by Mia Caldwell
“Hah! I can consider serfdom, but I don’t come cheap.”
“Fair enough. So think about it. I like the idea, but that’s selfish me talking. Wishing. You need to think about what’s right for you. You’ve overcome a lot, and I don’t want you taking on too much.”
“You think your junkie model sister can’t handle the pressure?”
“I think she can do anything she wants to. I just need you to make sure you really want to do it.”
Joan held out a hand. “Well, Ms. Edwards, I think I’ll go and see if my previous employer will give me a good reference.” She laughed. “Whether or not we do this, I’ll call a realtor and look at some places. I’m curious about what’s available.”
“If you find a good realtor, see what I’d get for my place.”
“Okay.”
Joan left looking happier than when she’d arrived, and that made Lissa feel good. And this strange idea of hiring her to take care of the kids seemed to have legs. Joan clearly was considering the idea. If she kept things in the family, even if just for a while, until Joan figured out something else for herself and she got her own life sorted out, that could be a great help to them both.
Despite the hassles of being immobile to bring all three babies to term, she was excited about her life. If Joan helped, she might get things working well. The only sadness was wondering what had gone wrong with Julio Torres. Why wouldn’t he care enough to even answer? Even if she was wrong about the way he felt about her, even if something in his life was upsetting it, why didn’t he let her know?
She had to accept that she might not ever find out. That would require communication.
CHAPTER FOUR
The apartment was incredible. She looked at her sister in amazement. “This is amazing. The city view, the spaciousness…and you’ve made it look homey.”
“All part of the nanny, real estate, home shopping, cooking, and housekeeping service we agreed to.”
“Money will be tight for a bit.” Her mind was racing. “I’ll get my apartment on the market…”
“She has a buyer for your place already.”
“You’re kidding?”
Joan laughed. “I met her when I was thinking of becoming a realtor, which lasted thirty seconds. She was impressive, though. And now she has two buyers for your dump, so the bid is higher than the asking price. She’s sending the papers to your office today.”
“Then I’ll sign them today.” She hugged her sister. “Hiring you was the smartest thing I ever did, sis, or I’d be sitting in my cramped place with three screaming kids, trying to figure out what to do first.”
Joan grinned and poured them each an iced tea. “Then I’m pretty damn happy. The real job has been organizing things. That, and now learning to tell the kids apart. Hey, who would’ve known I enjoy organizing things? Mom must be rolling over in her grave.”
Lissa was still stunned. She’d seen the pictures Joan sent of the place, and signed the papers for it on her say-so, but it was so much nicer than she’d imagined. “You did everything.”
Joan giggled. “I used your money to buy good help. I was the project manager.”
“And a brilliant one.” She peeked into the nursery. Joan had arranged it for the three boys, and it was beautiful. Each had his own crib and changing station. For once, all three of them were sound asleep. They were beautiful boys, small as triplets were, but each one had been pronounced healthy after spending a few days in intensive care. The hospital stay had been a tedious and painful bore, but the delivery went well, and she had brought her children to their new home.
She let out a sigh of relief. “Idyllic.”
Joan was beaming. “It’s quite an operation. I’ve got nurses on call for emergencies and a service that can provide extra care if I get sick or just overwhelmed—just people who can come in so we can get a decent night’s sleep. That’s an advantage a lot of women don’t have, or don’t take advantage of, but I know you, Lissa. You are going to hit the ground running, and I want the time you have with the babies to be fun.”
“I better hit the ground running. All this service doesn’t come cheap…but I’m not complaining, Joan. It’s all perfect. You’ve made me feel I have a chance.”
And Joan was rising to the occasion, which was delightful to see.
“We are going to be happy here,” Joan said confidently.
# # #
“Where is Abby?” Lissa asked. “I can’t find anything.”
“I had to let her go,” Tina said. “She was insolent and wouldn’t do what she was told.”
Lissa bit back the sharp comment she wanted to make. Abigail had been with her since she’d started the business. She hadn’t liked Tina, and sometimes Abby seemed to be more help than Tina, and Tina earned a lot more as an account executive. “I wish you’d at least told me.” She glanced at the woman. Tina seemed to be waiting for something, a rebuke perhaps, but Lissa kept her waiting. “I can’t find any of the files.”
“I’ve done the best I can. Things were in terrible shape when you had to go into the hospital. I was picking up the threads of a dozen different projects.”
And rolling them into one big ball, it looks like.
“So who keeps track of where things are?”
“I’ve had to do it myself.”
“Let’s get a temp in here from one of the top places and have someone reorganize things.”
“I’m sure if I’d done that you’d bitch about the cost.”
“Maybe I would. And as a consultant, your job is to persuade the client to pony up for necessary expenses, Tina. Your boss is always your client.” She found it odd that a woman who prided herself on her ability to get along with clients didn’t make any effort to be pleasant in the office she spent most of her time in.
“I need to get to a meeting,” Tina said. “Make a list of the files you’re looking for and I’ll find them when I get back.”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” she said, wondering if Tina would catch the sarcasm.
“No, that’s fine,” she said.
Clearly it had gone over her head.
The room seemed lighter with Tina gone. Lissa knew she was going to have to get rid of her. This wasn’t working. Her attitude was resentful and poisonous. She couldn’t work with the woman.
She went to her desk and smiled. Despite the chaos, despite everything, she was back at her desk, the lovely walnut desk with a green leather top she’d bought from an antique shop with the money from her first consulting job.
Now it was lunchtime. She was meeting Tyler Walker. Maybe she’d learn something.
# # #
Tyler Walker had arranged lunch for them at a rooftop restaurant that he knew she adored. “How is it that you remember the places and things I like better than I do, Tyler?” she asked when she arrived. “You remember my birthday and know exactly what I’ll like.”
“Oh, you know I’m obsessed with you. Simple, really.”
He honestly was, and they’d both known it for a long time. It had started as a joke, on her part at least. She’d liked him from the first and flirted with him. He’d become totally enamored of her. As much as he delighted her, as much as she loved his company and his friendship, Tyler didn’t attract her as a lover. She’d had to tell him. Tyler took that news as he did everything—with dignity and acceptance. “Then I’m afraid you’re stuck with a lifelong friend and admirer,” he said. “That job is now filled.”
Tyler was a nice man, slightly overweight but not fat, dignified, although addicted to and delighted by gossip. He made his living connecting people who had money to invest with those who had projects worth investing in. He acted as a sounding board for individuals and major corporations, and at times, even governments. To say he was connected was an understatement. Without seeming to work at it, he was the epitome of networking. People trusted him. They liked him. They did things for him. If you were starting a project, you wanted his opinion—even if he wouldn’t offer his blessing, and
most people would kill for his blessing. “Tyler Walker likes it,” was a giant step towards getting financing.
He wasn’t loved by all and sundry, however. Completely honest people are threatening, even dangerous, if you are trying to pull something.
“So the mother and children are home and all are well?”
“We are. And the new place is outrageously perfect. Joan outdid herself. I want you to come by and see the children and the apartment.”
“I’d love to.” Tyler ordered a bottle of wine. “I’m glad that arrangement is working out well. Do you think Joan will be happy doing that work for you for long?” He had gotten to know Joan and liked her.
“I have no idea. How can she even know something like that? It’s all new and exciting now, but kids wear a person down. And if she meets a great guy or gets an exciting offer to do something else, all bets are off—I’ll lose her to something better for her. I asked the lawyers to make her indentured, but I’m informed that has gone out of style. In the meantime, I intend to exploit her ruthlessly.”
“I heard Abby left you.”
“I heard Tina had to fire her.”
“You heard that from Tina, right?” When she nodded, Tyler took a piece of paper from his shirt pocket, put it flat on the table, and slid it across. “She walked out. Here is her number.”
“She wants to come back?”
He smiled. “Once Tina leaves or you give her permission to slay the bitch.”
She watched the waiter pour the wine and let her mind worry about the subject of Tina. “I’m just getting up to speed. Tina is a problem, but I don’t see how I can do without Tina now. And I owe her something for stepping in on short notice and holding things together.”
“Oh. Is that what she was doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems to me that the woman has been feathering her own nest. She’s been spreading rumors that won’t help you get new work.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“That Lissa Edwards hasn’t been the same since she got out of rehab.”
“Rehab?”
“It’s a sad story, of a brilliant but unstable woman who got all strung out on drugs. When she found out she was pregnant, she assumed her kid sister’s identity and went into rehab. After that, you went into the hospital.” The look on his face told her that she was showing her shock.
“That’s the Cliff Notes version. The full story is probably in ebook format on Amazon.”
Lissa felt more sad than shocked. “She pieced together a few true things, added some twists, and put it out as an alternative to the party line. People believe this?”
“Some. The ones that are switching their consulting work to a brand new player—Tina.”
“But the dates…”
“No one will check, and she isn’t trying to fool anyone who will bother. She used the opportunity to plant seeds of doubt while letting them realize that she was able to carry the load. So when she starts her own business…”
“So it’s all about poaching clients?”
“And dragging you through the mud to give her time to set up a powerful competition—mostly on your dime, my dear.” He sighed. “It’s a truly nasty business, poisoning the waters that way. The people who know their asses from a hole in the ground won’t fall for it, but you do need to know what the odd looks you are going to get in some quarters are about.”
“Is there anything else she’s done that I should know about?”
Tyler grinned. “I have no real idea, but I would go over your books carefully and review any deals she’s working on. Tom Acker seems to like her. She’s making sure of that.”
“How catty,” she teased.
“And obvious. It’s hard to fault him. At his age, having Tina play up to him makes doing business more pleasant. And he isn’t in it for the money anymore. He likes the challenge, and the challenge of bedding a lovely woman adds zest even if he understands the attached strings.”
“She’s taking it that far?”
“So the gossips have it.”
The conversation drifted to more pleasant things, but the idea of Tina taking advantage of her ran like a continuous tape loop behind it all.
When Tyler called for the bill, he put his elbows on the table and stared at her. “What’s that about?” she asked.
“I’ve spilled my guts to you and now I’m dying to know what you’ll do about Tina.”
“I need to take your advice and have the books audited right away. Then I need to either find a reason to fire her, or get her to quit.”
“No matter why you fire her, she’ll spin it as revenge for not keeping your dirty secret.”
Lissa put her elbows on the table and stared back. “I know. So what do I do?”
“Short of throwing her out the window? Hope the accountants find something that the police will consider white-collar crime. Then it will be public record.”
“Or buy a lottery ticket, win big, and never work again?”
“That might work. But then you’d just be a wealthy stay-at-home mom, and I don’t see that working long term. And you might get fat. Never get fat, Lissa.”
“The window, then. First opportunity, out she goes.”
“That’s probably the best.”
# # #
“So what exactly do you want, Tina?”
The question made her smile. Tom was no fool, and even though it didn’t seem that way to outsiders, the business world had its rules of conduct. One of the basic rules was the old adage “You don’t get something for nothing.” He knew she expected their new relationship to give her something. It was only reasonable. Especially under the circumstances.
They were naked in his bed. She’d encouraged him when he flirted with her. When he suggested coming back to his place, it was a victory. Men were easy that way. They were barely inside the door before he had his hands all over her. She didn’t have to put up with his attentions because she actually found him sexy. A sexy older man, who was a good lover. That made it easy to let him undress her, and she did everything she could to arouse him, wanting to spend the night in his bed. Slowing him only enough to put a condom on his hard cock before he moved over her on his big bed, moving between her thighs and taking her, she responded to him, making sure he knew she thought he was a hot lover.
After he spent in her, they rested and talked, and when her naked body began to excite him again, she stroked him hard, then took him in her mouth and gave him pleasure that way too. She wanted him to feel that she held nothing back from him. That was the key.
And now, in the morning, knowing that nothing was free, he wanted to know what she expected. This taste of her was to set the trap. If he wanted more, he needed to settle things.
What did she want?
That was easy.
“I want to be in on the Milan deal—on my own, not as Lissa’s flunky.”
He sighed. “You think you can compete with Lissa Edwards? She’s coming back into the game.”
“I don’t need to compete with her, not one on one. She provides analysis and insights that you use to put together a proposal. I can hire people to do it.”
He shrugged. “I could hire those people myself.”
“Then you’d have to ride herd on them, give them direction. And you’d bear the entire cost of their salaries and the overhead. If I have those costs spread over several clients, that will make things most cost effective.”
“You realize that walking into the meeting with Lissa gives a person an advantage, don’t you? She has the information at her fingertips. The people in the consortium know her and will listen to her. You are an unknown.”
“They’ll get to know me, and if our bid is good, then we will be on our way.”
Tom pulled the covers off her and ran a hand over her breasts, and then down her belly. He was touching her differently now, and that pleased her. He was touching her possessively, as if they had a deal. “I can work with you, but havin
g Lissa out there, working for someone else, worries me. If you can solve that problem for me…”
Tina gave him a wicked smile. “I know a way to do exactly that. I can make sure she doesn’t help Julio Torres steal the contract.”
The scowl on Tom’s face told her she’d hit a nerve.
“That bastard. He’s the only one who worries me, and he got close to Edwards.”
“But on his own…”
“You are sure your idea will work?”
She took his hand and slid it down so that his fingers were warm on her pussy. “Let me tell you what we can do to keep them from working together,” she said.
He toyed with her, slipping his fingers into her as she talked, and when she’d explained her idea, he laughed. “You’re a sneaky bitch.”
“Your sneaky bitch.” She reached for his cock and found it hard. “Now fuck me, you bastard.”
# # #
For the first time since Lissa had come back to work, Tina felt herself in control of her career. Lissa had smothered her, making her work on some small accounts, subcontracting analysis to economists at the universities, and admin work. Her vision of her place in all this was sitting in boardrooms with wealthy men and women, planning grand projects.
Like the one in Milan.
She’d never do more in Lissa’s employ, never get more responsibility, because she was weak when it came to econometric modeling. Lissa didn’t understand that modeling, number stuff, was just grunt work.
Not long after she started with Lissa, she decided that once she had some experience and saved some money, she’d start her own company, a different kind of company. She would play to her strengths and emphasize her creative side, pay more attention to the vision. She wanted to provide inspiration to the planning phase, then her backroom monkeys would crunch the numbers to support her ideas and she’d present their data. High-profile jobs should be glamorous, not about tedious economic studies. In her heart she knew clients would find her approach irresistible.
But launching a company was difficult, expensive, and a huge risk. She wasn’t about to quit a high-paying job—that did make her visible, at least—for a gamble. No, before she quit she needed money and clients of her own, clients that saw her role as she did. Unfortunately, Tina found saving money hard. Representing a vision required keeping up appearances, and her apartment, her car, her clothes, her lifestyle, were all expensive.