Page 5 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal
The limo lurched slightly as we navigated a particularly snowy intersection, and Tessa gripped her glass to keep it steady. Outside, the city moved at a turtle's pace, brake lights painting the falling snow red. Emergency vehicles crawled past us, their flashing lights creating a kaleidoscope effect through the storm.
"What else drives your ambition?" I asked, genuinely curious now. "Beyond career advancement."
She was quiet for a long moment, as if considering her words carefully. "I want security. Real security, not the paycheck-to-paycheck existence I grew up with. I want to build something solid."
"And?"
"And I want a family someday. Children." I noticed the way the corner of her mouth turned up as she said the word. "I know that might sound old-fashioned in today's world, but I've always imagined just being a mom."
The image of Tessa made sense—her gentle hands, her patient manner with difficult clients, the way she remembered everyone's birthdays and preferences without needing reminders.
She would make an excellent, devoted mother. It made me think of my own childrearing days and brought a bitter taste to my mouth.
"That's not old-fashioned," I said. "It's human. Most people want to leave something behind, create meaning beyond themselves."
She smiled, the first genuine smile I'd seen from her all evening. It transformed her face completely, erasing the stress lines and revealing the beauty I'd somehow overlooked for years. "My mother keeps asking when I'm going to settle down and give her grandchildren. She doesn't understand why I'm prioritizing my career right now, why I'm not out there dating and looking for Mr. Right."
"And why are you prioritizing career over relationships?"
"Because I watched her struggle as a single parent. She worked two jobs and still barely kept us afloat. Ramen noodles for dinner most nights, hand-me-down clothes, never knowing if the rent would get paid on time." Her jaw set with quiet determination that I recognized—the same steel I saw in the mirror every morning when I styled my hair. "I won't put my children through that uncertainty. I want to build a foundation, something stable they can depend on."
The revelation shifted my perception of her entirely. I'd seen Tessa as competent but unremarkable, a capable assistant without broader aspirations.
Now I understood she'd been playing a longer game, methodically building toward goals I'd never suspected she harbored. The realization stirred respect, certainly, but also a more complex emotion I couldn't immediately name. Admiration, perhaps. Recognition of a kindred spirit.
"Your mother lives where now?"
"Florida. She moved there two years ago, and now she's met someone new." Tessa's expression softened with genuine affection. "He's good to her, treats her the way she deserves after all those years of sacrifice. She deserves happiness after everything she gave up for me."
"You support the relationship?"
"Completely. He makes her laugh, takes care of her, shows her off to his friends. She lights up when she talks about him." Her smile turned wistful. "It's nice seeing her prioritize herself for once instead of worrying about everyone else."
The limo finally pulled to a stop outside my building, the doorman already moving to clear snow from our path before opening the door for us.
Through the windows, I could see the accumulation had reached several inches, maybe a foot, transforming Chicago into a winter wonderland that would paralyze traffic for hours. The storm showed no signs of abating.
"We'll need to move quickly," I told her, helping her from the car. My hand found the small of her back, guiding her toward shelter. "The snow's getting heavier."
The biting cold hit us immediately. Wind whipped through the canyon of buildings, driving snow into our faces. Tessa pulled her coat tighter as we hurried toward the entrance, our feet crunching through the pristine white layer that muffled theusual city sounds. The doorman held the door with an apologetic expression on his face.
"Evening, Mr. Cross. Roads are getting bad out there. Heard they're talking about closing some of the major arteries."
"So I noticed." I guided Tessa toward the elevator, my hand remaining at her back longer than strictly necessary. "We won't be long."
The elevator ride to the penthouse passed with both of us catching our breath from the cold. Tessa studied her reflection in the polished steel, attempting to smooth her hair back into order.
I found myself watching her efforts, noting the graceful movements of her hands and the way her earrings drew my eye to her pulse point.
I was finding myself attracted to her, this twenty-something almost young enough to be one of my children. And it wasn't just physical—though she was almost ethereal in her appearance.
The added depth I'd learned about this evening made her seem almost too tempting to control myself.
When the doors opened into my foyer, I gestured toward the living room. "Make yourself comfortable. I need to change out of this champagne shirt."
She nodded, still clutching her coat shut, and I noticed her cheeks were bright red, whether from the cold or embarrassment she still felt, I didn’t know.
I left her examining the city view from my floor-to-ceiling windows and headed off to change.
