Free Tessa's Wishes (Whispered Wishes #3) by Karen Pokras Page B

was young, about her age, maybe slightly older, and carried a briefcase that looked like it had seen better days. He was a bit ragged looking; dressed casually, in a simple, somewhat wrinkled, oxford button down shirt and jeans that had frayed at the bottom. His hair was dark, almost black, and was a mess. At first glance, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed or was living out of his car.
    She quickly opened up Mr. Abbott’s calendar on her computer. Other than the client visits outside of the office, he didn’t have any meetings scheduled. Nobody ever came to Abbott and Associates without an appointment … well, besides the postman, package delivery person, and occasional computer guy, but she recognized all of them. It made Tessa nervous being in the office alone, which was a combination of her mother’s neurosis that had worn off on her and Ava’s attack several years ago. She now wished she’d locked the doors and had a baseball ball bat. At the very least she needed to start carrying some pepper spray.
    The front doors opened, and she cautiously rose from her chair. Like a snake approaching her prey, she slowly made her way down the hall toward the reception area, her body hugging the wall while she moved closer to the entrance. Keeping her cell phone in her hands, Tessa had 9-1-1 ready and waiting on the display screen. All she had to do was hit send.
    “Hello?” the man’s voice called out.
    “Can I help you?” Tessa’s shaky voice asked as she rounded the corner.
    “Yes. Thank you. Is Mr. Abbott here?” 
    She noticed him looking at the oversized framed portrait of Steven Abbott that hung in the small lobby of their office … another sign of her boss’ inflated ego. Under the photo was a printed canvas with his bio: graduated from the local university with honors over thirty years ago, passed the CPA exam the year he graduated, a list of large firms he worked for, awards, blah, blah, blah. Any common criminal could come in here and ask for Mr. Abbott, it didn’t prove a thing about this guy’s identity or credibility.
    He turned his attention back to her from the photo, looking at her strangely, probably wondering why she stood there silently just staring at him with an odd expression. “Are you Tessa?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she hesitated, noticing his piercing blue eyes under his mop of hair. Okay, he knew her name. What was going on?
    “Hi,” he said, reaching into his briefcase. “I believe you’ve been waiting for these?” He held out a thick pile of statements. The name Nicholas Schilling was across the top page.
    She sighed inwardly. Of course. She’d been so distracted over that idiot doctor, she’d forgotten Mr. Schilling’s financial assistant would be delivering the statements this week.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to calm her racing heart and overactive imagination. “Mr. Abbott’s not here.” Putting her phone down on the table used for outgoing mail, she took the papers out of the man’s hands and tried not to laugh at what a fool she’d been. “Thank you, we’ve been expecting these.” It was only a half lie.
    She looked at the man who was standing in front of her. Now that she knew he wasn’t some common criminal, she couldn’t help but notice he also had chiseled cheekbones to go along with his incredible blue eyes. Maybe she did want to apply for that job in Mr. Schilling’s office after all.
    “If you have any questions about any of those reports, just give me a call.” He smiled, showing off dimples.
    Dimples, too? She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. What was going on with her?
    “I have some time now, and the conference room is free. If you want to quickly go through them, I mean. That way I won’t have to bother you later .”
    She knew clear as day she didn’t need any help going over any statements. In fact, she preferred to work by herself, and working with Schilling’s financial assistant without Mr. Abbott’s approval would