She gave a little sigh of resignation before nodding. “All right. And - thank you, Mr. Gregson. It’s very kind of you, sir, and I appreciate it. Have a pleasant evening.”

“You, too. See you in the morning.”

Ian didn’t add that his evening would be a far more pleasant one were she to be spending it with him. After all, he reminded himself, he’d already made a considerable amount of progress in his all-out quest to claim Tessa Lockwood as his own. He couldn’t afford to get greedy, to push his agenda along too aggressively, and risk scaring her off.

But as images of how Tessa might look in her workout gear flooded his rather dirty mind - wearing shorts that bared most of those incredibly long, toned legs and cupped the most spectacular ass he’d ever seen, and perhaps a T-shirt or tank top that clung to those awe-inspiring breasts like a second skin - Ian had to wage a mighty battle with himself not to follow her down to the employee fitness room three floors below.

So before he lost what little control he still had remaining after a full day in her company, he powered down his computer, grabbed his briefcase and coat, and headed out the door. Tomorrow, after all, would present him with additional opportunities to put all of the plans he had for Tessa into play.

Chapter Two

Tessa was usually glad to realize it was Thursday, with only one more day remaining until the weekend. But on this particular Thursday, she found herself wishing that the week was just beginning since it meant that tomorrow – Friday - would mark the end of her temporary assignment as Mr. Gregson’s PA. Andrew would be back in the office on Monday, Tessa would return to her cubicle out on the main office floor, and these past few days would only be a pleasant memory for her.

She’d loved every minute of the past four days, relished each and every assignment she’d been given, and felt a true sense of accomplishment in the job she’d done. Mr. Gregson had lavished praise on her, had expressed his thanks and appreciation for her hard work, and for perhaps the first time in her life Tessa hadn’t felt stupid or unworthy. Surely a man as intelligent and accomplished as Ian Gregson wouldn’t have gone out of his way to compliment her if he hadn’t truly believed she deserved it. She had seen first hand how exacting he was, what high standards he set not just for himself but for every employee under his direction. And the thought that a little nobody like herself had been able to live up to such lofty expectations made her feel warm all over.

And, of course, there was the other perk of working for him - that of being in regular proximity of the handsomest man she’d ever seen. She hadn’t been able to keep her pulse rate from accelerating any time she was near Ian, or all the other ways her body reacted to him involuntarily. Earlier today she’d cursed beneath her breath to realize her nipples were hard and poking very noticeably against the thin fabric of her blouse. And, unfortunately, she was pretty sure he had noticed, too, since she’d been placing a steaming mug of tea on his desk at the time. She had made a hasty exit, and had struggled to control the reactions of her treacherous body for the rest of the day.

It was nice to be away from the rest of the team this week, to have all this space and privacy, and to finally know what it felt like to work at the top level of this company. Tessa didn’t miss all of the chatter and gossip that went on almost constantly among her co-workers, and she could only imagine some of the nastier things Gina and Alicia had been saying about her during her absence. When she’d first announced the news to all of them that she’d be filling in for Andrew this week, Alicia’s reaction in particular had been downright catty, wondering out loud how Tessa could possibly handle such a high-profile assignment, given her lack of a college degree and no experience working at that level.

The fact that she’d done so well, at least as far as Mr. Gregson was concerned, filled Tessa with a rather smug sense of satisfaction, and she wished she had the nerve to lord it over the haughty Alicia for once. But she wasn’t about to repeat any of the things Mr. Gregson had told her, not to anyone. His praise, all of the numerous compliments, had felt - well, personal to Tessa, as though he had never said such things to anyone but her. And she would certainly cherish every memory of this too-short week, would remember every single one of his words or smiles.

‘The ball is almost over, Cinderella,’ she chided herself half-jokingly. ‘Nearly time to scurry back to your little corner and hide away. Except that you won’t have a glass slipper to keep as a memento.’

Cinderella had been her very favorite fairytale as a child, the one she’d always begged her mother to read to her again and again. But Tessa had stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago, once she’d been old enough to realize how hard life really was, and that in the long run she would only ever be able to count on herself and not some imaginary prince. She’d thought - hoped - for a long time that Peter would be the one to save her, to slay all of the dragons that stalked her, but he’d been too wrapped up in fighting his own demons to be her knight in shining armor. And now she was back to being on her own, coping with her fears and insecurities, and fighting off the bouts of depression that always seemed to be hovering in the background, threatening to pull her under.

Though during these past few days, Ian Gregson had seemed at times to play the part of the knight or prince who’d vowed to rescue the damsel in distress. Tessa smiled involuntarily as she thought of all the little ways he’d looked out for her wellbeing, or made sure he wasn’t working her too hard. True to his word, there had been a private hire car waiting at the curb to take her home each evening. And it hadn’t been a taxi or even a service like Uber. No, it had been a sleek, black vehicle manned by a uniformed driver, and the car had brought her right up to the sidewalk outside of her apartment building, with the driver escorting to her the entrance. Tessa had felt like a celebrity, or some other type of VIP, but had cautioned herself not to get used to such a luxury.

And she would be willing to bet that Mr. Gregson had never gone to such trouble for any of the other team members when they had filled in for Andrew. She knew without having to ask that he wouldn’t have called a car service for them, or worried about them getting home safely. What she didn’t know was why Mr. Gregson was so protective of her, why she was receiving special attention when none of the others did. It was probably because he felt sorry for her, knowing that she was going through a difficult divorce, and he was simply being kind. There couldn’t be any other reasonable explanation, she told herself. It certainly wasn’t because he had - well, feelings for her, even though there had been more than a few times over the past days when she had wondered if he might possibly be attracted to her. He had been a perfect gentleman, of course, as he always was, but his frequent smiles, not to mention his lighthearted, almost flirtatious teasing, had been completely at odds with the austere personality he normally exhibited.