Tessa's Temptation (21 page)

“Don’t play with me. You didn’t tell me the truth. Everyone at your office knew about the two of you, didn’t they? You made me look like a fool.”

“No one sees you that way.”

“I do.” What could possibly have made him think it was okay to keep this from her? “Do you still have feelings for her? Is that why?”

“Of course not.” He pulled her into his embrace. “You are everything to me. No other woman could mean as much to me as you do. You have to know that.”

“I pushed myself on you,” she said. “Every chance I got. How do I know you weren’t going to work things out with Audra? Maybe I’m the rebound girl.”

“I’m telling you the truth. You’re it for me.”

“I want to believe that but something is wrong.” Her instincts were screaming there was more to this story. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Don’t make this more than it is.” He kissed her. “Please.”

It would be so easy for her to get lost in his lips... his touch... his love. He was everything to her.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” She sensed his apprehension. “You’re holding back on me and I need to know why.”

“You’re too perceptive for your own good.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to worry.”

“I
will
worry and I’ll just torture you until you tell me everything I need to know.” She waited for him to respond. “I’m furious right now and the more you try to hide it from me the more pissed off I’ll be.”

“Tessa.” He sighed. “Audra is one of my biggest mistakes.”

“Then why does she still work with you?”

“Another mistake I made.” He tried to kiss her again but she pressed her palm against his chest. “She isn’t stable. I thought she was okay but I was wrong.”

“She’s nuts?”

“After we broke up she had a nervous breakdown. She went away for a few months to get herself together. After she got home she seemed better. She came back to work for me. She even started seeing someone, but things began to change when I expressed interest in you.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She would have trusted him if he had told her about the relationship. “Keeping things from me doesn’t sit well with me.”

“I didn’t think it was important. I thought she’d back off, but she’s getting more aggressive. Sending Tanner here was the last straw. She needs help. I’ll arrange that for her. Maybe she needs to go away again. I can’t dismiss her irrational behavior anymore.”

“Did she key my car?”

“I think so.”

“Then why would you keep her around?”

“I couldn’t prove it. I thought it was best to keep her where I could see her.”

“This is too much.” It was as if everything she had trusted was crashing down around her.

“What does that mean?”

“All your talk about other men. How you wanted to kill anyone that looked at me the wrong way. What about all those times you said I was yours and no one else could ever touch me?”

“I meant that. When I saw Tanner’s hands on you I lost it.”

“Why was it okay for you to work with Audra and not tell me about your past?”

“It was a professional relationship.”

“You had sex with her and you didn’t tell me.” Bile rose in her throat when she thought about the two of them in bed.

“I never asked you about your past relationships. I just thought we were starting a life together and the past didn’t matter.”

“This is different. You work with her every day. She still has feelings for you. You should have told me, especially after my car was keyed. I deserved to know who did it.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You hurt me. Again.”

“Do you know how much I regret that?” He stroked her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head. “Tessa, don’t do this. Stop trying to shut me out.”

“I need some time to think.”

“About what?”

“I’m angry.”

“Let me fix this.” He focused on her lips. “Let me make it right.”

“Not tonight.” She wiggled out of his hold. “I want to be alone.”

“Sweetheart?”

“I’ll sleep in my old room.”

“Fine,” he said so low she almost missed it. “I fucked up. I realize that. I’ll give you your space but if you change your mind you know where to find me.”

“I just need tonight, okay?” She wasn’t trying to hurt him. After what had happened with Tanner, finding out about Audra had really thrown her. She wanted to be alone, take a hot bath and crawl into bed and not think about anything else.

“Good night,” he mumbled as he walked down the hall.

Chapter Twenty-four

Chase stopped a
t
Nefis Caf
é
in the lobby for coffee. He set the steaming cup on his desk and turned on his computer. He hadn’t slept most of the night. He’d gotten out of bed and walked down the hall to Tessa’s room three times, but each time he stopped himself before knocking. He had promised her some space. After about four hours of a restless night, he decided to get up and work. He worked out some changes for his professional life. He’d put steps in place so this morning would go according to plan. Audra wouldn’t like what he had done, but she had crossed a line the night before. He wasn’t going to tolerate it any longer.

He’d been wrong. He should have told Tessa about Audra. It was an awkward situation – one he thought had been resolved. He should have known she wouldn’t go away quietly. When he started noticing her erratic behavior he figured he’d just keep an eye on her. He should have cut her lose then.

When he reached for a pen he knocked over his coffee. “Shit!” He picked it up, but not before it soaked a stack of papers on his desk. He threw the empty cup across the room.

“Rough night?” Audra stood in the doorway of his office, dressed in an incredibly tight skirt. She hadn’t bothered to button the first four buttons of her blouse and her heels were higher than her usual office shoes. She had on more makeup than normal and her hair was blown out straight and shiny.

What is she up to
?
“Good, you’re here.” He wiped up the coffee with a handful of tissues, tossing the sopping mess into the trash can when he was finished. “We might as well get this over with.”

“Trouble at home?” She stepped into the office, shutting the door behind her. “Tanner told me what happened.”

“You mean what you put him up to?” He was furious at his clueless intern but he would deal with him later.

“You didn’t buy his story, did you? He’s been jacking off to Tessa’s image ever since he met her. I had nothing to do with that.”

“Don’t talk about her that way.” He had to control the urge to grab her and literally toss her out of his building. “You filled his head with false hope. Tessa was never going to reciprocate.”

“Just because she didn’t cheat on you last night doesn’t mean she won’t or that she hasn’t already.”

“You don’t know anything about her.”

“And obviously she didn’t know anything about us. According to Tanner she was shocked to learn you and I had been intimate.” She laughed. “How did that work out for you?”

“My relationship with her is none of your business. You’re my attorney, or at least you were.” Obviously she hadn’t gotten his note yet. “We can’t work like this anymore.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“As of eight o’clock this morning, I no longer require your services. Check your email,” he said. “You’ll find a letter of termination. I’ve compensated you quite well, but I’m taking my business in a different direction that doesn’t include us working together. I’m opting out of our contract.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can and I did,” he said. “My new attorney has explained everything in detail for you. When you came back on as my lawyer we placed stipulations in your contract. You approved them. I took you back on the basis that you were well and able to work.”

“I am able to work.”

“Maybe, just not for me. I think you need help but that’s not my concern anymore. I tried to help you before but I see how you repaid me.”

“How dare you throw my breakdown back in my face? How could you do that? You know what a hard time I had.”

“I didn’t want to but you’ve left me no choice.” He slammed his fist on his desk when he thought about her keying Tessa’s car and sending Tanner to force himself on her. “You interfered in my personal life and I will not tolerate that. I won’t let you terrorize Tessa. Your issues are with me, not her.”

“Why are you doing this? I was trying to show you that you’re living with a gold digging tramp who would do anything to sleep in your bed.”

“She’s done nothing to you.”

“She’s taken you from me.” She paced the office, waving her hands around. “We were finding our way back to one another. We would have if you hadn’t moved her into your home. Why did you do that?”

“You’re delusional.”

“There you go again, trying to throw my breakdown back at me.” With each word she became more irate. “You understood. You took care of me until that whore moved in. Once she got in your bed, you forgot about me.”

“That’s enough.” Chase stood and walked past her to the door because he had to stop this. “I want you out of here. I can call the facility that helped you before. I can arrange for you to go back there and get help again or we can find someplace else. Would you like me to call your therapist?”

“I’m not crazy.” She wiped her eyes. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“I didn’t say you were, but after what you did to Tessa, I can’t have you here.” He opened the door because he wanted her to leave before she caused a scene. His employees were starting to trickle in and she was more unstable than he had initially thought. “Would you like me to call someone for you? Perhaps your sister?”

“Why are you doing this to me? To us? I was willing to wait her out and then you would see we belonged together. I’m the better choice for you.”

“Audra, there is no us. There hasn’t been for a very long time. Tessa had nothing to do with our break up.”

She continued to pace his office, gazing out the window and then back at him.

“Do you understand that?” He needed to make sure she didn’t blame Tessa for anything.

“Stop treating me like I’m certifiable.” She adjusted her blouse and smoothed her hair. “I get that we were broken up before she came into the picture. I was trying to be a friend to you.” She walked toward him. “I can see that’s not what you want. You really want me gone?”

“I’m sorry, but yes.” She didn’t appear as agitated as she had been a few seconds before. She seemed calmer and more composed. He wasn’t sure that was a good sign. “It’s not working out for either of us.”

“Fine, but don’t come crying to me when your slut from the wrong side of the tracks rips out your heart and stomps all over it. She’ll never be who you need.”

He didn’t give her the satisfaction of a response as she stormed past him and hurried down the hallway. He hoped she’d clear out and leave him alone. This wouldn’t be the last of her. He was certain she’d slap him with some kind of lawsuit, but at least she’d be out of his office. He hoped her sister could get her the help she needed. Now he had to figure out a way to make Tessa forgive him.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted her a quick message. She was still asleep when he left the house.

Morning, sweetheart.

After a few minutes, he decided to go refill his coffee. She always responded within seconds when he texted her. She was probably still pissed at him. He didn’t blame her but he intended to make things right.

He had a few things to take care of at the office and he wanted to make sure Audra left without any commotion. Then he could go home and be with the most important woman in his life.

***

Tess showered, made breakfast, and wrapped some Christmas presents all before nine. Chase had left the house earlier than usual, and didn’t bother to say goodbye. He was probably avoiding her. She tried to keep her mind off what had happened the night before, but nothing seemed to work. She hadn’t slept at all. The more waking hours that passed the more she wanted to go crawl into bed with him. She was trying to prove a point when she told him she wanted to be alone, but all it had done was make her miserable. He was wrong and when he got home from work she planned to tell him how hurt she was, and that if their relationship was going to work he was going to have to be totally honest with her. She didn’t need to know about every woman he had slept with, but he should have had the sense to tell her about his attorney. Especially since she was an unstable bitch. Every time she thought about Audra keying her car she wanted to slap her.

Tess may have been harsh on Chase. He was very protective of her, but that didn’t give him the right to keep things from her. Perhaps she should call him and let him know she wasn’t as angry as she was last night. She wasn’t going to let him off the hook easily, but there was no reason to let him go through the day feeling as bad as she did. Maybe if they talked for a few minutes she wouldn’t be so unhappy.

When she retrieved her phone from her hoodie pocket she saw she’d missed a text from him. He’d sent it over an hour ago. She smiled when she read his morning greeting. He was reaching out to her too. Just as she was about to respond the doorbell chimed. May had taken a few days off to get her holiday shopping done and visit with her grandkids. Tess set her phone down on the table and headed to the front door. She must not have been fast enough for the impatient caller because now they were knocking hard on the door.

“I’m coming,” she shouted. “No need to be rude.”

Her lack of sleep and fight with Chase had left her in a foul mood. She didn’t feel like dealing with any drama today. As she peeked out of the glass window she rolled her eyes.

Hell no! I don’t need this drama.

“What do you want?” she asked as she pulled open the door to greet her unwanted guest.