Conveniently Wed to the Greek

by Kandy Shepherd

  She couldn’t think of anything worse.

  ‘I appreciate the offer,’ she said. ‘But I can’t possibly accept. I suspect you know why.’

  His legal team had undermined her credibility at every opportunity. Even though her newspaper had won the case, she had come out of it bruised and battered with her reputation intact but shredded around the edges. Even three years later she felt it had influenced her employer into ‘letting her go’. And that was apart from the stress it had put on her marriage.

  He scowled. ‘I want to make amends.’

  Alex Mikhalis make amends? To her? She frowned. ‘Is this some kind of trick?’

  ‘No tricks,’ he said. His voice was deep, assured, confident. Yet did nothing to reassure her.

  ‘I find that difficult to believe. You...you threatened me. Told me you would get even.’ He made her so nervous it was difficult to get her words out. She had heard the rumours of how effectively he had brought down his business opponents. But she would not let him sense her fear.

  ‘That was a different time and place. There is no threat.’

  ‘Why should I trust you?’ Memories of his intimidation on the courtroom steps flooded back.

  Dell became aware that she and the tall, broad-shouldered man were the focus of interest among the customers of the café. She moved closer to him so she could lower her voice. He moved closer as well. Too close. She felt as if he were taking up all the air, making her heart race, her breath come short.

  ‘I’m a different man,’ he said, his expression intent, dark eyes unreadable as he searched her face.

  He looked different, that was for sure. Stripped of designer trappings to a raw masculinity that, in spite of her dislike of him, she could not help but appreciate. As for his nature? Leopards didn’t change their spots. And there had always been something predatory about him.

  She couldn’t help the snort of disbelief that escaped her. ‘Huh! You? As if I believe—’

  A flash of pain contorted his features but was gone so quickly she might have imagined it if it hadn’t made such an impression on her that it stopped her words short. For a long moment she stared up at him. It had been three years since she had faced him on the courtroom steps. He had been through trauma like she couldn’t imagine. Who knew how that might have affected him? Maybe he was telling the truth.

  She felt a gentle tap on her arm and turned, dazed, to see Lizzie. ‘Perhaps you should consider this offer,’ her friend said quietly. Her eyes gave her a silent message. You have debts.

  Dell was only too aware of the debts she had run up during her marriage and that had become her responsibility. Lizzie always gave her wise counsel. Her friend would be horrified if she knew the decision she had made just the week before she had lost her job. If it paid off, she might need a job more than ever. And with so many people reviewing restaurants online for free, she felt the newspaper editor had been telling the truth when he’d told her that her role was redundant. Job offers weren’t exactly flooding her inbox. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath.

  Then turned back to face Alex. ‘Why do you want to make amends?’ she said. ‘And what makes you think we could work together? I’m a writer, not a restaurateur.’

  ‘I’ll answer both your questions with one reply,’ he said. ‘Every criticism you made about my restaurant Athina was true. My manager was systematically defrauding me. Your judgement was spot on. I should have taken your review as a warning instead of taking you to court.’

  ‘Oh,’ was all she was able to choke out. Alex Mikhalis admitting he was wrong?

  A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. She was more used to seeing him glare and scowl at her. The effect was disconcerting. A devil undoubtedly. But a fiendishly handsome devil. For the first time she saw a hint of the legendary charisma that had propelled him to such heights in a people-pleasing business.

  ‘I’ve shocked you speechless,’ he said.

  ‘I admit it. I’m stunned. After all that...that angst. When did you find out?’

  ‘When I slipped back into Sydney for the review of the police handling of the siege,’ he said, now without any trace of a smile.

  Dell nodded, unable to find the words to say anything about what must have been such a terrible time in his life. The saga had made headlines in the media for weeks. ‘From my memory, the manager was your friend,’ she said instead.

  ‘Yes,’ he said simply.

  How betrayed he must have felt on top of everything else he’d had to endure.

  ‘Perhaps if I had been an investigative reporter I might have discovered that,’ she said.

  ‘I wouldn’t have believed you. Everything in your review pointed that way. I just didn’t see it.’

  ‘Didn’t want to see it, perhaps,’ she said.

  He paused, then the words came slowly. ‘I... I’m sorry, Adele.’

  Alex Mikhalis apologising? After all this man had put her through?

  She thought again about all he had been through since. Realised she was intrigued at the thought of what project he might be working on now. And that it wasn’t healthy to hold a grudge or wise to refuse an apparently sincere apology. Especially when she really needed a job. Lizzie was right. She should consider this.

  ‘Dell,’ she said. ‘Please call me Dell. Adele is my newspaper byline, the name on my birth certificate.’ She looked up at him. ‘Tell me more about this job.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  ALEX DIDN’T KNOW why it had suddenly become so important that Adele Hudson—Dell—accept his impromptu job offer. But he didn’t question it. Much of his success in business had come from following his instinct and he’d learned not to ignore its prompts.

  Dell could be just the person he needed to help him launch his new project. The project he needed to get him back on track with life.

  Mentally, he checked off the skills she brought to the table. Without a doubt she was good with words—a huge asset for launching into a new market. Another strength was she saw the hospitality industry through the eyes of the customer while at the same understanding how the business side operated. Her blog gave her an international view with access to readers all around the world. On top of that, she was smart and perceptive.

  Her review of Athina had raised red flags he should have heeded. His traitorous so-called friend had been doing illicit deals with suppliers and siphoning off funds to a private bank account. He would have saved himself a good deal of money if he hadn’t let pride and anger blind him to the truth of what she had observed.

  Since he’d been back living in the land of his ancestors he had thought a lot about the Ancient Greek concept of fate. Was it his selfishness or fate that had put Mia in his city restaurant when a sociopath had decided to make a deadly statement? Could it be that fate had brought Dell back into his life? Right at the time when he needed help to launch something different and she was in need of a job? At a time when he was growing weary of punishing himself for something that had been out of his control.

  Dell looked up at him, her green eyes direct. ‘What exactly does the job entail?’ she asked.

  Fact was, there wasn’t a job vacancy as such. He would create a role for her.

  Alex looked around the café, filling up now as lunchtime approached. Lizzie had left them to return to the kitchen. ‘We need to go somewhere more private where we can talk.’

  Dell nodded with immediate understanding. ‘What about the harbour front?’ she said.

  He put cash on the table to cover both his coffee and a very generous tip. ‘Good idea.’

  He followed her out of the café. She looked good in shorts with her slender legs and shapely behind. In fact she was downright sexy. How had he not noticed that sensuous sway before? Alex forced his gaze away. This was about business.

 
He walked with her past the adjoining bookstore towards a lookout with a view across the stone-walled harbour with its array of fishing and pleasure craft. The scene was in some ways reminiscent of the fishing village his Greek ancestors came from, in others completely different.

  He’d been born and grown up in Australia and thought of himself as Australian. But his Greek heritage was calling to him. He was back here just for a quick visit to help celebrate his father’s sixtieth birthday and to take a look at Bay Breeze. Greece was where he wanted to be right now. He didn’t think he could ever live back in Sydney again. Not with the memories and regrets that assaulted him at every turn.

  ‘No one will overhear us here,’ Dell said when they reached the lookout. ‘Fire away.’

  He looked around to be sure. His success hadn’t come about by sharing his strategies. ‘I would usually require you to sign a confidentiality agreement before discussing a new project.’

  She shrugged. ‘I’m good with that. Just tell me where to sign.’

  Through his dealings with her as an adversary he’d also come to a grudging admiration of her honesty. According to the judge, her review had been scrupulously within the boundary of fair comment. And his lawyers had been unable to dig up even a skerrick of dirt on her.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting this, so I don’t have an agreement with me,’ he said.

  ‘You can trust me,’ she said. ‘I’m good at keeping secrets.’

  He had been accused of being a ruthless and cynical businessman—never taking anyone on trust. Yet instinct told him he could talk to this woman without his plans being broadcast where they shouldn’t.

  Still...he hadn’t changed that much. ‘I’ll email a document to you when I’m back at the resort.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said with a tinge of impatience. ‘I’ll sign it straight away. But right now I’m dying of curiosity about the role you have in mind for me.’

  Alex leaned back against the railing. ‘I’m not at Bay Breeze for the yoga and the parsnip tea,’ he said.

  Dell’s green eyes danced with amusement. ‘I kind of got that,’ she said.

  ‘I’m a stakeholder and I wanted to see what my investment has got me. The more I’m involved, the more I like the well-being concept. It seems right for the times.’ And for his time.

  ‘You want to start a similar kind of resort?’

  He nodded. ‘It’s already under way. On a private island. Upscale. Exclusive. To appeal to the top end of the market. But my experience is all in restaurants and nightclubs. A resort is something different and challenging. I need some help.’ Alex had to force out the final words. He never found it easy to admit he needed help in anything. Had always seen it as a weakness.

  ‘That’s where I come in?’

  He nodded. ‘But I don’t have a job description for the role. I wasn’t expecting someone like you to come along at this stage.’

  ‘You mean you’re making the job up as you go along?’

  She was direct. There was another thing he’d found interesting about Dell during their legal stoush. He added another, less tangible asset to the list of her attributes. He would enjoy working with her.

  ‘Yeah. I am. Which is good for you as I can shape the role to your talents. I have input from top designers and consultants for the building and fit-out. I’ve got my key hospitality staff on contract. But I want someone to work with me on fine-tuning the offer to guests and with the publicity. Establishing an exclusive well-being resort on a private island is something different for me.’

  ‘That is quite a challenge,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ he said. And a much-needed distraction. He’d go crazy if he didn’t throw himself into a big, all-consuming project.

  He’d thought he could walk away from his business. The business he blamed for Mia’s death. She’d been a chef in one of his restaurants when he’d met her. There had been a strict company rule against fraternising between staff in his businesses. He’d instigated it and he’d broken it when he’d become beguiled by Mia. They’d been living together—her pushing for marriage, he putting it off—when the chef at his busiest city lunchtime venue had been injured in an accident on the way to work. Mia was having a rostered day off. Alex had pulled rank and insisted she go into work that day to replace the chef. He could not take that memory out again, to pick and prod at it, a wound that would never heal.

  Since he’d been away, he’d discreetly sold off his Sydney venues one by one. All except Athina. He couldn’t bear to let his inheritance from his grandfather go. Financially he never needed to work again. But he had to work. He hadn’t realised how much his work had defined him until he hadn’t had it to occupy himself day after lonely day.

  Dell’s auburn brows drew together in a frown. ‘Why me? There must be more experienced people around who would jump at the chance to work with you on such a project.’

  He didn’t want to mention fate or kismet or whatever it was that had sent her here. The hunch that made him think she was what he needed right now. ‘But it’s you I want. And you need a job.’

  ‘The role does interest me,’ she said cautiously. ‘Although I’d want to keep my blog. It’s important to me.’

  ‘I see your blog as an asset, complementary to your work with me,’ he said. ‘You could utilise it for soft publicity, along with social media.’

  She nodded. ‘I’ll consider that.’

  ‘I’m thinking the title of Publicity Director,’ he said. He named a handsome salary.

  She blinked. ‘That definitely interests me,’ she said.

  ‘I pay well and expect utmost commitment in return.’

  ‘I have no issue with that,’ she said. ‘I’ve been described more than once as a workaholic.’

  Her mouth set in a rigid line and he wondered if it was the ex-husband who had criticised her. He remembered wondering why he hadn’t been at court to support his wife during the case. ‘Truth is, if I get really involved, the line between work and interest blurs,’ she said.

  As it always had with him. ‘I think you’ll find this interesting,’ he said. ‘The project is under way but the best is yet to come. You’d be coming on board at an exciting time. I want to open in June.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘It’s already April. Isn’t that leaving it late?’

  ‘Agree. It’s cutting it fine. I won’t expect full occupancy until next year.’

  ‘When would you want me to start?’ she asked. He could sense her simmering excitement. ‘Because I’m firing with ideas already.’

  ‘A week. Two weeks max.’

  She smiled. ‘I could do that.’ That big embracing smile was finally aimed at him. For a moment, he had to close his eyes against its dazzle. ‘I love the idea of an exclusive private island. Where is it? North of Sydney? Queensland? South Australia?’

  He shook his head. ‘Greece.’

  ‘Greece? I... I wasn’t expecting that.’

  Alex had expected her to react with excitement. Not a clouding of her eyes and a disappointed turn down of her mouth. He frowned.

  ‘My island of Kosmima is in northern Greece where my ancestors come from. Where I’ve been living with my Greek family since I left Australia. The most beautiful private island in the Ionian Sea. I’m sure you would love it.’

  * * *

  Of course she would love it.

  Dell had always wanted to visit Greece. It had held a fascination for her since she’d studied ancient history at school. The mythology. The history. The ancient buildings. She wanted to climb the Acropolis in Athens to see the Parthenon. To visit the picturesque islands with their whitewashed buildings and blue roofs. There was nowhere in the world she wanted to visit more than Greece.

  But travel had long been off the cards. She’d committed young to her high-school boyfriend and been ca
ught up in mortgages and marriage to a man who hadn’t had an ounce of wanderlust in him. She’d travelled some with her parents and longed to travel more. Even to live abroad one day.

  But there was something else she’d wanted more. Wanted so desperately she’d put all her other dreams on hold to pursue it.

  ‘I...assumed the job was in Australia,’ she said.

  He shook his head. ‘No new venues in Australia for the foreseeable future. Europe is where I want to be. But I’d like a fellow Australian on board with me. Someone who knows about my businesses here, understands how things operate. In other words, you.’

  So this was how it felt when big dreams collided.

  Dell swallowed hard against the pain of her disappointment. ‘I’m very sorry, but I’m going to have to say no to your job offer. I can’t possibly go to Greece.’

  His dark eyebrows rose in disbelief. She had knocked back what anyone might term a dream job. Her dream job. She suspected Alex wasn’t used to people saying no to him. But there was disappointment too in those black eyes. He had created a role just for her, tailored to her skills. She was grateful for the confidence he had put in her ability.

  But she couldn’t tell him why she had to turn down the most enticing offer she was ever likely to get. Why she couldn’t be far away from home. That there was a chance she might be pregnant.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  WHEN DELL HAD been a little girl and people asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she had always replied she wanted to be a mummy. They had laughed and asked what else, but she had stubbornly stood her ground.

  She didn’t know why, as heaven knew her mother hadn’t been particularly maternal. And her father had verged on the indifferent. Both her parents had been—still were—research scientists for multinational pharmaceutical companies. She suspected they would have been happy to stop at the one child, her older brother, and when she’d come along when he’d been five she’d been more of an inconvenience than a joy. Her brother was of a scientific bent like her parents. She, while as intelligent, had broader interests they didn’t share or understand.