Julia gave Tessa’s hand a squeeze. “Well, believe it, girl, because you snagged yourself a real winner. And I’m not talking about his money or his position. I mean the man he is inside – how kind he is and how well he treats people. If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with my Nathan, I’d probably have gone after Ian myself,” she teased. “Then again, I saw the way he looked at you during that very first meeting I attended, and knew right off the bat that no other woman would ever do for him.”
Tessa couldn’t help beaming with delight. “Really? I just never imagined that someone like him – God, he’s so perfect – would ever notice me.”
“Oh, honey, he noticed you all right. I told you that when we had lunch together the first time but you didn’t believe me. I’m glad everything worked out. Especially,” she added mischievously, “since I got this fabulous pair of Manolo Blahniks as a result.”
Tess smiled. “I can’t believe you made a bet with Nathan about whether Ian was really the new boyfriend I told you about. But I am glad you won the bet.”
Julia gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I tend to win most of the bets I make with Nathan. Let’s just say it all has to do with the timing. Now, as much as I’m dying to get the grand tour of this awesome house – God, from what I’ve already seen I might just move in here with you – we’d better get going.”
Julia’s silver BMW sedan – which she told Tessa had been a Christmas present from Nathan – was parked right outside. The women spent a busy but pleasurable morning and early afternoon getting Tessa’s new driver’s license, and then hitting the mall for lunch and shopping. Tessa was glad she had Julia, with her innate fashion sense, along for the somewhat abbreviated shopping spree.
“I don’t need much, just a few pieces to get me through the next few weeks until I quit work,” she explained. “And I don’t want to spend very much, especially if they aren’t things I’m going to wear again.”
Julia shook her head. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong. There’s no reason at all you can’t mix low and high end pieces, and keep wearing the stuff you buy today. Look, this blouse here – it’s on sale for thirty five dollars but it would look fantastic with those pants you have on. And I already know those are Stella McCartney which probably cost around four hundred bucks.”
“For these?” squeaked Tessa in dismay. “Oh, I’m going to have to talk to Ian again. I don’t want him spending that much money. You’re sure? For one pair of pants?”
Julia chuckled. “Uh, huh, pretty sure. And don’t fight it, honey. The man is absolutely crazy about you so let him spoil you rotten. Let’s face it, Tessa – he’s going to do it anyway so you might as well just accept it and count your lucky stars.”
But Tessa couldn’t help fretting over how much money he must have already spent on her, and worrying about what else he planned to buy her. As a result, she adamantly refused to purchase anything besides two skirts, half a dozen assorted blouses and sweaters, two dresses, one pair of plain black pumps, and an inexpensive purse. Everything was either on sale or from a clearance rack, and no amount of coaxing from Julia could convince her to buy even one more thing.
“This will have to do,” insisted Tessa as they walked out of Macy’s – which had fortunately been holding a huge storewide sale. “I don’t want to spend any more of Ian’s money, especially if what you’re telling me is true about these pants.”
“Look,” Julia told her gently, “if it’s any consolation, Nathan told me once what he guessed Ian’s net worth to be – considering the salary he probably pulls in and the percentage of the company he owns.”
She named a figure that nearly sent Tessa into a catatonic shock. She’d known he was wealthy, but not that wealthy. It was almost inconceivable that he could be worth anywhere near that much.
“So he can easily afford to buy you whatever you want without it even making a dent in his bank account,” assured Julia. “Most women wouldn’t blink an eye about accepting stuff from him. But I already know – that’s not you.”
“No. But it sounds like I’ll need to get used to that sort of thing,” sighed Tessa. “Especially once I start traveling with him and attending events. I’m just terrified that I’m going to embarrass him.”
“Not possible,” insisted Julia. “You’ve always been so gracious and helpful at our meetings. You’ll handle yourself just fine at whatever party or banquet he takes you to. But you do need to dress the part, honey. Ian’s right about that. If you think those two cats you work with can be vicious bitches, the society snobs you’ll meet will be licking their chops ready to cut you into little pieces. So you’ll have to make sure you look fabulous every single time. Fortunately, you’re young and gorgeous and have a killer bod so the rest is easy.”