by Maya Blake
My rib-banging heart rate shuddered in terror.
My life flashed before my eyes. Again.
I pushed away disturbingly bleak images of a life unfulfilled and dreams dashed. Curled my sweaty fists tighter and cleared my throat.
‘My name is Sadie Preston...’ When that only prompted a higher arch of his brow I hurried on. ‘I work...worked at the Phoenix Clinic.’
Right until I was summarily fired, three hours ago. But the problem of my unemployment would have to be addressed later. Provided I didn’t end up in jail—
My train of thought screeched to a halt as he rocked forward, slid his hands into his trouser pockets and brought muscular thighs into singeing relief. Time pulsed by in silence as the very masculine stance ramped up the heat running through me.
‘For your sake, I hope this isn’t some sort of misguided attempt to garner employment, because I can assure you—’
‘It’s not!’ My interruption was much more shrill than I’d intended. And I knew immediately that neither it nor my tone had gained me any favours. Hell, his imposing presence seemed to loom even larger in the vast office, his aura terrifying. ‘Please...if you would just hear me out?’
‘You’re the one who seems to be tongue-tied, Miss Preston. While my precious time bleeds away. So let me make this easy for you. You have one minute to state your business. I advise you to make it worthwhile, for both our sakes.’
Or what?
For a single moment I feared I’d blurted the words, the volatile mix of annoyance and trepidation having finally broken me. But he didn’t seem any more incandescent. Simply terribly hacked off at my continued delay in spilling the beans.
‘I was fired this morning because...’ pause, deep breath ‘...because I accidentally destroyed your...’ I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, he was still there, breathtaking and immovable as a marble statue.
Firm, sensually curved lips flattened. ‘My what?’ he demanded tersely.
Tension vibrated through me as I forced my vocal cords to work. ‘I destroyed...your...your stored sperm sample.’
For a horribly tense minute he simply stared at me with utter confusion—as if he couldn’t quite comprehend my words—and then that face that defied description tautened into a mask of pure, cold disbelief.
‘You. Did. What?’
It wasn’t shouted. Or whispered. It was even toned. And absolutely deadly.
I shivered from head to toe, severely doubting my ability ever to speak again as I opened my mouth and words failed to emerge.
Terrifying seconds ticked away as we stood in rigid silence, gazes locked.
‘Speak,’ he commanded, again without so much as any inflexion in his voice. His lips had gone white with grim fury and he was barely breathing.
I prised my tongue from the roof of my mouth. To do what I’d come here to do. Appeal to his better nature.
Taking a hesitant step towards him, I tried a small smile. ‘Mr Xenakis—’
One hand erupted from his pocket in a halting motion. ‘Do not attempt to cajole. Do not attempt to prevaricate. I want the facts. Bare and immediate.’
This time his voice had altered. It was a primordial rumble. Like the nape-tingling premonition before a cataclysmic event.
My smile evaporated. ‘When I arrived at work this morning...’ late because of my mother and another futile attempt to get through to her ‘... I was given a list of samples to dispose of. I... It’s not part of my job description, but—’
‘What is your actual job at the Phoenix Clinic?’ The barest hint of an accent had thickened his voice, making him impossibly sexier.
‘I’m a receptionist.’
It was the only half-decent paying job I could find that would support my mother and me until I figured out a way to help her out of her dark tunnel of despair and resume the marketing degree I’d suspended so I could care for her.
‘And what business does a receptionist have handling patient samples?’
His tone was a chilling blade of reason. He wasn’t furious. Not yet, anyway. Right now Neo Xenakis was on a cold, fact-finding mission.
I managed to answer. ‘It’s not the usual procedure, but we were severely short-staffed today and the list I was given stated that the samples had already been triple-checked.’
‘Obviously not. Or you wouldn’t be here, would you?’ he rasped.
A wave of shame hit me. My error could have been avoided if I hadn’t been so frazzled. If I hadn’t been worried that my mother and I were about to lose the roof over our heads. If my boss’s medical secretary hadn’t called in sick, leaving me as temporary—and infinitely unlucky—cover.
About to attempt another pleading of my case, I froze when a loud buzz sounded from his desk.
For the longest time he stared at me, as if trying to decipher whether or not everything I’d told him was some sort of hoax.
When the intercom sounded again, he strode to his desk with unbridled impatience. ‘Yes?’ he grated.
‘There’s a Spencer Donnelly on the line for you, sir. He says it’s urgent.’
My breath caught. He heard it and speared me with narrow-eyed speculation. To his assistant, he said, ‘I don’t believe I know a Spencer Donnelly. Who is he?’
I stepped forward, earning myself more intense scrutiny. ‘That’s my boss. My ex-boss, I mean. I think he’s calling you to explain.’
And most likely to ensure the blame stayed squarely on my shoulders.
Neo hit the mute button. ‘Is he responsible for what happened?’ he demanded from me.
‘Not...not directly. But he’s the head of the clinic—’
‘I don’t care what his role is. I care about who’s directly responsible. Are you saying it was you and you alone?’
My nape heated at the imminent fall of the axe, but seeing as there was nothing more I could do but admit my total culpability, I nodded. ‘Yes. It was my fault.’
His nostrils flared as he unmuted the line. ‘Take a message,’ he informed his assistant, then sauntered back to where I stood.
For another stomach-churning minute he pinned me beneath his gaze. ‘Tell me what your intention was in coming here, Miss Preston,’ he invited silkily.
His even voice did not soothe me for one second. Whatever his reason for depositing a sperm sample at a fertility clinic, the consequences of my mistake would be brutal.
Alternate heat and cold flashed through my veins. I would have given everything I owned to be able to flee from his presence. But, seeing as fate and circumstance had already taken everything from me, leaving me with very little of value...
‘I thought you deserved to hear the truth from me. And also my a-apology,’ I said, my throat threatening to close up at the look on his face.
He said nothing, simply waited for several seconds before he elevated that characterful eyebrow, his silent sarcasm announcing that I hadn’t actually proffered any apology.
I cursed the heat rushing gleefully into my face at his icy mockery as he saw what he was doing to me. ‘I...I’m sorry, Mr Xenakis. I didn’t mean to destroy your property. If there was a way to undo it, I would...’ I stopped, knowing the words were useless. There was no reversing what I’d done.
‘And I’m simply to let you off the hook, am I? Based on you doing the honourable thing by coming here to throw yourself on my mercy?’
What could I say to that? ‘I know it’s a lot to ask, but I promise I didn’t mean to.’
His gaze dropped and I caught the faintest shake of his head as a wave of disbelief flared over his face again. For the longest time he stared at the carpet, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he fought whatever emotion gripped him so tightly.
In that moment, my senses wanted to do the unthinkable and put myself in his shoes—but, no. I couldn’t afford to get emotionally carried
away.
If, by some cruel twist of fate, there was something wrong with Neo Xenakis’s reproductive equipment, wouldn’t he have seemed a little...desolate, somehow, instead of looking as if he could go toe to toe with Zeus? And win?
Several expressions flitted across his features, too fast to decipher. But when he lifted his gaze to mine once more, chilling premonition swept over me.
Mr Donnelly had known I wouldn’t be let off scot-free, which was why he’d insisted I be the first in the line of fire in admitting culpability. The hurried internet search I’d done on the bus ride into the city had left me reeling at the enormity of the adversary I’d unwittingly created with one fatalistic click of the mouse.
Neo Xenakis regarded me with the flat coldness of a cobra about to strike. ‘You didn’t mean to? That applies when you tread on someone’s foot. Or accidentally spill your coffee at an inopportune moment. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Phoenix Clinic has a stringent set of checks in place, does it not?’
I opened my mouth to answer, but he was shaking his head, already rejecting my confirmation.
‘Whatever you thought was going to happen with your coming here, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy, Miss Preston.’
‘What do you mean?’
God, did he want me to beg? Fall on my face and prostrate myself before him?
The weirdest thought entered my head. That however he intended me to pay, it would be welcome. Perhaps even a little...life-changing.
When his gaze dropped to my parted lips I entertained the notion, while staring at his mouth, that whatever those reparations were they would be carnal in nature. That I would perhaps even...enjoy it.
Sweet heaven, Sadie. What’s wrong with you?
Dragging my focus from the lush curve of his lips, I met his gaze—only to find the grey depths alight with the same blaze that singed my blood.
Abruptly he turned away, returned to his desk and picked up a sleek-looking tablet. ‘Willa, please come in.’
Confusion mingled with those peculiar feelings rioted through me, rendering me speechless as the door opened and a stylishly dressed blonde entered. The woman was more suited to traipse down a runway than give executive assistance. The dismissive glance she threw me before sashaying her way to her boss’s desk said she was well aware of her assets.
‘Yes, Mr Xenakis.’ Unsurprisingly, her voice dripped with sensual interest as she smiled at him.
Curbing my instant dislike for Willa, I listened to them exchange a low-voiced conversation about his upcoming meeting before he rounded his desk.
‘Escort Miss Preston to my penthouse. She’s to stay there until I’m done with my meeting. If she attempts to leave, inform Wendell.’
My irritation at being discussed as if I wasn’t there doubled at the edict he’d just delivered. ‘What? You can’t... I won’t just stay here at your whim!’
The fury he’d kept at bay finally flared into singeing life. ‘You’ve destroyed my property, Miss Preston, making your actions a crime. Attempt to leave and I’ll be forced to let the authorities handle it. You have two options. Stay and discuss this further, after my meeting. Or leave and face the consequences.’ He strode towards the door, throwing over his shoulder, ‘I’ll let you inform Willa of your decision.’
Then he was gone.
I veered towards the windows, hoping for a ray of enlightenment. But the typical English weather had greyed in complete alignment with my circumstances.
I couldn’t leave. Not unless I wanted to risk worsening my situation.
Neo Xenakis was in shock, still grappling with the news. Would he show mercy when he’d calmed down? Was I better off handing myself over to the authorities and pleading my case with a lawyer through the courts?
With what funds? Even before I lost my job we were barely scraping by. I didn’t have the resources to pay a lawyer for even ten minutes of his time!
I was better off waiting. Perhaps talking him round to getting him to return to the clinic to deposit another sample...
Willa’s pointed throat-clearing triggered a wince. Turning, I lifted my chin and met her contemptuous stare.
‘I’ll stay,’ I announced, with as much firmness as I could manage, considering my stomach had gone into a thousand-foot free fall.
CHAPTER TWO
RETREAT. REGROUP.
For the dozenth time in what felt like the longest afternoon of my life, I shook my head.
‘You don’t agree, Mr Xenakis?’
I refocused on the leader of the Brazilian marketing team gathered around the conference table and wondered what I’d missed while my brain was stuck in that endless cycle of life-altering words uttered by the most captivating creature I’d ever seen.
I’m sorry... I’ve destroyed...everything.
To think I’d been convinced she was pranking me. Or, even more amusing, that she had latched on to an inventive method of getting my attention, since most feminine ploys left me cold these days.
My steep drop in interest in the opposite sex hadn’t gone unnoticed in recent years. Socialites who’d smugly decided they were an integral part of my healing process were scratching their heads, wondering why I’d permanently lost their numbers. Heiresses who’d eagerly and blatantly sought an alliance with the newly unengaged Xenakis bachelor were left stunned as every avenue of contact was firmly rebuffed.
It hadn’t even been worth the time to inform them that the thrill of the chase had stopped being, well...thrilling. That the eighteen months I’d spent sowing every wild oat I could had left me ashen mouthed and even more jaded than I’d been when I woke up in that hospital to the cruellest betrayal.
To think I’d imagined that was the worst moment of my life.
The stark reality of Sadie Preston’s presence in my penthouse—as per Willa’s confirmation, minutes ago—attested to that moment having well and truly been usurped.
Was this how my brother Axios had felt when presented with the noose-like proposition he’d faced almost a year ago?
No, Ax’s sentence was finite. It would end...or rather should have been ending in a matter of weeks, had his bride of fewer than twenty-four hours not fled from him and vanished without a trace, leaving him bewildered and stuck in limbo.
Christos. If he’s feeling even a fraction of what I’m feeling now...
But then the bride he’d acquired hadn’t been wanted. Whereas what Sadie Preston had taken from me was...priceless.
The dreaded cancer diagnosis which had precipitated my sperm donation in anticipation of radiation might have turned out to be a false alarm when I was twenty-five, but the scars marring my skin beneath my clothes were a reminder of why that visit to the Phoenix Clinic had turned out to be a pivotal, life-affirming event for me. A light in the bleak darkness of the blissful ignorance I’d lived in for almost a year, before the blindfold had been ripped from my eyes almost as ruthlessly as the accident that had attempted to rob me of my life.
Anger and pure, unadulterated disbelief flashed like lightning through my system. I shook my head again, aware that I was attracting bewildered stares from the marketing gurus I’d hired to promote the interests of Xenakis Aeronautics in Brazil.
It had taken a draining amount of mental dexterity to get through my other two meetings, and now a quick glance at the presentation slide brought me up to speed with what I’d missed. Or rather, what they’d missed.
‘This isn’t going to work. Besides being unexceptional, you’ve aimed it at the wrong demographic.’
The team leader nodded enthusiastically. ‘Which demographic were you thinking of, Mr Xenakis?’
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Was I required to do all their work for them? ‘You have the data from the beta test. From what I’m seeing, you haven’t bothered to consult it. I’m not seeing any application of the feedback we received from mil
lennials with children.’
My chest clenched as another percussive wave of shock pummelled me. Children. Families. Fatherhood.
A state I’d never experience now, thanks to the actions of a redhead whose lips had dripped words of remorse but whose attitude vaunted defiance. Those startling green eyes had dared me to bring it on even as her bedroom voice wobbled with apology.
That little chin had been raised in silent combat, displaying the silken skin of her throat and a shadow of cleavage. And as for the other treasures hidden beneath her cheap, threadbare clothes...and that hair I wanted to wrap my fist around...
Theos mou. Get a grip.
It was searing shock that had stopped me from instructing Wendell to hand her over to the authorities as soon as she’d confessed her crime.
And shock was the reason she was in my penthouse while I bought myself some time to deal with the earth-shattering news. Besides, as much as I trusted my security chief, some things were private. And this matter couldn’t get more private.
Sadie Preston had essentially taken every last shred of hope for my future and trashed it. And the worst thing was that I hadn’t known how much the nebulous prospect of fatherhood had meant until any chance of it had been destroyed—first with betrayal and lies, and then with a careless press of the delete button on a computer.
My chest growing tighter, I jerked to my feet, the need to do something clawing through me. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I trust we know which direction we’re heading for in the campaign now?’ At their nods of assent, I headed for the door. ‘You have one week to get it right. Don’t let me down.’
Don’t let me down.
Was I wasting my breath, saying that? Was I doomed to be disappointed in everyone I put my trust in? Be it in personal stakes or in a supposedly exclusive, top-of-the-range clinic?
My mouth soured as I strode for the lift.
The Brazilian contingent only needed a little guidance—they’d come through eventually. If they didn’t, they’d simply be...replaced.
