Chapter 10

 

Monday morning Tessa called her bank again since she’d heard nothing back. The representative on the line insisted the mystery deposit was supposed to be in her account. Tessa insisted it wasn’t, and no one yet seemed to know the source of the unexplained money.

“Every time we try to pull up the transaction record, we’re getting an error message, Miss Edwards.”

“That’s because it is an error.” Tessa ground her teeth in frustration. “It’s not supposed to be in my account. Well, I’m sure someone will come looking for it. I can’t imagine ten grand would disappear from an account without someone, somewhere taking notice.”

“We’ll continue to try to correct the problem, Miss Edwards.”

She hung up in disgust. She’d certainly want to know what had happened to ten thousand dollars if it were hers. At this point, though, she felt it was the bank’s problem to resolve. She’d told them and would just pretend the money wasn’t there. Anything else would be foolish in the extreme. She understood their reluctance to remove the money when they couldn’t yet pinpoint if it was even there, but her unease over it lingered. She supposed most of that was due to her innate desire to have everything in order.

In the meantime, she had other tasks to complete, so she went back to work on Seth’s trip to the West Coast papers. He would leave mid-week to visit northern California and Oregon before returning home late Friday. Brandon had the jet on a trip to Dallas, so Seth would have to take a commercial flight. Tessa took care of booking and paying for the flight with the travel account, and returned to the itineraries and meeting schedules for each of the papers he would visit. Seth had insisted he fly back late Friday because he would be making a turnaround to be at his niece’s christening in North Carolina.

Tuesday, Tessa reviewed the final itinerary and meeting agendas and made last minute adjustments before faxing everything to the papers on the West Coast. Seth was back in a brooding mood again. Tessa knew it had to do with the subject of the meetings. The papers weren’t performing up to expectations, and Seth was going in to troubleshoot and, if necessary, fire managers who weren’t cutting it.

She called the bank once again after lunch, but they had still not resolved the problem. As she hung up, Seth captured her hand. “May I take you to dinner tonight?”

She swallowed at the hot look in his eyes, everything else going right out of her head, and nodded. She floated through the rest of the afternoon, feeling somewhat reassured. With the way Seth’s mood had been, she had begun to wonder if their weekend together had been a fantasy she had dreamed up because it was what she wished would happen. He picked her up at seven and took her to one of the most exclusive restaurants in the area. They sat in a back corner, where they had some privacy, and talked about their weekend at the beach.

“I’d like you to come with me to North Carolina this weekend,” Seth said.

Tessa looked at him with uncertainty. “But it’s a family event, Seth.”

“All the more reason for me to want you there.”

Tessa’s temperature climbed at the look on his face. His words of love on the Wanton hung there, seducing her. As he drove back to her house, he caressed her hand. He switched the ignition off when they arrived.

“Would you like to come in for some coffee?” Tessa asked, hoping he wanted more than that.

He nodded and came around to open the door for her. He escorted her up the sidewalk and opened the door that led into her small two-bedroom apartment. She’d furnished it with quality pieces that would withstand the wear and tear of a small boy.

“Have a seat,” Tessa said over her shoulder. “I’ll go get the coffee started.”

Seth grabbed her and twirled her back in his arms. “Forget the coffee.” He smiled. “I’d much rather sip this.”

His lips tasted hers with a gentle demand that soon grew to ravenous proportions. She sighed against his lips, and his hands dropped to caress her bottom through her skirt. He dragged his mouth from hers and pressed her face against his broad chest.

“Lord, I’ve wanted to do that for the past forty-eight hours. I nearly bent you over my desk a couple times. The fantasy was so strong I swore I could feel my hands rubbing your ass, pushing your panties out of the way so I could plunge my tongue deep inside and taste your sweetness.”

He bent now and swung her into his arms. “Where’s your bedroom, Tessa? I think dessert is definitely on the menu, and I am a starving man.”

Tessa giggled and pointed down the hall.

He dwarfed the room with his size. As soon as they entered, he let her slide to her feet, so she could feel every aroused inch of him before he began to undress her. It was erotic to watch him as he removed her clothing piece by piece while he was still clothed in his dinner suit. When she stood before him nude, he let his eyes roam over her.

If he was a man ready for dessert, then she was a woman also starving. Tessa stepped forward and grabbed his tie. “My turn.” She kissed and caressed each part of him she bared, leaving him gasping when she knelt and wrapped her mouth around him, pleasuring him with her lips and tongue.

He pulled her up with a muffled groan and their lovemaking intensified, soon plummeting them both over the edge. As she lay on the silky sheets, he slid the head of his cock along her opening and pushed forward, filling her so they could think of nothing else while he rocked his hips. Seth arched his back and drove into her with a guttural growl of the most intense pleasure. His seed spilled into her and it was only then they remembered the condom still lying on the bedside table.

Seth stroked the hair back from her face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I’m afraid we got a little carried away.”

“It’s okay,” Tessa dismissed. “The timing probably isn’t a factor anyway.” They dozed for a little while in each other’s arms and the next time, Seth made sure the condom was in place. Tessa had no idea what time it was when he woke her up with a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ve got to go, sweetheart, but I’ll call you as soon as I get back.”

Tessa smiled, her brain still fogged with sleep. “Bye, Seth.”

He kissed her one last lingering time on the lips and then he was gone.

* * * *

It seemed strange to be in the office the next day without Seth barking orders from the next room. Everything was so quiet and deserted, as if his mere absence had sucked the very life from the building. In a way it had. Brandon was seldom in town for long, spending a lot of time on the road in both business and pleasure. From the amount of work Seth handled, Tessa suspected Brandon’s share was mostly pleasure, and neither brother seemed happy with that. Of the elder Barlow-Barrett, there was seldom any sign, and she thanked heaven. Seth and Brandon were both strong-willed men, but they stepped around their father like they were walking on eggshells.

Tessa tried her bank again to see if they’d gotten any further in figuring out how the extra money had landed in her account, but they were still reading an error message and no one had filed any complaints yet that any money had been incorrectly credited.

“Can’t you put it in escrow or something since I’ve explained it doesn’t belong to me?” Tessa asked, her patience wearing thin.

“We’ll see what we can do,” the employee handling the discrepancy told her.

Right after Tessa returned from lunch, her extension rang. “Miss Edwards,” the young woman from her bank greeted her, “we located where the deposit came from and the date.”

Tessa listened to the girl and a cold knot formed in her stomach before she said, “That’s not possible. I was returning from Chicago that day, and I would never have authorized a deposit to my personal bank account from Barrett’s travel account. Transfer the funds back to Barrett’s account immediately, and I’ll try to figure out where the error occurred.”

Tessa hung up the phone, perplexed. She didn’t even like to think about the Chicago trip between being stuck in the elevator and the disastrous scene with Seth at the hotel. She was still trying to recall all the details from the trip when her phone rang again with an interoffice call. Tessa checked the caller ID and saw it was Miss Tallmadge, the senior Barrett’s secretary.

“Tessa Edwards here. How may I help you, Miss Tallmadge?”

The older woman’s voice sounded even colder than normal. “Mr. Barrett would like to see you in his office, Miss Edwards.”

“What time?” Tessa inquired as she started to check her schedule on the computer.

“Now.”

Tessa was left with the click of the phone disconnecting. She sat for a moment, wondering at the abrupt summons to Barrett senior’s office. Was he going to dress her down for spending most of the weekend undressing his son? But hot on the heels of that irreverent thought, something else occurred to her, and cold seeped through her. Could it have something to do with the money that had ended up in her account? Was it possible that at the same time she’d been trying to figure out where it had come from, they had also been trying to figure out where it had gone? As she racked her brain about how it could have happened, she walked up to the next floor and down the long hallway carpeted in a sound-deadening pile.

She had been so upset when she came home from Chicago that evening and had rushed in the house. She’d wanted to hide her tears from Zach… Tessa paused outside the door to Alexander Barlow-Barrett’s suite of offices. Her computer and bag… Zach had brought them in. Had he… She shook her head. No way. He couldn’t have known the account number, could he? She went over and over possible scenarios as to how he might have accessed the account as she turned the knob. Although she didn’t want to pin it on Zach, she couldn’t fathom how it could be anyone else.

If at all possible, Tallmadge looked even icier than usual. She punched the intercom as soon as Tessa walked through the door.

“Miss Edwards is here, Mr. Barrett.” Tallmadge examined her with cold, colorless eyes. “Come with me.”

Tessa made a face behind the older woman’s back at her imperious tone, but worry haunted her. She knew Zach had been angry at Seth, but surely he wouldn’t… She didn’t even want to go there, and she knew no matter what happened, she would never admit it might have been her little brother who had fiddled with the Barrett account. She would do anything to protect him. He was a kid.

“Miss Edwards.” Alexander Barrett’s tone was as cold as a nor’easter blowing in as he turned toward her. He did not invite her to sit. “The accounting department has been researching an irregularity with one of our accounts, and it was brought to my attention you might know something about it.”

“Which account would that be, sir?” Tessa inquired, trying to stall for time. Sweat trickled down her spine. If any of this came back to Zach, her aunt and uncle would return to court seeking custody again.

“The travel account Seth and Brandon use,” Barrett said.

“What seems to be the problem?” Tessa asked, but inside she quaked.

“A matter of some missing funds, ten thousand dollars worth. I spoke to Seth, who said you are the only one who’s accessed the account in the last month.” Alexander Barrett paused. “Now, Miss Edwards, let’s stop playing games. Perhaps you should tell me what’s going on.”

Tessa raised her chin. She hated lying, but Zach had to come first. “I know nothing at all about it.”

“Then perhaps you would care to explain the note I have from your own bank saying you authorized a deposit this morning from your account to replace the money.”

Tessa could do nothing to hide her involuntary start.

“Ah, I see we’re jogging your memory.”

“I have no idea how the money ended up in my account to begin with,” Tessa protested, but she knew it sounded weak. He’d caught her in a lie, so her credibility was shot.

Alexander Barlow-Barrett eyed her with all the warmth of a pit viper. “For the sake of my son, who seems to value your…services, I am not handing you over to the police. However, as of right now, your employment with Barrett is terminated.”

“Seth…” Tessa started to protest, but if anything Barrett’s gaze became even more glacial.

“Knows what I am doing and agrees it is the only course. Since he’s out of town and can’t do it himself, he’s left your departure in my hands.” With one last look that dismissed her as being no more important than a speck of lint, he went back to the papers he’d been scanning. “Tallmadge will escort you out.”

Tessa was in shock. Seth knew? He had agreed–without even talking to her? She barely heard Tallmadge as she returned to her desk. She grabbed a picture of Zach and the fisherman’s loop Seth had tied and followed Tallmadge into the elevator. Tessa closed her eyes the whole way down, refusing to let the older woman see her fear at being in that confined space. She ignored the strange glances they received as Tallmadge walked with her all the way to the sidewalk, where a cab waited.

She sat in the back seat, her hands shaking so much she tucked them between her knees. It had to have been Zach, but she would not, could not throw him to the wolves to save herself. They had just a few months to go until she turned twenty-five and could access his trust. Their aunt and uncle would no longer be a threat to them then. She would have to find some other job in the meantime and try to keep this under wraps. No way did she want her aunt and uncle finding out.

All the mistrust she thought she had put behind her surged back tenfold. How could Seth have gone along with his father without even speaking to her? She knew he did what he felt was his duty to Barrett Newspapers, but didn’t what they’d shared give her some claim on a portion of that loyalty? Was this what his words of love were worth? Tessa pushed Seth from her mind. She had to, for her own sanity. She couldn’t afford to think about him. He was like everyone else. When it was all said and done, the only person she could trust was herself. Hadn’t she learned that lesson the hard way?

Tessa called her old employer as soon as she got back to her apartment, but hung up the phone with a dispirited shrug. They had filled her position and things were tight right now. They couldn’t even take her on a temporary basis. She had to find a job, fast. If Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Edwin got any inkling her and Zach’s circumstances had changed... Tessa didn’t even want to go there.

The real problem was going to be replacing the income she’d lost. Zach would start school in two weeks, and she still had uniforms to buy, plus other items on the long list of supplies he needed, not to mention the remaining tuition payments. Tessa poured herself a glass of wine and curled up on the window seat. When the phone rang late that evening, she checked the caller ID and recognized Seth’s cell number. She turned away and let the answering machine pick it up.

Thursday morning she took a hard look at what skills she had. Her degree in social work wasn’t getting her anywhere. She had computer and organizational skills, but she now also had no reference from Barrett. She had waited tables in college to help with some extra spending money and had done pretty well, but again, what reputable restaurant was going to hire her, much less pay her what she’d made at Barrett? Tessa tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table and grabbed her gym bag. She would go to the Y and swim. Maybe she could think of something while doing laps.

Another young woman joined her, asking if they could share lanes since the pool was crowded.

“No problem.”

The woman towered above Tessa and looked like a Nordic goddess in her suit. They kept an even pace, and when they finished working out, they headed back to the locker room together.

“I wish I could just swim every day,” the woman confided. “But I have to throw some running in there too in order to keep my figure or I’ll lose my job.”

“Are you a model?” Tessa asked.

“Lord, no.” The lissome blond laughed. “I’m a dancer.”

“Ballet?” Tessa asked at the same time she was thinking the woman was a little tall for that.

This time the blonde almost doubled over with laughter. “No, I dance at Flamingo Road.”

Tessa had heard of it. It was a ‘gentlemen’s’ club, although it did have a reputation for being high class.

“My name’s Lucy, but at work I’m known as Jasmine Le Fleur. Fancy, huh?” She laughed as if it was all a huge joke. “What’s your name?”

“Tessa Edwards. And my name’s the same no matter where I am.”

The two women shook hands and grinned at each other. Lucy invited Tessa out for coffee. It was while they were sipping away on lattes that Lucy asked, “So what do you do?”

“Nothing at the moment. I just got fired from my last job, so I’m looking.”

“Any luck?”

“Not so far. My job before the one I got fired from was filled and they’re not hiring anyone else right now.”

“My boss is.”

Tessa stared at Lucy and almost spit her coffee out as she started to laugh. “No offense, Lucy, but I can’t picture me doing exotic dancing. I mean, let’s be realistic. You’re almost six feet, I’m barely five-foot-two. You are built and I’m…”

“Built,” Lucy finished for her. “Look, Roberto’s not looking for dancers right now. He’s looking for a waitress. The pay is good and the tips can be even better.” Lucy named a figure that at last caught Tessa’s attention.

“What do I have to wear?” she asked the taller woman, unable to keep the skepticism from her voice.

“It has a top.” Lucy laughed. “And a bottom. Not much of either, that’s for sure, but the important parts are covered. You’d be a knockout with that red hair of yours. Most of the wait staff works six to three. You should come with me and talk to Roberto. I can vouch for the fact that he’s an excellent boss–and a great guy. The shoes are tricky–high, high heels–but you get used to them.”

And somehow, Tessa Edwards, from one of the bluest-blooded first families of Virginia, found herself talking to Roberto at one of the finest strip clubs in the area. Even more amusing, she left with a job she would start the following evening.

Tessa explained what had happened at Barrett to her neighbor. The older woman shook her head. “I’m so sorry to hear that, honey. That Seth seemed like such a nice man, taking you and your brother sailing and all. I guess you just don’t know.”

“Well, it’s in the past. I’m starting a new job and I’ll need your help because of the hours.” Although she was reluctant, Tessa explained where and what her new job was, and the older woman nodded.

“I had to work where I could when I was bringing up my two, so I understand. There’s no shame in honest work. Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll keep an eye on Zach for you.”

Tessa checked her messages when she walked back in and saw Seth had called two more times. She listened to the messages, steeling herself against him.

“Tessa, pick up the phone!” he demanded in the last message. “Talk to me, damn it, and tell me what’s going on!” She heard him swear. “I’ll come by when I get back tomorrow. We need to talk.”

Tessa’s finger shook as she pressed the button to erase the message. There was nothing to talk about, and she wouldn’t be here when he came by. She lifted her chin and pressed her lips together. She would be working at her new job, taking orders from a new boss. It was just as well. It would be a clean break.

* * * *

He’d moved heaven and earth to get everything on the West Coast settled so he could fly back home. As the limo ferried him from the airport to Barrett headquarters, Seth tapped his fingers against the doorframe.

He needed to know what the hell was going on before he talked to Tessa. He didn’t want to believe what appeared to be damning evidence. He’d seen the transfer of the money himself. Ten grand that had left the travel account and then been replaced–out of Tessa’s personal checking account. It was a classic scheme that a lot of people got away with, for a while–”borrowing” money to cover a temporary shortfall and then paying it back. Sooner or later, it caught up with them. Seth knew she had her brother’s tuition and other school expenses and was still waiting on access to the trust fund, but he didn’t want to believe it. His father already had the business office checking to see if there’d been any other suspicious transfers from that account or any of the others Tessa would have had access to.

His head pounded and his stomach knotted with tension.

As soon as the limo pulled up in front of the glass doors, Seth was out of the car and stalking up to the building. The security guard started to greet him, but then apparently thought better of it and went back to work.

Great.

Seth had only one person he wanted to see right now. Alexander Barlow-Barrett.

Even Tallmadge got out of Seth’s way as he swept past her and entered his father’s office with barely a knock. His father looked over the rim of his reading glasses and eased back in his big leather chair, steepling his fingers in front of his face.

“It’s customary to knock.”

Seth ignored him. “I want to know what the fuck happened around here.”

His father’s eyes narrowed. “No matter what you might think, Seth, I am still the head of this company, and you will not barge into my office and use that type of language. If you’re referring to your former assistant–she admitted to my face that she authorized the bank to put the money back, but that was only after I caught her in a lie.”

“Tessa wouldn’t…”

His father leaned forward. “She did, Seth, and she admitted it. I know you were infatuated with the girl, so I’m not pressing charges…”

He felt as though someone had reached inside his chest and crushed his heart. All at once, weariness crashed in on him. For a while, a short while, he’d dared to think things could be different. He still didn’t want to believe. Not until he talked to Tessa, not until she looked him in the face and told him.

He drew himself up, his mouth tight. “It was more than infatuation. I wanted to marry her.”

His father stood up. “Well, I hope you hadn’t done anything so foolish as propose. I hardly need to tell you that any such relationship would be out of the question.”

Seth slapped his palm down on his father’s desk. “That is not your decision to make!”

“You have a position to uphold in this community, this industry. How could you even contemplate such a ridiculous thing? Stop thinking with your penis, Seth.”

He shook his head. “I have to talk to her…”

Alexander sighed as though he were giving up on trying to make any rational arguments.

“Do it. I know what happened in this office, what she admitted. But if you have to hear it from her, then do so, and let’s move on.”

Seth inclined his head.

* * * *

Tessa arrived a half-hour ahead of her shift so she had time to change. Roberto had explained all the girls changed into their uniforms in the dressing area at Flamingo Road. Lucy grinned at her and called her name. Tessa gaped as she saw the postage stamp-sized sequins that passed for a costume for Jasmine Le Fleur and the exotic makeup Lucy applied.

“Wow.” Tessa laughed. “I would never have known you if you hadn’t called my name.”

Lucy smiled at her in the mirror. Gone was the freshly scrubbed look she sported at the gym. In its place were thick, false eyelashes topping off darkly rimmed and shadowed eyes. She pointed a mascara wand at the black woman next to her. “This is Tiffany, your shift supervisor. She can get you squared away. I’ve got to go limber up some more before I go on.”

Tessa watched Lucy disappear through a door into a room where she spotted mirrored walls and a ballet barre before the door closed behind her. She turned her gaze to the black woman regarding her with the faintest smirk on her full lips. “First time in a strip club, honey?”

Tiffany turned out to be one of the most down-to-earth, practical women Tessa had ever met. She was supporting three kids on her own after her husband left her, so she could relate to Tessa’s situation. Tiffany helped her adjust her uniform. She pushed Tessa’s breasts a little higher and pulled her top a little lower.

At Tessa’s blush, Tiffany stared at her hard. “Honey, you want all the tips you can get, and that means showing these things off. I’m not saying you let anyone touch you, but the more you smile and flaunt what God gave you, the more money you’ll find in your pocketbook at the end of the evening. You got it?”

Tessa nodded, shocked by how frank the woman was. “It’s just kind of a switch from silk and suits to spandex and spikes.”

Tiffany laughed. “You’ll get used to it. It’s a job, baby girl, like any other.”

By three-thirty in the morning, Tessa had no doubts it was a job, but she was not sure she could agree it was like any other. Her feet ached from running back and forth in high heels with drink orders and munchies. She did her best to follow Tiffany’s advice, and had found either Roberto or Tiffany close at hand whenever one of the customers tried to get a little too friendly. Tessa changed back into her street clothes and washed off the makeup, but she still needed a shower to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol, and she would feel better about showering at her own home.

She was bone weary when she pulled up in front of her house. As she walked up the sidewalk, Seth stepped out of the shadows. His size alone was enough to take her breath away and make her heart beat in fear for a fraction of a second before she realized who it was. Then anger and hurt replaced the fear.

“Where the hell have you been?” he barked.

“None of your business!” she snapped back, too tired to want to talk about anything. He wasn’t her boss any longer, and he sure as hell wasn’t a man who loved her.

“Like hell it’s not!” Seth snarled and spun her around and into his arms. He recoiled as the smell of the smoke and booze that clung to her assailed him. “Jesus. You smell like a bar. Is that where you’ve been? I’ve waited hours for you to get home and you’ve been at a bar?”

His face was a mask of fury that almost, but not quite, concealed the hurt and confusion he felt. Tessa was too mad and hurt to let herself see much of anything other than his anger.

“So what if I have? Do you think my life has stopped because I don’t work for you? Do you think you’re the only man wanting to touch me?” She said it to hurt him. She wanted him to hurt like she did. Tessa jerked her arm away from him. “Go away, Seth,” she whispered, hoping the ache in her heart wasn’t noticeable in her voice. “Go back to your family duty and your fortress of glass and steel. Find someone else to mouth your meaningless words of love to, and leave me the hell alone.”

She ran then, but he didn’t come after her. As she shut the door, she saw him stalk off down the block. Tessa leaned against the hall door and let the hot tears spill down her cheeks.

* * * *

Seth sat in his SUV, staring at the front of the house and watching as the light went on in Tessa’s apartment. He sucked in a harsh breath, a sob really, and blinked his eyes to clear them. He hadn’t wanted to believe his father, hadn’t wanted to believe that Tessa was nothing more than an opportunist, but even her own words seemed to back that up. The jewelry box in his pocket felt like a hot poker burning a brand into his thigh. Seth’s jaw hardened, and he started the Escalade and drove away. He would not make the mistake of being so gullible again. She had stomped on his love, but he would be the one to kill it.

Bitterness welled, flooding through him. As long as he stayed the heir apparent, this was what his life would be. He’d thought she was different, thought she’d been able to see him, but it was the Barlow-Barrett empire she’d had her eye on, not him. She’d just been careless and gotten caught.