by Lucy Monroe
“Call her right now and tell her to stop using it.”
“Just ignore her texts.”
“That’s what you’ve been doing.” Damn, Kayla’s voice could register pissed-off woman when she wanted to, with a heavy dose of disapproval. “And her phone calls, I bet.”
“She’s not on this morning’s agenda.” And Genevieve needed to learn that Andreas dealt with things in his time, not someone else’s.
Kayla’s glare went nuclear. “Well, putting up with her harassment isn’t on my agenda at all. Call her off, Andreas. Right now.”
“You’re in a bad mood this morning.”
“I was woken out of a sound sleep by incessant calls and texts from someone I shouldn’t have to speak to at all.”
“I told you she wanted to talk to you.”
“Andreas, I’m not kidding.”
“You never sleep this late.” Kayla was an early riser, like him.
“I wanted to sleep in. That’s my prerogative. I’m on vacation.” She looked at him like he was the one who was acting entirely out of character and suddenly not making sense.
Andreas didn’t know what Kayla saw in his face, but whatever it was, she got that supremely annoyed, impatient “I’ve had it” look. He’d seen it very rarely, but when she got it, he knew things were about to go pear-shaped. He despised that look.
The one person in the world he actually minded being at odds with was Kayla Jones. “Listen, Kayla—”
She put up her hand, cutting him off. She didn’t say anything, just made a production of turning off her phone and dropping it onto the table in front of him. Then she went back into her bedroom and slammed the door.
Since the day before she’d left her phone in the suite and gone off exploring New York alone, that didn’t bode well. Andreas had been forced to resort to other means of tracking Kayla down. Means he preferred not to rely on today.
Not to mention, he did not like thinking of her being without a means of communication.
He picked up his own phone and dialed Genevieve’s number.
“Finally,” the woman exclaimed. “Andreas, you have to treat this endeavor with more respect than you have done so far.”
“I did not give you Kayla’s number in order for you to harass her. Do not use it again, for any reason. In fact, I want it deleted from your file immediately.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Andreas. Clearly, contacting your assistant got your attention.”
“She is not my assistant, she is the director in charge of research and development. Show her the respect she deserves.”
“Be that as it may—”
“Delete the number.”
“Excuse me?”
“I will not. Your behavior toward Miss Jones has been in every way rude and unforgivable.”
“You left in the middle of your own bride search. Matchmaking is a delicate and complicated process. It requires your full attention.”
“No, it requires your full attention. That is why I paid you such a high retainer. I explained that I had a business emergency.”
“Since your Director of R & D is there, can’t she handle the emergency?”
“We are handling it together.”
“I’m sure—”
“That you will take care of your business while I take care of mine.”
“Part of my business requires your participation, Andreas. Had you forgotten the makeover? I suppose I could fly out there and do it in New York.”
“No. There will not be time.” Andreas didn’t feel in the least guilty putting Genevieve off. “I will call you when I return to Portland.”
“What about the questionnaire? Will you have some time for that?” she asked, trying to sound ingratiating, but only managing to be annoying.
“I will get to it when I can.” Andreas allowed his growing irritation to leak through.
“I can’t help feeling you’re not as committed to this as you originally led me to believe.”
“Genevieve, you will learn that I do not like being questioned.” He allowed his displeasure at the continued questioning of the parameters he had already set to ice his voice over. “I will speak to you when I return to Oregon.”
He set his phone down and noticed Kayla standing in the doorway to her room, her expression no longer all narrow-eyed anger. Andreas wasn’t exactly sure what that particular look meant, however.
“Was that Genevieve?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell her to stop calling and texting me?”
“I told her to remove your number from her files.”
“If I was home, I could take care of that myself.”
He had no doubt Kayla could do exactly that. You didn’t become a world-class designer of security software without being able to circumvent it. “You scare me sometimes.”
“Nothing scares you.”
Nothing he was going to admit to. “How easily you get into other people’s computers and phones is going to get you into trouble.”
“It’s a natural by-product of designing the best security software.” She stretched and yawned, her breasts pressing enticingly against the silk of her pajama top. “I’m going back to bed.”
“What about breakfast?”
She shook her head at him, a barely there smile playing at the edge of her lips. “Nothing is stopping you from ordering.”
“But you are going back to bed. How long will you sleep?”
“As long as I want, I’m on vacation.”
“But if we are not at the pier in in an hour, we will miss the harbor cruise.”
Kayla’s generous lips thinned. “Harbor cruise.”
“I thought you’d like to see a little of New York while we are here.” She kept harping about being on vacation.
“Jacob was going to show me the city last night.”
The unnecessary reminder set Andreas’s teeth on edge. “He wanted to show you his bedroom.”
“Maybe it had a great view.”
Andreas stood up, suddenly too restless to sit. “Maybe if you want some good views you should get in the shower and get dressed so we can make the harbor cruise.”
“I never said I was going with you.”
“Don’t be stubborn for stubborn’s sake.”
She frowned. “I was going back to bed.”
“You can sleep later. Right now, we have sights to see.”
“No wonder you’re not wearing a suit.”
He’d put on slacks and a button-down shirt, no tie, no jacket. He was dressed down. For him.
“You still look like a power broker.”
“I am a power broker.” And it would do her little actor friend well to remember that.
Andreas Kostas might not recognize Barnabas Georgas as family, but there was no denying the bastard’s blood ran through his veins, as did his ruthless nature.
Kayla sighed. “I didn’t plan on staying here in the hotel with you.”
“Where would you go?” Andreas demanded, not liking the sound of her plans at all.
Kayla got harebrained ideas in her head and sometimes she stuck with them. It had taken him three years to convince her to move into his condominium building and only after he persuaded the complex to offer her a unit at a significant discount that he secretly subsidized the purchase of. She could never find that out, or she’d move out of spite.
The woman had an independent streak a mile wide.
“A hotel without you in it.”
“Am I really so abhorrent to you?” he asked, hurt in ways no other person would be able to cause.
Her mouth twisted and she stepped away from the door, toward him, like she couldn’t help herself. “Of course not. It’s just...” She looked up at him, appeal in her big gray eyes. “This is hard for me, Andreas.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“ME SELLING THE COMPANY?” Andreas asked.
“All of it.” Kayla bit her lip, her body taut, her arms wrapped around herself, like she was pro
tecting herself. “I feel like I’m losing you and the company all at once.”
“You are not losing me.”
She shook her head, her expression saying he just didn’t get it.
“Kayla, you persist in seeing family in a way that neither you nor I have ever experienced.” He frowned down at her, stepping closer to her to make his point. “In a way I do not intend to live. My wife will not supplant your place in my life.”
“My place in your life. As your friend.” She said the word like it left a bad taste in her mouth. Was his friendship something she preferred to leave behind?
That was not acceptable.
She belonged to him. Kayla was part of Andreas’s life and she was not leaving it.
“Yes.”
The distaste that flitted across her face was barely there, but he’d seen it.
“Damn it, Kayla, we’ve been friends since college, suddenly that relationship disgusts you?” he demanded.
“I didn’t say that.” She turned. “I’ll get ready to go.”
“We’re not done talking.”
“We are if we’re going to make the harbor cruise.” Her bottom shook in ways that gave him ideas he had no business thinking as she walked toward her en suite.
Memories assailed him and suddenly he wanted her like he hadn’t allowed himself to in years. His dick pressed against his trousers, the urge to follow Kayla both so strong and so shocking, he almost gave in to it.
Damn it. It had been a while since he’d noticed Kayla the way he was noticing her now. What the hell was going on with him?
Whatever it was, he had better get it under control. Kayla had a place in his life and that place was not his bed.
Damn it. He needed Kayla to stop acting crazy so he could get his libido back under control once and for all.
* * *
Kayla wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to go on the harbor cruise with Andreas, except she’d overheard him telling Genevieve to lose Kayla’s number.
Just like she’d asked. And she’d realized just how important their relationship was to him. He’d left work, he’d left his big plans to find his perfect little wife. He’d left everything to chase Kayla down and when he found her, he’d stayed.
Was staying until she returned. She really didn’t understand why.
It was as if Andreas was afraid that if he left without her, she wouldn’t come back, and for some reason that mattered to him. A lot.
He’d had breakfast delivered when she came out, dressed in her teal skinny trousers, tan-and-white-striped tank and carrying a white knit jacket, which she would put on when they left. The only things in her signature color were her coral brushed leather flats and chunky necklace, but the slacks did great things for her thighs and bottom. It didn’t hurt that the tank molded to her breasts just right without looking like she was trying too hard either.
The outfit would be wasted on Andreas.
“Do we have time for breakfast?” she asked as she walked into the sitting room.
Andreas looked up from reading the paper on his tablet. His green gaze flared with something that looked like lust, but that couldn’t be right. “That is what you are wearing?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little...casual?” he finally asked after a significant pause.
“To play tourist on a harbor cruise?” she asked right back. “No.”
Andreas frowned. “Are you trying to get picked up? Again?”
“What are you talking about?” Seriously. What was the man’s problem?
“Your outfit. It’s sexy. Last night, you were dressed like a woman ready to seduce. Is something going on here that I do not know about, Kayla?” Andreas did not look happy at the prospect.
“The only thing going on is that you are being an idiot, Andreas. This outfit is not sexy.” Just attractive. Darn it. “So, it looks good on me. It’s not a walking invitation for sex.”
“From where I’m standing, it is.”
“You’re sitting and you’re still being ridiculous.”
“Don’t be pedantic.” He stood and pointed down to his obvious erection. “As I said.”
“I’m not responsible for your...for you...for that.”
“The point is, in fact, you are.”
She didn’t know how she felt about the hard-on in Andreas’s pants. Clearly he wasn’t happy she’d given him one. A few days ago, she might have been hopeful in this situation, but knowing what she now knew about his plans for the future, she realized any attraction he felt for her meant absolutely nothing. Less than nothing.
“That is your problem, Andreas. I’ve worn more revealing clothing than this in front of you. If you’re that hard up, maybe you should spend the morning doing something other than sightseeing with me. I can call Jacob and see if he’s still interested in spending time with me after how rudely I left him last night.”
“You are not replacing me with Jacob.” Andreas was suddenly looming over her, his body practically vibrating with the ferocity of his feeling.
Wow. Reaction, much? “Well, I’m not changing my clothes either.” She glared up at him defiantly.
His hands fisted at his sides, his big body one large, muscled mass of tension. “Let’s eat breakfast.”
“So, we have time?”
“Yes,” he gritted out.
“Good. I’m not always rational when I’m ‘hangry.’”
He almost smiled at that. “I know.”
They sat down to eat, the tension between them stretched taut. She couldn’t help wondering if his not-so-little problem of an erection continued to persist and what it meant. Had he gone without sex that long? Was it a requirement of the matchmaker’s?
From their past relationship, Kayla knew that Andreas was highly sexed. It had been a rare day they hadn’t made love more than once, much less let a day go by without having sex. If Genevieve had Andreas on a no-sex diet while he auditioned wife candidates, then that would explain how he was desperate enough to get excited by Kayla.
She was careful to keep her distance while in the elevator later and in the car on the way to the harbor. Andreas gave her several brooding looks. He’d approved her jacket, but cursed in Greek when he followed her out of the top-floor suite and said something about the fit of her pants. She’d ignored him, but couldn’t help smiling to herself, whatever the reason for the uncharacteristic attention.
When they arrived at the harbor, the line to get on the ship was long and Kayla told herself the cruise would be worth it. However, when they stepped out of the black luxury car, Andreas led her past the long, winding queue of people to a man in a white uniform. Andreas showed his identification and soon after they were shown their way onto the ship.
“VIP treatment?” Kayla asked.
“You know I do not like waiting in lines.”
“I’m sure the people down on the dock do not either.”
“We could have taken a private tour.”
“I wouldn’t have liked that.”
“I knew that. For some strange reason, you like doing regular tourist-type things.”
“So, you booked us on a public cruise, but arranged to board before the rest of the passengers.”
“That about sums it up.” Andreas led her to outside seats near the bulkhead. Kayla would be able to get as many pictures as she liked.
“You are a strange man.”
“Says the woman who could live like a queen, but prefers to live like a peasant.”
“Just a normal person. You’ve got a medieval streak a mile wide.”
“Hardly.”
“I choose to spend my money funding the shelter.”
“And I have told you I would match your funds, but you turned me down.”
“It was too much, and would have set back your plan to prove your worth to your family.” Besides, Kayla for Kids was hers. In the beginning, she’d needed something that Andreas didn’t have a part of. “Besides, I let you donate later.�
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Just not match her funds.
“I am not proving my worth to them.” Offense laced every word of Andreas’s reply.
Kayla just shook her head. “Then who are you trying to prove it to?”
“I know my own worth.”
“I would have said so, yes, but this whole plan, it says otherwise.” She’d never spoken so frankly to him, not about this, but she really had nothing left to lose.
Literally.
His plan was taking it all away.
Andreas stared at her like maybe she’d turned from Perl to Python programming language before his eyes. “My plan will show the Georgas clan once and for all that a Kostas does not need them to make his way in the world, that I am better than anything they could have ever made me into.”
“Your father was a jerk, both when he rejected your pregnant mom with a payoff and when he came swooping in after her death to take you back to Greece, no matter what you wanted. But you’ve already proved you don’t need him. You took back your mother’s last name. You’ve made a life for yourself in America, not Greece. You made a success of KJ Software beyond anything they could have imagined. There’s nothing left to prove.”
“I will show them that I can make my own family without them.”
And with those words, Kayla lost any hope that Andreas might not go through with his buy-a-bride plan. Genevieve was going to find him some ideal woman with a perfect pedigree, certainly not a mutt brought up in foster care because her own mother couldn’t be bothered to raise her.
No wonder he’d dumped Kayla six years ago. Not only did he not love her, but she would never fit Andreas’s vision for his life. She’d never even been in the running. Kayla would bet she wouldn’t even make it past Genevieve’s first screening process.
Not that Kayla cared.
She might not have all the credentials to be considered something special in Andreas’s eyes, but she’d made something of herself too, despite her lousy childhood. And she was proud of that fact. It was why she was so committed to the shelter. She believed that given a chance, other kids could make good choices too.
Kayla felt the final death rattle in her heart for any chance at a future with Andreas and forced herself to look at the man next to her as the one thing he insisted on being. Her friend.
