except for faint circles under her eyes, but she didnât feel normal. âYou may have saved my life,â she sighed. âThanks, Sammy. I missed breakfast this morning.â
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. âWeâve been working on Nelda practically all night. Hillaryâs really great, isnât she? I donât have to explain things to her; she already knows.â
âSheâs perfect for you,â Tessa said firmly. It went right over his head.
âIâd still be putting Nelda together if Hillary hadnât been helping me. She has some contacts who might be able to help us with marketing Nelda, too; she meets all sorts in the bank.â
âSheâs a wonderful girl. Very pretty, too.â
He looked a little surprised. âWell, yeah, but the best thing about her is that sheâs so smart. She wrote the program for Nelda.â
Tessa gave up; sheâd done everything but propose to him for Hillary. She doubted that any woman held the same degree of fascination for him as Nelda did, but that was Hillaryâs problem. Right now, Tessa felt that she had a large problem of her own to worry about, and that problem was about six-four with indigo eyes. Hadnât she known from the start that Brett Rutland was more than she could handle?
She caught a movement just past Sammyâs shoulder, and she looked up, feeling her heart skip a beat as she met Brettâs narrowed eyes. He gave Sammy a hard look, then turned that look on her. âGood morning,â he said, but Tessa heard the anger under the cool tones.
âGood morning,â she returned evenly. âMr. Rutland, this is Sammy Wallace, from data processing. Sammy, Brett Rutland.â
Sammy thrust out his hand with a quick, awkward movement, and his face lit with eagerness. âNice to meet you!â
With impeccable control, Brett shook hands. âIâve heard a lot about you, Mr. Wallace. Youâre something of a genius with computers, arenât you?â
Sammy glowed. Before he could say anything, however, Perry Smitherman came rushing over, having spotted Brett. He practically skidded to a stop when he reached them. âMr. Rutland!â Perry cried with a pleasure so obviously feigned that Tessa winced for him. âMay I help you with something, sir?â
âYes,â Brett said curtly. âIâd like to speak with you privately, and I thought Iâd stop by on my way up to the office. Thereâs some information Iâd like you to get for me.â
âYes, of course, of course,â Perry babbled. âRight this wayâmy officeââ
With a nod to both Tessa and Sammy, Brett went into Perryâs office, with Perry skittering around him like a nervous poodle.
âCan you believe that?â Sammy asked incredulously. âHeâs actually heard of me.â He was beaming with pleasure, his eyes sparkling behind the lenses of his glasses.
Tessa sat very still, but Sammy didnât notice her lack of response; he was too bemused and too pleased to notice anything. It was time for him to be on the job, so he ambled out as casually as heâd ambled in. Tessa turned on her video screen but sat staring at the blinking cursor without really seeing it. Brett had been as controlled as usual, but she was acutely sensitive to his mood, and sheâd felt the seething anger beneath his calm exterior. Had something happened this morning to put him in a bad mood, or was he angry because heâd walked in and found her talking with Sammy? Heâd expressly ordered her not to see Sammy after working hours, but this was on the job; surely he didnât expect her to go out of her way to avoid the people she worked with? It was ridiculous even to think that he might be jealous of Sammy. Sammy wasnât even in the same class with Brett, and Brett had to know it. Sheâd also told him that Sammy was just a friend, but