Splendor(44)

And she had also seen a much lighter-hearted side of him this week, too. He’d been in an excellent mood all week, looking relaxed and well rested, and had smiled and laughed more in the past few days than she could ever remember him doing before. Of course, up until this week she’d had little to do with him day to day, mostly just seeing him walk past her desk or observing him conducting meetings when it had been her turn to set up the conference room.

Ian’s manner towards her had been mildly teasing, almost – well, flirtatious at times, though Tessa figured that had to be her overactive imagination playing tricks on her. Ian Gregson did not flirt – he was far too dignified and regal for that sort of behavior, and he most certainly didn’t flirt with silly little admin assistants like herself. She told herself that he was simply being kind, and probably felt sorry for her after learning about the divorce.

The divorce that was going to be final very soon now. Tessa had tried very hard not to dwell on that fact, or that she hadn’t corresponded with Peter since Christmas. She knew this was his way of cutting her loose for good, for giving her that much needed push to stand on her own and not depend on anyone else to take care of her.

She’d spent Christmas alone, for Kevin had gone out of town to visit his family and she really didn’t have any other friends who might have invited her. Julia had tentatively suggested spending the holidays with her family down in Carmel, but Tessa had refused, especially since she’d had to work the day before and after the holiday.

Being alone hadn’t been so bad, anyway. She’d spent the day watching movies, reading a book, and making herself comfort food. But she’d missed Peter terribly, and hadn’t been able to completely hold back the tears at the end of the day.

She had spent New Year’s Eve alone, too, even though Kevin had returned by then and urged her to attend a party he and Terence were hosting. She hadn’t felt in the least like celebrating anything, and instead had taken the time to write down any number of New Year’s resolutions – the top one simply reading Be Happy.

Tessa frowned as she recalled another resolution a little further down the list – this one involving finding a cheaper place to live before the lease expired in April. She’d already started to do some research and had been appalled at the skyrocketing cost of rents in San Francisco. Unless she lucked out and found some fabulous deal, she was most likely going to have to settle for a shared rental with two or more roommates, or consider moving out of San Francisco and having to commute. But she still had a little time before having to get serious about moving, so she pushed that troubling thought out of her head and returned her focus to work.

It was drawing close to five-thirty before she finished and began shutting down the computer and tidying up. And then she remembered about needing to change the ink cartridge for the printer and groaned. The printer that Andrew and Mr. Gregson used was a much more expensive, high-tech one than she was used to, and she’d kept her fingers crossed all week that nothing would go amiss with it.

Fortunately the directions on the package for the replacement cartridge were fairly straightforward, and she was able to install it without much trouble. But then, as she went to dispose of the old cartridge, she realized it had leaked and that she now had black printer ink smudged all over her hands and on her blouse as well.

“Crap!” she muttered loudly, grateful that no one else was around to hear her outburst. Not only had everyone else left by now, but these offices were set far apart from all the others down their own private hallway.

Almost without thinking, Tessa dashed into the private washroom in Mr. Gregson’s office. She doubted he would mind, especially since she didn’t want to risk getting ink on any other surfaces in the office. She scrubbed her hands thoroughly, relieved to see the ink had all washed off. Then she turned her attention to her badly stained blouse.

‘Oh, no!’ she thought in dismay as she saw the black blotch that covered far more of the fabric than she’d initially noticed. Not only was this silvery gray blouse one of her favorites, but she’d just recently had to discard two other items from her already limited wardrobe – a sweater that she’d snagged on something and torn an irreparable hole in, and a blouse that had simply become worn and frayed from so many washings. She’d stretched her budget far too thin after buying the dress and shoes for last month’s Christmas party, and certainly couldn’t afford to buy anything new for some time to come.

Tessa bit her lip uncertainly, for the stain would be almost impossible to get out, especially given its location along the side of her torso. How the ink had landed in that particular spot was a puzzle but if she had any chance at all to salvage the blouse she was going to have to do some serious – and swift – scrubbing.