Balancing Act. Laura Browning

      Tessa watched Seth in amazement as he engaged Zach in conversation. She was seeing a side to the man she’d never seen before. Seth seldom smiled, but Zach still responded to the way her boss treated him. He listened to the boy as if what Zach told him about the Avatar game was the most interesting thing he had heard all day. Tessa half expected Seth to take them to some stuffy, expensive restaurant, so when they pulled into a popular burger joint, she interrupted.

      “Mr. Barrett, you don’t have to eat here because Zach’s with us.”

      Seth turned his piercing gaze on her. “I’m not. I always please myself. I like burgers, and I would kill for a chocolate shake right about now.”

      “Let’s eat outside at the picnic tables,” Zach piped up from the back seat.

      “You’re the boss today,” Seth replied. As they got out of the car, he took off his suit coat and folded it across the back of his seat.

      It was hot out. Tessa unbuttoned her jacket. She hadn’t intended taking it off, but perspiration was already beading on her forehead, so she slid it off to reveal an ice blue sleeveless silk top that plunged in a deep V in front and back. She caught Seth staring at her full breasts where the silk pulled across them. Heat spread over her cheeks. It was the only time she felt he’d seen her as a woman, and it made her even warmer than she already was. He didn’t look at her like that again, and Tessa was able to relax. By the end of the meal, she and Zach were both laughing, and even her taciturn boss grinned.

      He took them home. Tessa seldom drove her car, taking the train because it was easier and more economical. She leased an apartment, part of an older converted house. It gave Zach a small yard for play. The home was in a working-class neighborhood where neighbors were still careful to maintain what they owned. It was a far cry from the area where they’d lived before her parents’ car crash, but it worked well for her to get to and from her job. She was sure it wasn’t anywhere near what Seth was accustomed to, but she could afford it, and it was safe.

      “Would you like to come in?” Tessa invited, keeping her tone polite.

      “No. I still have some work to finish at home tonight.”

      He put the SUV in park and came around to help her down. As he took her hand, Tessa met his eyes. “Thank you so much for today. It meant a lot to Zach, and,” she murmured, “it meant a lot to me.”

      Seth still held her hand, his hooded gaze a little searching. His mouth quirked. “Don’t expect it every day.”

      Tessa nodded. “Thanks again, sir.”

      “Seth,” he corrected. “My name’s Seth.”

      Tessa’s heart kicked up a notch. “Seth.”

      She stared after the SUV as it disappeared down the street. Call him Seth? No way. He was Mr. Barrett, and it was going to stay that way, even if his glance sometimes made her stomach flutter. Nevertheless, she took extra care with her appearance the next morning as she got ready for work. She settled on a salmon-colored linen dress with a bolero jacket to cover the spaghetti straps. It was one of those outfits that could go from day to evening. Not that she ever had occasion for that to happen. Living with a ten-year-old had ended her dating life, and she’d never had much of one to begin with.

      Tessa felt reassured when she opened the heavy doors into Seth’s office to take coffee to him, and he was back to grunting monosyllabic directions at her. He hardly spared a glance at her when she entered. While she was relieved, some small part of her felt disappointed he hadn’t noticed her. It was better like this. Yesterday had been an afternoon out of time, in which she and Seth had met on equal footing and he’d been human. Heaven knew that was unlikely to occur again.

      He worked her like a treadmill right up to lunchtime, then asked, “Can you go with me to a dinner tonight?”

      Tessa stopped on her way out of his office. “Pardon me?”

      Seth scowled. “Would you go with me to a dinner tonight, Tessa?”

      “Zach…”

      The latest unfortunate pencil snapped in his fingers. Seth sighed. “I know. I shouldn’t have asked. My mother is involved with Habitat for Humanity. They’re holding a charity dinner tonight I agreed to go to last minute.”

      Tessa paused. She had worked on several Habitat projects while she was an undergraduate, some as far away as South America. “I…I can get my neighbor to watch Zach. She won’t mind.”

      Seth looked up from the papers on his desk he’d been frowning at and smiled. Tessa’s breath caught in her throat. It transformed his face. He was beautiful. It wasn’t something she would say about a man as a rule, but it applied to Seth. When he smiled, he metamorphosed from a jungle cat into an angel.

      “Thank you, Tessa.”

      When she returned from lunch, he was back to the lion with a thorn in his foot. At four, he sat back and stretched.

      “Do you need to change?”

      Tessa shook her head. “I just need a few minutes to do something with my hair.”

      “Right.” Seth stood and rubbed a hand across his cheek. “I’ll shave and put on a fresh shirt.”

      Even as he said the words, he loosened his tie and pulled his shirt free of his suit pants. It was an intimate gesture from a man who always seemed so formal. Tessa averted her gaze as she got up to leave.

      “I’ll be ready in a few minutes, sir.”

      “Tessa,” he called.

      “Yes, Mr. Barrett?” She turned back to see him clad in a sleeveless undershirt. The muscles of his arms were large and defined, as was his chest she noticed. Heat rushed to her cheeks again, which flustered her more. The atmosphere was far too intimate.

      “Call me Seth. I’m supposed to be bringing a date.”

      “Yes, Seth.”

      Tessa hurried from his office and down the hall to the women’s restroom. She leaned against the door after it closed and took a deep breath. Seth was disturbing enough in his dark, formal suits. Seeing him in an undershirt had thrown her and made her far too aware of him as an attractive, single male. His chest had been sprinkled with golden hair. For some reason she had always pictured blond men as smooth, but she should have guessed from the thick mane of hair on his head that he would be different. His beard was heavy enough that by the end of the day, he always looked in need of a shave.

      Tessa walked over to the mirror and went to work. She loosened the sleek chignon she had worn during the day and instead piled her hair higher but more loosely on her head. After pulling a couple of tendrils loose at her temples where they curled, she redid her makeup and added a touch of perfume between her breasts. Lastly, she removed the bolero jacket to reveal the form-fitting top of the dress. It outlined her full breasts, while still leaving the delicate bones of her shoulders bare. Maybe she’d been psychic when she’d donned it that morning.

      She returned to Seth’s office, knocking before entering.

      “Come on in, Tessa,” Seth said and turned from where he was standing at the window. His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. “You look lovely.”

      Tessa stared at a point over his shoulder, determined to keep things businesslike. “Thank you.” She still couldn’t quite get his name out, but she would work on it.

      He crossed the room and took her arm. “Come on, let’s go. There’re drinks at my parents’ home before we go to the country club. You okay with that?”

      Was there no end to his last minute addendums to this dinner? Tessa glared at him. “Do I have a choice?”

      Seth