Naughty by Nature (6 page)

“Well,” Tessa
began, “you’re all going to laugh when I say this.”  She looked from one to the
other, then the other…and they did not look amused.  She drew in her breath and
decided to plunge in.  “You guys were ignoring me and I got bored so I decided
to…spice things up a bit.”

“So you moved my
car.”

“Yes,” she said with
a nervous giggle.  “I moved your car.  I just drove it to the side street,
parked it and ran back, that’s all.  It’s not far away at all.”

“Tessa, this is
one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done.  What were you thinking?”  Indie
looked just about ready to strangle her.

Stone didn’t look
much more charitable.  He was probably holding on to his temper only because
she was his guest.

But Wolf…his look
was murderous.  As she stood there in the doorway he took a step toward her,
towering over her, his face a thunderous cloud.

Tessa took an
involuntary step backward.  He wasn’t going to do anything stupid, was he? 
Still, better to stay out of arm’s reach.  He looked like he wanted to shake
her till her teeth rattled.

“Don’t ever play
me for a fool like that again.”  He spoke through clenched teeth as if fighting
to maintain control.  “It was not funny.”

And with that he
turned on his heel and marched down the steps and down the driveway, his heels
crunching as he went, leaving Indie, Stone and a slightly trembling Tessa
staring after him.

Talk about your
spoiled sport.  Couldn’t he take a joke?  Jeez.  “I told you I didn’t like
him,” Tessa muttered but when Indie opened her mouth to respond she didn’t wait
to hear it.  She didn’t want to be there, standing on the steps, when Wolf
pulled up in his car.

She was putting
her shoes on when the three of them – Indie, Stone and Wolf bringing up the
rear – came back into the house.  Tessa looked up and her eyes homed in on
Wolf’s face.  Once again, it was the brick wall she’d seen the first day they
met, the same one she disliked so much.  Well, so much for a little joke
lightening his mood.

She straightened. 
“I’ll be heading out now,” she said, her voice a lot more subdued than usual.

“Are you sure?  Tessa.” 
Indie went over to her and took her hand.   “You can-”

“I’m sure,” Tessa
said with a firm nod.  “I have an early day tomorrow so I have to go.  And,”
she said, looking over to where Stone and Wolf were standing, “I’m sorry,
guys.  I won’t stay and spoil your game.  It’s better if I go because the sad
thing is, if I stay and get bored, I’ll probably end up doing something stupid
again.”

She gave Indie a
quick kiss on the cheek, waved goodbye to the men and tucked her purse under
her arm.  When she hopped into her car and pulled out of the driveway she did
not look back.

She’d gone to the
house that night feeling on top of the world but now, as she drove home, she
felt like a can of Coke that had gone flat.  Why did she always have to be so zany? 
Why couldn’t she act normal like the rest of the world?  As she thought about
Wolf’s reaction to her little prank her mouth twisted in self-derision. 
Apparently she’d been born with a defective gene – one that was always getting
her in trouble.

Tessa drew in a
deep breath. From here on, she resolved, she’d be an angel.  Twenty-five years
of age was just too old to be playing childish pranks.

She just hoped it
was a commitment she could keep.

CHAPTER FOUR

He’d been warned.

Wolf shook his
head as his mind went back to the events of the evening before and as he turned
onto Robert Speck Parkway he couldn’t help smiling.  Tessa Tyndale was as crazy
they came.  Who would have thought a grown woman – a high school teacher, no
less – would have thought of pulling a prank like that one?

But he should not
have been surprised.  Stone had warned him she could be a handful.  He hadn’t
quite believed his friend but now he knew – Tessa was not the angel she’d
seemed and, for the sake of his sanity, she was best avoided.

But the sad thing
was, as much as he knew it was best to steer clear of a woman like Tessa, she’d
awoken something in him that made him want to see her again.  She’d pissed the
hell out of him when she’d moved his car, no doubt about that.  But then, after
she’d left and his heart had settled back to normal, he’d seen the humor of it
all and he’d even had a good laugh with Stone and Indie.

As he pulled into
the parking lot of the building where his video production company was housed,
he was chuckling to himself.  A mystery woman, that was what Tessa was.  So
serene at the wedding, then Miss Aloof when they met for the second time.  And
then, by the end of the evening, a mischievous elf who made his heart leap to
his throat at the thought of losing a year's worth of work.  He could have
strangled her for scaring him like that.

Or he could have
kissed her.

Because that was
what he’d felt like doing when she’d marched past him, her lips set in a pout,
her head held high as if to dare anyone to get in her way.

He’d wanted to block
her path, lift her off her feet, and kiss her till she begged him to stop.  He
hadn’t done that, not this time, but next time he met Tessa she’d better behave
or else she’d be in for a surprise that would knock her back onto her cute
little behind.

Wolf collected his
cases from the trunk of his car then took them inside the building and rode the
elevator to the eleventh floor.  Dynamic Video Productions, the company he’d
started right after college, had started out in a tiny office at the end of the
hall seven years ago but had grown into a multi-million dollar business which
now occupied the entire floor.  His arms loaded down, he turned and leaned back
against the glass door and pushed it open.

“Hey, boss, what
you got there?” Kareem Brown, his youngest production assistant, hurried
forward to help.

“The Food for Life
project.  I want us to convert everything for easy download.  Here, grab this
bag.”  He let his laptop bag slide from his shoulder and into Kareem’s waiting
hands.  Then he dumped the rest of the burden onto the receptionist's desk.

“Good thing Carol
isn’t in yet,” Kareem said with a boyish grin.  “She’d be all over you for
messing up her workspace.”

“As well she
should,” Wolf said with a nod.  “And that’s why you’re going to help me move all
this stuff to the production room before she gets here.”  He glanced at the
clock on the wall.  “Eight forty-nine.  You’ve got eleven minutes.”

“Sure thing,
Wolf.”

As Kareem grabbed
a box and headed down the hallway Wolf turned in the opposite direction.  He
grabbed a copy of the Toronto Star on his way to his office.  He couldn’t tell
the last time he’d had the luxury of a leisurely read of the newspaper.  As
usual, he would skim the headlines then drop the paper back on the receptionist's
desk for the next person to glance through.

Wolf had just
settled in his chair and opened the paper when he felt his cell phone buzzing
in the pocket of his slacks.  He groaned.  It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet and
already someone was on his tail.  So much for being able to skim the paper this
morning.

He dug the phone
out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.  Unknown number.  It was so
strange that many of his clients used unlisted numbers for their businesses. 
He would never understand it.  As an entrepreneur he liked to make it as easy
as possible for people to find him and to identify him when he called.  But not
these guys.  He shrugged.  To each his own.

He pressed the
green button.  “Wolf Spencer.  How may I help you?”

For a second there
was silence then a soft female voice filled his ear.  “Wolf.  I’m sorry to
disturb you but…I had to call and apologize about last night.  I got your
number from Stone.”

Wolf gripped the
phone just a little bit tighter.  It was Tessa Tyndale and today, instead of
adopting yesterday’s ‘nose-in-the-air’ attitude, she sounded truly apologetic. 
That was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that.

“Tessa.  How are
you?”  Knowing that she was probably still embarrassed about her previous night's
adventure he made sure his voice was calm, even gentle, as he tried to put her
at ease.  His anger of the night before had faded while his interest in her had
intensified.  He had absolutely no plans to scare Tessa away.

“I’m…fine, Wolf.  Thanks
for asking.”  There was another pause and then she said, “I know you’re
probably very busy, with it being Monday morning and all, but I was wondering
if you would…allow me to make things up to you.  I’d like to invite you to
lunch…”

Yet another
surprise.  Tessa was certainly making this an interesting Monday morning.  “I
accept,” he said quickly, before she could change her mind.  “Just tell me when
and where and I’ll be there.”

“Okay, I…uhm…may I
call you back this evening?  I’ll have everything arranged by then.”  There was
the sound of a bell ringing in the background.  “I have to go, Wolf, but I’ll
call you later, okay?”

“That’s fine.”   

As he clicked the
phone off a slow smile spread across Wolf’s lips.  Impish little Tessa had
rushed away last night as if she had the devil on her tail but she hadn’t disappeared
totally.  He hadn’t had to go looking for her.  She’d come looking for him.  A
good sign.

What if, as
far-fetched as it might be, she was as interested in him as he was in her?  Now
that would make for a really interesting situation.

He was definitely looking forward to seeing
Tessa again.

******

“I did it, Indie. 
I called him.”  Tessa sat at the edge of the bed, the phone to her ear as she
kicked off her shoes.

“And?”

“And he didn’t
hang up on me.  He actually sounded okay, like he didn’t mind that I’d called
him.”

“And you
apologized?” Indie’s voice was stern.

Tessa sighed. 
“Yes, Indie, I apologized.  Sheesh!  Give a girl a break, will you?”

“And then what
happened?”  Indie asked, totally ignoring her whining.

“And then, you
won’t believe this,” Tessa said, forgetting she was supposed to be complaining. 
“I invited him to lunch.”

“Nice going,”
Indie said approvingly, “that is, assuming you can behave for the hour or so it
takes you two to have lunch.”

“I’ll behave,”
Tessa assured her.  “ I've learned my lesson.  Sunday evening was too
embarrassing for me to even think of doing a repeat.”

“A reformed
Tessa?” Indie chuckled into the phone.  “Somehow, I don’t believe it.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know I love
you,” Indie said in consolation, “but I know you and what you’re capable of."

“Well, anyway,"
Tessa said, taking the focus off her sin, “I promised to call him tonight with
the details of our lunch date.  I’m thinking of The Lord Nelson."

“Sounds good,"
Indie said,  "and it’s close to your school.  Are you sure you’ll be able
to spare the time in the middle of the day?”

“As long as I make
it Thursday I'm good.  My morning session ends at eleven and my next class
isn't till one thirty."

“Cool. Okay, got
to run,” Indie said quickly.  “I promised Stone I’d see him off at the airport
today.  Catch you later.”

It wasn’t until
Tessa hung up that she remembered the real reason she’d called Indie – to
borrow her peach and cream silk scarf.  It would be the perfect complement to
the dress she planned to wear on Thursday.  Darn.  Knowing Indie, she might
just decide to hop on the plane with Stone and then where would she be?  Quickly,
she pressed redial.  Busy.  Oh, well.  A voice message would have to do.

Tessa made the
reservation at the restaurant then dialed Wolf’s number.  As the phone rang her
pulse began to pick up pace.  She must really be looking forward to this lunch
for her heart to hit the racetrack at the thought of speaking to Wolf to set up
their date.  Or pseudo-date.  The phone rang five times and then went to
voicemail.  She was actually happy to hear his recorded message. She wasn’t
quite ready to have a conversation with Wolf.  Not right now, anyway.  She left
the information about the date and location of their meeting and then hung up.

The next couple of
days were so hectic for Tessa that she didn’t even have time to think about the
date.  In fact, on Thursday morning it was after she’d thrown on one of her
standard navy blue skirts with sleeveless top and matching jacket that she
remembered the lunch.  She threw open the car door, dashed back into the house
and raced up the stairs back to her bedroom.

Dress, dress,
dress, where are you?
  Her fingers flew through the
clothes in her closet until they landed on the one she was searching for.  Black,
with a thin beige line of embroidery at the hem, it was simple but elegant
enough to transition her from serious schoolteacher to charming lunch
companion.

Moving at warp
speed she slipped on the dress, pulled on a tailored black jacket and slipped her
feet into pumps with heels that gave her extra inches and showed off her slim
calves.  They’d do nothing for her back, though, except maybe cause a heck of
an ache while she was standing in front of her classroom full of students. 
But, like any woman worth her salt, she would suffer through the agony of high
heels because that was the price you gladly paid to attract the attention of  the
opposite sex.