The Greek Boss's Demand. Trish Morey
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with a single bellow. If only his interest had been motivated by his daughter’s welfare. Instead, Alex suspected, he’d always had the future of the Xenophon Group foremost in his mind. Whoever married his daughter and sole heir would end up with the fruits of Aristos’s labour. How could any mere male qualify for such bountiful reward?
And then along came Nick, apparently with Daddy’s blessing, and for the first time in her life Sofia thought she was onto a winner.
Sofia and Nick. Why did that seem such an unlikely pairing? And why should she even care? It wasn’t as if she had any claim on the man, after all.
‘I was wondering,’ Sofia said, ‘if you could help me—while he’s out for a little while, talking to some of the tenants?’ She tilted her head to one side, making her large gold double-hoop earrings jangle. ‘Seeing you know Nick much better than me, what with being old friends and all.’
Alex shook her head. ‘You’ve got the wrong idea. That was a long time ago.’
‘But I haven’t seen him since I was six, and he hardly took any notice of me. Even though way back then I thought he was gorgeous. I just thought you might have some idea of what he likes, you know. You must have talked about something when you were in Crete together. What did you guys get up to anyway?’
The breath left Alex’s lungs so fast it made her cough. What on earth would Sofia think if she told her the truth? I gave him my virginity and he took me to heaven. No, definitely more information than Sofia needed to know. And much more information than Alex needed to be reminded of. Besides, they had done other things on Crete—it was just hard to focus on them now. Now that Nick was here. She licked her lips, buying time.
‘You know—the usual things one does over there. We visited ruins and museums. Remember, Nick was studying an archaeology unit back then. No doubt he’s still interested in the subject. Why don’t you ask him about it?’
Sofia screwed up her nose. ‘I guess. But that’s not really what I had in mind.’ She fidgeted with her bangles, then checked her nails. ‘I don’t know—does he have a favourite colour or something?’
Alex smiled to herself, instantly transported back to Crete.
Nick was holding her face in his hands, his lips close to hers, and the breeze was floating tendrils of her unbound hair around them both.
‘The colour of the ocean, deep and clear. The colour of the sky, bright and endless. The colour of your eyes…’
She shook her head before she could think too much about the kiss that had followed.
‘Blue.’
‘Cool!’ Sofia flicked her glance to her watch. ‘I have to go shopping. He’s taking me out to dinner tonight, and I just feel I need to get into something a little less—black.’ She paused and pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes filmed with tears. ‘It’s just so hard being reminded all the time.’
‘It’s bound to be. A shopping trip is probably just what you need—but can I get you anything now?’
Sofia sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘No. I’ll be fine. I have to get going. Nick and I have a lot of things to organise with the company and everything. You know how it is.’ She rose and headed for the door, but halfway through stopped and turned around. ‘He asked if you were coming, but I told him you probably wouldn’t be able to get a babysitter at such short notice. He didn’t seem to know you had a kid. You haven’t told him?’
He knows!
Ice formed in her veins, yet somehow she managed to force her jaw to work.
‘Ah. No, not yet. We haven’t had much chance so far to catch up, that’s all.’
Another sniff and a shrug later Sofia was gone. Alex sat stunned, her breathing shallow and fast, her mind racing.
He knows.
But how much did he know? How much had Sofia told him? She’d never shown much interest in children in general or in Jason in particular. What could she have given away? Maybe there was still time.
In a flash she maximised her computer screen and finished typing the letter before printing it off. She read it through once more and nodded. Perfect. All it needed was her signature.
She was doing the right thing; she was sure of it.
In a moment it was signed and sealed and ready to be dropped off on Nick’s desk before he was back from seeing the tenants.
She took a deep breath and, suddenly parched, reached for her glass of water. It was empty. She stopped by the small office kitchenette to fill it, popping the envelope on the adjacent benchtop while she poured the cool spring water. She was standing at the dispenser, with her back to the door, when she felt it.
Something wasn’t right.
Hairs prickled on the back of her neck and her heart belted out an erratic beat that reverberated in her head, spelling out exactly how she felt. Scared.
Quickly she turned, feeling his presence before there was so much as a sound.
Water sloshed over the glass’s rim, but she hardly noticed or cared. ‘Nick! You startled me.’
He was leaning against the doorway, hands in pockets. Strange how even in such a casual stance Nick could look all man. Relaxed, comfortable—predatory.
Slowly he peeled himself away from the doorway and moved closer.
There was no telling what he was thinking. His dark eyes were unfathomable. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her, filling all the remaining space in the tiny kitchenette. She swallowed. Until Nick moved she was stuck here, with a brimming glass of water the only thing between them. As defences went, it wasn’t much, but somehow just holding it there made her feel better. If only she could hold her hand steady.
‘Sofia took me for a tour of the properties yesterday.’
‘Yes, I heard.’
‘It’s a large portfolio. I was impressed by the quality of the holdings.’
‘That’s good.’
Alex winced at her lame responses, but how was she supposed to concentrate with him in the room? It was all she could do to keep her hand from shaking and spilling some more water.
‘I imagine it takes quite a bit of accounting skill to keep up with it all.’
‘Not really,’ she said, studying the glass and using all her powers of concentration to will it to stay level. ‘Once the systems are in place—’ What am I thinking? If he wanted to imply that she couldn’t do the job, it would be in her interests to agree with him. She jerked her eyes up to meet his.
‘Actually, you’re right. It’s very complic—’
Nick jumped back before the wave of spring water could collect him fair in the chest, and Alex realised she hadn’t just kicked up her chin when she’d changed her response.
Even with his quick evasive action the water landed at his feet, beading droplets over the sculpted black leather of his Italian shoes. In a flash he relieved her of the glass, and its remaining contents, and deposited it on the benchtop alongside the letter—his letter while she stood there dumbfounded.
‘You’re jumpy, Alexandra.’
She looked up at him, preparing to apologise, but he took her shoulders in his large hands. Instantly every cell in her body seemed to contract and freeze.
‘Do I make you so nervous?’
She sucked in a necessary breath—only to find the oxygen she so desperately required infused with the scent of this man. Heat replaced the coldness she’d been feeling, warming sensations and desires she’d thought long buried. Under her discount designer jacket and tailored shirt her breasts felt swollen and firm, aware of even the slightest brush of fabric over the points of her bra. And