Marie Harte - Below the Surface

The day progressed with an almost disturbing tedium, databases and spreadsheets taking up the majority of her time. She missed lunch, again , opting for a candy bar Jonas found in his office, and sat through the last half of her day with him, restructuring their present accounts.

“Storm sure brings us a lot of business,” Jonas said casually before rattling off another stream of data for Tessa to input into the computer.

Tessa stopped typing. “What did you say?”

“Only that Storm is as good as they say.” He shook his head, his gaze glued to the papers on his desk, making it unable to read the emotion in his eyes. “I didn’t think a hotshot from nowhere would garner us two of the biggest accounts in the northwest, and that was before the Ryder deal.”

“Your point?” she asked softly, willing him to meet her gaze.

He did, but showed her nothing. “You know, when I first assigned you to oversee his accounts, I was hoping for some spark between the two of you.” She stared in surprise. “He’s the office playboy, and you give off ‘don’t touch me’ signals all the time. I wanted to see what would happen.”

“Jonas?” What the hell was he talking about?

“It was presumptuous of me, I’m sorry.” He sounded earnest, but she just couldn’t read his face. And that bothered her. “But you work too hard, Tessa. I wanted you to have some fun with life.” He flushed and she blinked. “I see a lot of myself in you. Maybe that’s why we never hit it off, you and me, I mean.”

“Jonas, I—”

“Admit it, Tessa. I have women throwing themselves at me all the time, not that I’m bragging.” He grinned, a lighthearted expression that made him seem years younger. “From the minute you started working for me I felt a physical attraction for you but little else. And you never once gave me any indication you felt anything but friendship towards me.”

She blushed, uncomfortable yet fascinated at this personal discussion with Jonas. “I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s just it. You always know what to say. But lately with Storm, you’re different.” He sounded concerned. “I wanted you and Storm to hit it off. He seemed like a nice guy. He’s smart and supposedly decent, if you know which stories to listen to.” He grimaced. “And speaking of rumours, Davis is one source you won’t have to worry about anymore. Which brings me to my point. The way Storm jumped all over Davis made me think maybe you and he are somewhat, ah, involved?”

“Well, I, he,” she flubbed. It was none of Jonas’ business, yet his concern was palpable, and even endearing.

“I’m sorry for butting in, but I think of you as a friend and someone I care about. In a purely platonic sense,” he added hastily. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, Tessa. And especially not because of something I did. If you like Storm, that’s your business. But if he’s making you uncomfortable, I’d be more than happy to talk to him, the way I did Davis this morning.”

And Marcus thought Jonas was the Djinn. A man who was turning beet red because he’d set her up with the office ‘playboy’. She shook her head and smiled.

“Marcus and I are friends, Jonas. It’s nothing you have to worry about.” She sighed. “Frankly, I was putting too much belief into the rumours about him and finally confronted him about it. If anyone would have talked to me the way I talked to him, I probably would have decked him. But not Marcus. He’s a real gentleman .” Who can steal my breath with a look. “Now, I’ll grant you he’s a bit arrogant.”

Jonas gave her a look that clearly said understatement .

“Okay, a lot arrogant. But to be fair, he’s earned the conceit when it comes to business.” And loving , she couldn’t help inwardly admitting. “And decking Davis, that makes him more than special in my book.”

Jonas chuckled, seeming relieved. “I agree to that. I’ve already counseled Davis once about his interactions with some of the female staff, and have been meaning to have another talk with him about harassment, even though you refused to nail him for it the last time we discussed this,” he reprimanded subtly. “But Storm beat me to the punch, literally.”

Tessa grinned, then sobered as a thought occurred to her. “Has Davis complained at all about what Marcus did to him?”

“No. I think if he did, he’d have to explain just who beat him up and why. No one around here has ever questioned Storm, except for you, of course. And now, apparently, the man doesn’t have one person on his bad side except Davis.”

Tessa nodded absently, wondering why she was feeling as if someone had just walked over her grave.

Jonas shook his head and gave her a rueful grin. “I’m a fool for bringing any of this up. I know you have an older brother to look out for you, it’s just that we work together and you’re so,” he paused.

“So what?” she asked, both curious and pleased.

“Hell, Tessa. You’re gorgeous and strong, and strangely vulnerable when no one’s looking,” he said quietly. “And now I’ve made you uncomfortable again. I’m sorry.” He rolled his eyes. “Forget I said anything about any of this. In fact, grab your stuff and go home for the day. You’ve been working your ass off for weeks now. Get out of here.”

She sighed, relieved her non-PC boss had finally returned. “My ass is only too happy to oblige,” she said with a huff and stood. “And I refuse to feel guilty about leaving since there’s only one more sheet to input.”

“Yeah,” he said smugly. “That’s why I’m being such a great boss about letting you leave early. Because you’ve already finished ninety-nine percent of the work.”

Tessa laughed and left him busy by his computer. Nodding to several coworkers, she chatted her way to her office when she was waylaid by Judy.

“Tessa, I need a favour,” Judy said breathlessly, as if she’d been running.

“Sure, Judy, what do you need?” Tessa asked cautiously as Judy followed her into her office. Did the woman want her to plate Marcus’ name in gold and hang it above the employee of the year plaque in the foyer? Or maybe she wanted Tessa to coordinate a Be-Nice-To-Marcus day.

Judy looked both left and right, as if someone might possibly be lurking in Tessa’s empty office, and closed the door behind her to ensure privacy. “Mr. Conklin is expecting a very important and confidential package that right now is waiting in the lobby. The private courier can’t come up here with it due to information we learned today.”

Judy glanced over her shoulder at the closed door before leaning forward to whisper, “We have a corporate spy here in Tomanna.”

Tessa could feel the blood drain from her face. It was starting. Shit. Covington was fired, out of the picture. How was this happening?

“You’re kidding,” she said, her eyes wide with real shock.

Judy nodded furiously. “I only wish I were. Mr. Conklin is stunned and very, very upset, I don’t have to tell you. As of this moment, the only people he trusts around here are me, Marcus, Jonas and you. And since the rest of us are busy, I was hoping you could grab the package. I would but I’m already late for Mr. Conklin’s yearly analysis overview. Damn,” she swore as she noted the clock above Tessa’s head.

“Sure, I’ll get it.” Tessa felt as if she were swimming. Her thoughts floated, just out of reach, keeping her from thinking rationally. Visions of a jail cell and handcuffs reverberated through her mind.

“Oh, thank you,” Judy gushed and turned to the door. “One more thing, the courier is downstairs in the lobby wearing a ball cap and a heavy, denim jacket. Sounds very double-oh-sevenish, I know, but this deal could net us millions if we play it right, and that means keeping mum to our competitors.” She grimaced. “That we have to stoop to disguises and secrets is ridiculous. If it weren’t for Mr. Conklin’s insistence on discretion, I’d call the police right now.”