Splendor(35)

And then, the stare down that seemed to have lasted forever but had in actuality only been for long seconds, ended abruptly as the beautiful Rebecca touched Ian’s arm and called his attention back to her.

Completely flustered, Tessa turned away and offered up a silent prayer of thanks that the call was being made to sit down for dinner. She was practically the first one to arrive at their table, and was relieved to realize her assigned place would not put her in any sort of direct view of Ian’s table.

Even though Andrew was officially in charge of organizing tonight’s party, he had delegated as much of the work as possible to the team. Gina and Alicia had jumped on the opportunity for they loved to handle all the social and travel related functions, as opposed to more mundane work such as word processing or filing. They had been working on invitations, seating charts, place cards and little else it seemed for the past few weeks, so Tessa had been afforded ample opportunity to take at glance at where everyone would be sitting.

It had been something of a nasty shock to learn that Jason Baldwin would be attending this evening. But Alicia had explained that quite a few of the hotel managers in California would be at the party, and since Jason actually lived in the city it was taken for granted that he would be at the party. Not to mention the fact that his wife was a member of the Gregson family.

Tessa had spied the Baldwins once or twice this evening, but fortunately Jason had kept his distance thus far. The very last thing she wanted tonight was any sort of confrontation, for he most certainly would not be happy with having been transferred, and most likely demoted as well.

Her good fortune, however, wasn’t to last for long. After dinner and dessert, the dancing started. No expense had been spared for this lavish party – from the open bar to the expensive wines to the beautifully prepared sit-down dinner – and that included the excellent seven-piece live band. They played a wide variety of music, from big band and standards to current pop and rock songs.

Tessa loved to dance, often doing so around the apartment with the music blaring, and she missed having a partner of her own tonight. Kevin and Terence had each taken her for a spin on the dance floor, but mostly she had just remained sitting at the dinner table, wistfully watching all the other couples having fun. Alicia’s date Ross – who’d kept glancing Tessa’s way on numerous occasions this evening – had asked her to dance once, but Alicia had glared at her with such malice that Tessa had quickly mumbled some excuse and declined.

She was alone at the table – everyone else either on the dance floor or at the bar – when someone sat down next to her. Tessa glanced up in alarm into the smirking face of Jason Baldwin, and immediately tensed up.

He was also wearing a tuxedo, his dirty blond hair slicked back, and she supposed most women here tonight would find him extremely attractive. Tessa, however, couldn’t shake off the revulsion she felt at his unwanted presence.

“Good evening, Tessa. You look smashing tonight, by the way.” His voice was low and deliberately husky, and each word out of his mouth made her skin crawl.

When she refused to reply or even look at him, Jason persisted. “Where’s your husband tonight? I can’t imagine any man leaving someone as tempting as you are alone this way.” He leaned closer to murmur in her ear, “After all, another man might not be able to resist the temptation and try to steal you for himself.”

Tessa subtly moved her chair over a couple of inches, desperate to escape from him but not willing to make a scene in front of this large group of people. “My – husband is out of the country working,” she stammered.

It wasn’t precisely a lie. Peter was indeed working and currently in Egypt. And technically he was still her husband, at least for a short while longer until the divorce was final.

Jason trailed his fingers up her bare arm, and she quickly jerked it away. He made a low, snarling noise at this obvious display of her revulsion. “So, no one here to protect precious Tessa this evening then, hmm? Your husband has foolishly left a prize like you alone, while your avenging hero Ian is occupied with his current fuck buddy. He’s smart, I’ll give him credit for that, and with the patience of a fucking saint. But he doesn’t fool me one bit. His shipping me off to that bloody hotel wasn’t just a punishment for breaking his little rules – it’s because he wants to fuck you himself.”

“What?” Tessa’s head jerked swiftly back in Jason’s direction, not at all certain she’d heard him correctly or believed a word he said.

Jason chuckled. “Ah, got your interest now, do I? I suppose you’re attracted to him, aren’t you? Most women are with his sort of money and power. But you’re way out of your league with him, little girl. A man like Ian would take what he wanted from you and then move on to the next woman without missing a beat. Trust me, you’d be much better off with me. I’d hang onto a prize like you for a long time.”