that’s fairly obvious,” Tessa replied in a lightly teasing tone.

Julia’s smile deepened into a grin. “And here I thought Nathan and I were being discreet. I guess I just can’t help the way I look at him.”

“You’re in love. I don’t blame you for being happy. And Mr. Atwood is obviously just as crazy about you,” Tessa told her warmly.

Julia seemed inordinately pleased at Tessa’s comment. “Well, it took him long enough to admit it, but now that he has it’s awesome. It’s – well, you know how it is – you’re a married woman, after all.”

Tessa knew her visible reaction to Julia’s innocent observation must have been a dead giveaway, because Julia instantly clutched her arm in concern.

“Are you all right?” she asked worriedly. “My God, you look like you’re going to faint, Tessa.”

Tessa closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before shaking her head. “I’m – okay, yes. Thanks for asking. I’d, um – better finish cleaning up here, though. I need to get back to my desk soon.”

But Julia wasn’t so easily dissuaded. “I’m so sorry if I said anything to upset you. Look, do you want to talk about it? Why don’t we have lunch together? What time do you normally take your break?”

“Um, at one o’clock. But I – that is, I always bring my lunch every day. I don’t think –” stammered Tessa. It would be too humiliating to confess that she couldn’t afford to eat lunch out.

Julia seemed to sense her dilemma and laid a small, gentle hand on Tessa’s forearm. “My treat. There’s a cute little café about a block from here that I love. Nathan thinks it’s too fussy and never wants to eat there with me. But they have really yummy desserts so you’d be doing me a huge favor if you’d go with me.”

Tessa hesitated, not at all convinced that Julia wasn’t just feeling sorry for her. It had to be quite obvious to the always beautifully dressed designer – with her chic sheath dresses, sexy high heels, and perfectly coordinated accessories – that Tessa wasn’t exactly in the same sort of financial circumstances. Her own clothes were very plain and inexpensive, and someone who had an eye for fashion like Julia did would have been sure to pick up on that fact. The navy pencil skirt and simple navy pumps were both items she wore often, though the pretty yellow blouse with the ruffle down the front was new. It had been an impulse buy a couple of weeks ago – a futile attempt to cheer herself up. Fortunately the blouse had cost less than ten dollars on a clearance rack at Forever 21.

“I don’t know,” she demurred, looking down at her shoes. “I do have a lot of work to do.”

“Do you want me to clear it with Andrew?” offered Julia. “He doesn’t scare me in the least, you know, even though everyone else around here seems to be terrified of him.”

Tessa gave a little laugh, probably the first time she’d done so in a month. “Andrew’s not so bad. He just has high expectations. The first manager I had when I joined the company was much worse than he was. And – no, I don’t need to check with him. I’d like to have lunch with you, thanks. Where should I meet you?”

Julia beamed and gave her the name and address of the little bakery café, arranging to meet just after one o’clock. She wrinkled her nose in distaste a moment later, though, as she glanced across the conference room.

“God, that guy gives me the creeps,” she confided in a hushed tone. “At one of last month’s meetings he actually came up to me afterwards and put his arm around my waist. I thought Nathan was going to break a couple of his fingers.”

Tessa followed Julia’s gaze and frowned. “Ah, Mr. Baldwin. Yes, he has something of a reputation around here. You’re lucky you have your boyfriend to watch out for you.”

“Does he harass you, too?” asked Julia in concern.

Tessa shrugged, trying not to betray both her distaste and fear of Jason. “He tries, but I do my best to avoid him. I think Andrew’s been told to keep him away from all the women on this floor.”

“Hmm, I can see why. It doesn’t seem to concern him in the least if a woman is married or otherwise spoken for, does it? And he must think he’s God’s gift to women, but he isn’t that good looking,” sniffed Julia. “My Nathan is ten times more attractive. And I can’t understand why any woman in this office would look twice at a creep like Jason Baldwin when they have a hunk like Ian to stare at instead.”

Tessa cursed her fair skin as she felt a warm flush stain her cheeks. Aware that Julia must expect some sort of response, she stammered awkwardly, “Um, yes. I – uh, agree.”

To mask the sudden discomfort she felt at the mention of Ian’s name, Tessa turned her attention back to cleaning up the refreshment table. Julia thankfully took the hint and left, reminding her about their lunch engagement at one o’clock.

But a few minutes later, after everyone else had left the room, Tessa pondered the wisdom of going to lunch with the very perceptive Julia. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the bubbly, beautiful designer. On the contrary, Julia had been exceedingly kind to her from the very first time they had met back in February. Tessa was flattered by Julia’s attention, for she didn’t really have any friends of her own, especially no one as pretty and outgoing as Julia. Tessa just knew somehow that Julia had been one of the popular girls in high school, while Tessa had always been a loner, an outsider.

She thankfully wasn’t as socially awkward as she’d been back then – years of working so closely with others had helped improve her social skills a lot – but she was still extremely shy and not especially clever at conversation. Tessa just hoped she wouldn’t be too boring for the vivacious Julia. Plus, Tessa was more than a little concerned that Julia suspected something was bothering her, given the way she had reacted to the comment about being married. And while Julia was certainly friendly, she wasn’t exactly a friend, either, at least not one that Tessa felt able to confide in just yet.

She had just finished tidying up the conference room, and was about to return to her desk, when Ian Gregson strode briskly into the room. He stopped short at seeing her, his expression as reserved and impassionate as always.