Built Strong (The Middleton Hotels Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Built Strong

  C.M. Steele

  Copyrighted © 2017

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written expressed permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Cover design: C.M. Steele

  Cover Image: Shutterstock

  The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows, and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and please purchase your own copy.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior express, written consent of the author.

  This book is intended for mature adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. Suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Adult Erotic Romance.

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  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?”

  “I’m starving, so as soon as possible.” How did I know he was going to say that? I wasn’t ready to meet the man with a panty melting voice or to even discuss the file, since I had like two seconds with it before he called.

  “I can be there in thirty minutes.”

  “Perfect, see you then. Please bring all that you have on the hotel. Thank you,” he said, hanging up on me. I tried not to hyperventilate, not that I ever had before, but this guy could make that happen. I stood up and looked down to see what I was wearing. I had a cute grey V-neck sweater and black pants with grey flats. Thank goodness, at least I looked semi-professional. My sister was with her client in the meeting room, so I left her a note. Then I took the file and my purse and drove my old pickup to Reese, hoping it didn’t break down.

  The ride was a little bit slower than I expected because of the rain, but I got there with five minutes to spare. I parked down the street so he couldn’t see which vehicle was mine. I entered Rose’s Diner, and there he was. I hadn’t looked up any of the Middleton brothers, but I could tell this was Julian.

  He had sharp, dark eyes that immediately caught mine. He stood up, taller and broader than I expected. He had that Texas businessman look about him - a pair of jeans with black cowboy boots and a nice black jacket with a white dress shirt and the collar open. All he needed was a cowboy hat and you’d know he was straight from Texas. I looked for the big buckle, but then I realized that I’d moved my gaze to his lower half and lifted my eyes before I could be caught.

  He walked toward me. “You must be Morgan,” he said.

  “Yes, Mr. Middleton.”

  “Julian,” he corrected me. His hand moved to the small of my back and directed me to his table. His simple touch sent shivers through my body and I nearly tripped over myself. He pulled out the chair for me to sit. Everyone in the room had their eyes on us and I was mortified.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his brows knitted in concern.

  “Nothing, but these people will be gossiping by morning. Your southern manners are showing and they probably think this is a date.” I blushed as I said it, feeling like I was flirting with him.

  “Let them. You’re the most beautiful date ever.”

  I felt my face heat up with his compliment. Why did he have to be so damn attractive and charming? Was it an act or did he bring his game with every female? Shaking off his praise, I replied with a roll of my eyes, “Please.”

  The waiter came to our table just in time to offset the growing sexual tension I could feel pumping across the table. “Hello, can I start you off with something to drink?”

  “Just water for me,” I said. My appetite flew out the window the moment he called. The second our eyes met, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to think, let alone eat or drink anything. I wasn’t old enough for alcohol anyway, even though I could really use one. Occasionally, I would drink a few with my sister when we were at home, which wasn’t against the law, but I couldn’t in public.

  “Can I have a scotch on the rocks?” he asked.

  “Yes,” the waiter said, leaving the table.

  An awkward silence passed for the next two minutes, so I assumed it was my job to start off. After all, he was the client and I had to impress him with my design skills. “I know that this is unorthodox for an employee to quit with such an important assignment, but I promise I’ll do what I can to make it work.”

  “We’ll definitely work it all out,” he said with his eyes staring at my lips. Oh no, please tell me that’s not why Shayla quit. The thought of him looking at Shayla the way he was me actually hurt, which flipped on my anger switch, but I had to remember the importance of this deal.

  Taking a calming breath, I regained my composure. “Mr. Middleton, I don’t know what you’ve discussed with the previous designer, so I’d like to hear your take on the remodel design.”

  “I’ve never spoken to the designer. My brother asked me to take over. I have very little information at this point. This meeting may be a waste, work wise,” he said, sitting back in the chair.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t be. I don’t know how it works at your company, but things at mine are delegated so we can focus on our areas. And this was just to ease my brother’s mind.”

  “Thank you, I was just handed the file about forty-five minutes ago.”

  “Yes, well I only got your name after I landed.”

  “So why are we having dinner?” I asked. He rushed this meeting and now was telling me that it was a fruitless event for the business. What was the point? Besides getting to drool over hi
m, there wasn’t any purpose to the meeting.

  “Because I’m hungry.” His brows wagged suggestively as he gave me a crooked smile laced with intent that turned my face into a freaking tomato and my body into a puddle of need.

  Chapter 3

  Julian

  Any doubts I had about this meeting flew out the window the moment she walked through those doors. My instinct told me it was her. My heart thundered deafeningly in my chest as her eyes met mine. That voice on the phone had struck me as melodic, but the woman it belonged to was like a piece of heaven in a curvy package. I felt like I had to do all I could to make sure I could monopolize her time. She walked in petrified of the meeting. If she had as much notice to prepare as I had, I understood why. But when our eyes met, her fear was gone. I saw interest and desire. I wasn’t experienced, but I knew what the former looked like. I’d seen it many times over.

  Morgan had long, light brown hair that had been swept to the side in a fluffy braid that rested on her left shoulder. I groaned to myself as her bright eyes smiled at me. She came to me and I didn’t want her to stop a foot away, so I guided her to a chair, stealing a small, seemingly innocent touch. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. Everything in me believed she deserved to be greeted with a lingering, commanding kiss, but that would get me into a shit load of trouble and I still wouldn’t have her.

  “I’m kind of hungry, too,” she said. From the nervous way she played with the sleeve of her sweater I could tell she probably would be too self-conscious to eat.

  “Well, let’s see what they have,” I replied, thinking about having her for dessert. She was perfect. Her round eyes turned to slits when she smiled and those lips were just fantastic. I wanted to bite on the bottom one that she started nibbling on as she looked at her menu. I hadn’t taken my eyes off her and I wondered if she could feel my stare.

  “How long have you been a designer?” I asked. She looked extremely young, but I didn’t want to just ask her age.