by Marian Tee
“I know, sir,” she said quietly. “But all I can say is that those circumstances were unique and special – it won’t happen again.”
“Because you are engaged to Damen Leventis?” The news had made today’s headlines but unfortunately he had not known about it until he came into his office minutes ago and saw Mairi’s face on the newspaper’s front page.
If she was indeed about to marry Damen Leventis, then this was all for nothing, Cleon thought with bitter disappointment. He had a healthy fear of the Kokinos but even more so of the head of the Leventis empire. He had no problems believing that Damen was the type of man to have him murdered if he so much as looked at his woman the wrong way.
“The press misunderstood,” Mairi lied and chose that exact time to tuck her hair behind her ear, a way of drawing attention to her ring-less fingers. She did not want this job if it was only being offered because she was about to marry Damen Leventis. She never wanted him to be in a compromising position because of her again.
His dick throbbed at her words. Chuckling, Freon could now afford to joke, “So that rock you wore that got photographed by the reporters was more like a parting gift?”
She nodded, not wanting to add to her lies.
“That’s good.”
Mairi suddenly had a bad feeling. “Sir—”
He licked his lips, his eyes moving slowly down towards her breasts and staying there. His gaze alone was enough to make her feel dirty. “We can come to an understanding then—”
Fear caused a temporary paralysis to take hold of her body. “No, I’m sorry, this is not what I want—”
He answered with a cruel laugh, “Don’t worry. I can make you want it.” He unbuttoned his pants. “Just give it a try…”
Chapter Six
“Welcome home!” Mairi’s voice was bright and perky as she greeted Damen the moment he came through the front door. A second later, she was hurtling herself into his arms, her arms tightening around his neck.
The extremely warm welcome pleased him, but it also bemused him, leaving Damen looking down at Mairi with a faintly puzzled smile. “You make me feel like I have been gone for months, matakia mou.”
It did feel like that, Mairi thought painfully. She had showered three times, even used Damen’s credit card for the first time to pay for a mind-bogglingly expensive fee for a spa treatment, but she still felt unclean.
Sensing Damen’s curious regard but unable to speak, Mairi just hugged him more tightly. She knew now was the best time to tell Damen about Dean Frangos’ degrading proposition to her, but she also knew she would do everything she could to prevent Damen from learning about it.
Damen’s lips touched her hair. “I missed you, too.” He gently pulled her away from him. “Now, what have you been up to while I was at work?”
“Nothing,” Mairi managed to quip. “Just enjoying life as a billionaire’s fiancée.” She turned away then, thus missing the look of disquiet on Damen’s face. As she headed to the kitchen, which was a good distance away considering how palatial his Athens’ home was, she asked over her shoulder, “Would you like to grab something to eat?”
“Only if you join me,” he said after a beat. He hated how his thoughts were often filled with doubt and suspicion. Following Mairi to the kitchen, he wondered if his money had indeed changed Mairi and if it had, was it truly for the worse?
She loved him. That he was completely certain of. Was it wrong that she had so quickly gotten used to being able to spend his money as well or be used to the comfort and luxury that came with it?
“Damen?”
He looked up, realizing that he had been standing at the doorway all this time with a frown on his face. He moved forward, summoning a penitent smile. “I am sorry. I was thinking about work.”
She waited for him to speak about it, but he didn’t. As he sat on one of the stools surrounding the breakfast counter, she asked softly, “Would you like to talk about it?”
A shuttered expression fell over his face. “It is nothing.” He would never let Mairi know how much his decision to love her was costing him. The entire business world might be laughing at him behind his back, but Damen knew whatever he lost was worth having Mairi by his side.
His voice was curt and dismissive, and she took the warning to heart. Did he think she was too stupid to understand the way his business worked? Biting her lip, she prayed silently that Damen didn’t think he was engaged to a ninny.
The microwave sounded off behind her, and trying not to sound relieved at the chance to change the subject, she said cheerfully, “The pasta’s ready.”
The smell was delightful, and the taste even more so. After enjoying a forkful of the pasta, he was impressed enough to say, “It’s very good – enough for me to wonder if perhaps you’d like to start a restaurant?”
“A restaurant?”
He said smoothly, “It won’t mean you have to work every day. You’ll simply be in charge of creating a menu and setting the overall theme.”
A restaurant…
Only Greek billionaires like Damen Leventis would think that opening a restaurant and putting a schoolteacher in charge of it was an investment worth risking, Mairi thought dazedly. “I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of undertaking.” If she failed, it would mean causing him to lose thousands of euros – or even hundreds of thousands, and she wasn’t ready for that kind of failure just yet.
“Well, it was just a thought.” He paused. “In case you become bored with your life.”
“Oh, I’ll never be bored.” Her lips curved into another smile. “You’re with me, Damen. It’s all I ask for.”
He shook his head. “You never fail to surprise me, with how open you are about your feelings.”
Her smile almost faltered. She wasn’t as open as he thought she was. There were so many things she had yet to tell him, but her love for Damen made her scared to risk it.
After dinner, they went straight to the bedroom, Mairi waiting in bed while Damen took a shower. Her iPhone sounded a beep, indicating a new email.
Congratulations! You have successfully passed our test. We will start sending you writing assignments tomorrow at the rate of $.002 per word or $1 per 500-word article.
Hearing the door of the en-suite bathroom open, Mairi quickly deleted the message before looking up at Damen. “Feel more relaxed now?”
Deciding not to comment on how flustered she seemed, he answered casually, “Yes.” Joining her in bed, Damen wordlessly pulled her into his arms and took her lips for a kiss.
Her receipt of his kiss was as passionate as before, enough to assuage his doubts. For now.
They did not make love that night, but Mairi did not seem to mind, falling asleep in his arms almost right away. Even in her slumber, she appeared…uneasy, an unhappy frown furrowing her forehead. Quietly, Damen reached past Mairi for her iPhone.
He scanned her messages, but again there was nothing new from the past few minutes. His face became grim.
What are you hiding from me, matakia mou?
Chapter Seven
Late afternoon the next day, Mairi was so excited she pumped her fist in the air, feeling beyond ecstatic. It was a cry that rang throughout the entire National Library of Greece, whose vastness was made even more impressive by its ornately designed columns, glass ceilings, and shelves that were so high Mairi’s neck had gotten a crick when she had first glimpsed it.
The librarian, who was unfortunately stacking books in a nearby shelf, looked at her in disapproval. “Quiet,” the woman hissed in Greek.
Oh, drat. She had forgotten she was one) in a public library and two) in disguise.
Mumbling an apology, Mairi slid further down in her seat, hoping she hadn’t stupidly blown her cover with her not-exactly-subtle cry of triumph. After arranging her bangs to make sure they covered half of her face, she pushed her large aviator glasses back up. It had been surprisingly difficult typing with dark glasses on, but she had needed to be 100% sure no one
would recognize her here.
Mairi glanced back at her screen, and again she couldn’t help but grin. Twenty articles for the day. That meant $20! If she kept this up, she could have $200 in ten days – enough to buy something really nice for Damen when they celebrated their first month together.
“Mairi?”
The voice was familiar, and she looked up, her jaw dropping when she saw Ioniko Vlahos standing before her, a slight smile playing on his lips. He looked as gorgeous and sophisticated as ever, stunningly fashionable in a way her own extremely conservative Greek billionaire couldn’t be and preferred not to be.
“H-hi.” She stammered the word out even as she wondered in a panic what he was doing here. Oh my God, what if people started putting one and one together and realize that—
“Relax,” Ioniko said calmly as he seated himself opposite her. “I have my security team on watch. No one will even be able to open their Twitter accounts without my security team knowing.”
Mairi blinked. “Is that really possible?”
He shrugged, saying simply, “If you have enough money, yes.”
And of course he had enough money, being a Greek billionaire himself.
But still…
Her discomfort communicated itself to Ioniko, and never able to stand seeing Mairi less than happy, he asked gently, “Are you worried about what Damen would think?”
“It’s not that…” She stopped when she saw Ioniko pulling out his phone and dialing a number.
Seeing her confused look, he said, “I’m calling Leventis.”
She gaped. “What—why—no!”
But it was apparently too late as Ioniko spoke. “Yes, it’s me, Ioniko. I am here with your lovely woman. I’m sure you know where she is. Oh, she’s safe with me.”
He paused.
Mairi could imagine Damen succinctly cursing him and winced at the image.
Ioniko spoke again. “And yet, I am the one with her, not you. But by all means, come here and get your woman. I will keep her company while you are not by her side.” He ended the call.
“Ioniko!” She was badly tempted to laugh and cry at the same time, incredulous at the way he had baited Damen on the phone. But when he winked at her, she couldn’t help giggling.
“You’re evil,” Mairi told him.
“He must be reminded now and then not to take you for granted.”
She protested right away, “He doesn’t take me for granted.”
Ioniko simply shrugged.
Looking at him, she had a feeling that this was no chance meeting. Also, she was in a public library. It was not exactly the kind of venue where Greek billionaires typically hung out.
“Mairi, you figured out I am here for a reason, yes?”
She nodded. There was a sick feeling in her stomach, and she wondered why that was so. Ioniko Vlahos would never hurt her. She was as sure of that as she was sure of her own name. But somehow, she felt nervous and she started playing with her pen, trying to keep herself calm.
“Mairi, I heard some troubling news.”
“Oh?” She tried to sound surprised and not terrified, but her voice broke at the end.
“A handful of my acquaintances informed me that you have been sending applications to every school in the city—” He paused, trying to figure out how to say the rest. But there was no way to get around it and with a pained expression on his face, Ioniko continued, “—and that every application has been rejected.”
She gripped her pen hard, her knuckles turning white. The words were humiliating and she couldn’t meet Ioniko’s gaze as she asked in a low, shamed whisper, “Does Damen know?”
“You know what they say, Mairi. The people concerned are often the last to know, and in this case that person is Leventis.”
Relief had her trembling. “Thank God.”
Ioniko was disbelieving. “Then he truly does not know?”
“I don’t want him to know,” she said fiercely. “I read Greek as well as you do, Ioniko. I know what the papers say. I don’t need people laughing at him for another reason. They already think he’s crazy for choosing me over Alina Kokinos, and now they’re going to pity Damen if they find out that no school in the country wants to hire me.” A thought occurred to her, and her horrified gaze flew to Ioniko. “If you’ve heard about this, does it mean that the media will pick up on it soon?”
“If you continue doing it—”
Mairi quickly shook her head, almost giddy as she said, “Then I’m safe.” Giving him a hesitant smile, she said, “I’ve already found a job.”
The words came as a surprise to Ioniko. He did not think there would be a soul in Greece brave enough to go against the Kokinos and Esther Leventis combined. Of course, he had planned to do just that by helping Mairi, but then again, he had more power than most people.
“Who hired you?”
“It’s an online job. Not teaching, I’m afraid, but copywriting, which is close enough.”
As she told him more about her work, Ioniko became enraged, snapping, “That is not a job. It’s slavery.”
“It’s a good and decent job, and right now it’s all I care about.”
He shook his head. “For God’s sake, if that’s the only job you can get, come work for me instead!”
She had expected the offer but was still touched by it. Even so, Mairi said softly, “You know I can’t accept your offer.”
He countered aggressively, “You can secretly work for me online then.”
She looked paler and weaker than she should be and yet when she spoke, it was in a quiet voice, not sounding proud, humble, or self-pitying. “Ioniko, thank you for the offer, but you know I can’t accept any kind of help from you. It would be disloyal to Damen.” She spoke the words like they were a fact – like her love for Damen Leventis was a fact of life, and in that moment she had never seem so beautiful in Ioniko’s eyes.
“Is everything worth this, Mairi?” His voice became savage. “If he truly loves you, shouldn’t he know about how you are suffering now?”
When she didn’t answer, he wanted to shake her. What the fuck had Damen Leventis done to deserve her? And what the fuck could he do to make Mairi realize Ioniko would be able to take better care of her?
When Ioniko didn’t answer, Mairi couldn’t help but look at him, fearing that she had angered him in some way. But instead of disapproval or anger, there was another emotion on his face. It was something she didn’t want to label, and it was intense enough to have her blinking back unexpected tears.
“Ioniko…” Her voice wavered.
The fragile note in Mairi’s name caused a wave of helpless rage to wash over him. He was Ioniko fucking Vlahos, the head of his own billion-dollar empire, and yet fate had rendered him powerless to help the one woman who had affected him in a way that no other woman had been able to.
He still was not sure if he was truly in love with her, but he was close to it – and that was enough.
“If you do not want me to fight for you then you must look strong in front of me, Mairi Tanner,” Ioniko said quietly. “You must look strong and happy that you have indeed chosen Damen Leventis over me. That you do not regret loving Damen Leventis.” His voice hardened. “Because if you continue looking the way you look now, you tempt me to go back on my word and try to steal you away.”
She wanted to look away. Oh God, she felt blessed and cursed at the same time. She was no one – nothing extraordinary about her that could have explained why she had the loyalty of someone like Ioniko. But she did have it, and she owed it to him to not to make things harder.
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze and said with all the conviction she could muster, “I’ll always love Damen, Ioniko. The life we share may not always be perfect, but he will always be the reason I breathe and I know…” She had to stop speaking, needing time to keep her tears in check. “I know you are one of the reasons why I’m by his side and for that I’m eternally grateful. I’ll always treasure your friendship, Ioniko
, and I’ll always be humbled by it.”
Her words had a bittersweet sound. They were not what he wanted to hear from Mairi, and he knew she knew it too. She would never be his. He knew that and yet, it did not seem to make any difference to his heart.
It continued to beat, and one of the reasons it beat was because of her.
He started to speak, but stopped.
She, too, had been about to speak but stopped as well.
Both of them became aware almost simultaneously of a presence that shattered the privacy of their world.
Their heads turned, also in almost-perfect synchrony, towards the library’s entrance.
Mairi’s breath caught.
Damen.
He appeared like an avenging angel, dressed in black and white, his stride powerful and fierce, and an almost battle-like expression on his chiseled face. He did not make a single sound and yet there was something about his presence now, authority and virility leashed in one dangerously beautiful form, causing everyone around him to look up.
Chairs were scraped back, heads looked up, and jaws dropped. Even the librarian was so flustered she had dropped the books she was holding as he came close, apparently too larger-than-life for her to handle.
Damen stopped, and everyone – including Mairi – held their breath.
He bent down and, in a graceful move, scooped up all the books and placed it on the table nearest to the librarian. “These are too heavy for you.” He murmured the words, but the library had become so silent the air carried his voice throughout the place.
The librarian nodded, a dumbstruck expression on her face. Her gaze as well as everyone else’s followed Damen’s progress as he walked past her.
Mairi’s heart beat faster and faster as he came nearer and nearer. She loved him so much, and every day she found herself loving him even more. In her eyes, he became more beautiful and dearer to her every day, and with each step he took towards her, she felt fainter and fainter.
