Page 10
Author: Bella Andre
“Didn’t you?”
“Can you ask me that again after I’ve had a good night’s sleep? Because by the time you dropped me off last night, it was all I could do just to take off my clothes before falling into bed. ”
Just that quickly, with one teeny-tiny little mention of stripping off her clothes, the air in the room shifted from teasing to desire.
Again, it occurred to her that if she’d had more experience with men—any experience at all, really—she would have known how to capitalize on a moment like this. Surely, other women must know how to turn a heated moment into an equally heated kiss. Or more. Because, as he stared so hungrily at her mouth that her lips began to tingle from nothing more than the intensity of his gaze, she could have sworn that Ian wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
Unfortunately, it was just as clear that he was not going to be the one to make the first move.
In the day and a half that Tatiana had spent shadowing Ian, she’d seen just how well he treated his employees and the companies he worked with. She’d witnessed time and again his focus, his determination, his intense drive to win. She’d seen him soften around his family at the wedding in Napa, especially the little ones. No question about it, Ian Sullivan was a good, strong man with a great family behind him.
Which was why she still didn’t understand why he was so careful not to let anyone in too close. Especially her.
He was so careful around her, in fact, that apart from the attraction he didn’t always manage to hide, she didn’t have any idea what he really thought of her. And now she’d gone and fallen asleep in the middle of one of his meetings.
Way to impress, Tatiana.
“Tatiana, it’s okay. ”
“No,” she said with a morose shake of her head, “it’s not. I came here to shadow you and stay in the background, not to embarrass you in front of your employees. ”
He pushed away from his desk, moving toward her instead of away for what felt like the very first time. “I fell asleep in a meeting once. ”
She couldn’t stop her mouth from falling open. “No way. ”
“Way,” he said with a full-fledged grin that was so sudden, and so beautiful, that it snuck up on her and pretty much stole away the last part of her heart that he hadn’t already claimed. “And I’m afraid I snore a heck of a lot louder than you do. ”
She couldn’t help but laugh then, not just at the image of the perfect and unflappable Ian Sullivan falling asleep in a meeting, but because he’d obviously told her the story to make her feel better about her own gaffe. Why would he do something like that if he didn’t care about her, at least a little bit?
And when his laughter joined with hers, it was the sweetest sound Tatiana had ever heard.
She’d seen him smile several times during each workday, usually when one of his family members called. Clearly, they were all thrilled that he was back home. And though she knew firsthand just how crowded his schedule was, she’d also heard for herself how patient he’d been on the phone with his cousin Gabe’s eight-year-old daughter when she’d asked him some questions for a project she was doing about the Sullivan family tree.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep that had her suddenly throwing her inhibitions to the wind, or maybe it was just how good it felt to laugh with him, but she suddenly needed him to know, “You have the most wonderful smile, the most infectious laugh. I could listen to it all day. ”
For a moment, she could have sworn he was going to close the rest of the distance between them and give in to what had been growing more inevitable with every second they were together. But instead, he abruptly looked away from her and frowned. Taking one step back, and then another and another, until he was nearly at his desk, she thought it looked like he was smelling something that bothered him.
By the time the unmistakable scent of Chanel No. 5 hit Tatiana, she realized Ian’s ex-wife was standing in the doorway.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Chelsea Adrienne was even more stunning in person that she’d been in her pictures online. . . and clearly didn’t notice that Tatiana was in the room as she swept toward Ian in a very expensive couture dress.
Bethany was only a couple of steps behind her.
“Ian, I’m sorry, I tried to tell Ms. Adrienne that you were busy—”
“It’s all right, Bethany. ”
His assistant shot Tatiana a worried look before leaving the office and closing the door behind her with a soft click.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, Chelsea?”
Just moments ago he’d been full of so much warmth and humor. Now, both were gone as he regarded his ex-wife the way one did an animal that might strike at any second.
“You closed the deal with Amando’s two weeks ago. ”
“And now you’ve come to offer your congratulations?” His voice was so carefully modulated that although Tatiana thought it might be sarcasm, she wasn’t quite sure.
“You began those negotiations when we were married. In fact, I was the reason you even knew about the Italian shoemaker in the first place when you saw how many pairs I had in my closet. ” She posed as though she’d reached the end of a runway before telling him, “I want my share of the deal. ”
Tatiana had watched Ian carefully for the past couple of days, and while it had been impossible not to see the walls he put up around himself, she’d never seen his gaze turn this cold. But there was something else there, too, something worse even than the coolness.
Something that looked to Tatiana like guilt.
Still, when he moved behind his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a checkbook, Tatiana nearly gasped in surprise.
“Here. ” He gave Chelsea the check, then pushed away from his desk. “My next meeting is about to begin. I’ll walk you out. ”
His ex glanced at the check to make sure the figure he’d written on it suited her, then opened her Chanel purse and dropped it in without so much as a thank-you. But though she’d gotten what she’d come for, she didn’t follow Ian to the door. Instead, she shifted into yet another predatory pose. “I hear you’re the bachelor everyone wants to catch now that you’re back in Seattle. ” She laughed, a floating sound that grated on Tatiana’s nerves despite how light and airy it was clearly supposed to be. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell any of them what being with you is really like. ”
Tatiana couldn’t stand it anymore. She tried never to play off her star power unless she absolutely needed to. But right here, right now in Ian’s office as his bitchy ex-wife tried to hurt him, she was extremely glad to be one of the best-known actresses in the world.
Unfortunately, she was wearing a rose-colored cashmere sweater and black slacks rather than the kind of fashion-forward outfit that could compete with what Chelsea was wearing. Fortunately, however, after years of transforming herself on a daily basis in front of the cameras, Tatiana knew better than nearly anyone else how to turn simple into spectacular.
“Ian,” she said in a soft voice, “I’d love an introduction. ”
Tatiana purposely remained sitting on the couch while Chelsea spun around to face her. Once Tatiana knew she had the other woman’s full attention, she made certain her every movement as she rose gracefully was so easy and so confident that it was perfectly clear she wasn’t trying to compete with Chelsea on any front—beauty, sensuality, or personality.
Tatiana had quickly learned in Hollywood that only an insecure woman needed to compete. The truly successful, truly confident women always forged their own paths, and didn’t give a fig what anyone thought about them or their choices, fashion or otherwise.
“Tatiana,” Ian said in a tense voice, “this is Chelsea, my ex-wife. ” Tatiana could see that he was worried about what was about to go down between the two women in his office, and she wished she could reassure him.
But right now she had to hold focus on avenging him.
Ian might not be hers, but five minutes ago she’d been certain they were at least on their way to becoming friends. And she refused to tolerate anyone speaking to one of her friends the way his ex-wife just had.
Tatiana forced herself to take a couple of steps toward the horrible woman. “Hello,” she said, holding out her hand in such a friendly way that there was no way his ex could have refused to shake it. Since there was no better way to let the very competitive woman know she wasn’t a threat than by giving her an honest compliment, Tatiana said, “Your dress is beautiful. ”
“It is, isn’t it? It’s always such a thrill to wear a one-of-a-kind Christianna original. ”
Tatiana could have spectacularly one-upped Chelsea by informing her that she had just been asked to become the face of Christianna’s couture design house in Europe. But she wasn’t here to compete for the crown of Queen Bee. She was here to put the other woman in her place as quickly as possible so that she’d leave Ian alone.
Then again. . . thinking about Ian’s check burning a hole in Chelsea’s purse helped Tatiana decide that sometimes it might not only be okay to stoop a little low, but it might be downright necessary.
“I’ll be sure to let Christianna know you’re pleased with her designs when I see her in Paris in a couple of weeks for my Golden Globes fitting. ”
Tatiana might have laughed at the jealous fury that leaped into the woman’s eyes were she not still so furious about the way Chelsea had marched in and demanded money from Ian.
Money he’d given her without a fight. . .
“You’re so much curvier than you seemed to be in your last film,” Chelsea said in a voice so sweet it practically gave Tatiana a sugar rush. “I hope your fitting goes well. ”
This time, Tatiana couldn’t stop her laughter from bubbling up and out. She’d met plenty of competitive actresses in the past ten years, but Ian’s ex trumped them all. “Casting directors usually just jump past curvy and go straight for the word fat. ” But she’d already easily shrugged off the insult. “I know Kate Moss said nothing tastes better than being thin, but I’m pretty sure she’d change her mind if she ever tasted the chocolate truffles we had for dessert at Ian’s parents’ house on Friday night. ”
“You’re not fat,” Ian growled as he moved between them. Turning his scowl on his ex, he said, “You got what you came for, Chelsea. ”
“I know,” Chelsea said, holding up her hands as if he was the one on the wrong foot, rather than she. “You’re ready for me to leave so that you can get back to business. Believe me, I remember what it was like being married to you. Business always came first then, and clearly it still does. ” His ex gave Tatiana a pitying glance. “I don’t know how the two of you met. . . ”
With every word that fell from the woman’s blood-red lips, Ian’s tension seemed to rise, and the instinct to protect him from anything else his horrible ex-wife had to say had Tatiana reaching for his hand. “We met at a wedding. ”
The need to protect him quickly turned into something that ran even deeper as she stared down at her hand in his and was rocked by such a strong jolt of sensual—and emotional—awareness that she found herself confessing, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man look better in a suit. ” But it was what she saw on his face when she looked up into his eyes that had her continuing to speak straight from her heart, only for him, their audience completely forgotten. “All it took was one handshake for me to fall for you, Ian. ” Palm-to-palm, the memories of that first time they’d touched came rushing back.
“Trust me,” Ian’s ex-wife said, shattering the moment with all the precision of a baseball hurled straight through a plate-glass window, “Ian might be good in bed, but even the best orgasms in the world don’t make up for what it’s like to live with him. Or should I say, not live with him, since I promise you that after he gets over his current infatuation, even you are only going to see him when he needs to screw away his tension from a business deal gone bad. ”