"Well, that covers the purchasing needs," Josiah said as he leaned back in his chair and stretched.

Tessa did her best to keep her eyes trained on the pad of paper before her as she copied the last of her notes. She had been sitting next to him as they looked at the same computer for a few hours, and every time she looked up and caught sight of his profile, she quickly looked away. She had never been so aware of another person in her life. The energy pouring off him was electric.

"How about a quick lunch in the dining room? Then I'll take you to meet Rita. She'll have all the necessary paperwork ready to make it official." Josiah stood and started to roll down his cuffs.

"Sure," Tessa agreed. She wanted a moment to catch her breath, and sitting across from him at lunch would not provide that, but she couldn't say no. He was her boss.

Tessa placed her pad and pen in her bag and then turned to watch Josiah put his coat back on. His appearance automatically changed from charming and laid-back to official and businesslike.

Tessa had to admit that he looked great both ways, but how he wore the suit did something to her tummy that she shouldn't have acknowledged.

He walked to the door and held it open for her. Because she was so short, she could walk under his arm as she passed him, and he grinned down at her in amusement, and Tessa couldn't suppress her blush in response.

He stopped by the front desk and pulled Tessa up next to him, feeling his strong hand where it grasped her arm. One thing she noticed about him as he worked on the computer was that his hands were large and strong.

"Holly, please meet your new boss." He leaned on the counter as if sharing a secret. "This is Tessa Baker, and she started today."

Tessa held out her hand and smiled at the young girl. She was lovely and had eyes only for Josiah as she shook Tessa's hand. Her perfectly done makeup and hair were a credit to her, but Tessa had a feeling that she wasn't so well put together for the sake of the job as much as she was for the off chance she might see Josiah.

Tessa watched Josiah work the rest of the staff in the same manner as they made their way to the dining room and settled in for lunch. The hostess and waitress were also lovely, although they, too, only had eyes for Josiah; they were polite and professional with Tessa.

Had he dated these women? Would there be ongoing drama between the staff about who 'Joey' was currently dating? She was trying to determine the answer to the question when their drinks were tactfully served by yet another lovely lady who turned out to be the bartender.

"They're all coming out to meet their new manager," Josiah smiled as he reached for the bread-and-butter knife, and after a moment, when Tessa didn't respond, he looked up from buttering his bread.

"Is there a problem?" His easy-going manner faltered as he eyed Tessa.

"I'm debating how honest this relationship will be between us." Tessa ran her finger around the rim of her glass.

Josiah set his bread down and leaned back in his seat, and for the first time, Tessa saw his serious side. She didn't think it was a side of him that came out often, but it changed him completely when it did. His jaw grew hard, and his eyes narrowed, and in an instant, he went from friendly and open to hard and calculating.

"Are you implying that there won't be honesty between us?" he asked. Anyone looking at him would see a relaxed pose, but Tessa could see and feel the tension radiating off him.

"I'm not talking about honesty regarding the books running in the hotel." She shook her head as she laid her hand in her lap so he wouldn't see it tremble. "Of course, there will be honesty there."

Tessa felt she was about to put her foot in it with her new boss and cross the line into personal territory that shouldn't be crossed, but she had to. She couldn't stand an ingenious person, and that was exactly how she felt Josiah was acting.

Something was off under the surface, but she didn't know what it was. If they were going to work together and he had a bad day, she wanted to know he was having a bad day. They had to be in sync so only the best decisions were made.

Tessa cleared her throat. "There's a question I want to ask even at the risk of losing my newfound job, and I'm wondering if you're going to...take offense. And if you do take offense, will you tell me that you do, thereby being honest, or will you act like you're not offended and then put it as a strike against me in your record-keeping book?"

"In other words, you don't want to have to walk on eggshells when I'm around?" he lifted an eyebrow, but she could see a tilt of amusement on his lips and felt herself relax.

"I'm curious about who you normally have to walk on eggshells around," he mused, reaching for his bread again. "For the record, I don't have a record-keeping book. It's all up here." He tapped his temple and grinned, but Tessa felt it was genuine amusement this time. "What's your question?"

"Do any men work here? Or any women over thirty?" Tessa followed his lead and reached for the bread. Her hand still trembled slightly, but not as much.

"And you think that's an offensive question?" Josiah frowned as he considered it.

"Yes, it implies that you only like to work with young, beautiful women and that you might discriminate." Tessa waited on the edge of her seat. It was a point that he could take the wrong way.

Tessa watched as he polished off the roll in two bites, his strong jaw chewing as he thought. A lock of his brown, almost black, wavy hair fell across his forehead, and Tessa had the strongest desire to push it back into place.

"I don't know you well, but I think, for you, it's an honest question because you're looking for operational issues you need to correct, not passing judgment on me." Josiah was thinking to himself aloud.

Tessa released the breath she had been holding, relieved that he got it.

"Now, do I answer that question honestly, even though it might make me look like a vain schmuck?" Josiah pursed his lips in thought, and Tessa felt his eyes drilling into her. "You took a chance, so I will, too. The simple answer is I didn't hire anyone who works here. Our former general manager did. I think he took advantage of and enjoyed hiring the pretty young girls who applied here because there might be a chance that they would get to know me or my father. We're the richest men in town, and based on that fact, we would be good catches." He paused and looked at his hand, which rested on the table. "What they don't know is that I don't have personal, romantic relationships with any woman who works for Shaw Holdings, so by taking the job, they put themselves on the no-fly list."

Tessa choked on her water. "The no-fly list?" she coughed. "Now, you do sound like a vain schmuck. What about your father?"

Josiah's eyes flew up to meet hers, full of suspicion. She had hit a nerve.

"Levi does his own thing. We've never talked about it, but since my mother only died two years ago, it hasn't been an issue yet." His words were clipped in warning.

"I'm not out to win me a husband. I'm out to make a career for myself." Tessa reminded him bluntly. He watched her for a moment more, noting her sincerity, then relaxed a little.

"You swear you don't date the women who work here?" Tessa looked at the waitress, who was approaching them with a dreamy look.

"Yes, I swear." He made a cross sign over his heart.

"Good, then that means it will be unlikely I will have to break up cat fights between employees fighting over you." Tessa shook her head in amusement at the idea now that it wasn't a reality.

Josiah chuckled at the thought, then gave the waitress a heart-melting grin.

"What are the specials today, Jennifer?" Tessa watched as he focused all his attention on the girl. She was so lovely, and it seemed to come naturally to him.

It's funny how he hadn't smiled at her like that. He had grinned and laughed but not smiled at her like she was the most important thing in the world. Tessa caught a look at herself in the mirror on the wall across the room in her ill-fitting suit and makeup-less face covered with large-frame glasses.

Why would he? She wasn't that young or beautiful, but wouldn't it be nice if he had?

"For the record, men work in the maintenance and kitchen departments. As for being over 30, how old are you?"

"Let's not be that honest with each other," Tessa said with her quick wit. Josiah must have appreciated it because he chuckled once again.

"I think you and I will get along fine, Tessa."

She hoped so; she needed this job.