by Mia Caldwell
“What if Tina decides to tell the truth?”
“She won’t. That would mean she’d forfeit her payout, because that would violate her nondisclosure clause. Even if she were willing to give up all that money, she’d be admitting to fraud. That would be the end of her career, and maybe mean jail time. The worst thing that could come of it would be invalidating the contract, and that would take time. What Lissa Edwards doesn’t have is a lot of time.”
Moving with great deliberation, Tom carefully coiled the rope he’d tied Willa with. The look in his eyes made her wonder what was going on in his mind.
“You played these games with Tina,” she said.
“She’s weak,” he said. “She gives up far too easily. That’s why I don’t think she’ll be any trouble at all. You resist.”
“So does Julio. He’ll be submitting his suggestions soon, and we haven’t even studied the requirements.”
“I’ve read them. There’s nothing special in them. Besides, if they are about to change them, spending any effort in that direction would be a waste. It’s better to conserve your strength for the really tough part.”
The tone of his voice told her he wasn’t finished playing. He tossed the rope on the bed and sat down to put a hand on her warm ass. “How did your little trick with the hooker work out? If you got some photos of him with his pseudo-Lissa, I could drop off photos at the same time?”
“He saw through it.” Telling him a partial truth let her hold a few small cards.
“Shame.”
She agreed. Even if Tom had a pretty nice lever to wield over Lissa, it would have been nice to have pictures of Julio getting his rocks off with a woman who looked a lot like her. It would remind her how shallow and insatiable men were. It had been worth the gamble, though.
Tom slapped her ass. “I’ll tell you what. Give that girl a call and tell her to get that cute brown ass over here. I can think of some fun things the three of us can do this afternoon. Then tomorrow I’ll drop by and see Lissa. When she hears the news, I can watch her face and think about fucking the two of you.” He slapped her ass.
She looked at him. He thought that using women made him a big man, but it was his weakness. For the moment she fully intended to play to it. “She is a delicious piece.”
“I’m glad you think so, because I am going to enjoy watching you with her.”
Well, that was okay too. Sex was sex.
And Tom did like his games.
Suddenly, as she picked up the cell phone to call the girl, she saw the look in Tom’s eyes. She licked her lips. “You’re the one who wants the pseudo-Lissa,” she said.
“Actually, I want the real thing. Does that bother you?”
“Not particularly.”
It did, though.
# # #
Lissa was sorting the pile of recovered emails from Julio, looking at them with a mixture of disbelief and happiness, when Tom Acker walked in her office and stared at her. “You can’t work for Julio Torres,” he said. “I thought I’d drop by and remind you.”
That he’d come to her office unannounced was a surprise. Tom preferred to make people come to him. It gave him an edge, and Acker was all about gaining and keeping the edge in any situation. She never liked that about him.
In fact, she’d never particularly liked him, and now the dictatorial tone he was taking pissed her off.
She folded her hands on her desk and looked at him, noting the odd way he looked at her, as if he was seeing something else. “Of course I can, Tom. I can work for whoever I want.”
“Not for the Milan project.”
“Maybe especially that one. What makes you think you have anything to say about who I work with?”
“Because we have a contract. Naturally, it includes both nondisclosure and noncompete clauses. If you work with him, or anyone else, on the Milan project, I’ll sue your ass and take everything you’ve got.”
“What makes you think we have a contract?”
“We do.” He picked up his briefcase and put it on the desk. When he opened it, he took out a document and put it on the desk in front of her. “Here is your copy.”
When she looked at it, her heart sank. It was a standard consulting contract. “This is crap, Tom. I’ve never seen this in my life.”
He shrugged. “I suppose that’s because you were in the hospital at the time. It can take a while to catch up with things after you’ve been away.”
Flipping to the back, she saw Tina Peters’s signature, dated before the triplets were born. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Tom, but this is worthless. Tina has never been authorized to sign contracts.”
“You sent her to my office to negotiate. You called me yourself.”
“I asked her to find out what you might want or need, and to explore the possibility of us working together, but she never had the authority to obligate me or my company to anything.”
Tom smiled. “That’s a shame, because my lawyers tell me that because you allowed her to represent you, to discuss contract terms, makes it totally reasonable for me to assume she was authorized to sign off on the deal. If she exceeded her responsibilities and authority, you would have grounds for action against her. That doesn’t have anything to do with me, though. It doesn’t invalidate my contract.”
“Tom, if that were the case, I could pay one of your staff to sign a document saying that you were giving me your company and it would be legal. It’s totally bogus.”
He smiled. “That’s your opinion, and I’m not a lawyer. For all I know, you’re absolutely right. I mean, it sounds like a stretch to me too, but the lawyers need to earn their pay, so if you start working with anyone else on this bid, then I will get an injunction to stop you while the court decides if the contract is legit. I understand that the docket is quite full, and that could take some time.”
“Blackmail, Tom? I thought that was beneath you.”
“Blackmail? No, this is business, Lissa. I have a contract with you, and it’s in my best interest to enforce its provisions. You say it isn’t valid, but I say it is, and that is a disagreement. And while I can’t force you to work for me, I can take legal action to hold you to the terms otherwise, and withhold payment for nonperformance.”
“This is a pretty elaborate game.” She thought for a moment. “You gave Tina a contract for the same work, didn’t you?”
He smiled. “If I did, that’s between her and me.”
“How is it that you have contracts with two different firms for the same work?”
“I often work with multiple subcontractors as a form of assurance that I’ll get what I want from one or another of them.”
“So, if I decided to do the work for you, you’d have to pay me?”
He smiled. “That would be a perfect outcome. I’d gladly pay you, assuming the work was any good.”
“What if I objected to working with Tina?”
“Who could blame you? The woman is useless for the project. If you say the word, I’ll get rid of her.”
“I thought she had a contract. They cut two ways.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem at all. I can restructure my business and make her role obsolete. I might have to pay a fee, a small penalty.”
“She was the one who gave you this contract?”
He smiled. “She gave me much more than that. But with this restructuring coming up, I’ll have to tell her the bad news. That makes way for you.” He closed his briefcase and stood up. “If you decide to honor your obligations, please let my new project coordinator know. You two should get to know each other.”
“Who is that?”
“Willa Gruber.” She saw him watching her face and she imagined he was hoping for a sign that she was shocked. At the moment, being shocked would have taken more energy than she could summon.
“Julio’s PA is now your project coordinator?”
“Of course, I could be persuaded to make more changes. Perhaps that would be a better role for you. I like the
idea of you working directly under me.”
“And Willa?”
“I’m sure I can find another role for her. I promised I’d give her the job, not that she could necessarily keep it.”
“I’m glad to know how you regard loyalty.”
“Other people’s loyalty to me is quite useful. At any rate, let me know what you decide, if you decide anything at all. At times, inaction is the best course.” She sat still as Acker picked up his briefcase and left her office.
Now what?
She sat for a moment before getting up and walking into Abby’s office. “It was weird seeing him here,” Abby said.
Lissa held out the contract. “Apparently one of the things Tina did before she left was get us some new business that she never bothered to mention.”
Abby looked at it. “The bitch. And it isn’t even a good deal for us. Talk about salt in a wound.” She looked at Lissa. “So what do we do now?”
“Did you find a copy of anything like this document on the server?”
“No. I might have missed it, though.”
“I don’t think you would have. And it’s probably boilerplate from Acker’s files, not one of ours.”
“I’ll check for it specifically.”
“If you do find it, I need to know the origination date of the first draft.”
“If it’s there, that’s easy.”
“While you do that, I need to talk to Tina.”
“Will she talk to you? I mean, she’s been sleeping with Tom Acker, right?”
“She wouldn’t have before, but it seems that she just got screwed in a less pleasant fashion by Willa Gruber.”
“She’s working with Acker now?”
“For him, and it seems that she got Tina tossed out on her ear.”
Abby grinned. “It’s a bitch-eat-bitch world over at his company. I think if we stand still long enough, we can take the field by forfeit.”
“I’m rather thinking of a nuclear option that takes out the opposition entirely.”
“That does sound like much more fun. As long as all of us are well away from ground zero, that is. What’s the plan?”
“Plan?” Lissa closed her mouth and pressed a finger against her lips as she began to think out loud. “I need to talk to Tina, but she is a mercenary, and if she was bought, maybe I can make a better offer.”
“I hate to think of you dealing with her.”
“Me too. I hate that she might profit from her shady games, but I’d hate losing out even more.”
Abby sighed and looked at her watch. “Isn’t it closing time? I need a drink.”
Lissa smiled. “For the moment, I still own this company, so as far as I’m concerned, it is closing time. Alert the answering service, Abby. Drinks are on me.”
CHAPTER NINE
Abby only wanted one drink, then insisted on leaving for home. That was fine with Lissa, since she needed to think. The Tom Acker situation had been a blow, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could think to do about it. It was still early in the day, and she could have gone back to the office, but the idea of staring at the contract and contemplating the legal bills she’d need to pay to get out of it was just depressing. With Joan doing such a great job running things, she was able to enjoy her time with the babies. Right now it seemed that her children, and Joan’s help, were the only things going right in her life. Julio’s role was the only unknown, but at least he wanted to know them; he insisted they know he was their father. He’d even told her that he intended to have his lawyers work on getting their birth certificates amended.
When she let herself into her apartment, she hadn’t expected to see him, sitting on her living-room floor. Her heart swelled as she took him in. He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, surrounded by the babies. One was lying on a blanket by one leg, another by his other leg, and the third was on his lap. He looked completely relaxed and enthralled.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted.
He looked up. “We’ve been having serious father-son chats. They have lots of questions, and I rotate the boys around so they don’t think I like any one better than the others.” He grinned self-consciously. “I hope it’s okay. I just had this overwhelming urge to spend a little time alone with them.”
“Where’s Joan?”
“Oh, I gave her a quarter and sent her to the movies. Isn’t that what American men do with kid brothers and sisters?”
“Not since about 1955.”
“I told her to take the rest of the day off, and she seemed pleased to do so.”
“And what did you intend to do when one of your boys messes a diaper? Can you handle that alone?”
He laughed. “My sons are well-bred lads. They wouldn’t do that to me. Even if they did, I grew up caring for younger siblings. I am an expert with diapers.” He held up his cell phone. “I took lots and lots of pictures. I sent a nice set to my Mamacita.”
“Mamacita?”
“Little mother. An affectionate term for the boys’ paternal grandmother. She was so excited when I told her about them. Those pictures will be shown in half the homes in Barcelona by tomorrow.”
“She’s pleased about them, then?”
“She’s excited. She won’t truly be pleased until I bring them to visit so she can pinch their cheeks herself. The only thing she’s not pleased about is that I couldn’t tell her their names.
Lissa laughed. “What, Joan didn’t tell you?”
“Nope, she refused, she said….” He took a moment to scan his memory banks, as a finger rested on his closed lips. “She said, ‘my sister should be the one to give you that bit of news,’ or something to that effect.”
Lissa sat down, hard. Joan was a sneaky one.
She’d named them in the hospital, while she still held out hope that he would give a shit. Later, after it was obvious that he didn’t, she’d regretted that she’d given each of them his name, but not that it seemed more likely that he cared…
She sighed.
“What, did you name them Dipshits One Two and Three or something?”
Lissa laughed and punched his arm, “Of course not, silly.”
“Okay, but don’t laugh.”
He crossed his heart then zipped his lips.
She pointed to her first born, then to her second, and then to her third born son.
“That’s Marco Julio, that’s Ryland Julio, and squirmy one over there is Hunter Julio.”
His smile lit up his face and for the first time, she saw a tiny dimple in the cleft of his chin. Her heart gave a lurch; he was happy she’d done that.
She thought he’d make a big deal out of it, but instead he just turned to the boys.
“Well, hello, Mr. Marco Julio, Mr. Ryland Julio, and Mr. Squirmy Hunter Julio.”
The boys giggled.
“You four look so sweet down there. I think I’ll change clothes and join you,” she said. “Life can seem simpler on the floor.”
As Lissa dressed, she tried to get a handle on her feelings. On the one hand, it was exciting to see Julio in her home, playing with his children. On the other hand, she’d been looking forward all day to being alone with them herself. It was just dawning on her now that she wasn’t the only family they had—it wasn’t Lissa and her three boys, with the assistance of Joan, against the world. They had a father who was delighted with them, and uncles and aunts in Spain, and grandparents. There was a network of people who cared about them.
For so long she and Joan had been family, and this sudden population explosion in her life changed so many things. She needed to rethink her life.
As she went to her room, she realized that she had so much left to learn about Julio, about his family, about his way of living. And they needed to decide so many things, so many important things. Many of them would determine not only how they lived, but who their boys would grow up to be. It was time to throw preconceptions out the window.
When she returned, she sat on the floor, father and mother absorbed
in enjoying their three children.
Eventually, Julio spoke about something other than how incredibly handsome and smart their children appeared to be.
“Could we talk a little business, for a moment?
She glanced at him. “Sure, but first I have to tell you. I found out why I never got your messages. I don’t know about the alleged flowers, but all emails to or from you got routed to the trash by a virus program. The IT guy said Tina had it installed.”
Julio’s relaxed face suddenly stiffened, and he looked away. “Lissa, I feel bad that I never just got on a goddamn plane and knocked on your door. I missed so much. I missed seeing you big as a barn with our babies, I missed seeing them born.”
“You probably didn’t for the same reason I didn’t track you down when I found out I was pregnant—hurt, savage pride.”
“Aren’t we a pair? Both of us nursing our grievances.”
She opened her briefcase and showed him a sheaf of papers. “I’m catching up with your emails. Abby found them.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I hope I said nice things.”
“So far, except when you lost your patience.”
He cringed. “Mea culpa.”
# # #
Tyler Walker offered her a chair in his plush office. The chair was a comfortable, soft, light-brown leather. A seductive chair. “So Acker found himself a trump card?”
The word was out already. Naturally Acker would make sure it was known far and wide.
“I’m trying to work out a solution. I thought I’d see if you might have any ideas.”
“Advice and ideas are free, gratis, on the house.”
“So no charge?”
“I’d only ask a small token payment—marry me.”
“No, Tyler. You’d hate me after a week.”
“I’ll risk it. And what if I don’t care?”
“The father of my children might still object.”
“There is that. He probably is the reason you don’t want to work with Tom.”
“Ah, here is where it gets interesting. I don’t like being coerced.” She told him about the contract. “On top of that, I want to work with Julio. He and I share ideas and values, or seem to.”