Built Strong (Middleton Hotels 3)

Chapter 1

Julian

There was a knock at my office door, but I was still on a call. What was the point of an assistant if they didn’t do their job? The door opened, then I understood why she didn’t stop the person.

“Excuse me, Mom. I’m going to have to call you back. Your son is here and he still hasn’t learned manners, even after getting married,” I grumbled on the line while my little brother laughed.

“Which one?” she asked, already knowing who it was. Joseph only acted out of character when his wife was around.

“Jake, the little brat,” I replied, shrugging when he gave me the finger.

I covered the receiver and said, “Mom said she should have gotten a dog.”

He scoffed and tossed out, “She did when she had your bitch ass.”

“Okay, I love you, too.” I hung up the phone, this time flipping Jake off; it was his turn to shrug.

"What do you want, Jake?" I asked as my brother didn't bother to put his ass in a chair, but instead planted it on my desk. He was lucky I was in a damn good mood. Everything was running smoothly and two remodels were ahead of schedule.

"I need a favor,” he said.

"So, coming in and annoying me by sitting on my desk is your idea of buttering me up?" I asked, looking at my brother then down at my desk.

"No, but since Joe's married, taking time away from Rachael isn't going to happen." He's got another great property to look at already? The shithead was on a roll finding them, making the rest of us look like slackers.

"Away? A new business opportunity already?” I asked, wondering if this boy was a property guru.

"No, I need someone I trust to look in on the remodel for the hotel in Reese."

"Oh, the one for Harley?" We agreed that Jake could name the hotel after his wife, but it was a surprise that he'd give her when it was complete. We all loved Harley after she became a part of our family.

Jake fidgeted with his tie nervously for a moment before he answered, "Yep, and she's about due any day, so I don't want to leave her." The guy was madly in love with his wife and even if she wasn't that close to delivering my nephew, he still didn't want to spend a night away from her.

"I suppose. Is there something wrong with the project?" I’d been working on the contracts with the lawyers for other deals and this wasn’t up my alley, but we did this as a team.

"No, but the original interior designer with the firm we hired quit. This one is fresh off the bus and I want you to meet with her to check out our initial concept that we spent months coming up with. Also, I need to know if there's going to be a delay."

"When do you need me to leave? I have two conference calls this week with our lawyer and the marketing department."

"As soon as possible," he said, twisting his face, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

I opened the calendar on my computer to see the calls were tomorrow and Wednesday. If I was going to make them I would need to leave tonight. “I’d have to leave today or not until Thursday.”

“I’d prefer today. I could get everything together. Please, bro,” he pleaded.

“Get me the jet. I’ll get everything ready for my meetings,” I said.

“Thanks, bro. Really, this is important to me,” he said, hopping off my desk. “Oh, by the way, I’ll get you her number so you can set up your appointment with her.”

“Great. I’ll try to get it scheduled tonight before I get on the plane. Now get out of my office,” I barked out.

“Bossy fucker. You need to get laid,” Jake teased, walking happily to the door. Of course he was happy, he got laid all the time. I learned that my brothers kept their dicks on lockdown until they met the one. I did, too, but I didn’t tell anyone. I was the one who partied with the celebs. I hadn’t planned on a pact of any sort, I just took my father’s advice to heart and didn’t let pussy get ahead of the family business. Maybe it was time for me to look for the right one. I’d just turned twenty-seven, a bit too old to be holding onto my virginity.

“It certainly helped your ass,” I grumbled, hating he was on point about it.

“Damn right, maybe you’ll have luck in Reese like me.”

“Maybe.” Every time I attended a bad ass party with beautiful women galore, I felt like shit. Nothing but disgust at how easily they came on to me or whoever was near. Parties turned into orgies and that wasn’t my thing. Hell, I didn’t know if I could handle one woman, let alone more. Fuck, I’d get my ass laughed out of there so quick.

He left me alone, but I had to move my ass and get ready for the trip. Going out of town wasn’t something I was looking forward to. The last time I was in Reese, my brother’s former assistant tried to attack Rachael, his fiancée at the time. It was too crazy. The hotel had something about it that brought out the nuts. I called my assistant into my office to make sure I didn’t forget shit. Luckily, she was married and older, that way I wouldn’t have to go through what Joe did with his.

“I need to get out of here within the hour,” I said the instant she stepped into the room.

She shook her head and

moved to my desk, quickly organizing the files.

Chapter 2

Morgan

“What do you mean I have to handle the Middleton remodel in Reese?” I asked my sister. “What happened with Shayla?” She had the Middleton project. Out of all of us at Strong Designs, she was the only one from an expensive design school. Personally, I thought her tastes were brutally ugly.

“She quit. You’re our only designer that doesn’t have an assignment,” Megan said.

“That’s because I don’t have a degree, or have you forgotten?” I asked her.

“You can do this,” she stated, looking at me with the Strong determination. The look that told me I had no choice in the matter.

“Are you out of your mind? What happens when they find out that I’m not the real deal?”

“You are though. Here’s the file that Shayla had before she quit. Now get prepared. Do some yoga or Pilates, whatever it is you do when you’re stressed, but you are taking this assignment for me. They probably won’t be here for a day or two, so you’ll be able to come up with something better than Shayla ever could.”

“She had an Ivy League degree, Megan,” I argued, walking away from her.

She followed behind me until we reached my desk. “Yeah, well, money can’t buy talent. You are naturally gifted. So take this damn file and get ready to deal with the Middleton Hotel Corporation,” she ordered, holding the file out for me to take. I knew there was no way to get out of this, but why me? She could have easily given me her client and taken over the Middleton project herself.

I took it from her, trying to breathe. This was everything I had ever dreamed of, and at the same time, it was a nightmare. I didn’t know anything about the Middletons other than they were wealthy and bought a lot of property around here. My hands were shaking as I walked back to my small cubicle in the little design studio my parents set up many years ago.

I sat down unsteadily and nearly fell off my chair just as the phone rang. “Strong Designs, Morgan speaking. How may I help you?” I answered without conveying the fact that I wasn’t sitting up straight yet.

“Hello, Morgan, you are the one I’m looking for,” the smooth deep voice said. My heart pounded in my ears all of a sudden. My body shivered from the desire that shot straight down my spine. Why would this sexy voice be looking for me?

“Um. Yes…I’m Morgan. How can I help you?” I stuttered. I heard a deep chuckle. Duh, he knew that already. Great impression, I thought.

“My name is Julian Middleton. I need to schedule our meeting this week,” he said. My face heated up and my heart was dancing. It was like he was asking me to marry him the way I was losing my mind. My hand was shaking and I accidentally dropped the receiver on the desk in my nervousness.

“Sorry about that. I’m open to your request,” I replied. I had nothing on my plate. If it wasn’t for answering the phones and doing errands for my sister, I wouldn’t have a job. I was nineteen and needed a change, but not this. If I screwed this up, I would cost my sister her company.

“Meet me for dinner tonight. I need to go over a lot and I’m busy for the next two days,” he demanded.

“Sure, where do you want to meet?”

“There’s only one diner in town, right?” He thought I was in town, but we lived in the next one over where the amusement park was being built. “I’m sorry, yes. How long from now?”