The Billionaire's Triplets (A Steamy Contemporary Romance Novel) by Mia Caldwell Page A

tense and jumpy during the flight and all the way from the airport. Willa let him be grumpy. She sat back in the limo, letting herself feel a little thrill. Getting him here had been a challenge, but important for her plan. Of course, getting Julio to come to New York City had been a matter of making him think it was necessary and he could do some things to help him win the Milan project.
    Unfortunately, the reason that Julio was so unsettled was that this was Lissa Edwards’s city, and that meant a danger of them meeting. Out there somewhere in this vast forest of skyscrapers the woman was working, trying to find an angle that would involve her with the Milan project too. Everyone wanted that plum job.
    Her presence was a risk she had to take. She couldn’t very well keep him away from her forever. Sooner or later they’d meet, and she just needed to postpone it until she had cemented her position.
    Willa knew that being so close to Lissa had put him on edge and kept him there. She was so close, and yet he had no idea how to contact her. Well, Willa didn’t intend to let him dwell on that woman for long. She had some important things to accomplish here. First, however, she needed to remind him of their purpose in New York. If he focused on that, things would be okay.
    “I don’t like this city,” he said. She knew that was true. Julio wasn’t a big fan of America, and New York City represented most of what he disliked.
    “Since you can’t clone yourself, we needed to prioritize.”
    “It’s a hellaciously complex bid as it is, Willa. You’ve seen the documents. I still haven’t resolved some of my misgivings about the plans as they are. And yes, I could use help. I think some of the assumptions the consortium has made need investigating before we get too far in our plans. That means I should be with experts in Milan doing that, not sightseeing in goddamn New York City. What an ugly place it is. How do people do any creative work here?”
    Willa held her breath. For the past few days, his uncertainties about the project had been making Julio uneasy. Now he was getting closer to understanding what was wrong—but not quite there. Going back to a consortium and telling them there were problems with their basic idea was risky, but that’s how he operated. She worried that they weren’t looking for feedback, just someone to do what they asked. It took balls to take the gamble of asking them to make fundamental changes in the plan, or telling them they needed to change their thinking, but that was Julio. If they refused, he wouldn’t even bother to submit a proposal. He didn’t want to be part of a project he thought was fundamentally flawed. He only involved himself with projects that he was certain would be successful.
    “You need to put together your team for the bid, Julio. You know the top people for some of those things are here. Even if you don’t put them on your team, you can get their input.”
    Willa wasn’t sure if that was vanity or an assurance that you seldom encountered, but whatever it was, it was part of Julio’s makeup. It was a strength, but for a clever opponent, an exploitable weakness. She filed that thought for reference. If he did ask them for changes, that could put her plan in jeopardy. Fortunately, she had contingency plans. She would ride Julio’s coattails to the top, but she had no intention of going down with him if he failed.
    She smiled. “To do that, you need to talk to the best people.”
    “Fine. I just don’t see why we had to come to New York for that.”
    “I want you to meet with Tina Peters.”
    “Why do I know that name?”
    “She worked for Lissa Edwards on a lot of projects. When Ms. Edwards dropped out of sight, Tina ran the business for her, but they had a falling-out. Now she’s gone out on her own. Since you can’t get Ms. Edwards to respond, I thought that getting Ms. Peters on the team might be the next best thing.”
    “If she’s interested, she