Maid for a Magnate(3)

"Afternoon," he greeted, purposely being more cheerful than he assumed his father was.

"What the hell are you doing with the Cortes Real Estate company?"

Will stared out onto the sparkling water and crossed his ankles as he  leaned back in his cushioned patio chair. "I dropped them."

"I'm well aware of that seeing as how Dominic called me to raise hell.  What were you thinking?" his father demanded. "When you steamrolled into  the head position, I thought you'd make wise moves to further the  family business and make it even more profitable into the next  generation. I never expected you to sever ties with companies we've  dealt with for decades."

"I'm not hanging on to business relationships based on tradition or  some sense of loyalty," Will stated, refusing to back down. "We've not  gained a thing in the past five years from the Corteses and it was time  to cut our losses. If you and Dom want to be friends, then go play golf  or something, but his family will no longer do business with mine. The  bottom line here is money, not hurt feelings."                       
       
           



       

"You should've run this by me, Will. I won't tolerate you going behind my back."

Will came to his feet, pulled in a deep breath of ocean air and smiled  because he was in charge now and his father was going to start seeing  that the "good" twin wasn't always going to bend and bow to Patrick's  wishes. Will was still doing the "right thing," it just so happened the  decisions made were Will's version of right and not his father's.

"I'm not sneaking at all," Will replied, leaning against the scrolling  wrought iron rail surrounding his deck. "I'll tell you anything you want  to know, but since I'm in charge now, I'm not asking for permission,  either."

"How many more phone calls can I expect like the one I got from Cortes?"

His father's sarcasm wasn't lost on Will.

"None for the time being. I only let one go, but that doesn't mean I  won't cut more ties in the future if I see we aren't pulling any revenue  in after a period of time."

"You run your decisions by me first."

Giving a shrug even though his father couldn't see him, Will replied,  "You wanted the golden son to take over. That's exactly what I'm doing.  Don't second-guess me and my decisions. I stand to gain or lose like you  do and I don't intend to see our name tarnished. We'll come out on top  if you stop questioning me and let me do this job the way it's meant to  be done."

Patrick sighed. "I never thought you'd argue with me."

"I'm not arguing. I'm telling you how it is."

Will disconnected the call. He wasn't going to get into a verbal  sparring match with his father. He didn't have time for such things and  nothing would change Will's mind. He'd gone over the numbers and  cross-referenced them for the past years. Though that was a job his  assistant could easily do, Will wanted his eyes on every report since he  was taking over. He needed to know exactly what he was dealing with and  how to plan accordingly.

His gaze traveled back to his yacht nestled against his private dock.  Speaking of planning accordingly, he had more personal issues to deal  with right now. Issues that involved one very sexy maid.

It had taken a lifeless, arranged relationship with Bella to really  wake Will up to the fact his father had his clutches so tight, Will had  basically been a marionette his entire life. Now Will was severing those  strings, starting with the ridiculous notion of his marrying Bella.

Will was more than ready to move forward and take all the things he'd  been craving: money and Cat. A beautiful combo to start this second  stage of his life.

And it would be soon, he vowed to himself as he stalked around his  outdoor seating area and headed inside. Very soon he would add to his  millions, secure his place as head of the family business by cementing  its leading position in the oil and real estate industries and have Cat  right where he wanted her...begging.

* * *

Catalina couldn't wait to finish this day. So many things had come up  that hadn't been on her regular schedule...just another perk of working  for the Rowling patriarch. She had her sights set on getting home,  taking off her ugly, sensible work shoes and digging into another sewing  project that would give her hope, get her one step closer to her  ultimate goal.

This next piece she'd designed late last night would be a brilliant,  classy, yet fun outfit to add to her private collection. A collection  she fully intended to take with her when she left Alma very soon.

Her own secret goal of becoming a fashion designer had her smiling.  Maybe one day she could wear her own stylish clothes to work instead of  boring black cotton pants and button-down shirt with hideous shoes.  Other than her mother, nobody knew of Catalina's real dream, and she had  every intention of keeping things that way. The last thing she needed  was anyone trying to dissuade her from pursuing her ambitions or telling  her that the odds were against her. She was fully aware of the odds and  she intended to leap over them and claim her dream no matter how long  it took. Determination was a hell of a motivator.

She came to work for the Rowlings and did her job-and that was about  all the human contact she had lately. She'd been too wrapped up in  materials, designs and fantasies of runway shows with her clothing  draped on models who could fully do her stylish fashions justice.

Not that Catalina hated how she looked, but she wasn't blind. She knew  her curvy yet petite frame wasn't going to get her clothing noticed. She  merely wanted to be behind the scenes. She didn't need all the  limelight on her because she just wanted to design, no more.                       
       
           



       

As opposed to the Rowling men who seemed to crave the attention and thrive on the publicity and hoopla.

Adjusting the fresh arrangement of lilacs and white calla lilies in the  tall, slender crystal vase, Catalina placed the beautiful display on  the foyer table in the center of the open entryway. There were certain  areas where Patrick didn't mind her doing her own thing, such as  choosing the flowers for all the arrangements. She tended to lean toward  the classy and elegant...which was the total opposite of the man she  worked for.

James on the other hand had more fun with her working here and he  actually acknowledged her presence. Patrick only summoned her when he  wanted to demand something. She hated thinking how much Will was turning  into his father, how business was ruling him and consuming his entire  life.

Will wasn't in her personal life anymore, no matter how much she still  daydreamed about their kisses. And Patrick would only be her employer  for a short time longer. She was hoping to be able to leave Alma soon,  leave behind this life of being a maid for a man she didn't care for. At  least James was pleasant and a joy to work for. Granted, James hadn't  betrayed Cat's mother the way Patrick had. And that was just another  reason she wanted out of here, away from Patrick and the secret Cat knew  about him.

Catalina shoved those thoughts aside. Thinking of all the sins from Patrick's past wouldn't help her mood.

Patrick had been deceitful many years ago and Catalina couldn't ignore  her mother's warning about the Rowling men. Even if Will had no clue how  his father had behaved, it was something Catalina would never forget.  She was only glad she'd found out before she did something foolish like  fall completely in love with Will.

Apparently the womanizing started with Patrick and trickled down to his  sons. James had been a notorious player before Bella entered his life.  After all, there was nothing like stealing your twin brother's girl,  which is what James had done to Will. But all had worked out in the end  because Bella and James truly did love each other even if the way they  got there was hardly normal. Leave it to the Rowlings and the Montoros  to keep life in Alma interesting.

Catalina just wished those recent kisses from Will weren't overriding her mother's sound advice and obvious common sense.

Once the arrangement was to her liking-because perfection was  everything whether you were a maid or a CEO-Catalina made her way up the  wide, curved staircase to the second floor. The arrangements upstairs  most likely needed to be changed out. At the very least, she'd freshen  them up with water and remove the wilting stems.

As she neared the closed door of the library, she heard the distinct  sound of a woman sobbing. Catalina had no clue who was visiting. No  women lived here, and she'd been in the back of the house most of the  morning and hadn't seen anyone come in.

The nosy side of her wanted to know what was going on, but the employee  side of her said she needed to mind her own business. She'd been around  the Rowling family enough to know to keep her head down, do her job and  remember she was only the help.