Read Online The Billionaire's Triplets (A Steamy Contemporary Romance Novel) by Mia Caldwell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mia Caldwell
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briefcase. She’d dressed carefully in a silk blouse that flattered her breasts, a short skirt, and heels.
Julio looked up, seeing her and showing her a sad face that betrayed just a hint of curiosity.
Seeing him that way made her heart skip a beat. She knew he was still mooning about that bitch of an economist. Even after all this time he wouldn’t let go of the stupid idea that somehow they’d be together again. She set her jaw. It was time to kill that once and for all.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “You look awfully businesslike for so late in what has been a long day.”
“Businesslike?”
He grinned. “Sexy, but still businesslike.”
She savored the flattery. Looking sexy had been her intention. Julio always acted the gentleman with women he worked with. Willa assumed that was why he hadn’t bedded Elaine. She often worked long hours with him herself, and while he might flirt, he generally maintained a professional relationship. The after-hours nature of her visit caught him off guard. Normally if they worked late it was because he was engrossed in some project.
“I know we are supposed to be done for the day… All those damn meetings take their toll. We still have a lot of work that needs doing. I got some more proposals from potential subcontractors. I’ve tossed out the ones that didn’t offer any new ideas, and just sent their standard rate sheets and other garbage, but that left a few that made an effort, and I thought we might go over them.”
“It’s odd that they are the minority,” he said. “You’d think there wasn’t a recession and there was plenty of work to go around. This is a juicy project.”
“At any rate, I saw the look on your face at the end of the last meeting, and rather than letting you sit around feeling sad, I thought we might as well go through some of them.” She sat beside him, letting her leg brush against his and putting the briefcase on the coffee table.
As she opened the case, Julio glanced at the folders and sighed, then held up his glass. “You get things started while I finish my drink.”
“Of course.” She brought out a folder and opened it on the coffee table. “These are from the usual vendors, your preferred list, for their ideas on the landscaping, some exterior touches… most important, though, is the hybrid power-cogeneration system. The European Union should give you big environmental points for that.”
Julio sipped his drink and picked up some of the pages. “You’d think so,” he said. He finished the drink and let himself become absorbed in the proposed power system, reading the textual analysis but referring to the tables and graphs. “Yes, yes.” Then he began going back and forth through the pages. He pointed at several tables with a pen he took from his pocket, circling some numbers. “Paper,” he said, and she tore a page from her notebook and handed it to him.
He scribbled furiously, doing math, writing in the margins of the pages of the report. This was the Julio she wanted to see, the dynamic man who had the insights and energy to steamroller any other proposals. He had an amazing way of making a comprehensive analysis, and his instincts for choosing the right combination of things seemed unerring. The committee in Milan wanted something exceptional for their business center, and that required an exceptional man. A man like Julio Torres.
Willa watched him work, pleased that she could harness his genius, and delighted that she’d managed to sidetrack that American harpy. Now Willa was ready to step up her game. Being Julio’s good right hand gave her a great deal of power, but she wanted more.
Julio shook his head and tossed the folder down. “This won’t do.”
She looked at the folder. “No?”
“It’s crap. They are selling the right buzzwords, but it isn’t promising or even new technology. We can do better.” She watched him juggling possibilities in his head. “Remember that Finnish company we
Julio looked up, seeing her and showing her a sad face that betrayed just a hint of curiosity.
Seeing him that way made her heart skip a beat. She knew he was still mooning about that bitch of an economist. Even after all this time he wouldn’t let go of the stupid idea that somehow they’d be together again. She set her jaw. It was time to kill that once and for all.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “You look awfully businesslike for so late in what has been a long day.”
“Businesslike?”
He grinned. “Sexy, but still businesslike.”
She savored the flattery. Looking sexy had been her intention. Julio always acted the gentleman with women he worked with. Willa assumed that was why he hadn’t bedded Elaine. She often worked long hours with him herself, and while he might flirt, he generally maintained a professional relationship. The after-hours nature of her visit caught him off guard. Normally if they worked late it was because he was engrossed in some project.
“I know we are supposed to be done for the day… All those damn meetings take their toll. We still have a lot of work that needs doing. I got some more proposals from potential subcontractors. I’ve tossed out the ones that didn’t offer any new ideas, and just sent their standard rate sheets and other garbage, but that left a few that made an effort, and I thought we might go over them.”
“It’s odd that they are the minority,” he said. “You’d think there wasn’t a recession and there was plenty of work to go around. This is a juicy project.”
“At any rate, I saw the look on your face at the end of the last meeting, and rather than letting you sit around feeling sad, I thought we might as well go through some of them.” She sat beside him, letting her leg brush against his and putting the briefcase on the coffee table.
As she opened the case, Julio glanced at the folders and sighed, then held up his glass. “You get things started while I finish my drink.”
“Of course.” She brought out a folder and opened it on the coffee table. “These are from the usual vendors, your preferred list, for their ideas on the landscaping, some exterior touches… most important, though, is the hybrid power-cogeneration system. The European Union should give you big environmental points for that.”
Julio sipped his drink and picked up some of the pages. “You’d think so,” he said. He finished the drink and let himself become absorbed in the proposed power system, reading the textual analysis but referring to the tables and graphs. “Yes, yes.” Then he began going back and forth through the pages. He pointed at several tables with a pen he took from his pocket, circling some numbers. “Paper,” he said, and she tore a page from her notebook and handed it to him.
He scribbled furiously, doing math, writing in the margins of the pages of the report. This was the Julio she wanted to see, the dynamic man who had the insights and energy to steamroller any other proposals. He had an amazing way of making a comprehensive analysis, and his instincts for choosing the right combination of things seemed unerring. The committee in Milan wanted something exceptional for their business center, and that required an exceptional man. A man like Julio Torres.
Willa watched him work, pleased that she could harness his genius, and delighted that she’d managed to sidetrack that American harpy. Now Willa was ready to step up her game. Being Julio’s good right hand gave her a great deal of power, but she wanted more.
Julio shook his head and tossed the folder down. “This won’t do.”
She looked at the folder. “No?”
“It’s crap. They are selling the right buzzwords, but it isn’t promising or even new technology. We can do better.” She watched him juggling possibilities in his head. “Remember that Finnish company we
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