And then she’d made everything ten times worse by telling him in that sexy as hell, breathy voice that he could do whatever he wanted to her. God, did she have any idea – even the slightest – what that sort of confession did to a man? Especially a man who already panted after her constantly, as though she were a mare in heat.
By the time the architect’s meeting was ready to begin a short while later, Ian had regained full control of his wayward emotions, assuming his formal Managing Director persona once again. He forced himself not to glance towards the back of the conference room where he knew Tessa would be, and instead walked directly towards the other extraordinarily beautiful woman in the room.
“Julia. How are you this morning?” He greeted the always smartly dressed interior designer with a firm handshake. He knew that she had befriended Tessa over these last few months and was exceedingly grateful for the kindness she’d shown her.
Julia gave him a rather odd smile, her expressive green eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. “I’m very well, Ian, thank you. And I owe you a huge favor after you arranged for the wedding coordinator at your Pebble Beach resort to call me back. Not to mention mysteriously finding an open date for us in June.”
He winked at her. “It’s all in the way you ask the questions, my dear. And I’m very happy to be of help.”
“Nathan and I are actually heading down to Carmel this weekend to visit my parents, so we’ve set up a meeting at the hotel. Do you have any special plans for the long weekend?”
He was instantly on alert at Julia’s super sweet tone, not to mention the way her rose-glossed lips curled into a smirk. “Ah, yes, I’m actually headed to Lake Tahoe. The skiing is supposed to be quite good this weekend.” He intentionally didn’t mention that he was bringing Tessa along with him.
Julia wrinkled her pert little nose. “Hmm, not much of a fan of the snow. Something about being cold and wet just doesn’t appeal. But I hope you enjoy your weekend, Ian. By the way, is Tessa working the meeting this morning? I have something I need to ask her.”
Ian forced himself to remain impassive as he replied. “Yes, I believe I saw her here earlier setting up. Was there something you needed for the meeting, Julia? I’m sure Tessa can take care of it for you.”
Julia shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing like that. It’s not really business related. We – well, one of Nathan’s clients gave us four tickets to see The Book of Mormon next weekend and I wanted to see if Tessa would like to go with us.” She lowered her voice as she added, “Nathan and I were thinking of setting her up with one of his friends. After all, she’s way too young and pretty to stay at home every weekend, don’t you think?”
Ian froze. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear that the innocent-looking Julia was quite deliberately trying to provoke him, or at least goad him into reacting. He wasn’t sure how she would know, but he had a very strong feeling that she suspected there was something going on between him and Tessa. He knew the two women had run into each other at their yoga studio last weekend, but he’d been extremely careful to park a block or so away when he’d picked Tessa up so as not to be seen.
His right hand curled into a fist as he waged an internal struggle to remain calm. “You should – ah – discuss that with her, Julia.”
Julia smiled brightly, looking too much like a cat who’d swallowed the canary to put him at ease. “I believe I will. Oh, there she is. Oops, better go rescue her from Jake the Snake. God, that man does not understand the concept of taking no for an answer, does he?”
Julia actually had the audacity to give him a saucy wink just before sauntering off in search of Tessa. Ian’s steely gaze followed her progress, his mouth tightening in mingled annoyance and anger as he noticed how closely Nathan’s associate architect Jake was standing next to Tessa. And when the prick actually dared to put his hand on Tessa’s lower back as he murmured something in her ear, Ian was about five seconds away from losing it.
“Nathan.”
Julia’s fiancée – and the lead architect on the new hotel project - was at Ian’s side in an instant, a look of concern on his face.
“Is there a problem, Ian?” he asked.
“Two of them actually.” Ian inclined his head towards the back of the room. “You need to call your boy Jake off. At once. And tell him I have a very strict hands off policy when it comes to my – employees.”
Nathan gave a curt nod. “I’ll take care of it. What was the other problem?”