The Billionaire's Triplets (A Steamy Contemporary Romance Novel) Read Free Page B

discuss a general association—the mechanics of how we will work together, and it would be nice to be able to tell him he will have a full-blown Lissa Edwards proposal once we move along.”
    “Yes! Okay, Tina, that would be wonderful.”
    “Then I can deal with the rest as I see fit?”
    “Yes. I suppose you’ll have to.”
    The woman stood up. “Then I better get back. The staff is running some background checks on Acker and his past work. All I know about him is what’s been in the press. I’d better know more than that before I meet him, or I won’t know what buttons to push. If I screw up, my boss will chew my ass out. She’s tough.”
    “You bet she will. So get that document over here first thing. And send the laptop from my office too. It has some things on it I want to check.”
    Tina looked uncomfortable. “I suppose so.”
    “I’m going to need my laptop to write out my feedback, that feedback of mine that you’d be so delighted to have.”
    “Okay.” A question appeared on the woman’s face, hanging there, waiting for gravity or something to dislodge it. Finally it came off. “What about after the birth? Will you come right back to work? Work from home? What will you do then?”
    “When I decide, I’ll let you know.” Lissa smiled to herself. She wasn’t being gruff, she simply hadn’t thought about it. Being pregnant had seemed unreal. Being her was unreal. Having the babies was unreal. Things would get real soon enough, though. And she hadn’t begun to think about it.
    When she left, Lissa watched after her. It took a moment to realize she was trying to analyze the unsettled feeling she got after each of Tina’s visits. It was vague, a hunch, but she was certain the woman was up to something. Of course, there wasn’t much she could do about it, no matter what it was, and knowing the specifics probably wouldn’t put a brighter face on things. She was stuck. That didn’t keep her from trying to pin it down.
    Under normal circumstances, Lissa wasn’t the greatest businessperson in the world; she had a great reputation for her skills with analysis, but running a business involved more than that. If she were more of a businessperson, someone who promoted themselves, her consultancy would be far bigger. Still, she made good money and was well known, and she’d been involved in enough high-powered negotiations to smell a rat when a dead one was under the table. Like now.
    “Your lunch.” She looked up to see a sickeningly cheery candy-striper bringing in a plastic tray.
    “I was just thinking of dead rats,” she said. The cheery face improved with a look of puzzlement. As she brought the tray to the bed, Lissa’s quick look at the array of tiny plastic containers told her she wasn’t in for Indian cuisine today.
    “That’s my lunch?”
    “The pudding is lovely today,” the woman said, sounding like she almost believed it.
    “If you say so, although in civilized countries that sort of offering would be considered an affront to all that’s holy.”
    “You are so clever,” the woman said.
    “Not clever enough to find a way to get a real meal in here,” she said, sighing. She let her thoughts slip away from the noxious tray and to the manner of skullduggery Tina Peters might be engaging in. The topic was no less irritating, but she could at least fantasize chasing Tina through the streets of New York with a bullwhip if her suspicions were correct.
    There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about the lunch.
    # # #
    Lissa lay back, thinking about her business and Tina’s question. It was a good one, and important. How would she deal with things after the babies were born? One baby was trouble enough, and three… She’d need help. Of course, if she applied herself to the work, she could afford to get good help. She’d need to travel, so she would need someone who could travel with her—she wouldn’t leave the children behind.
    A nurse came in with a clipboard and a