Chapter 4
Nikos smiled and greeted people as he made his way to his office. He always thought it was crazy to dedicate an office for him that he used less than four weeks out of the year. His cousin, Dimitris, ran the actual business side of the Mattas Empire that stretched far beyond Nikos’ vineyard. Dimitris insisted on the biannual meetings that dated back to when the family farmed a widespread swath of land that stretched through the Peloponnese. Dimitris’ many times great-grandfather brought the family together before planting and after harvest to plan for the future and celebrate the past. Of course, there had been offerings to the Gods, and if family legends could be believed, quite a bit of feasting and frolicking. Many of his ancestors had been born amongst the grapes during the harvest as a result of the springtime festivities.
In the modern world, the biannual meetings were considerably more boring, full of facts, figures and a decided lack of frolicking. Mattas Enterprises sponsored the annual Athens harvest festival that served as the culmination of the meetings. There were several events to attend- dinners, parties and the Harvest Ball, which was actually a charity fundraiser and excuse for Athens society to show off a bit. Nikos was torn by excitement of sharing them with Emma and anxiety over her aversion to crowds and public places. If she would just trust me with her secrets, I could protect her so much better, he thought for the hundredth time. He blew out a frustrated sigh as he dropped into his chair behind the infrequently used desk. His resolve to be patient was weakening by the day. It was time for trust and truth.
A knock interrupted his circular thoughts. Nikos looked up and the smile froze on his mouth. Abigail’s mother, Cassandra, stood in the doorway. He had not seen her in over four years- not since he had carried the three-day-old Abigail out of the hospital and out of her mother’s life. Her short skirt showed off her long legs to perfection and her creamy olive complexion was as flawless as ever. Her full lips turned up in a pleasant smile, but her eyes held the look of hard flint. She hadn’t change a bit.
Icy dread settled in his gut. He had always worried that she would resurface in their lives and cause trouble. You don’t know that she is here to cause trouble, he reminded himself. She could have just dropped by for old time’s sake. Yeah right. And she might be selling flowers for the Girl Guides. Cassandra was nothing but trouble.
Nikos rose smoothly from behind his desk. He might spend most of his time in dusty jeans surrounded by grapes, vines and silence, but he slipped easily into his business persona. “Cassie,” he said in surprisingly neutral tones, crossing to her and taking her hands. He brushed a kiss on each cheek and gave her slender fingers a squeeze before dropping them. He stepped back and offered her a chair. She sat down making a show of crossing her legs and arranging herself. Still the preening peacock he noted as he moved back around his desk and looked at her with the obvious question in his eyes- what the Hell are you doing here?
“Hello, Nikos. You look well. I imagine you are surprised to see me,” she said and flashed him a bright, falsely sweet smile. When he didn’t offer to pick up the conversation thread, she continued, seemingly unfazed by his lack of response, “I work here now. I’m Dimitris’ personal assistant.”
Nikos couldn’t contain his surprise at that bombshell. He became instantly wary. He had known Cassandra since they were teenagers. She was the bad girl of a good family- a family that had long, strong ties to Mattas family. She had given him his first black eye and his first broken heart. He learned the hard way, though it took several lessons for it to finally sink in, Cassandra did nothing unless there was something in it for her.
“Congratulations. Honest employment looks good on you.” Nikos sat back and gave the air of someone who is completely unmoved and unimpressed by the situation. Cassandra had never worked a day in her life. Her family’s wealth rivaled his own, but her spendthrift, party lifestyle had led her father to keep her on a very short leash. Nikos’ payout to her to sign away her parental rights should have set her free from that. However, he had no doubt that she had burnt through that long ago.
He wondered mildly if she was sleeping with Dimitris. I should warn him, but even as he thought it, he disregarded the idea. Dimitris would not welcome his counsel, and it would cause him to reveal his own bad judgment. No one knew who Abigail’s mother was, though there were plenty of guesses. It had been part of the agreement to protect both Cassandra from her father’s wrath and Nikos from the humiliation of admitting that he had let her manipulate him yet again.
Cassandra scoffed at his comment and rolled her dark seductress eyes. “He wants to see you as soon as you are settled. He asked me to give you this.” She stood and unbuttoned her blouse.
Nikos’ mask of indifference cracked further still and he put up his hands. “What are you doing,” he asked incredulously as she revealed a lacy silver bra and her beautifully enhanced breasts.
She laughed and his heart tripped a little bit. He remembered her laugh and getting lost in it. How can she still effect after all these years?
“Relax, Bémpis,” she said using his nickname she had dubbed him with as children. They shared a birthday, but she was a year older. Baby Boy had been her taunt whenever he didn’t want to do something. “I didn’t have any pockets. Here,” she said as she fished a jump drive out of her bra and handed it to him with a seductive smile.
Nikos lifted an eyebrow. “I would suggest a jacket in the future,” he said dryly and tossed the drive on his desk. He steered her toward the door with a hand at the small of her back while she sighed and began to button her blouse. A quiet gasp made his eyes snap up from his scrutiny of his shoes where he had been keeping his eyes fixed to avoid the tantalizing vision of Cassandra’s chest.
Emma stood there with her head cocked to the side and her eyes darting from Cassandra’s half open shirt to him and back. “Emma,” Nikos’ voice registered the shock he felt at seeing her suddenly there in his office. “What are you doing here?” He tried not to sound accusatory, but he was pretty sure he failed.
“I was going to surprise you for lunch. Perhaps you’ve already eaten?” Emma felt her face blotching with red as her fury built. Part of her warned that she was jumping to conclusions, but the vision of him walking with a half-naked Greek goddess blocked any voice of reason.
Nikos’ mouth hardened into a firm line. His eyes flashed at her comment, but he bit off his retort. He could well imagine what it looked like to Emma. Cassandra had stepped back into his life less than 10 minutes ago, and she was already causing him headaches. He pushed out a breath and forced himself to answer without heat. “Emma, this Cassandra, an old friend of the family. She’s working as my cousin’s assistant and is woefully short of pockets.” Emma looked at him like he was speaking Greek, and Cassandra gave him a wicked grin, quickly surmising Emma’s connection to him.
“It is nice to meet you,” Cassandra said and extended her hand in Emma’s direction.
Emma shook the offered hand automatically and looked completely nonplussed. Cassandra was about to continue the interlude when Nikos cut smoothly across her.
“Tell Dimitris that I will stop in after lunch.” He stepped neatly around Cassandra and slipped an arm around Emma’s shoulders, forcing her to turn with him. He towed her along next to him until they reached the foyer. “Let me explain,” he began.
She cut him off by asking, “Why would a woman like that need pockets?”
“To carry things in so she wouldn’t resort to stuffing things down her bra instead of carrying them,” Nikos answered with exasperation leaking into his tone. He looked down at Emma and relief surged through him. The sides of her mouth twitched as she tried not to laugh. He raised an eyebrow in question.
With a giggle Emma explained, “It just reminds me of my grandma. She was always stuffing things in her bra. When she got older and had to go to the nursing home, the aides had to basically unpack a suitcase full of stuff every night to get her ready for bed. Everything from tissues to a tuna fish sandwich.” Nikos laughed and pulled her close. He loved it when she let down her guard and shared a snippet from her past. He knew better than to ask anything else. He hated seeing that wall go back up so he dropped a kiss on her head and pushed the button for the elevator.
“Cassandra didn’t seem a few cards shy of a deck, so what’s her excuse for stuffing her bra- not that there was much room in there,” Emma’s tone was light, but Nikos caught the edge to her words.
“Cassandra is an acquired taste and she has always loved drama,” he said as they stepped onto the elevator.
The doors closed and Emma pushed him hard back against the wall, catching him by surprise. She pressed herself hard against him and pulled him down for a searing kiss. He pulled her to him and answered her passion. When the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, she said with heat blazing in her eyes, “That’s what people say when something tastes like shit and they eat it anyway. Now that we’ve got the taste out of your mouth, what’s for lunch?”