The Redemption of Darius Sterne

by Carole Mortimer

  Unfortunately his father, an otherwise intelligent man, didn’t share his views. He’d managed to build a successful business from nothing but the fruits of the land around him, but for some reason he had failed to apply that same intellect to his love life.

  Nik reflected that if he approached business the way his father approached relationships, he would be broke.

  As far as he could see his father performed no risk analysis, gave no consideration to the financial implications of each of his romantic whims and approached each relationship with the romantic optimism entirely inappropriate for a man on his fourth marriage.

  Nik’s attempts to encourage at least some degree of circumspection had been dismissed as cynical.

  To make the situation all the more galling, the last time they’d met for dinner his father had actually lectured him on his lifestyle as if Nik’s lack of divorces suggested a deep character flaw.

  Nik closed his eyes briefly and wondered how everything in his business life could run so smoothly while his family was as messy as a dropped pan of spaghetti. The truth was he’d rather endure the twelve labours of Hercules than attend another of his father’s weddings.

  This time he hadn’t met his father’s intended bride and he didn’t want to. He failed to see what he would bring to the proceedings other than grim disapproval and he didn’t want to spoil the day.

  Weddings depressed him. All the champagne bubbles in the world couldn’t conceal the fact that two people were paying a fortune for the privilege of making a very public mistake.

  * * *

  Lily dumped her bag in the marble hallway and tried to stop her jaw from dropping.

  Palatial didn’t begin to describe it. Situated on the headland overlooking the sparkling blue of the sea, Villa Harmonia epitomised calm, high-end luxury.

  Wondering where the rest of the team were, she wandered out onto the terrace.

  Tiny paths wound down through the tumbling gardens to a private cove with a jetty where a platform gave direct swimming access to the sea.

  ‘I’ve died and gone to heaven.’ Disturbed from her trance by the insistent buzz of her phone, she dug it out of her pocket. Her simple uniform was uncomfortably tight, courtesy of all the delicious thyme honey and Greek yoghurt she’d consumed since arriving in Crete. Her phone call turned out to be the owner of the cleaning company, who told her that the rest of the team had been involved in an accident and wouldn’t make it.

  ‘Oh no, are they hurt?’ On hearing that no one was in hospital but that the car was totalled, Lily realised she was going to be on her own with this job. ‘So if it normally takes four of us four hours, how is one person going to manage?’

  ‘Concentrate on the living areas and the master suite. Pay particular attention to the bathroom.’

  Resigned to doing the best she could by herself, Lily set to work. Choosing Mozart from her soundtrack, she pushed in her earbuds and sang her way through The Magic Flute while she brushed and mopped the spacious living area.

  Whoever lived here clearly didn’t have children, she thought as she plumped cushions on deep white sofas and polished glass tables. Everything was sophisticated and understated.

  Realising that dreaming would get her fired, Lily hummed her way up the curving staircase to the master bedroom and stopped dead.

  The tiny, airless apartment she shared with Brittany had a single bed so narrow she’d twice fallen out of it in her sleep. This bed, by contrast, was large enough to sleep a family of six comfortably. It was positioned to take advantage of the incredible view across the bay and Lily stood, drooling with envy, imagining how it must feel to sleep in a bed this size. How many times could you roll over before finding yourself on the floor? If it were hers, she’d spread out like a starfish.

  Glancing quickly over her shoulder to check there was no sign of the security team, she unclipped her phone from her pocket and took a photo of the bed and the view.

  One day, she texted Brittany, I’m going to have sex in a bed like this.

  Brittany texted back, I don’t care about the bed, just give me the man who owns it.

  With a last wistful look at the room, Lily tucked her phone carefully into her bag and strolled into the bathroom. A large tub was positioned next to a wall of glass, offering the owner an uninterrupted view of the ocean. The only way to clean something so large was to climb inside it, so she did that, extra careful not to slip.

  When it was gleaming, she turned her attention to the large walk-in shower. There was a sophisticated control panel on the wall and she looked at it doubtfully. Remembering her disastrous experience with the photocopier and the coffee machine, she was reluctant to touch anything, but what choice was there?

  Lifting her hand, she pressed a button cautiously and gasped as a powerful jet of freezing water hit her from the opposite wall.

  Breathless, she slammed her hand on another button to try and stop the flow but that turned on a different jet and she was blasted with water until her hair and clothes were plastered to her body and she couldn’t see. She thumped the wall blindly and was alternately scalded and frozen until finally she managed to turn off the jets. Panting, her hair and clothes plastered to her body, she sank to the floor while she tried to get her breath back, shivering and dripping like a puppy caught in the rain.

  ‘I hate, hate, hate technology.’ She pushed her hair back from her face, took it in her hands and twisted it into a rope, squeezing to remove as much of the water as she could. Then she stood up, but her uniform was dripping and stuck to her skin. If she walked back through the villa like this, she’d drip water everywhere and she didn’t have time to clean the place again.

  Peeling off her uniform, she was standing in her underwear wringing out the water when she heard a sound from the bedroom.

  Assuming it must be one of the security team, she gave a whimper of horror. ‘Hello? If there’s anyone out there, don’t come in for a moment because I’m just—’ She stilled as a woman appeared in the doorway.

  She was perfectly groomed, her slender body sheathed in a silk dress the colour of coral, her mouth a sheen of blended lipstick and lip-gloss.

  Lily had never felt more outclassed in her life.

  ‘Nik?’ The woman spoke over her shoulder, her tone icy. ‘Your sex drive is, of course, a thing of legend but for the record it’s always a good idea to remove the last girlfriend before installing a new one.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ The male voice came from the bedroom, deep, bored and instantly recognisable.

  Still shivering from the impact of the cold water, Lily closed her eyes and wondered if any of the buttons on the control panel operated an ejector seat.

  Now she knew who owned the villa.

  Moments later he appeared in the doorway and Lily peered through soaked lashes and had her second ever look at Nik Zervakis. Confronted by more good looks and sex appeal than she’d ever seen concentrated in one man before, her tummy tumbled and she felt as if she were plunging downhill on a roller coaster.

  He stood, legs braced apart, his handsome face blank of expression as if finding a semi-naked woman in his shower wasn’t an event worthy of an emotional response. ‘Well?’

  That was all he was going to say?

  Braced for an explosion of volcanic proportions, Lily gulped. ‘I can explain—’

  ‘I wish you would.’ The woman’s voice turned from ice to acid and her expensively shod foot tapped rhythmically on the floor. ‘This should be worth hearing.’

  ‘I’m the cleaner—’

  ‘Of course you are. Because “cleaners” always end up naked in the client’s shower.’ Vibrating with anger, she turned the beam of her angry glare onto the man next to her. ‘Nik?’

  ‘Yes?’

  Her mouth tightened into a thin, dangerous line. ‘Wh
o is she?’

  ‘You heard her. She’s the cleaner.’

  ‘Obviously she’s lying.’ The woman bristled. ‘No doubt she’s been here all day, sleeping off the night before.’

  His only response to that was a faint narrowing of those spectacular dark eyes.

  Recalling someone warning her on her first day with his company that Nik Zervakis was at his most dangerous when he was quiet, Lily felt her anxiety levels rocket but apparently her concerns weren’t shared by his date for the evening, who continued to berate him.

  ‘Do you know the worst thing about this? Not that you have a wandering eye, but that your eye wanders to someone as fat as her.’

  ‘Excuse me? I’m not fat.’ Lily tried vainly to cover herself with the soaking uniform. ‘I’ll have you know that my BMI is within normal range.’

  But the woman wasn’t listening. ‘Was she the reason you were late picking me up? I warned you, Nik, no games, and yet you do this to me. Well, you gambled and you lost because I don’t do second chances, especially this early in a relationship and if you can’t be bothered to give an explanation then I can’t be bothered to ask for one.’ Without giving him the chance to respond, his date stalked out of the room and Lily flinched in time with each furious tap of those skyscraper heels.

  She stood in awkward silence, her feelings bruised and her spirits drenched in cold water and guilt. ‘She’s very upset.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Er—is she coming back?’

  ‘I sincerely hope not.’

  Lily wanted to say that he was well rid of her, but decided that protecting her job was more important than honesty. ‘I’m really sorry—’

  ‘Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.’

  Knowing that wasn’t quite true, she squirmed. ‘If I hadn’t had an accident, I would have had my clothes on when she walked into the room.’

  ‘An accident? I’ve never considered my shower to be a place of danger but apparently I was wrong about that.’ He eyed the volume of water on the floor and her drenched clothing. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Your shower is like the flight deck of a jumbo jet, that’s what happened!’ Freezing and soaked, Lily couldn’t stop her teeth chattering. ‘There are no instructions.’

  ‘I don’t need instructions.’ His gaze slid over her with slow, disturbing thoroughness. ‘I’m familiar with the workings of my own shower.’

  ‘Well I’m not! I had no idea which buttons to press.’

  ‘So you thought you’d press all of them? If you ever find yourself on the flight deck of a Boeing 747 I suggest you sit on your hands.’

  ‘It’s not f-f-funny. I’m soaking wet and I didn’t know you were going to come home early.’

  ‘I apologise.’ Irony gleamed in those dark eyes. ‘I’m not in the habit of notifying people of my movements in advance. Have you finished cleaning or do you want me to show you which buttons to press?’

  Lily summoned as much dignity as she could in the circumstances. ‘Your shower is clean. Extra clean, because I wiped myself around it personally.’ Anxious to make her exit as fast as possible, she kept her eyes fixed on the door and away from that tall, powerful frame. ‘Are you sure she isn’t coming back?’

  ‘No.’

  Lily paused, torn between relief and guilt. ‘I’ve ruined another relationship.’

  ‘Another?’ Dark eyebrows lifted. ‘It’s a common occurrence?’

  ‘You have no idea. Look—if it would help I could call my employer and ask her to vouch for me.’ Her voice tailed off as she realised that would mean confessing she’d been caught half naked in the shower.

  He gave a faint smile. ‘Unless you have a very liberal-minded employer, you might want to rethink that idea.’

  ‘There must be some way I can fix this. I’ve ruined your date, although for the record I don’t think she’s a very kind person so she might not be good for you in the long term and with a body that bony she won’t be very cuddly for your children.’ She caught his eye. ‘Are you laughing at me?’

  ‘No, but the ability to cuddle children isn’t high on my list of necessary female attributes.’ He flung his jacket carelessly over the back of a sofa that was bigger than her bed at home.

  She stared in fascination, wondering if he cared at all that his date had walked out. ‘As a matter of interest, why didn’t you defend yourself?’

  ‘Why would I defend myself?’

  ‘You could have explained yourself and then she would have forgiven you.’

  ‘I never explain myself. And anyway—’ he shrugged ‘—you had already given her an explanation.’

  ‘I don’t think she saw me as a credible witness. It might have sounded better coming from you.’

  He stood, legs spread, his powerful shoulders blocking the doorway. ‘I assume you told her the truth? You’re the cleaner?’

  ‘Of course I told her the truth.’

  ‘Then there was nothing I could have added to your story.’

  In his position she would have died of humiliation, but he seemed supremely indifferent to the fact he’d been publicly dumped. ‘You don’t seem upset.’

  ‘Why would I be upset?’

  ‘Because most people are upset when a relationships ends.’

  He smiled. ‘I’m not one of those.’

  Lily felt a flash of envy. ‘You’re not even a teeny tiny bit sad?’

  ‘I’m not familiar with that unit of measurement but no, I’m not even a “teeny tiny” bit sad. To be sad I’d have to care and I don’t care.’

  To be sad I’d have to care and I don’t care.

  Brilliant, Lily thought. Why couldn’t she have said that to Professor Ashurst when he’d given her that fake sympathy about having hurt her? She needed to memorise it for next time. ‘Excuse me a moment.’ Leaving a dripping trail behind her, she shot past him, scrabbled in her bag and pulled out a notebook.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘I’m writing down what you said. Whenever I’m dumped I never know the right thing to say, but next time it happens I’m going to say exactly those words in exactly that tone instead of producing enough tears to power a water feature at Versailles.’ She scribbled, dripping water onto her notebook and smearing the ink.

  ‘Being “dumped” is something that happens to you often?’

  ‘Often enough. I fall in love, I get my heart broken, it’s a cycle I’m working on breaking.’ She wished she hadn’t said anything. Although she was fairly open with people, she drew the line at making public announcements about not being easy to love.

  That was her secret.

  ‘How many times have you fallen in love?’

  ‘So far?’ She shook the pen with frustration as the ink stalled on the damp page, ‘Three times.’

  ‘Cristo, that’s unbelievable.’

  ‘Thanks for not making me feel better. I bet you’ve never been unlucky in love, have you?’

  ‘I’ve never been in love at all.’

  Lily digested that. ‘You’ve never met the right person.’

  ‘I don’t believe in love.’

  ‘You—’ She rocked back on her heels, her attention caught. ‘So what do you believe in?’

  ‘Money, influence and power.’ He shrugged. ‘Tangible, measurable goals.’

  ‘You can measure power and influence? Don’t tell me—you stamp your foot and it registers on the Richter scale.’

  He loosened his tie. ‘You’d be surprised.’

  ‘I’m already surprised. Gosh, you are so cool. You are my new role model.’ Finally she managed to coax ink from the pen. ‘It is never too late to change. From now on I’m all about tangible, measurable goals, too. As a matter of interest, what is your goal in relationships?’

  ‘
Orgasm.’ He gave a slow smile and she felt herself turn scarlet.

  ‘Right. Well, that serves me right for asking a stupid question. That’s definitely a measurable goal. You’re obviously able to be cold and ruthlessly detached when it comes to relationships. I’m aiming for that. I’ve dripped all over your floor. Be careful not to slip.’

  He was leaning against the wall, watching her with amusement. ‘This is what you look like when you’re being cold and ruthlessly detached?’

  ‘I haven’t actually started yet, but the moment my radar warns me I might be in danger of falling for the wrong type, bam—’ she punched the air with her fist ‘—I’m going to turn on my freezing side. From now on I have armour around my heart. Kevlar.’ She gave him a friendly smile. ‘You think I’m crazy, right? All this is natural to you. But it isn’t to me. This is the first stage of my personality transplant. I’d love to do the whole thing under anaesthetic and wake up all new and perfect, but that isn’t possible so I’m trying to embrace the process.’

  A vibrating noise caught her attention and she glanced across the room towards his jacket. When he didn’t move, she looked at him expectantly. ‘That’s your phone.’

  He was still watching her, his gaze disturbingly intent. ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re not going to answer it?’ She scrambled to her feet, still clutching the towel. ‘It might be her, asking for your forgiveness.’

  ‘I’m sure it is, which is why I don’t intend to answer it.’

  Lily absorbed that with admiration. ‘This is a perfect example of why I need to be like you and not like me. If that had been my phone, I would have answered it and when whoever was on the end apologised for treating me badly, I would have told him it was fine. I would have forgiven them.’

  ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You do need help. What’s your name?’

  She shifted, her wet feet sticking to the floor. ‘Lily. Like the flower.’

  ‘You look familiar. Have we met before?’