LITMIR.BIZ

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Seas.

      Since the South Beach project was en route to Teddy’s office, Maggie stopped there first. She saw his sleek, red Lamborghini with the vanity plates parked just outside the main construction trailer and pulled to a halt nearby. Drawing a decisive deep breath, she reapplied lipstick, swept the wrinkles as best she could from her mauve skirt and tucked her bid file under one arm.

      The site hummed with activity. The LaCrosse Restoration Project—a massive resort, condo, shopping and dining complex—spanned an entire city block and seemed to be moving ahead quickly. Months ago, the land had been cleared and concrete poured. The hotel section, nearly complete, towered impressively, and Maggie glimpsed the guts of the lobby shaping up beneath it. Now, if only Sapphire Seas could be part of the excitement.

      Maggie entered the trailer. Because of the strong morning light, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then she spotted Teddy, lounging in a high-backed office chair behind a desk laden with blueprints, tools and a storm of paperwork that probably kept some construction boss up late at night.

      He raised his head, looking surprised to see her. “Maggie,” he said in his usual affable way. “What an unexpected pleasure! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

      A person could make the mistake of underestimating Teddy’s laid-back, aging surfer-boy demeanor, but Maggie knew that LaCrosse was a tough negotiator and nobody’s fool. She reached across the desk to firmly shake his hand. “Good to see you again, Teddy.”

      “I thought we were going to be talking later today.”

      “I was in town anyway,” Maggie lied. “Could we chat now?”

      “Sure, sure. I assume this is a business visit.”

      “It is.”

      He nodded toward the rear of the office. “Then you won’t mind if Will sits in.”

      Maggie turned to see Will Stewart at the small kitchen counter, pouring a cup of coffee from a battered-looking pot.

      She felt a jolt like an electric current turn her insides over. She hadn’t been expecting Will to be here, and considering her suspicions, she certainly wasn’t eager to speak to LaCrosse in front of him. She barely heard Teddy introduce Will as the project’s chief architect, a fact she’d already learned from the Internet.

      Will inclined his head. His quick, assessing gaze played over her face, but his eyes were without depth, like polished windows with the blinds down behind them. The smile he gave her, though. She remembered that. It was no more than a tight line of acknowledgment. “We’ve met,” he said.

      She wished she could think that he’d aged horribly in eight years, that somehow an overachieving lifestyle and corporate stress had whittled him down. But the truth was, the picture on her computer hadn’t done him justice. He still had that vigorous, youthful strength about him. Not a touch of gray in his dark hair. Not one inch of flab at the waistline. His clothes only accentuated his power and grace, making Maggie wish she’d opted for her best suit instead of this too-casual skirt and blouse.

      She turned back to Teddy. “If I’ve interrupted anything, perhaps we could—”

      Teddy waved away the suggestion and motioned for her to take one of the vinyl-covered chairs in front of the desk. “No, no. You’re here now. Sit.”

      He indicated Will should do the same. That put him awfully close to Maggie, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She lifted her chin a little. No way was she going to let him know his proximity bothered her.

      “Will is involved in every phase of the project, of course, so there’s nothing he can’t hear,” Teddy said. He gave Maggie a sharp look. “Tell me what’s on your mind. You look a little flustered.”

      That was the last thing she wanted either man to think. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m…I just drove up this morning. I’d like to find out where Sapphire Seas stands with this contract. Do we have it or not?”

      Teddy tilted his head at her. “You don’t waste any time, huh? Okay. Not.”

      Her heart swooped. Just as she’d feared. “You’ve signed with someone else?”

      “Not yet, but you’re out of the running, I’m afraid. I’m sorry. It’s just a business decision. You understand that, don’t you?”

      “Of course. If that’s what it really was. A business decision.”

      Teddy’s brow puckered. “What are you getting at?”

      Maggie’s eyes flicked toward Will. He sat utterly still, but distant, as though he could hardly expend the energy to listen. It only strengthened her resolve. “I’m a businesswoman,” she said, leaning slightly forward in her chair. “I can take bad news, Teddy. But I think I deserve complete honesty. I thought my bid on this project was fair—”

      “Your bid was fine.”

      “Then my designs, perhaps. Did you want something different? You seemed to like what I showed you.”

      “I did.”

      “Then why isn’t Sapphire Seas getting this job?”

      Will spoke up for the first time. “Miss Tillman, this project isn’t right for your company.”

      Maggie turned her head to give him a frank but carefully civil look. “I’d like to know why. And I’d like to hear that reason from Mr. LaCrosse, if you don’t mind.”

      Teddy laughed, a loud, genuine sound of amusement that drew her attention. “That’s one of the things I admire about you, Maggie. You’re not afraid to speak up.” He shook his head. “But it’s not enough.”

      “Then what is?”

      There was a moment’s pause. She saw Teddy’s glance cut to Will for an instant, but she refused to check his reaction or what signals he might be sending. Then Teddy crossed his arms, a silent indication that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I need a company with deeper pockets and a full-time crew,” he told her. “Your guys are strictly job-to-job. You have equipment issues. That can create inconsistencies in production and quality.”

      Maggie shifted in frustration. “I told you what the company situation was when we first met and the measures I take to overcome challenges like that. That didn’t seem to be a problem then. In fact, you said you admired my entrepreneurial efforts because that’s how you’d gotten your start.”

      “Sapphire Seas is young. Too young for a job this size.”

      “What we lack in experience, we more than make up for in—”

      “Maggie, this project is a huge investment for me, and I have to believe that an older, more experienced outfit like Coastal Communities will meet our needs more effectively.”

      “Why must you believe that?” Maggie asked, running out of patience. She jerked her hand out to indicate Will seated beside her. “Because this man advised you to go with Coastal?”

      “As a matter of fact, I did,” Will admitted quietly.

      That nearly took Maggie’s breath away. She hated that he sounded so sure of himself, so superior. Inside, her blood seethed, but she’d never let him see just how much he’d upset her. “I knew you would,” she told him. “As soon as I saw your name attached to this, I knew you’d do everything you could to keep me from being involved. This isn’t a business decision. This is your personal, petty revenge.” She shook her head slowly. “It’s not worthy of you, Will. In the old days, you’d never have done something so underhanded.”

      The solid power of her anger left her unable to go on. They stared at one another. At least until Teddy cleared his throat and spoke up. “Would one of you like to tell me what’s going on here?”

      Will looked at Teddy. “Miss Tillman and I—”

      Maggie, her heart cold and hard as a jewel,

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