Page 12 of Strictly Business : A Lesbian Romance

It was one of the reasons her father had made a name for himself,

starting from the ground up. In his twenties he’d started working for a crew

who dug in and built swimming pools in family friendly neighborhoods. By

thirty-five, he was at the top of a six-figure company, putting his own pools

into ritzy back yards all over the country. He’d expanded that to add the

landscaping design around the pools. It always shocked Christina that

people were willing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a hole in

the ground and some water. Sometimes they even had an existing pool

removed and replaced with a brand new one.

Walker Hilford was responsible for Christina’s jet-black hair and vibrant

blue eyes. He’d given those traits to her brothers as well. Sean was older by

two years, Brandon younger by just a year. When their mother died

suddenly from a brain aneurism when all three children were still under ten,

Walker raised them and ran a growing multi-million-dollar corporation.

Walker Hilford never failed at anything.

Christina also inherited the attitude that failure wasn’t an option from

her father. Maybe it wasn’t an attitude. Maybe it was more a way of life.

A sharp knock at her door made Christina jerk in her chair. She looked

up slowly, swallowing back her desire to utter a mumbled curse. She pasted

on a smile and called out a greeting. Thankfully, she composed herself,

because Michelle Darker, VP of their branch, entered.

“Do you have a few minutes?” Michelle was a warm, easy to like

woman. In her early forties, she also carried herself with an unmistakable

air of professionalism that Christina admired.

“Sure.” Christina shut the file. Michelle stepped into the office but

didn’t sit down. “I don’t know if anyone’s talked to you about the benefit

we’re doing on Friday night. It’s for an organization that helps send

underprivileged children to camp in the summer. Mostly to ranches around

here. It’s a great program, and we really believe in supporting it. It’s a

dinner with entertainment. A few other companies and corporations are

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