Balancing Act by Laura Browning Page A

offered to help her into the Escalade. When Seth pulled into the curb in front of her apartment, he put the SUV in park and looked at her.
    “Tessa, we need to talk.”
    Her expression impassive, she responded, “About what, Mr. Barrett?”
    Seth slammed his fist against the dashboard. “Damn it! I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear? I’m not used to groveling, but if that’s what it takes, then I will.”
    At last he got a reaction. The detachment disappeared. Her eyes shot sparks of blue fire. “Tell me one thing, Mr. Barrett. Last night, did any of it mean anything to you? Anything at all? Or was it just a merger you decided not to complete?”
    Seth looked into those ice blue eyes. A touch of wariness and hurt like he’d seen last night peeked through the tight control she had on herself.
    “It meant enough to me that I stopped,” he admitted and continued to meet her gaze. She blinked rapidly, and for a second her lower lip trembled. “Tessa…”
    “Don’t!” Before he could stop her, she threw open the door, grabbed her oversize purse and ran into the house.
    Seth uncoiled from the driver’s seat, snatched the laptop and her hanging bag from the back and carried them up to the door. Zach met him there with a mutinous look on his freckled face.
    “You made my sister cry,” he accused. “Tessa never cries! What did you do to her?”
    Seth’s chest ached as he studied the boy. His little hands were knotted into fists and his small chest rose and fell with indignation.
    “It’s a grown up thing, Zach, but if it means anything, I didn’t intend to hurt her.” He held the bags out to the boy. “Can you manage to carry these for me? I think Tessa has seen enough of me for today.”
    Zach glared at him again and then snatched the bags from Seth before slamming the door in his face. Seth stared at the closed door and sighed. Yes, all in all, he had screwed things up. He walked back to the SUV and stared at the house for a moment longer before climbing in and driving off. He’d wanted to take her and Zach to the beach this weekend to say thanks, but right now that seemed like the lousiest idea in the world–and the one thing he kept thinking about.
    * * * *
    Tessa tried to be upbeat over the weekend for Zach. She knew seeing her cry had upset him. She had hoped to get in the apartment before he left the neighbor’s and saw her. It would have given her at least a few minutes to calm down, but Zach had been watching for her and had run out into the hallway to greet her. She’d wiped her eyes, but it was too late, he had seen and his excited grin had faded. She spent most of the evening in her room, apologizing to Zach, but telling him she was tired and did not feel well. The look on his face was enough to let her know he didn’t believe her.
    She played video games with him over the weekend and they watched movies together. She even took him to the theater to see an animated movie he’d been wheedling to go to. By Sunday evening, she thought her head would burst if she had to listen to one more note of arcade game music.
    It was almost a relief to enter the relative quiet of Barrett Newspapers Monday morning. She still didn’t care for all the chrome and glass, but this morning the thick carpeting of the upper floors was comforting in a way, as though there might be a softer side to something at Barrett. Tessa would go on as if the trip to Chicago had never happened. She needed this job, and she was not going to let embarrassment over what had happened–or almost happened–get in the way. What on earth had she been thinking? The man was her boss and he was at least ten years older than her. She’d never wanted to sleep with anyone before. So why him? And bringing the incident up again, even if it was to apologize and assure him she would never bother him again, was not a good idea.
    She sprinted up the stairs, pausing at the top to slip on her pumps before opening the door. The first thing she