Chapter Five
“I know we agreed to eat and enjoy each other’s company,” Kosta said. “We were supposed to hold off on business till later, but we already broke that agreement. The representative checked in a little while before you got here. I’ve been speaking with her for weeks. She’s a smart and sweet girl. When you meet her, you might decide it’s okay to sell. You’ll see.” Theo Kosta pulled out a chair and waited for her to reach them.
Once again, Justin was speechless.
He blinked, unable to believe his eyes. Bethany had joined her father’s team, and her father had obviously expanded his hotel business to timeshares. After all the talk about making a difference in establishing an eco-friendly world for future generations, Bethany was now peddling international luxury properties for her money-grubbing dad.
How had Justin missed it? Maybe because he didn’t do his homework on the company, didn’t even do a damn Google search. He was too concerned about his precious vacation, the limited time to let off steam, and justifiably, the stress it would cause Paul and Kosta.
“Not only is the girl smart and sweet, she’s very pretty,” Kosta added.
Actually, she was stunning, but she wasn’t a girl. Dressed in a white linen sheath and a pair of sensible sandals, the material swayed in a sultry song as endless legs carried a perfectly sculpted body to them. She wasn’t small, but she wasn’t large. She was just right. Rounded hips, tight waist, lush chest, and a killer smile promised any man she chose ecstasy in her arms.
Paul’s foot landed on Justin’s shin, and Justin glanced at him. She’s the competition, Paul mouthed. “And it’s not polite to gawk,” he added in a low voice.
Kosta’s laughter filled the air. “Gawk.” Apparently, he’d overheard and understood the word. “There’s been a lot of that happening since Bethany arrived. She’s a beautiful girl.”
“She’s not a girl,” Justin repeated aloud. She was definitely beautiful. But she was all woman.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Lallas.” All three men stood, waiting for her to take her seat. She smiled, but didn’t greet Justin or Paul as he expected. Instead, she looked into Justin’s eyes, pleading for silence.
“I’d like to introduce you to my nephew, Paul, and his partner, Justin,” Kosta said. “The bo—Paul and Justin are here to help us with the presentation.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Bethany said, extending her arm for a formal handshake.
What the hell? Why is she acting like she doesn’t know us? Justin thought.
Pressure pounded in his head, and he wanted to shake the woman and wake her. He did not want to shake her hand in fucking greeting.
“Nice to meet you, Bethany. I’m Paul Lallas, your official source of information and resort tour guide.” Obviously, Paul wasn’t thrown like Justin was, and he accepted her outstretched hand. “Justin Bentley is our financial analyst. We’re both pleased to meet you.”
“Bethany Michaels, Associate Director of Property Acquisitions,” she said, releasing Paul’s hand and offering her own to Justin. “So glad you could make it over and take some work off of Mr. Lallas’s plate. From our correspondence, I believe he enjoys taking care of his guests rather than dealing with paperwork.”
Her gaze stayed on Justin, begging him to play along, as he closed his fingers around her trembling hand. Bethany was playing a game he didn’t understand, but he wouldn’t betray her and make her look bad or feel worse.
“On point,” Justin said, searching for common ground and finding it in Kosta’s preference to deal with his guests. “We’ll provide you and your company with all the tedious information you need.” He reluctantly released her hand, and moved behind her to guide her chair.
“Now that we all know each other,” Kosta said. “No more Mr. Lallas. Call me Kosta. Okay, Bethany?”
“Okay.”
“Well, Bethany, with the fancy title,” Justin said, “has Vaso’s Dream impressed you so far?”
Seemingly unaffected by his sarcastic tone, she raised her shoulders and spread her arms to indicate the colorful landscape and the endless view of the sea. “It’s amazing. Heavenly,” she said. “Everything and everyone is wonderful. I can’t imagine a better place on earth to recoup and recharge from the burnout of daily life.”
“I told you the girl is smart.” Grinning, Kosta drummed his fingers on the table as if he had a point to prove.
“Thank you.” She tapped a dainty finger on the older man’s forearm and his face brightened with appreciation. “Your uncle has made my job easy. He’s been a real pleasure to work with. Thank you, Mr. Lal—”
Kosta cocked his head and raised his brow.
“Thank you, Kosta,” she finished.
“The patriarch of our family on this side of the Atlantic,” Paul said.
“Not for long,” Kosta said, clearing his throat. “After this summer season, I’m buying a place near my brother’s and exploring America with him—that is when his work allows. It’s a long overdue adventure for me and a much needed break for him. He works too hard. His wife is going to leave him if he doesn’t slow down.”
It was said in jest, but while Paul’s dad did work a lot, he was a model patriarch. Nothing like Justin’s dad had been. Paul’s mom was an absolute doll. She doted on the family, and Justin as well. No complaints with the Lallas family, who was Main Street worthy and could star in the next family sitcom on a Big Fat Greek Life.
“You deserve anything you desire,” Bethany said, giving Kosta an empathetic smile. “We all do.”
And there it was.
She said it: anything you desire.
She flashed that brilliant smile, and issued what was probably a subconscious invitation to Justin and Paul with the twinkle in her eyes, effectively pulling Justin out of the verbal ping-pong match in his head.
What Justin desired was the opportunity to get Bethany back into his life. And while he wasn’t certain why she’d pretended not to know him, he knew it pissed him off.
Contrary to his earlier warning about Bethany being the competition, Paul also appeared more than a little interested in her. The conversation eased on to the amazing scenery and the magical location. They didn’t discuss business again. They ate sweet watermelon, paired with savory feta cheese, and discussed everything Vaso’s Dream offered. Everything she’d begun to love about the place, and everything Paul was worried about losing.
When a reception attendant came for Kosta, and he left the table in order to assist the front desk, Justin confronted Bethany about the bogus introduction.
“Suddenly you don’t know us?”
“What?”
“Bethany Michaels, Associate Director of Property Acquisitions. Pleasure to meet you.” Justin mimicked her earlier presentation.
“You don’t understand—”
“Understand what?” He fisted his hand, trying to calm the quick beating of his heart. His voice rose, proving he’d failed to control his emotions. “You’re embarrassed to know us?”
“No,” she said, worrying her lower lip as she always had when she was anxious.
“You avoided us on the ferry. Didn’t meet us at the café. And now you fucking introduce yourself to me like we’ve never met? Me? I’ve known you for well over a decade. I’ve known your secrets, your dreams, your every fucking desire. Hell, I know your freaking food allergies, your cute-as-hell obsessive quirks, and every freckle sprinkled across your gorgeous body. But suddenly, you don’t know me?”
“It’s not like that,” she insisted, lifting her chin and straightening her shoulders. “This has nothing to do with our personal relationship.”
“Like fuck it doesn’t.” Justin smacked the wooden table, before bringing his hand to the back of his neck and massaging the stiffness. “Why would you do this, Bethy? Why? What is wrong with knowing us? Knowing me?”
“Nothing,” she said, pushing back her chair and standing.
She placed both hands on the table and leaned down to speak to him in a low voice so as to not be overheard by other guests.
“But you really do not understand.” She enunciated each word in a painfully slow manner. “I told you I was working. This is business. Business, Justin. My damn food allergies and childhood dreams have nothing to do with the success of this deal.”
She gave Paul a quick nod, then grabbed her tote. “Leave the past out of it, and deal with today, Justin. This is fucking business.”
He watched her strut off the terrace without even a look back. The pounding in his head rose to a painful level and he pressed a finger on each temple. The woman had the nerve to rant on him and then walk away. She was in the wrong. He wasn’t. There was nothing wrong with knowing her. No shame in their past.
“She’s right,” Paul said, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention. “You’ve met in different circumstances. You can’t bring the past back.”
“She can’t walk away like that.”
“She did,” Paul said. “And if you want her in your life, you better find a way to fix the mess you just made.”
* * *
Bethany’s dream project had turned into a personal nightmare.
If her father ever found out who she’d been negotiating with and realized Justin’s connection to the family, he’d accuse her of manipulating company resources. She closed the door to her room and leaned her back against it, grateful for the support of the strong structure.
A sob escaped her lips and she buried her face in her hands. She slid to the stone floor and pulled her knees to her chest. A good cry would relieve the heaviness in her chest. Tears she’d fought while walking the path to her room wet her cheeks.
She didn’t know how long she sat there crying, but she did know the haze clouding her mind allowed her a strange kind of peace.
Consumed by the gray cloud, the sound of her cell phone singing that her sister was on the phone, barely registered in her mind. Wiping the back of her palm across her cheeks, she let it go to voice mail.
Sheridan called again and again. On the fourth call, she knew that Sheridan wasn’t going to give up. She had no choice but to answer.
“You okay?” Bethany asked, clearing her throat and hoping Sheridan would miss the misery in her voice.
“The question is…are you okay?”
“What are you talking about?” Bethany pushed her palm on to her belly, trying to calm the nervousness that had settled there. She’d never been able to hide anything from her baby sister, but she couldn’t imagine how Sheridan had learned so quickly about her predicament. Maybe Luxury Homes had learned as well?
“I’ve been stalking all your personal pages since the moment you left for Greece. Two days of post after post of gushing commentaries and incredible pictures, then there’s only an eerie silence since last night. You haven’t tweeted, posted, snapped, or shared anything, anywhere, since you left Athens.”
Bethany blew out a relieved breath, tucking her feet beneath her and wiggling in place. Her sister had the intuition of a good witch, with the most enchanting social media skills to confirm her suspicions. And while Sheridan didn’t know about Justin and Paul, didn’t know they were on the island and were part of the Lallas property, she knew something big had rattled Bethany. Specifically, something had put a damper on her great adventure.
“It’s not fair, Bethy. You blow up the net with posts, tease us with snippets of information, and make me sleep with my phone for more, then nothing—nada.” Sheridan paused, and Bethany could hear her sipping on something. Most likely the sparkling mineral water she carried everywhere. “Does it suck that bad?”
“No,” Bethany said. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Sheridan asked.
She didn’t know how to break the news without appearing pathetic. Sheridan had put her heart back together piece by piece after Justin; she’d been her lifeline, and she’d had a little more than some responsibility in the party girl image Bethany had worked to cultivate back then. Summing it up, Sheridan had taught her to hide her devastation and act like she didn’t give a shit about the man.
“I saw him,” Bethany said.
“Who?”
“Him.”