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“What happened?”
“It got misplaced in the office on Friday and wasn’t found until today. So everyone has known about this but us.”
“I think Willa is still running your Barcelona office.”
“What do you mean?”
She told him about Tina approaching her, about paying the money. “She mentioned that Willa told her to come to me. I think Willa arranged for that notice to be delayed. It’s another way of sticking a knife in me for getting back together with you. But that isn’t important. I still don’t understand how they can cancel the project. It must be serious, as they’ve already invested heavily in the damn thing, and put a year of planning into it.”
“I know. Everyone was eager to get working on it. It’s a huge setback for an ambitious group of people.”
“What happened?”
“The initial site-mapping studies missed something significant.” He unrolled a map of the site. “It’s a nice spot for the purpose, almost perfect, except for one problem. Apparently a few hundred years back, the city built an underground aqueduct right under this spot, right here in the center of the proposed building. They think it might have been part of the navigli, the network of artificial waterways that were built around the city. It probably redistributed water to or from the Po River. Anyway, there is no way the ground at that point will support the structure they wanted there.”
“I can’t believe they missed that.”
“The story is that right after it was built, it partially caved in. It was abandoned and forgotten about. It’s narrow, and somehow the surveyors missed it—either there was bad documentation or just some sloppy work, but this is serious enough that it will undoubtedly put this project in the courts for a long time while everyone involved sues everyone else.”
Lissa thought quickly. “If it was just an aqueduct, why can’t it be filled in?”
“That’s possible, but the new information suggests that there might be some sort of fault or sinkhole there. Very localized.” He handed her the report. “You can read the details for yourself, but their conclusion is that the cost of verifying the precise location of whatever is wrong and working out a fix would be enormous and prohibitive, even for a project of this scale.”
“And it can’t be relocated?”
“Possibly. I don’t think the consortium has the heart for starting over on scouting locations, and they’ll have bankers and governments breathing down their necks to make decisions fast.”
“So they aren’t willing to give us time to come up with options.”
“They’ve called a meeting. I need to go to Milan tomorrow. I’ll know more about the options after that.”
“And just in case the project is actually on, I can’t go unless I represent Tom Acker because of that damn contract.”
“I’ve talked to a contact with the consortium. Tom and Willa are arriving tonight.” He sighed. “I need to go to the hotel and pack. It’s an early flight.”
Lissa felt her heart flutter. They were just beginning to get to know each other outside of the bed, and now he was being called away on urgent business. This had happened before and been disastrous. She wanted to cling to him, either get on a plane and go with him or keep him from going.
This was business, and he hadn’t caused this. She didn’t blame him, but somehow he was being taken from her for a second time.
“See if you can stall them while I take a close look at what we know. There has to be some way to make this project happen. I’m willing to bet I can come up with a fix that will make the project even better.”
“That American optimism. Okay, I’ll do my best.”
She knew she sounded desperate, but something inside Lissa made her feel that the fate of the Milan project and her relationship with Julio were entwined, that they would sink or swim together. She didn’t know if that was good or bad or even true, but it felt that way.
Conflicting emotions tore at her. She wanted him to fly to Milan and fight for the project, but having him pulled from her again for business dragged up bitter memories. She wanted to go with him, but that might compromise his bid if nasty legal wrangling came up. Sometimes there didn’t seem to be any entirely good days.
Their parting kiss was disappointing, but then neither of them wanted to say goodbye. At least she didn’t. Sometimes she still wondered how he truly felt. It was one thing to love the children, and to like making love to her, and another to take it to the next level. And she had to wonder about her own feelings for him. She wasn’t used to wanting a man that way, feeling empty when he was gone. It made her feel weak.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The package was unmarked except for being addressed to her. “A courier delivered it,” Joan said.
She opened it and found a memory stick and a note. “Keep your guard up,” it said. It was signed by Willa, with a flourish on the W.
“What the hell?”
“She’s playing games with you.”
“Even so…”
“You have to see what it is.”
So, instead of jumping on the site problem, she dug out an old laptop and turned it on. Joan gave her an inquisitive look. She shrugged. “It’s from Willa. This might be an attempt to hack my computer. This one isn’t connected to any network.”
When she scanned the disk, she found a few photos. Some were of Julio and Willa naked in bed together in hotel rooms. Then there were three of him with a tall black woman. She recognized the bar at the Park Plaza. The woman looked a lot like her. Somehow that didn’t seem a coincidence.
Joan looked over her shoulder. “So the German bitch is showing you that she was screwing Julio and suggesting he might be fooling around now? Maybe that he likes black girls in America?”
“Seems something like that. Or maybe she wants me to believe she’s still having an affair with him herself.”
“Either way she’s just trying to get under your skin.”
The problem was that it did unnerve her. It had never occurred to her that Julio might have been sleeping with Willa—that she managed to do more to come between them than interrupt communications. Her brain didn’t think it changed things at all. Her heart lacked that sublime confidence. Maybe Julio didn’t make long-term commitments.
# # #
Julio reached her on a video call in the office. Seeing him gave her a rush that combined relief and apprehension. “How are you? How is it going?”
“I’ve managed to buy us a small window of opportunity. We have to move quickly because a number of the consortium are fed up with the project. But at least we have a clear field.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you have a solution to the basic problem?”
“I think so. I’m still getting some expert opinions to confirm things.”
“Well, Tom Acker took no for an answer. Willa’s hung around to watch things, but they have no interest in the project anymore. I think he’s starting something in Chile next week. So I need you to fly over here right away. We need to make a formal presentation of how we can save the world.”
“Or this small part of Italy. What about the family?”
“Bring everyone. Fly first class.”
“What about my little contract problem? Working with you is still a no-no. Even if Acker doesn’t make a bid, I can’t work on anyone else’s bid.”
He smiled. “Well, first of all, we can argue you aren’t working on the bid. You are working on a proposal that will allow there to be one.”
“I’d still be in a situation where the contract might apply.”
“What if I had an idea? The contract is between your company and Acker, and your company is a corporation.”
“It is.”
“Essentially, you are the major stockholder and an officer, but also an employee of your company—you work for you. So what happens if you take a leave of absence from your company, you and Abby both? What if you went to work for me on a limited-term contract?”
> “I have no idea.”
“I have my legal people checking it out, but unless you signed a contract with your own company, I think you can do that. Your company can’t. But there’s no way that anyone can sign away your rights for you as a person. Not without a power of attorney. I’ll get my miserable legal people to earn their extravagant retainers.”
“So my company shuts down for say, one year, with us on leave, and we take jobs with you?”
“Sure. You say that Willa is now being called Acker’s project manager. Well, you could become my project manager. Equality is a beautiful and slippery slope.”
“That just might work.”
“Like I said, I need to have the experts sprinkle my crazed idea with their holy water, but I suspect that’s an option. There might be some ambiguities. We also can battle this with another interesting twist that’s in our favor. My company is a Spanish company. We don’t even have an office in the US. If Acker wants to sue me for employing you, he’d have to file in Spain or Italy. Then the battle is fought where my guys have the home-court advantage.” She smiled. “I see you like my sneaky thinking.”
“I do. We also have Tina’s statement, which can be something of a deterrent.”
“Precisely. So let me know your flights.”
She heard voices in the background. Women’s voices. She tried to laugh at herself. He was around women all the time, and until Willa sent her those photos, she’d never given it a thought. Well, she needed to think, and see. But his idea was sound. She’d go over there and salvage the damn project, then they’d build something magnificent.
She’d decide if she had the strength to try for more than that later. When she could think.
# # #
Milan was exciting and busy. They settled Joan and the boys at the hotel suite. Abby, unused to jet travel, went to her room for a nap. “I’ll meet with Julio,” Lissa told her. “Rest, and we can catch up later.”
