CHAPTER ONE
Julio Torres sat back in the soft leather seat and stared out the window. There was little to see but clouds and the pleasant soft colors of the central Italian countryside. Down there somewhere flowed the Po River, and soon he’d be landing in Milan. He liked Italy, and often wound up visiting Milan on business of one form or another.
He knew his mind was wandering and he let it. He needed to let it rest before the meeting this afternoon.
“Your drink, sir,” said a soft voice at his ear. He turned and smiled at Elaine, the flight attendant. The pretty brunette usually had a smile for him, and she was certainly pleasant to look at. She was a well-educated Frenchwoman in her twenties, and he found her slight accent sexy. “We will be in Milan within the hour.”
“Thank you, Elaine.”
As she moved away, he sipped the single-malt Scotch and wondered why he wasn’t more pleased with himself, his life. It seemed rather petty to be sulky when you were whisked around Europe on your own jet with a handpicked crew who dedicated themselves to your comfort. Business was good, he was thirty-eight and, according to both his doctor and personal trainer, in excellent shape. In a few hours he’d be in his room at one of Milan’s five-star hotels, the Baglioni, where he’d get ready for a business meeting that he had every reason to believe would result in another lucrative contract.
He watched Elaine for a moment and sighed. Her lithe body and accommodating nature were a serious temptation, and he was certain that if he suggested it, she’d be happy to come to his room that evening. Of course, if she did, he was sure it would be because of the allure of the chance at becoming the wife—of the rich and powerful Torres. She might be attracted to him, or she might simply be acting pleasant to her employer—she didn’t really know him, and he knew little about her. Although they’d spent quite a few hours together, it was always in this employee/employer relationship, and he liked what that provided too much to take it further. Better to keep some ideas, some women, in the realm of fantasy.
It amused him to think how she would react if she realized that by being so good at her job, she had ruined her chance to become his lover. He wondered if knowing that would shock or please her. Of course, he might be flattering himself. For all he knew, she was deeply in love with some young man, or woman, for that matter. Nonetheless, despite the lust she aroused and knowing he’d do nothing about it, she made the endless business flight more charming.
“The latest version of the proposal just came in.”
This time it was Willa, his assistant, approaching him. She was waving a sheaf of documents. He sighed. The continual small, almost insignificant changes that were made in proposals for a bid meant rereading the entire document. Often they meant nothing important or relevant, but he had to be thorough and not risk making a mistake. And interminable changes or not, Julio wanted to win this project. A consortium wanted to put up an innovative business complex here in Milan—it would be a huge undertaking, and a great thing for the city. Unfortunately, that meant all manner of petty bureaucrats would insist on putting their mark on the project whether their contributions were meaningful or not. Some would be included precisely because they were insignificant, and adding them to the mix smoothed the project’s path to completion. Regardless, he had to read them all, then respond to them. His responses would then initiate yet another revision that included the changes and compromises.
That was the tedious part of his work, and he wished he could delegate it, but that wasn’t possible. He’d made his billions by trusting his instincts and himself, and developing a sharp eye for contract details and their implications. This particular deal was not one to slack off on.
Overcoming his reluctance, he waved Willa into the seat beside him and watched her spread the papers over the table in front of him.
“I scanned them quickly. Whatever changes they’ve made are small.”
“Those are the worst, the land mines,” he laughed.
“What do you mean?”
“They are the ones that are dangerous because you don’t notice their consequences until you step on them.”
Willa nodded, and Julio reflected on his good fortune in having her as his personal assistant. She’d worked beside him without complaint for three years now, and it was a demanding job. She never mentioned her personal life, never took any time off. That seemed odd to him, for she was an attractive German woman of twenty-four, with short-cropped white-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He’d seen men take a second look at her, but never saw her respond. She didn’t pay attention to women either, so it wasn’t that she was gay. From the first day on the job she’d simply thrown herself entirely into her work. He’d been happy to shut up and let her do it, but after three years, he wondered what motivated her. She showed a great deal of personal loyalty, but if that translated into affection, she never showed it.
Willa had a top degree in business administration from Germany’s prestigious University of Mannheim and was fluent in English, German, and Italian—all of that made her invaluable in running a global operation. Efficient and organized, she could be stern with her subordinates when they didn’t meet her exacting standards. That made Julio uncomfortable at times, but he admired her competence. As a rule, Julio found he was attracted to competent women. There was something exciting about a powerful woman.
Especially… He let out a sigh. His mind had gone back to Lissa. It was hard to think of Lissa Edwards without a sigh. His brief time with her had been magnificent. What a woman she was. A lovely African-American from New York City, she was five foot eight, and elegant, and wore her hair in twists, which gave her a sassy spin that suited her. She was a consulting economist. He’d known of her, and finally met her at a conference in Switzerland where she was presenting a paper on some complex analysis-of-site evaluation. That was one of her specialties, and she was in demand for large-scale projects. A fan of her work, he’d introduced himself at the reception. The instant he touched her hand and looked into her eyes, he felt they’d been drawn together almost mystically. Something of that magic seemed to be reflected in her eyes, and he asked her to dinner. She accepted, and they were swept into a wild and incredibly passionate fling. They meshed together in every way possible.
Even when a business emergency called him away, forcing him to leave sooner than he’d hoped and wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to feel tragic about it. It was sad, and leaving her was painful, but they parted
as lovers, with intoxicating kisses and promises to continue the relationship. For two frequent global travelers, managing to meet to make love and learn if they could mean more to each other seemed simple enough. And exciting. It would simply be a new phase of their relationship.
That was the last time he heard from her. That same day he sent her flowers from Prague, and then later, candy from Amsterdam, and an open invitation to dinner at her choice of any restaurant in the world—and heard nothing back. He heard she was on a project in New Orleans and had Willa send a basket of fruit to her hotel. Still nothing.
It hurt him more than he wanted to admit. He was supposed be such a great catch, a billionaire and considered good-looking too. But after two days and nights with him, Lissa refused all contact. He ached to know what he’d done to offend her, and what he might do to get a second chance.
Or was she just a hard-hearted bitch? That was hard to believe. He’d sensed an incredible warmth in her. He wondered if the intensity of their lovemaking had scared her, if she worried about feeling too strongly about him—essentially his one concern about her. If she was afraid of getting entangled with him and losing her independence…well, he could understand that.
What he couldn’t understand was the complete and utter lack of communication. How could a reasonable woman, a brilliant woman, cut him off with no discussion, leave him without a clue to what had changed her mind? Wouldn’t a person like that move heaven and earth to find a solution to whatever the problem was?
Beyond the emotional aspects, he’d been looking forward to working with her. She had a fantastic mind that, happily, harmonized with the way he approached things. Her paper made so much sense to him. And now, he wanted her input on this bid, he wanted her to disassemble the confusion of the requirements from the consortium and help him make suggestions, develop a viable, brilliant, and stunning solution.
Even if she’d suddenly had second thoughts about him, decided somehow that he was a totally reprehensible beast, he couldn’t imagine her passing on the opportunity to consult on this job. Personal feelings aside—and he had no doubt she could put her personal feelings aside—that made no sense. The project would be of global interest. They’d be breaking new ground while meeting or exceeding every known environmental requirement. That was the mandate. Whoever was associated with him on this project would be able to name their price on future jobs. Even if she disliked him for some reason, even if she hated him, she knew that he was the best at what he did. She would want to work with him.
Not knowing what he might have said or done hurt more than anything he could imagine she might say to his face.
Now he turned his attention to the section of the document on the site location and shook his head. He was slogging through it. If Lissa were there, she’d read this section the way other people read paperbacks. “Still no word from Lissa Edwards’s company?”
Willa snorted. “No. Did you expect one this time?”
“I hoped. There are some aspects to this bid that I’d love to have her input on. I’m concerned about the location.”
“Isn’t that already decided?”
Julio smiled. “Sure, they’ve picked out the place they want, but until construction starts, nothing is absolutely fixed, and I have some logistical questions.”
“Why not just bid on what they ask for?”
“Because I’m not a robot and because this is a chance to show the world what’s possible with the existing technology. I want to do this so that it will be successful, but not just in terms of meeting the project goals, either. I want people coming to me in a few years because they know I build successful projects and bow out of the ones doomed by petty political struggles.”
She laughed. “There will always be politics.”
“Yes, but if I establish myself the way I intend to, I’ll be able to insist on doing things right. We’ve been successful, Willa, but my goal, my dream, is to move the bar higher and higher.”
She put her hand on his. “Julio, you already live a dream. We are a glorious team and making money.”
“I suppose I do.” He smiled at her. “And I’m lucky to have you.”
The words put a thin smile on her face.
# # #
Willa settled into her suite at Milan’s elegant Baglioni Hotel, which adjoined the one reserved for Julio. She had her own work to do while he was at the meeting with the consortium that had assembled to build the business center. Some of her work involved taking care of things Julio wanted done before they returned to their home office in Barcelona. Some of the work was for herself, and some of it… Well, it was work he wanted done, but that she was having done to her own satisfaction. She had a goal, a dream of her own, that she wouldn’t share with Julio.
Because it took her closer to her own goal, she decided to take the last task first. She had received a report from a private investigator in the United States—an update to an ongoing investigation. At her direction, it was written in vague language that would make it impossible for anyone but her to truly understand. She’d learned that the target was currently in a hospital in New York, details as to the cause to be provided as soon as known. There was also a summary of information about a patient from a rehab center.
“The records available are sketchy, but a female patient with the last name Edwards was recently released. The home address given matches that of the target. The patient spent sixty days undergoing treatment for addiction to drugs and alcohol.”
Willa smiled. Sixty days was about the right timing. Perhaps she had less to worry about than she had thought. Julio had made a bad call, that was all. Still, a threat was a threat, and nailing the coffin lid down could be little more than a reasonable precaution. She went to her laptop and composed an email of instructions to a colleague in New York. It amazed her how much havoc a small amount of vague and ambiguous information could wreak if you presented it well.
She sipped the wine that she’d had room service bring up and turned her attention to the Milan project. She’d make certain Julio got that bid. He was a brilliant man, an inspiring man, and with her help, he’d be the most successful businessman ever. They’d write books about his achievements, that much was certain. Willa was too thorough and careful to let chance fuck that up, however. She always came to the table prepared. She had investigators working in Europe, looking into the backgrounds of the consortium members for anything she might use. Information was leverage. Willa liked pulling levers, especially when they allowed a tiny woman like her to bring a big, powerful man down to his knees. That was where big, powerful men belonged.
Most men had failings that she could use against them. All she had to do was find them, then apply herself to the task. Julio, for all his qualities and strengths, had a blind spot for women. He was drawn to them, and few wanted to resist him. In the main, that was fine with her. Most of them were leeches who wanted to cling to him. They wanted to be seen with him; they wanted him to pay lavish attention to them. And they were happy to sleep with him if that was all it took. Those women weren’t a threat to Willa or her plans. If he fucked them in his office, she would smile and ask him to sign the documents that needed signing. Let him have his fun.
Willa was attracted to him, but more to his strength and power. She’d sleep with him if he asked her to, but she didn’t need to do that to be a critical part of his team.
This new woman had threatened that, this Lissa Edwards. He’d returned enamored of her, wanting her to work side by side with him. She offered a combination of sexual attraction and business acumen that turned the man’s head. Willa had cut off the communications, but now she had to change her strategy. She needed to fill the void herself. That meant making him see her as a woman. He had to learn how much he needed her, and if that meant taking him to bed so that he forgot Lissa Edwards, that would be fine. It took her along a different path than had been necessary before, but it would work. She would make him desire her; she would get him to seduce her and then she w
ould get him to marry her. As his wife, she’d have more influence and be able to direct him, keep him focused.
She allowed herself time to enjoy fantasies of seducing him, and they were delicious. And it would be a fair exchange. She would give herself to him, let him use her body for his pleasure, and then she would take her place in the world as far more than some man’s personal assistant. She’d put a sharp edge on the dealings they did then. Of course she’d need to indulge him from time to time even after they married, but she had no desire to keep up the pretense that she cared that much about sex. She would arrange for him to have affairs. Perhaps that flight attendant Elaine would seduce him. She looked like the type who would be interested in doing all the things women did to keep a man excited about her. That would keep his hunger for her at bay and, as a bonus, he’d probably feel guilty about cheating on her. That was a lovely bourgeois attitude that would keep him in line for important things.
After all, sex was a tool, an important tool, but little more. Sex was messy, and it could be tedious. He was a good-looking Latino, a hot-blooded man, and when they were married and she turned away from him, she would expect him to take a mistress. That was how things were done, and it would mean she’d have no fear of her losing him. That would be good, if the woman was acceptable. With women she approved of, she’d tolerate affairs whenever he wanted them. She didn’t mind that. Not once she was in control, directing his incredible business sense, and his empire.
With that thought in mind, she composed an email to her investigator in Barcelona, telling him to collect information about Elaine. The more Willa thought about her, the better she seemed. She might even want to have an affair with the woman herself, just to assert her authority. Besides, to cuckold him with his own mistress sounded divine.
For now she just needed to keep him away from that terrible Lissa Edwards. Fortunately, she had Tina Peters to help with that. The woman was treacherous, but predictable, and her avaricious nature made her useful. For a time.