Covet (19 page)

So she gave Peter her brightest, most confident smile, and nodded enthusiastically. “I’m really, really sure,” she insisted. “Come on, let’s go start hauling our stuff upstairs. After all, this place also doesn’t seem to have an elevator.”

After working for Francine Carrington for more than three years, Tessa hadn’t honestly believed she could ever be truly intimidated by anyone ever again. The diminutive but rather terrifying woman had, after all, caused grown men to tiptoe past her office in fear, and she had made more than one receptionist or reservations clerk cry. Mrs. C. had done her damndest to “toughen” Tessa up, as she’d phrased it, and had encouraged her to stick up for herself and not allow other people or situations to daunt her.

Tessa knew that Mrs. C. and her husband Oliver were childless, but she wondered now if perhaps the man seated across from her might be related in some form or another to her former boss. Andrew Doherty was, in his own way, every bit as fearsome and intimidating as Mrs. C. had ever been, and it was all Tessa could do to keep her knees from knocking together or her hands from trembling as he studied her behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, She knew, just
knew
, that the all-too-serious brown eyes behind the lenses never missed a trick.

She was extremely grateful that the outfit she’d chosen to wear for today’s interview had been the absolute nicest thing she own. Most of her work clothes were things she’d bought from inexpensive chain stores, or from a couple of bargain priced online apparel sites. It had been Mrs. C. who’d suggested she buy a few more upscale items in anticipation of her move to San Francisco, where the overall dress code – in particular at the Gregson Group offices – was certain to be more formal and businesslike than it was in Tucson. She had steered Tessa to a consignment store, where one could find higher quality clothing at reasonable prices. Even so, Tessa hadn’t been able to afford much, but the black silk wool pencil skirt, white silk blouse, black cardigan sweater, and black pumps that she wore this morning were all far nicer than anything else in her limited wardrobe. She’d already noticed how fashionably everyone here was dressed, and how much more sophisticated the office décor was when compared to the resort-like atmosphere of the Tucson hotel.

“You don’t have a college degree.”

Tessa shook her head in response to Andrew’s statement. “No. I, um, hope to go back to school one day and take care of that, but right now I’ve only completed a two-year certification program at community college.”

Andrew placed her resume – a double-spaced, single page – on top of his desk, as though he’d already memorized anything of importance she’d included. “Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even be considering you for this position without a four-year degree, Tessa,” he told her in his brisk, no-nonsense manner. “Granted, it isn’t a PA position – in which case you wouldn’t have even been referred to me – but the Management Support Team plays an extremely important role here on the executive floor. Mr. Gregson and all of the other managers rely heavily on the team to assist with a wide variety of tasks, and each team member has to meet some very high standards. However, I do see that you’ve had quite a bit of training in advanced Excel functions. Is that correct?”

Tessa resisted the urge to wipe her damp palms on the fabric of her brand-new - albeit secondhand - designer skirt. “Yes, that’s correct, Mr. Doherty. I took a full two years of Excel classes at school as part of the certification program, and I’ve also completed several additional workshops and seminars to learn advanced skills.”

Andrew gave a brief nod. “Any particular reason? I can’t imagine you had much use for some of those skills in the position you held.”

She lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. “No particular reason, no. Just that I enjoy working with that program, enjoy learning all the little intricacies that most people don’t even know exist with it. I – I wasn’t terribly good at math during high school but for some reason learning Excel came much easier to me.”

“Mr. Gregson in particular uses Excel a great deal to keep track of various statistics at the hotels, and also for forecasting and such. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult to find someone who has the type of skills that you do, Tessa. If you are, in fact, as proficient as your resume states, then you’d make a very valuable addition to the support team. Now, I realize that Mrs. Horner has already administered all of the usual clerical tests, but I’ll need to see first hand if you can actually perform the various Excel functions that Mr. Gregson has specific need of. Please, have a seat here if you would.”

Andrew stood and indicated that Tessa should sit in his place in front of his computer. On slightly shaky legs she did as he asked, sitting down gratefully, and willing her nerves back under control.

“There’s a spreadsheet already opened on the screen as you see,” continued Andrew. “This is a list of some of the functions I’d like you to demonstrate for me.”

Tessa glanced fleetingly at the typewritten list of some of the more advanced functions of the spreadsheet program – parameterization, nesting calculations, cell comments, SUMIF and COUNTIF, R1C1 reference style. She breathed a little sigh of relief, as she was more than proficient in all of these skills and more.

Over the next hour, her fingers flew over the keyboard as she demonstrated her proficiency at one function after another. Through it all Andrew said little, merely nodding here and there, and jotting something down on a notepad occasionally.

When she had arrived here at the Gregson Group offices earlier today for her interview with Sheila Horner in the Human Resources department, Tessa had never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would have been referred up to the executive floor. Sheila, a very businesslike but personable woman in her late forties, had studied Tessa’s resume along with the glowing letter of recommendation Mrs. Carrington had written – the first time the cantankerous office manager had ever done such a thing, according to her – and then proceeded to administer all of the clerical tests that Tessa had already completed during her original interview in Tucson
.

“
I know you’ve done all these before,” Sheila had murmured apologetically, “but unfortunately I’m going to need you to repeat them. I just need to see for myself that you’ve kept all your skills up, and also what level they’re currently at
.”

Tessa had assured her there was no problem in going through the tests again, not that she would have dared offered up a protest. It was vitally important that she make a good impression now, in order to secure the best possible position available to her. She’d aced every test, doing even better than she had three years ago, and silently thanked Mrs. C. for pushing her to improve her skills and not get complacent
.

Sheila had scanned over all of the results, and then glanced at Tessa’s resume again. “I have two or three different openings that I could place you in right away,” she confided. “And every one of the department managers would be over the moon to have someone as competent as you to join their staff. But I’m going to stick my neck out here a bit and get you in to interview with Andrew Doherty. He’s Mr. Gregson’s PA, and they happen to have a somewhat urgent need to fill a spot on their Management Support Team. I think you might just fit the bill, Tessa
.”

Sheila had briefly explained the function of this support team, how the six members handled overflow tasks and projects that the executive PA’s either didn’t have time to handle, or that they considered a bit too mundane or beneath their status. Evidently one of the team members had just transferred out of these offices a few days ago and was now working at the local Gregson hotel, and it was her position that needed to be filled. Sheila did not offer up an explanation as to why the woman had left so abruptly, and Tessa resisted the urge to ask
.

A quick phone call to Andrew was made, instructions were received to send Tessa straight up, and Sheila gave her a bit of last minute advice
.

“
Don’t let Andrew scare you off,” she cautioned. “He’s got a reputation for being something of a tyrant around here, and no one can remember seeing him smile even one time. He’s all business all the time, and has zero tolerance for anyone who doesn’t take their job as seriously as he does. Just keep a stiff upper lip as all these Brits like to say, keep your nerves in check, and remember that his bite is worse than his bark. But I think he’ll like you, Tessa, and that you’d be an asset to the team. Good luck
.”

Tessa waited now with bated breath as Andrew studied her work with a discerning eye, no doubt checking and re-checking for any tiny error. Fortunately, one of the many work ethics Mrs. Carrington had instilled in her from the very beginning was to check and re-check everything she did multiple times, so that she was quite confident her spreadsheet was without flaw.

“You can return to your seat now.”

Tessa nearly sprang to her feet at Andrew’s rather terse command, and was quick to comply. He sat back down behind his desk, made a few more notes on his pad, and then gave her a brief nod.

“All right, then. I’m prepared to give you a ninety-day trial in the position. If it doesn’t work out, then of course you’ll still be able to transfer to another job locally. But I believe you’ll do quite well, Tessa,” he acknowledged. “In spite of your lack of schooling, you’re bright and articulate and seem like the quiet, serious sort. I think that you and I can work well together. Provided, of course, that you’re willing to work very hard and abide by our code of conduct here.”

Andrew’s particular “code of conduct” consisted of not just a corporate dress code – a double-sided sheet of paper that he handed to her – but also an intolerance for tardiness or unexcused absences; a very strong dislike of any sort of gossip; the discouragement of discussing any sort of personal business while at the office; and not performing the tasks assigned on a timely and efficient basis.

“When can you start?”

Tessa fought mightily to not laugh in delight with the realization that she’d just landed a very plum spot with the company, one that she would never have imagined she’d even be considered for. “Tomorrow? Right now, if you need me,” she offered.

Andrew’s tight-lipped mouth actually quirked up very slightly at her enthusiastic reply. “It’s already Thursday afternoon,” he stated. “Monday will be fine. Eight a.m. sharp, please. And be ready to go. Get your coffee, bathroom stop, whatever, taken care of before you arrive.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Doherty,” she told him quietly. “I promise that you won’t regret hiring me. I’ll work harder than anyone who’s ever been on the team before.”

“Good. Music to my ears,” he replied dryly. “And it’s Andrew, not Mr. Doherty. Have a pleasant weekend, Tessa, and rest up. You’ll need to be on your toes all the time in order to succeed in this job.”

She stood when he did, reaching a hand across the desk to him. “I’ll be sure to do that – Andrew. And – thank you. Thank you so much for taking a chance on me. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Tessa had to contain herself from skipping out of Andrew’s office with glee, so delighted that she wanted to laugh out loud. Securing such a high level position had definitely not been something she’d ever allowed herself to hope for, or even consider. Based on the conversations she’d had with Mrs. C. before leaving Tucson, the best Tessa had expected was obtaining an administrative assistant position for some lower level manager. Working on the executive floor was far, far beyond anything she could have imagined. She could hardly wait to get home and call Mrs. C. to share the exciting news. And to think that she would actually be working for
him
made her feel giddy all over.

She hadn’t permitted herself to look at his photo on the corporate website for months now, having felt incredibly guilty and disloyal to Peter every time she did so. The erotic dreams in which he had been featured had also begun to diminish in both frequency and detail. But when she’d made the decision to move to San Francisco with Peter and pursue a job at the company’s regional offices, Tessa hadn’t been able to help herself from wondering if she would ever catch a glimpse of the compelling Mr. Gregson, or possibly even have occasion to speak to him.

Now, by some incredible stroke of good luck, she would actually be working directly for Ian Gregson. Well, not
directly
for him – Andrew, of course, was his PA – but she assumed there would be numerous opportunities to see and interact with the man himself. And she was going to have to find a way to keep herself from staring at him like some lovesick teenager whenever they were in the same room, or, worse – stammering and stuttering like she had no common sense whatsoever.

Peter wasn’t at home when she let herself into their apartment. Tessa knew he still had a lot of things to take care of before leaving on his very first assignment in less than a week – securing the visas he would need, buying some travel toiletries and other essentials, attending meetings and orientations at the local office. She would have to wait and share her good news with him until he returned, but knew that he wouldn’t mind in the least if she updated Mrs. Carrington on her job situation.