Worth the Scandal (Worth It 1)

As if he paid any attention to her. He didn’t know she existed beyond keeping him on task and answering his phone calls.

So she silently suffered. From the moment she first locked eyes on him, her entire body had reacted. Physically he was perfection. As she’d continued to work for him, she discovered he was driven, intelligent and excellent at what he did. Nothing stopped him from getting what he wanted.

Too bad he didn’t want her.

This was her ideal job. Since she was in her early teens she’d loved fashion. Poring over fashion magazines, she’d dreamed of becoming a designer. But after doodling on the sketchpad she’d saved up for all those years ago, she realized her talent didn’t lie in design.

She’d taken some fashion retail and design courses in college but eventually dropped out before receiving her degree due to lack of funds. Found a job at one retail store in Times Square, then another, then another, until eventually she ended up applying for an assistant manager position at a Worth Luxury Goods store.

She got the job. Within two years she found herself working as Alexander Worth’s personal assistant.

Tessa still couldn’t quite believe it.

The office door swung open and out strode Hunter Worth, handsome as ever, a giant smile curving his lips. “Did my assistant email you the list for the tour, Tessa?”

“She did, Mister Worth, thank you. I’ve already started making the necessary arrangements.” She offered him a brief smile. All three of the Worth brothers were handsome though the other two couldn’t hold a candle to Alex—at least in her eyes.

“Perfect, considering I got Alex to agree to go only a few minutes ago.” Hunter winked at her and with a chuckle strode toward the elevator. “Have a nice weekend,” he called over his shoulder.

Tessa swallowed hard. Hunter made her nervous. He was almost too smooth, too flirtatious and she often wondered if he had ulterior motives.

And then there was Rhett Worth, who didn’t have a serious bone in his body. He rarely made an appearance at Worth, didn’t even bother pretending he actually worked for his family’s business.

But Alex…he was so compelling, so powerful. He entered a room and everyone immediately knew he was in command of it. He ran the company with a ruthless yet fair hand, was so incredibly serious and smart and handsome…

“Tessa?”

She blinked and turned in her chair to find Alex standing in front of her desk, a frown marring his face, his dark brows lowered in seeming concern. His stormy blue-gray eyes contemplated her, watched her with an intensity she found unnerving and she swallowed hard. “Yes, sir?”

His eyes flickered with thinly veiled annoyance. He hated that she called him sir, had asked her not to do so before but she always forgot. Since when was it a sin to have good manners? He was, after all, her boss. “You’re aware of my having to take Hunter’s place and attend to the relaunch tour, correct?”

She nodded. “I’m making the necessary changes and arrangements for your travel now. Everything should be in place before the day is through.”

“Perfect.” He didn’t look pleased. He suffered through most public appearances for Worth so she assumed this tour was the last thing he wanted to do. “I’d like you to prepare an itinerary as soon as you can. I need to know where I’ll be at all times for the duration of the trip.”

“Yes, sir.” She returned her attention to her computer monitor, painfully aware that Alex stood there, silently watching. A tingle started at the top of her spine, slowly working its way down the length of her back, and she barely contained the shiver that wanted to move through her. She could feel his gaze upon her much like a physical caress and she held her breath. Wished she knew what he was thinking.

Did he approve of what he saw? Did she displease him in any way? She worked so hard, harder than she ever had before for fear she would disappoint him.

The very last thing she wanted to do.

“Tessa?” His voice had lowered, roughly sexy, murmuring along her nerve endings.

If he only knew the affect he had on her…

“Yes?” She looked up at him, marveling yet again at his height, the very breadth of him. His shoulders were impossibly broad, emphasized by the exquisite cut of his dark suit jacket. He wore a Worth tie, made of the finest silk, a lovely shade of blue that reminded her of the ocean.

The blue almost matched the turbulent color of his eyes. His face was clean-shaven, not a hair out of place. He was so completely, utterly perfect she sometimes wondered if he was real.

“I have a request.” He paused, letting the words hang in the air and anticipation ran through her, sharp and potent.

“Yes?” she urged when he still hadn’t said anything.

Propping his hands on the edge of her desk, he bent down, setting his face just above hers. She pressed her feet into the ground, pushing her chair back the slightest bit but that only made him loom in closer. “I want you—”

A tremble moved through her and she released a shuddering breath. Those three words filled her with edgy suspense. So many possibilities to consider…

“—to stop calling me sir.”

Disappointment replaced the suspense. She certainly hadn’t expected that request. “It’s merely a sign of respect.” Her voice came out a breathless squeak.

He smiled but it really wasn’t a smile. It never was. More like a baring of teeth. “You make me feel like an old man.”

She blinked. How could she answer that? He certainly wasn’t an old man. A vital, sexy, gorgeous man, most definitely, and he was only thirty-five—in the absolute prime of his life. “I don’t mean to insult you, si—”

“Don’t say it,” he interrupted. There was the faintest sparkle in his eyes, something she’d never seen before. Of course, this conversation they were having was unlike any they’d ever had before either. He always kept everything serious, no-nonsense and above all else, business only between them.

At the moment, he chatted with her. Seemed almost to be…flirting with her.

No way could that be true. It had to be misunderstanding on her part.

“Call me Alex.” He tilted his head to the side. “Say it.”

Her lips parted. He really didn’t just say that, did he? “Excuse me?”

“I want to hear you say my name,” he said, his voice soft but edged with steel. She’d heard that voice before, mostly in meetings, many times over the phone. It was the voice of a man who brooked no argument. “Don’t stumble over it, don’t stutter. And you damn well better not call me sir.”

Her throat went dry. Who was this man who stood before her?

“I promise I won’t call you sir ever again.” The words rushed out of her on a single breath and she pressed her lips together briefly. Gathering courage, which was silly. She had no reason to fear him. His request wasn’t a hardship. It just felt odd to be so informal with him. “Alex.”

“Thank you, Tessa.” Pushing away from her desk, he went back into his office and shut the door with a quiet click.

Chapter Two

The building was deathly silent, the sound of Tessa’s heels clicking on the marble floor echoing throughout as she entered the headquarters for Worth Luxury Goods. She waved at the weekend security guard sitting behind the sleek counter. He offered a brief good morning in return before he resumed his focus on the wall of security cameras that he monitored.

She went to the bank of elevators, momentarily startled when the doors swooshed open as if they sensed her approach. Walking inside, she turned to face the doors as they closed shut. She breathed a sigh of relief after taking a sip of the coffee she’d picked up just before her arrival at the Worth building, savoring the nutty, crisp taste.

It was a common occurrence for her to work the occasional weekend when she wanted to get a few extra duties done. She was paid a decent salary, and Alex had told her more than once to let him know if she ever worked any overtime, wanting to compensate her.

Not that she had anything else better to do but sit in her cramped apartment in Brooklyn and stare at the walls of her teeny bedroom. Her roommate had a boyfriend who’d taken over the place, must to Tessa’s disgust. And the loser didn’t even offer to contribute toward the rent or utilities despite the fact he basically lived there.

So she escaped to work. Besides, with the sudden change of plans of the flagship stores tour taking up most of her afternoon yesterday, she had quite a few things to finish.

Exiting the elevator, she strode toward Alex’s office, noticing the door was shut, the lights within off. Not a sign of life throughout the entire floor, which thrilled her to her little heart’s content.

It was so much easier to complete her tasks without the constant interruption from the phone, from her inbox, from her fellow employees, from the very man who employed her. Not that she minded when Alex asked her to do something, oh no…

Settling at her desk, which sat just outside Alex’s office, she turned on her computer and printer, then picked up the phone and listened to her voicemails. Not a one of them urgent though she did make a note to return a call first thing Monday morning. She turned her attention to her emails and discovered there was a change in time for the relaunch of the Paris store, and she immediately opened the itinerary document she created yesterday. Correcting the time, she scanned it over then hit print.