anyway, Nina nagged me about bringing her son’s orthodontist to Dana’s big Christmas bash, but I told her I’d find my own date, thank you very much. No, I don’t know who it will be. You know my lousy luck with the online dating sites I’ve tried lately. Maybe I’ll just take Glenn. Yes, I know you keep telling me he’s boring, but maybe we’ve been too critical of him. He’s a nice enough guy. Makes no secret that he’s ready to settle down and start a family. Maybe I’ve just been too—”
Scott opened and closed the front door. More loudly this time. He’d suddenly realized that he’d been standing in one place for too long, hearing more than Tess would surely want him to know.
He heard her mutter something quickly, followed by the thud of her phone, then the squeak of her chair. Moments later she appeared in the open doorway looking slightly flustered, though she almost instantly assumed her usual calm and collected expression. She was dressed more casually than on weekdays in a blue-and-black patterned tunic with black leggings tucked into flat boots. She’d left her hair down rather than in the neat twist she usually wore for work. He’d seen her weekend look many times before, of course—but he thought she looked particularly pretty today. The slight flush that lingered on her cheeks was definitely becoming.
“Scott? What are you doing here? I thought you and your dad and brothers were driving to Missouri for the Razorbacks game today.”
“We were. But Eli had to be on call because one of his partners broke an arm in a Thanksgiving biking accident. Then Jake’s son came down with a virus and our plans all fell apart. We gave our tickets to Mom and Dad’s neighbors and their kids. They were happy to get them.”
“I’m sorry your plans were canceled. You really needed a break from work.”
He felt his mouth quirk into a half smile. “Are you saying I’ve been surly lately?”
“Not surly, just... Okay, maybe a little surly,” she said with a quiet laugh.
He could count on Tess to be honest with him, sometimes brutally so. Somehow she always managed to do so without crossing boundaries of the employee-employer relationship, even when she was annoyed with him. And she had been annoyed with him on several occasions.
He cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. You have to admit, the past few months have been challenging.” They’d dealt with a couple of big, complicated jobs, a burglary at a job site that had cost them several expensive tools, even a break-in here at the office earlier in the year. Speaking of which...
He frowned. “Why was the security system turned off? You shouldn’t be here alone on a weekend, especially after dark, without that alarm activated. As I’ve just proved, anyone could have walked in.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you have to use your key?”
He was still surprised she hadn’t heard him enter the first time, which only illustrated how focused she’d been on her conversation. “Well, yes, but still...”
Relenting, she smiled. “I’ve had the security system on almost the whole time I’ve been here. I turned it off when I ran out to my car for something I’d forgotten and I was going to turn it back on after I finished a phone call in my office.”
He kept his expression as unrevealing as he could manage. He knew she’d be embarrassed if she thought he’d overheard too much of that call. “I want you to be safe when you’re here alone. Keep the blasted thing turned on.”
Sending a salute toward him that was just short of impertinent, she said, “Yes, sir. I’ll do that.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Insubordination. Remind me again why I keep you around?”
She laughed easily, slipping back into the comfortable relationship they’d forged during their years of working side by side. “Because you know this entire enterprise would collapse without me.”
He chuckled after she pretty much echoed his thoughts from earlier. He had to concede her point.
She’d made her mark on every aspect of his business, from the state of the reception area to the total of the bottom line.
Speaking of the reception area... He suddenly noticed decorations that hadn’t been there a few days earlier. A Christmas tree sat in the front corner, decorated with gold-and-white ornaments and tiny white lights. A strand of garland wound with gold ribbon draped the front of the reception desk, matching the wreath on the door. On the tables sat frosted glass holders with fat white candles. All very subtle and tasteful—very Tess, he thought with a faint smile. She could have assigned one or two of the clerical workers she now supervised to decorate, but she’d no doubt taken care of it herself, as she had every Christmas since she’d started working for him.
“You came in today just to decorate?”
“I thought I’d get the decorations up while I had a quiet afternoon to work on them. I’m almost finished.”
“Looks nice. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’ve got it, thanks. There are only a few more things I want to do.”
Nodding, he moved toward the closed door of his own larger office to the right side of hers. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m going to review the paperwork for that Springdale job we start Monday, just to make sure everything is lined up.”
“I left a couple of contracts on your desk for you to look over and sign. They could have waited until Monday, but since you’re here...”
“I’m on it.”
He glanced over his shoulder as he opened the door with his name engraved on a brass plaque. Tess stood half-turned away from him, frowning in concentration at the Christmas tree, which looked perfect already to him. She really did look pretty today. He thought fleetingly about telling her so, but something held him back.
He made a cup of coffee with the pod brewer on his credenza. “Would you like a hot drink?” he asked through the open doorway as the enticing aroma filled his office. The rack beside the pot always included a variety of herbal teas that he knew Tess liked. They often shared drinks at his desk as they discussed business.
“No, thank you,” she called back without making an appearance. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed that she was too busy for a cozy chat, which meant he had no excuse to procrastinate any longer with the work he’d come in to see to.
Taking a seat at his desk, he tried to concentrate on paperwork for the next twenty minutes. Despite his resistance, his thoughts kept returning to the one-sided conversation he’d accidentally overheard, and the glimpse of insight it had provided into Tess’s personal life. Of course, he couldn’t have worked so closely with her for six years without knowing some things about her.
Through night classes and online courses, she’d completed her business degree and had earned postgraduate hours since she’d started working with him. He knew she took pride in those accomplishments. During that same time, he’d seen her deal with the illness and loss of both her parents. He’d gotten the impression the majority of the caregiving had been on her shoulders because her sister had been so busy with her young children. Yet he’d never once heard Tess complain. Whatever she dealt with in her off-hours, she’d always reported to work with her usual serene efficiency.
Serene.
