He’d had a very satisfactory arrangement set up with the shapely Swedish law student he’d met at one of the kink bars he liked to frequent. Greta had been a dynamo in bed, even enjoyed taking charge when he’d been in the mood to allow it, and she’d been game for almost anything - especially after he’d set her up in a charming flat in the Marina District where he could pop in for a convenient visit during his lunch break or right after work.

But that particular relationship was now a thing of the past, ever since his schedule - and his entire life - had been fucked over good with the transfer to Scotts Valley. Tired of his neglect, the hot-blooded Greta hadn’t wasted any time in finding herself a new boyfriend - a filthy rich Middle Eastern real estate magnate who had neither a wife, children, nor a fucking long commute to make demands on his time.

It hadn’t taken Jason long to find some new action, but he couldn’t afford to start up another long term arrangement right now. Not only was his free time severely limited, but so were his finances. His salary had fortunately remained the same after the transfer, but there were newly added expenses with commuting, plus the private school where all three children were enrolled had raised their already exorbitant tuition even higher. Charlotte had never had much concept about money - one of the many reasons she’d never been considered for a position with her family’s own company - and spent it on frivolous items that they really couldn’t afford.

And everything - every single one of his woes - could be blamed entirely on that arrogant, ruthless bastard Ian. All of this was his fault, no question about it. It was solely because of him and that treacherous, scheming bitch he was currently banging that Jason’s life was such a miserable, fucked-up mess.

Out of Charlotte’s three male cousins, Jason had always disliked Ian the most, not that he’d been overly fond of Hugh or Colin, either. But at least Hugh was personable enough to shake his hand and make him feel welcome, while Colin had been a real hell raiser in his day until he’d finally settled down in recent years. Ian, though, had always been a stuck-up, cold-hearted prick, looking at Jason as though he wasn’t fit to be breathing the same air as the rest of the family.

And actually working for the bastard had been ten times worse. Ian had acted like a fucking king in the office, imposing rules and regulations that Jason had found unreasonable and often intolerable. Still, with Ian on the road almost half of each month, Jason had been able to shirk his duties with relatively little difficulty, largely by heaping work on his PA and the management support team, and by passing on assignments to lower level managers. He’d had a nice, comfortable arrangement going there, one that allowed him plenty of free time to indulge in his “recreational” pursuits.

But then everything had gone to hell overnight when that sanctimonious hard-ass Ian had caught him red-handed with the blonde bitch - literally speaking, given that he’d been very pleasurably groping the girl’s big tit at the time. To say that Ian had completely overreacted was putting it mildly, and Jason had remained convinced that the real reason he’d been banished to Scotts Valley was because his arrogant boss had lusted after the tart himself.

Not that he blamed Ian, of course. From the first time he’d laid eyes on the luscious Tessa, Jason had been determined to have her. She wasn’t his usual type - too young and innocent and shy - but with a body like hers, well, she was every man’s type. He’d lusted after her ripe, sexy body, her full, pillowy lips, and all that long, blonde hair, and had turned on every bit of charm he possessed to entice her into his bed. The thought of spanking her shapely ass until it was bright red, or cuffing her to a St. Andrew’s cross while he fucked her brutally, had made him salivate at the thought of possessing her.

But she hadn’t wanted to play his little game of flirting and seduction, had scurried away from him like a frightened mouse each time he’d approached her. Given some of the really filthy, obscene things he’d murmured in her ear, even he had been surprised when she hadn’t turned him in to HR. But he’d also quite deliberately made sure to subtly remind her that he was her superior and, more importantly, a member of the Gregson family. The girl had evidently feared for her job security for she’d kept her mouth shut about his continued harassment.

And of course Ian’s little shadow - that pain-in-the-arse, by-the-book Andrew - had always seemed to be in the vicinity whenever Jason had tried to approach Tessa. Jason now knew without a doubt that Andrew had been intentionally tasked to do just that - a task handed down by the fucking king himself.

He’d heard about Ian’s new amour from Charlotte, and it hadn’t taken him very long at all to put two and two together. Jason’s reaction upon discovering that the beautiful blonde Ian was apparently quite taken with was Tessa had been a combination of amusement, anger, and an overwhelming need for vengeance. He blamed both of them equally for the unsatisfactory situation he found himself in, and grew more determined with each passing day to make them pay dearly.

Last evening had been the first time he’d seen either of them since the holiday party last December. His fists had clenched in fury to see the way Ian kept the gorgeous blonde tucked firmly against his side, refusing to release her even for a moment. He was too old for her, of course, and Jason had told Charlotte rather scathingly that Ian must need a boost to his ego after turning forty earlier in the year.

Charlotte had frowned at him disapprovingly. “Why would you say that? Ian looks marvelous for his age, a lot fitter than men ten years younger. He could have most any woman he wanted. No, according to Aunt Joanna he really loves this girl. And she’s crazy about him, too.”

“Probably crazy about his money,” Jason had muttered darkly.

That was yet another gripe he had against Ian - how much money the bloke had. It just wasn’t fair that he and Charlotte weren’t even a fraction as rich as Ian or his brothers were. While there was no possible way that scatterbrained Charlotte could have ever held a position of any significance in the family business, there was no reason at all why Jason shouldn’t be at an equal level with her three cousins.

Charlotte, of course, had insisted on saying hello to her cousin, and had dragged a reluctant Jason over to greet Ian and his well-kept bitch. Tessa admittedly looked every inch the pampered and spoiled girlfriend of a very wealthy man, even in the more casual island style dress she’d been wearing. It had seemed that being Ian’s bedmate agreed with her.