The Greek’s Hired Triplets - Holly Rayner Page 0,2

matter of weeks.

The plan had been for Liam to alter his work schedule and watch the triplets part of the time when Portia went back to work, while they used a babysitter the other part of the time. Now, she needed to find a nanny. A nanny she could afford. Aristos paid well, but a nanny for three infants wouldn’t be cheap.

To top it all off, all her family was in North Dakota. She’d moved to California for Liam.

She wouldn’t tell Aristos any of this, though. He was her boss, and she needed to respect boundaries and not blur the lines of their relationship.

So…

“Thank you,” she said, “but I’m sure I can handle things.”

His eyes softened. “I have no doubt that you can handle any and every challenge that comes your way, but that does not mean you should.”

It was the truth. Too bad it didn’t make any difference.

“Thanks again.” She went to stand, and he offered his hand to help her.

Because getting out of chairs was more like a workout than anything else, she slipped her palm into his and tried to ignore how good the touch felt.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. It was likely the tow truck driver.

“I hope it’s fine if I check in on you.” Aristos walked with her to the elevator.

“Of course.”

“You are a wonderful person, Portia. I’m here for you.” He arched his eyebrows and gave her a serious look.

Her throat felt itchy. She wanted to get out of the office as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the elevator opened right when she punched the button.

“See you around, boss.”

She saluted him, and he smirked. Right before the elevator doors closed fully, though, she caught his changing expression. He looked incredibly, awfully sad.

Aristos wasn’t even the one this nonsense was happening to. Closing her eyes, Portia said a silent prayer for strength. People could feel bad for her left and right. She didn’t have time for that.

The only thing she had time for was pulling through.

Chapter 2

Aristos

Aristos rubbed his eyes and looked at the table again. The numbers didn’t change. They were still dismally low.

“I can’t believe it.” Peter withdrew the tablet with a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

Aristos leaned back in his leather chair, not knowing what to say. He couldn’t believe it either.

For years, Elastic Minds had been a leader in childhood development apps, consistently ranking in the top three in sales. Mostly, it had ruled the number-one spot. These new sales numbers would change everything.

“All of those sales went to Prete Kids?” Aristos clicked his pen over and over.

His head of sales winced. “That’s what it looks like.”

Aristos bit back a curse. His most recent competitor possessed a shrewdness the others hadn’t. If he were to pull ahead and reclaim his number-one spot in the market, then he needed to look at things from a new perspective.

That’s what the request for agencies and production companies to submit marketing ideas had been about. So far, though, nothing had resonated with Aristos. He’d been thinking about it all week and gotten nowhere.

“We can do it,” Peter said, as if he were reading Aristos’s mind. “You created this great company from nothing. This…” He flipped his hand. “A small hurdle.”

“I hope so.” His inhale burned.

“What’s next?”

Aristos paused. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “Yet.”

Peter turned the tablet off and made for Aristos’s office door. “It’s only a matter of time before you do. By the way, I saw Portia come in yesterday. She looks like she’s about to pop.”

Portia.

“She has almost two more months.” Aristos surprised himself by remembering her due date.

“I bet she can’t wait. My wife was going crazy the last trimester.”

“I imagine so.”

For reasons other than the pregnancy, Aristos thought.

His blood boiled thinking about Liam. He’d met the man a few times and had never been impressed. There was a guard up in his eyes, and he always seemed to be surveying his surroundings, looking for ways to take advantage of whatever situation he was in.

But Aristos had never thought him capable of deserting his pregnant girlfriend and unborn children. That was the worst of the worst. If Aristos ever saw him again…

His hands curled into fists, causing the cap to pop off the pen.

He shook his head to clear it and realized Peter was gone. Aristos hadn’t even noticed him going out the door. Dropping the pen on his desk, he stood and checked to make sure he had his keys and phone. Time for lunch.

As he walked downstairs, he thought about