The Media Baron's Heiress

CHAPTER 2

Tessa drove back to her office.  She loathed taking work home, but was surprised at the accelerated pace Carl Jackson was moving on his merger proposal.  It was a good thing she'd spent the entire afternoon pouring over that document.  She'd just have to spend an hour or so on it tonight before she hit the bed.  Tessa showered, slipped off her satin night gown, and slipped into bed. 
Strangely her thoughts went to the newcomer she'd seen earlier at JeTag.  He was a newcomer.  She knew all the regulars just as they knew her.  They were kind of like family.  It was odd that her mind strayed to him.  She never normally looked at a man.  She allowed them to pursue her.  She also never dwelt on them even after she took them to bed, she just moved on.  She never formed relationships with the men she took to bed.  She did not want that, and she certainly was not interested in marriage.  So why was she intrigued with that stranger?  He had not even flirted with her nor given her any signals.  Tessa could write a book about flirting or interpreting signals men emitted.   

I wonder what the colour of his eyes is,
and with that thought she dozed off.  Annoyingly, her first thought when she woke up was to again reflect on the colour of his eye, when she arose an hour earlier than normal to get an early start in her office, on that proposal for Carl Jackson.

'You're late!' Marco accused when Tessa strolled into JeTag's.

'Sorry darling busy day at the office,' Tessa offered.

'I haven't seen Fabian tonight either,' Marco commented.

'Thank you,' she accepted her martini and thirstily swallowed from her glass. 'You probably won't see him tonight.  Him and Carl are busy with homework,' she grinned.

'So how did Joseph von Biljoen make such a smart daughter?' Marco picked up that she was the one responsible for making Fabian and his boss rework their proposal.

'Smart?  Me?  Joseph will never concur with you,' she laughed throatily, as she cast a cursory glance around the bar. 

She often referred to her father in the third person in his absence.  She needed a stronger drink now, that Marco had annoyingly reminded her off her misguided parent.  He had been a misguided husband too, but she won't dwell on that tonight.  Tessa was mentally exhausted after her extended day, but she preferred a more extracurricular form of relaxation tonight.  Her eye discreetly scanned the circumference of the bar again, looking for one particular customer.  What was wrong with her? 
She never wasted grey matter thinking about a man.  Especially not a man she'd only bloody laid eyes on for probably all of twenty seconds.

'You look  tired,' Marco observed.

'We should get married.  You know too much about me,' Tessa laughed.

'Trouble with that is you get bored too easily.'

Tessa looked up and searched Marco's accusing eyes. He did know too much about her, but then she spent half her life at JeTag.  She could visit other posh night spots.   There were plenty of them in Manhattan, but she felt safe here, comfortable,  like she belonged.   Tessa looked away not liking the interrogative look reflecting in Marco's eyes.  She needed a stronger drink right now __and that's when her eyes connected with his. 

He's here!

Bradley Blakely studied the rapturous picture of the brunette dressed in her pricey designer office suit.  She seemed to be flirting with the barman as her laugh carried to his table.  Her softly tumbling locks were pulled back from her face today.  Her iridescent skin was flawless.  She had no makeup on, save for the pink lipstick that complemented her glowing face.  She was a natural beauty, so different from the sophisticated women he dated that plastered their faces with cosmetics.  A rare smile appeared briefly on his face at the thought of the women who left his bed before he awoke so he would not have to see their morning after faces.  He wondered now what Tessa von Biljoen looked like the morning after a night of passionate love making.  Time to put his investigator's report to the test.  Apparently if Ms. Von Biljoen was interested in a man, she'd accept his drink then high tail out of the bar.  Playing the man like the way a cat toyed with a mouse.  Bradley signalled to the barman, 'give the lady her favourite drink,' he instructed, nodding to Tessa.