The Billionaire's Triplets(7)

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.