Within a few minutes. Marisol and her husband Raul, Gina and her boyfriend Alex, and Alicia and her date Ross had all arrived, the girls gushing over Tessa’s dress and hair and makeup. Of course, Gina and Alicia were dressed to kill in obviously expensive designer gowns, their own hair and makeup flawless. Tessa tried not to worry about how cheap her own dress and shoes – the same ones Julia had assured her looked awesome – must appear next to not just Gina’s and Alicia’s but to every other woman’s here tonight.

She accepted a flute of champagne from a passing waiter, but was careful to sip it very slowly. She still wasn’t much of a drinker, had never had more than a glass or two of wine at one time, and most definitely didn’t want to experiment with having more at the office Christmas party, where every member of the management team was in attendance – in particular, the so-called “boss man” himself.

She became aware of Ian Gregson’s presence well before she actually saw him. He had that sort of magnetism, the kind that drew everyone’s attention no matter who else might be in the room. Tessa merely had to glance in the same direction as everyone else around her was to find him, and her heart did a rapid little flutter when she saw him for the first time this evening.

He’d been traveling these past two weeks to several of the hotels in Mexico and South America, and his ruggedly handsome features were deeply tanned as a result. His hair had been cut very recently, and was as expertly styled as always. Ian wore a beautifully tailored black tuxedo, paired with a snowy white shirt and classic black bowtie. He was suave and sophisticated, classy elegance and overwhelming masculinity all rolled into one mouthwatering package.

She didn’t realize how long she’d evidently been staring at him until Gina’s voice murmured slyly in her ear. “His Hotness looks even hotter than usual tonight, don’t you think?”

Tessa swiftly glanced away from her undeniably hot boss, but was afraid she’d already betrayed her attraction to him to the very perceptive Gina. Trying desperately to seem nonchalant, she gave a small shrug and smiled. “Most men always look extra special in a tuxedo.”

Gina grinned. “You’re right. Especially when it’s a Brioni tux that probably set the boss man back eight or nine thousand.”

Tessa gasped. “For one suit? And how do you always know this stuff – I mean, what designer it is and how much something costs?”

“Guess I’m a bit of a frustrated fashion designer,” confessed Gina. “I really wanted to attend a fashion school, and get into either design or merchandising. But my parents were insistent I get a college degree and a quote unquote “real job”. So now I just settle for looking through as many fashion blogs and magazines as I can and keeping up to date on stuff. Just in case, you know.”

Tessa shook her head. “I don’t know the first thing about fashion, and can’t tell one designer from the next.”

“You don’t really have to,” admitted Gina almost wistfully. “You’re lucky enough to be one of those very few people who looks good in anything, not to mention being gorgeous. I’m more than a little jealous of you, Tessa. Most of us have to work really hard to look good but not you.”

Tessa was both startled and flattered by Gina’s compliment and offered her a grateful smile. “That’s nice of you to say, even if it really isn’t true.”

“Ah, but it is. You just don’t see it. Oh, I see His Hotness has the banker lady with him tonight. Alicia and I were wondering who the lucky lady was going to be. I hope when I get to be forty I look as good as she does.”

Tessa reluctantly followed Gina’s gaze back towards Ian, who now stood with his hand resting lightly on the arm of a strikingly beautiful woman. The tall, gracefully slender beauty had raven hair cut into a sleek, perfect chin-length bob, her face expertly made up with dark eyes and carmine lips. She wore a stunning gown of deep burgundy, with long, fitted sleeves, and a long skirt slit to just above her knee. Tessa just assumed the rubies and diamonds that sparkled at the woman’s ears and throat were real.

“She’s beautiful. They make a good pair, don’t they?” asked Tessa in a small voice.

She wasn’t sure why seeing Ian with a date was unsettling her. She would have just assumed he’d be here with someone tonight, just as he’d brought a date to the previous Christmas party she’d attended. And if the gossip around the office was to be believed, Ian dated a lot of different women – all of them beautiful, sophisticated, and accomplished. And so very, very different from herself – a young, gauche and not very bright admin assistant who would likely never rise above her current lifestyle.

Gina shrugged in response. “If you say so. She seems a little cold for him, actually. Her name is Rebecca Mellar, and she’s the President of Golden Gate Bank. I think she and His Hotness are just friends from what I’ve read.”

Tessa didn’t really want to think about the striking Rebecca’s relationship with Ian. Instead, she gave Gina a teasing smile and asked, “Yes, but more importantly, who designed her gown?”

Gina laughed, then replied without hesitation. “Elie Saab. I saw that dress at Barneys last week. Do I have the gift or what?”

The cocktail hour passed by quickly, and Tessa was careful to make her one flute of champagne last. Meanwhile, Kevin and Alicia had both put away several drinks before dinner, and were well on their way to getting sloppy drunk. Gina was also drinking heavily but seemed to be holding her liquor a lot better than her roommate was, while Shelby and Marisol kept their drinking to a minimum.

From her peripheral vision, Tessa kept sneaking discreet little glances at Ian as he and Rebecca circulated the room. She knew from having helped compile the list of RSVPs that his parents were here this evening, over for a brief visit from England. It had been easy to pick the elder Gregsons out, for Ian greatly resembled his father. Edward was a bit shorter than his middle son, and his dark hair was liberally shot through with gray. Joanna Gregson was surprisingly petite, her delicate form beautifully gowned in glittering emerald green, her frosted blonde hair cut in short, feathery layers about her almost elfin face.

Ian’s parents were every bit as regal and sophisticated as he was, and they would certainly expect him to eventually marry a woman with the same sort of elegance and class. Most definitely not a naïve, ordinary girl like Tessa, with her clearance rack shoes and rumpled raincoat and borrowed costume jewelry. It was a very good thing, she thought firmly, that she recognized her ever growing attraction to Ian as nothing more than a harmless fantasy.