She folded her arms across her chest, which only served to frame her bustline in a too-pleasing way. “I don’t want this to be a long-term answer.”
“We can re-evaluate in a month. The office chatter will only get worse if you move into the office next to mine. I also think that for the time being, we should keep our talks to email as much as possible. Avoid being seen together.” He dared to look her in the eye, wanting to underscore his seriousness. Too bad he hated having to say it. “That’s my decision, okay?”
“Hmm. Exercising some authority?”
“As a matter of fact, I am. I still know what’s best for the company.”
Tara knocked her knuckle on Grant’s desk. “I guess you’re right. It doesn’t mean I like it.”
Sandy appeared at Grant’s door. He was happy for the interruption. “Ms. Sterling, the other Ms. Sterling is on the phone for you. Astrid.”
Grant had to laugh at that, although he did it under his breath. There were far too many Ms. Sterlings in his orbit right now. And for the moment, one of them—Tara—needed to circle as far away from him as possible.
The weekend came and went with little rest, as Tara spent most of it deep in thought over everything that had happened since Johnathon’s death. And in some instances, everything that came before it. She’d even scrounged around in a storage closet and found an old photo album from the time when she’d been married to Johnathon. Many of the pictures were from the lavish vacations they took, all of which were made with Grant and his girlfriend at the time, which was never the same. They rented a sprawling villa in Tuscany one autumn, where they drank wine for days, toured art museums and spent hours sunning themselves by the pool. There was the chalet perched atop a mountain in Switzerland, a getaway filled with endless ski runs and nights devoted to conversation in front of the fire.
Quite possibly the most memorable trip was to Costa Rica. Grant had hunted down a two-bedroom, two-bath treehouse tucked up into the rainforest canopy. That had been a grand adventure. They went on zip-line tours, swam in natural pools under waterfalls and sat on the porch for hours, sipping rum and watching the antics of the howler monkeys and macaws. Tara realized that she and Grant had taken most of the pictures from these vacations, which meant she was stuck trying to remember the names of these random women he’d brought along as his companions. She couldn’t recall a single one. When Grant and Johnathon were in the frame together, their genuine connection was always there. They had been like brothers, which was such a gift for Johnathon—he and his own brother had always had a contentious relationship.
Tara had to wonder if that was part of what had made Grant so eager to step away from her the other morning. Setting aside the obvious conflict of their working relationship, and what had been the immediate threat of Astrid telling everyone she knew that Grant and Tara had slept together, perhaps it was Grant’s history with Johnathon that made him second-guess what they’d done. Grant was in a far different situation than Tara—his allegiance to Johnathon had gone right up until the moment he’d died. Much of Tara’s went away when he filed for divorce. It wasn’t the same. And perhaps she needed to give Grant some credit for not wanting to violate the trust that had come with his brotherly bond with Johnathon. Things like that didn’t simply dissolve when someone passed away.
As she drove to work on Monday morning, it occurred to her that there might be something else going on here—perhaps she had underestimated Grant. Not only in the bedroom, but in the sphere of work. He’d shown himself as nothing less than a formidable man. He was not to be messed with. He’d also made it obvious that his allegiance was to Sterling Enterprises above all else. As to how much that was wrapped up in his friendship with Johnathon, she didn’t know. But still, the fact that he’d taken Tara to bed wasn’t about to slow him down with staking his claim on Sterling. And now she was in the position of having to stay away from him, when the reality was that he’d done nothing less than pique her interest by making love to her.
But sex would solve nothing. Stay on your path, Tara. Get back to work.
When she arrived at the office, she found Astrid in reception, looking absolutely stunning in a gray wool pencil skirt and black turtleneck. On anyone else, it would’ve looked a little too prim for the modern workplace. On Astrid, it was jaw-dropping.
“You ready to get to work?” Tara asked.
“Absolutely.”
Tara guided Astrid through the maze of halls, passing her office, so she could lead Astrid to the one she’d be occupying. “This will be where you’ll be working for the time being. Everything’s in a state of flux right now, so I don’t think this is where you’ll end up permanently. I know it’s maybe not quite as nice as you might have wanted.” Tara braced for commentary on the small and spartan nature of the space. Astrid was accustomed to luxury and the finest of everything.
“This will work fine. I don’t need a fancy office. I just need a place to sit and a desk. The window is nice.” Astrid offered
