Worth the Scandal (2 page)

Did he approve of what he saw? Did she displease him in any way? She worked so hard, harder than she ever had before for fear she would disappoint him.

The very last thing she wanted to do.

“Tessa?” His voice had lowered, roughly sexy, murmuring along her nerve endings.

If he only knew the affect he had on her…

“Yes?” She looked up at him, marveling yet again at his height, the very breadth of him. His shoulders were impossibly broad, emphasized by the exquisite cut of his dark suit jacket. He wore a Worth tie, made of the finest silk, a lovely shade of blue that reminded her of the ocean.

The blue almost matched the turbulent color of his eyes. His face was clean-shaven, not a hair out of place. He was so completely, utterly perfect she sometimes wondered if he was real.

“I have a request.” He paused, letting the words hang in the air and anticipation ran through her, sharp and potent.

“Yes?” she urged when he still hadn’t said anything.

Propping his hands on the edge of her desk, he bent down, setting his face just above hers. She pressed her feet into the ground, pushing her chair back the slightest bit but that only made him loom in closer. “I want you—”

A tremble moved through her and she released a shuddering breath. Those three words filled her with edgy suspense. So many possibilities to consider…

“—to stop calling me sir.”

Disappointment replaced the suspense. She certainly hadn’t expected that request. “It’s merely a sign of respect.” Her voice came out a breathless squeak.

He smiled but it really wasn’t a smile. It never was. More like a baring of teeth. “You make me feel like an old man.”

She blinked. How could she answer that? He certainly wasn’t an old man. A vital, sexy, gorgeous man, most definitely, and he was only thirty-five—in the absolute prime of his life. “I don’t mean to insult you, si—”

“Don’t say it,” he interrupted. There was the faintest sparkle in his eyes, something she’d never seen before. Of course, this conversation they were having was unlike any they’d ever had before either. He always kept everything serious, no-nonsense and above all else, business only between them.

At the moment, he chatted with her. Seemed almost to be…flirting with her.

No way could that be true. It had to be misunderstanding on her part.

“Call me Alex.” He tilted his head to the side. “Say it.”

Her lips parted. He really didn’t just say that, did he? “Excuse me?”

“I want to hear you say my name,” he said, his voice soft but edged with steel. She’d heard that voice before, mostly in meetings, many times over the phone. It was the voice of a man who brooked no argument. “Don’t stumble over it, don’t stutter. And you damn well better not call me sir.”

Her throat went dry. Who
was
this man who stood before her?

“I promise I won’t call you sir ever again.” The words rushed out of her on a single breath and she pressed her lips together briefly. Gathering courage, which was silly. She had no reason to fear him. His request wasn’t a hardship. It just felt odd to be so informal with him. “Alex.”

“Thank you, Tessa.” Pushing away from her desk, he went back into his office and shut the door with a quiet click.

Chapter Two

The building was deathly silent, the sound of Tessa’s heels clicking on the marble floor echoing throughout as she entered the headquarters for Worth Luxury Goods. She waved at the weekend security guard sitting behind the sleek counter. He offered a brief good morning in return before he resumed his focus on the wall of security cameras that he monitored.

She went to the bank of elevators, momentarily startled when the doors swooshed open as if they sensed her approach. Walking inside, she turned to face the doors as they closed shut. She breathed a sigh of relief after taking a sip of the coffee she’d picked up just before her arrival at the Worth building, savoring the nutty, crisp taste.

It was a common occurrence for her to work the occasional weekend when she wanted to get a few extra duties done. She was paid a decent salary, and Alex had told her more than once to let him know if she ever worked any overtime, wanting to compensate her.

Not that she had anything else better to do but sit in her cramped apartment in Brooklyn and stare at the walls of her teeny bedroom. Her roommate had a boyfriend who’d taken over the place, must to Tessa’s disgust. And the loser didn’t even offer to contribute toward the rent or utilities despite the fact he basically lived there.

So she escaped to work. Besides, with the sudden change of plans of the flagship stores tour taking up most of her afternoon yesterday, she had quite a few things to finish.

Exiting the elevator, she strode toward Alex’s office, noticing the door was shut, the lights within off. Not a sign of life throughout the entire floor, which thrilled her to her little heart’s content.

It was so much easier to complete her tasks without the constant interruption from the phone, from her inbox, from her fellow employees, from the very man who employed her. Not that she minded when Alex asked her to do something, oh no…

Settling at her desk, which sat just outside Alex’s office, she turned on her computer and printer, then picked up the phone and listened to her voicemails. Not a one of them urgent though she did make a note to return a call first thing Monday morning. She turned her attention to her emails and discovered there was a change in time for the relaunch of the Paris store, and she immediately opened the itinerary document she created yesterday. Correcting the time, she scanned it over then hit print.

She hoped Alex wouldn’t be displeased by her need to give him another itinerary. He was leaving first thing Tuesday, in four days’ time and he preferred to have everything in check well in advance of his departure. Of course, it wasn’t her fault the time had been changed so why would he be angry at her…

Irritated over her unnecessary worry, she plucked the itinerary off the printer tray then went to Alex’s office, ready to slip it beneath the door. Grabbing the door handle for leverage before she bent down, she was surprised to find it unlocked.

Tessa frowned. He would never leave the door unlocked, and he definitely wasn’t one to forget. Had the cleaning crew left it open? Perhaps Alex had been here earlier. Maybe he was still in the building and would return to lock it before he left.

But he never came in on the weekend. At least, he was never there when she was. He had an active social life, if the gossip blogs and magazines were any indication. She’d seen many a photo of Alex with an overly made up blonde on his arm clad in a beautiful dress.

The complete and total opposite of what she was.

Slowly she opened the door and stepped inside, the quiet calm of the room soothing her wayward thoughts. The blinds were half cracked, allowing a bit of light within. His scent lingered in the air, subtle pine and masculine spice and she breathed deep.

Oh, she could become drunk on his scent alone…

Moving deeper inside the office, she set the itinerary on top of his desk. It was clean, no stack of haphazard papers residing in the corners, not a leftover coffee cup or discarded pen in sight. The man not only demanded perfection from everyone who worked for him but also from himself.

She wondered what he might look like when he first woke up, rumpled and hazy from sleep. His face covered with dark stubble, his hair mussed and not a stitch of clothing on…

Shivering, she went to the window and peered through the cracked blinds. The streets below were busy as always, the sidewalk filled with more of the touristy-types since it was a Saturday. Watching them walk leisurely, dressed in casual clothes, she felt a pang touch her heart. It was terribly lonely, watching people enjoy themselves on a warm and lovely Saturday while she was stuck in a sterile, empty office.

Alone.

Tessa turned, resting her hands on the back of Alex’s chair. The black leather was soft, supple to the touch and she ran her hand across the top of it slowly. Without thought she sat in the chair, bracing her forearms on the armrests, staring unseeingly at his desk. His scent was even stronger here, as if the leather had absorbed the very essence of him and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

Being in his office reminded her of a recent dream. He’d commanded her to get on her knees in front of him while he sat in his chair, a scowl on his face though his eyes were lit with fire. Desire for her. She’d knelt in front of him without protest, bowing her head, trembling when she felt his long fingers threading through her hair. Bit back a sob of pleasure when he curved his large, warm hand about her chin and brought her face up so their gazes met.

She’d known in her dream what he wanted though he hadn’t said a word. Reaching out, she settled her hands on his belt buckle, her fingers fumbling with the cool metal before he took over, pushing her hands out of the way and undid it himself.

He discarded the belt on the floor, his gaze never leaving her. Her breath came in little pants and her nipples beaded into hard, aching points. The sound of his zipper as he slowly slid it open, she’d waited in breathless anticipation for what was about to appear…

“What the hell are you doing in my office?”

His angry voice jerked her from her fantasy and she looked up, saw Alex standing in the doorway. His expression was fierce, his eyes blazing. He wore a charcoal gray sweater that stretched across his broad chest and dark jeans that emphasized the length of his long legs. She’d never seen him out of a suit before.

He looked amazing.

And furious.

“I—I’m sorry, sir.” Wincing the moment the forbidden word left her lips, she started to stand but his command stopped her.

“Don’t move.”

Tessa remained frozen in the chair, watching as he strode toward her. Nerves clamored deep within, her stomach pitching and diving like a violent ocean during a storm. She gripped the armrests so tight her fingers hurt, and she relaxed her hold as best she could.

Was he upset to catch her in his office? Did he think maybe she’d somehow broken in? Oh, God, would he be angry enough to—fire her?

“How did you get in my office, Tessa?” He settled himself on the corner of his desk, directly in front of her. So close she could easily reach out and touch him. “And why are you here?”

His calm, measured tone eased her fear somewhat and she took a deep breath before she spoke. “I—I decided to come in this morning to catch up on a few things. What with the change in plans and arranging your travel taking up most of my afternoon yesterday I wasn’t able to finish everything I wanted to.”

He nodded once. “Go on.”

He listened, and that was a start. He was also more than fair. She was thinking completely irrationally, believing he might fire her over something such as this.

“There was a change in the time for the Paris opening so I updated your itinerary and planned on slipping it beneath your door, but I discovered it wasn’t locked.” She kept her gaze focused on his knee, too afraid to look him in the eye. “So I went inside and set it on your desk. It’s right there.”

“Where?”

She pointed with a shaky finger, then immediately dropped her hand into her lap. Wrenching around, he grabbed the paper from the desk and scanned it, his gaze zeroing in on her when he finished.

Tessa kept her head bowed, her hands clutched together in her lap. She caught him watching her from beneath her lashes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, unsure of what to say.

“No need for apologies,” he said crisply, dropping the itinerary on his desk. He stood and went to the window, his back to her. “Don’t get out of that chair. You look…good in it.”

She’d been poised and ready to leap out of it as soon as possible but she fell back against the soft leather, startled by what he said. How had he even known she was moving? The man must have eyes in the back of his head.

“May I ask you a question?” He didn’t so much as move a muscle while he waited for her answer.

“Of course, si—” She cleared her throat, cursing silently at herself. Why couldn’t she break the sir habit?” “Yes, you may.”

“You almost called me sir.”

“I did,” she confessed weakly.

“Your formality is completely unnecessary you know. Especially because we’re going to be working very closely together in the upcoming weeks,” he said cryptically.

She frowned. He was leaving in a matter of days. What in the world was he talking about?

“How long have you worked for me?” Alex stared out the window at the bustling cityscape below. Cars whizzed by, mostly yellow cabs or buses, all of them in a hurry to get nowhere. He felt akin to the city that never stopped because really, he never stopped either.

He’d come into the office on a Saturday, something he rarely did, because he’d been too restless, too keyed up to do much of anything else. An idea had come over him in the middle of the night, an idea so tantalizing, so damned crazy yet logical he hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

It had surprised him, to find the very woman who’d haunted his thoughts half the night sitting in his chair behind his desk in his office, which was supposed to be locked. Anger had filled him at first, and his immediate thoughts had turned to Hunter and what he’d told him about the spy.

Could sweet little Tessa Crawford be the Worth spy Hunter spoke of?

But then he’d seen the expression on her face just before she realized he was there. Her gaze dreamy, staring off into the distance, her lush lips curved in a secretive little smile. If he wasn’t mistaken that particular look was one of…

Pleasure.

He’d lost all thoughts of spies and snitches and startled her right out of that hazy, pleasured look by barking at her, much to his disappointment.

“I’ve been working as your assistant a little over six months.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sound of her sweet and sultry voice. How many times had he fantasized about hearing that voice whisper wicked words in his ear?

Too many times to count.

“Six months and nineteen days if we’re going to be specific.” He’d reconfirmed her hire date with the HR manager late Friday. Not that he needed to, not really.