Chapter 8
The next day…
Gemma smiled down at Damien as she grabbed a sippy cup full of juice and slipped it into the side pocket of the diaper bag. “Ready to go?” She had the weekend off and the National Zoo had baby pandas that she was anxious to see. Damien was still too young to fully appreciate the wonder of a zoo, but she hoped that by taking him there often, he would come to appreciate nature.
Aimee sat in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of coffee. “Have fun, you two.”
Gemma nodded. “We shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours…”She was interrupted by her ringing phone. She pulled it from her pocket. “Hello?”
“Miss Larsen?”
Gemma’s heart dropped upon hearing her supervisor’s voice. “Yes, Sir. How are you?”
“You don’t have to be nice to me. I realize me calling you on your day off isn’t enjoyable, but there is a situation at the museum that requires your immediate attention.”
“What? Sir, I’m off until Monday—”
“I realize that, Miss Larsen. However, the museum director has requested a meeting with you. How long will it take you to get here?”
Gemma wanted to protest, but she’d never been summoned to a meeting with the director of the Smithsonian Museums. Can a person refuse such a meeting and still have a job in the morning? She wasn’t in a hurry to find out. She swallowed back her disappointment. “It will take me approximately twenty minutes to get across town.”
“Very good. Please come directly to the head office.”
“Yes, Sir.” She hung up the phone and looked at Damien and Aimee. “It looks like our trip to the zoo will have to wait. The director wants to see me right away.”
“Really?” Aimee tilted her head. “Is that normal?”
Gemma shook her head. “No. I can’t imagine what he wants to see me for, but I didn’t think I could refuse.”
“Probably best you didn’t. Don’t worry about your little man. We’ll take a walk down to the park and look at the birds. He probably won’t notice the difference.”
“Thanks, Aimee.” Gemma headed for the bedroom to change. She slipped on a pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt and a few minutes later she was headed to the center of the town.
Her supervisor was waiting for her and waved her into the director’s office. She paused. “Do you know what this meeting is about?”
The man nodded his head, a small smile playing around his mouth. “You’ve been requested.”
Requested? What does that mean? Gemma didn’t have time to ponder the answer. She stepped through the doorway and froze. The director stood in the middle of the room talking to none other than Alexi!
What’s he doing here? This can’t be good. She hadn’t seen him since he’d left her apartment the morning before, and had been berating herself ever since for her weakness. Sleeping with him was a mistake I won’t make again.
“Sir, you asked to meet with me?” she addressed the director, ignoring Alexi for the moment.
The director nodded his head. “Miss Larsen. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“No problem. What can I do for you?”
“Well, it’s not what you can do for me, but what you can do for this young man. He purchased a rather large Monet at the same auction you attended in Paris a few years back. I understand it is in need of some extensive repair work?”
Gemma nodded, unsurprised to find herself in this situation. Alexi had tried to get her to willingly come back to Greece with him, using the Monet as the lure, but she’d refused. He went over my head! God, the man is high-handed in ways I probably can’t even begin to imagine.
The director continued. “Mr. Moustakas has graciously offered to fund the restoration work, and promised to allow us to showcase the restored piece right here. He’s also made a generous five-million-dollar donation—money you know the museum can put to good use.”
Gemma looked at Alexi then, inwardly seething at the position he was putting her in. She turned her back on Alexi, facing the director. “Sir, while I appreciate Mr. Moustakas’ generosity, he and I already spoke about this issue. I offered to restore the painting for him once it arrives in the States.”
The director shook his head. “Mr. Moustakas believes the painting could be irreperably damaged during transport and has graciously offered to provide your lodging while in Greece.” He looked at Alexi and then inquired, “Is that correct?”
Alexi nodded, waiting for Gemma to meet his eyes to speak. “She will be very well cared for.”
Gemma shook her head. “Sir, I can’t just go jetting off to Greece!”
The director smiled at her. “Of course you can. Don’t worry about your job here. It will be waiting for you upon your return. Just think of this as an extended vacation amongst the Greek Isles and a chance to restore an important piece of art history.”
Gemma felt ganged up on. “Sir, I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I have a young son…I can’t just take off at a moment’s notice. Restoring that piece could take months.”
The director gave her a pointed look. “That is not really much of an excuse. I have been made aware that your son is this gentleman’s biological child and Mr. Moustakas has no problem with you bringing the child with you. In fact, he insists your son accompany you.”
Gemma gasped and turned on Alexi. “How?”
Alexi looked at her. “I believe Miss Larsen now realizes how much her services are required.”
The director clapped his hands. “Excellent.”
Alexi shook the director’s hand and then placed a hand on Gemma’s arm, directing her towards the doorway with a firm hold. “Thank you for your assistance. Miss Larsen and I will hash out the finer details.”
He pulled her from the room. Gemma tried to break free of his hold, but he wasn’t giving her any quarter. He stopped her in front of the elevators and then remained quiet as he ushered her into his waiting vehicle.
“Alexi, you can’t make me go to Greece with you.” Silence. She gazed at him and tried again. “I won’t—”
The vehicle pulled up in front of her apartment and he slid from the vehicle, coming around and opening her door. As she slid from the car, he nailed her with his gaze. “Be ready to go the day after tomorrow. A driver will pick you and Damien up and bring you to the airport.”
Gemma tried to reason with him. “Alexi, I can’t be gone for…how long did you tell the director this job was going to last?”
“At least three months. We will re-evaluate things after that.”
“What things?”
Instead of answering her, he gave her a hard stare. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?” Him being her son.
Gemma’s anger rose. “And where would I have made such a call? You didn’t even tell me your real name! Moustakas? You told me your last name was Stakis.”
Alexi didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed. He merely shrugged his shoulders. “Stakis is my mother’s maiden name. I have realized that using my real last name tends to invite trouble in the form of tabloids and newspapers.”
Gemma closed her eyes, the hurt she felt at his betrayal like an open wound.
*****
Two days later aboard one of the Moustakas private jets, heading for Greece…
Gemma glanced around the bedroom of the luxurious jet and shook her head. Who even knew planes had things like bedrooms and fully equipped bathrooms? I sure didn’t.
She couldn’t believe she was on a plane with her son, heading for a country she knew nothing about, and preparing to meet people she didn’t know. Finding out that Alexi was Greek had fit together several pieces of the puzzle that up till now had been vague suppositions.
She’d known he had wealth, but finding out he had a private jet went way beyond her ability to comprehend. She groaned. Alexi likes getting his own way. Why else would I be some thirty thousand miles up in the sky right now? Why didn’t I send him away the moment I laid eyes on him again?
She looked over to where her Damien slept peacefully. If only things were different. The sexual tension between her and Alexi hadn’t burned up in their last encounter. Alexi seemed so different, and yet—the same. The only thing I can do is make the best of a bad situation. I’ve been doing it long enough now, I should be an expert at it.
She touched Damien’s forehead, smiling softly at how peaceful he looked. They’d boarded the plane ten hours earlier. Damien had been easy to entertain until he got tired. She’d tried to distract him up a bit longer, offering him a variety of toys and even singing to him softly, but he’d been intent on trying to explore every inch of the plane. He’d found his way into Alexi’s study, where he’d gone immediately after takeoff and not returned.
She’d tried to retrieve her son, but Alexi had insisted he stay and she should as well. She’d taken a seat in front of the desk where he had sat and listened as he talked of his home and the various things he could provide for Damien’s future. The more Gemma had listened, the more it sounded as if Alexi was under the impression Damien was going to be living in Greece for more than a few months. She’d challenged him for an explanation.
Alexis merely raised an eyebrow arrogantly. “My son is going to be raised as a Moustakas. Whether or not you want to be a part of that is entirely up to you.”
Gemma had exploded.“How dare you threaten to take my child away from me! I’m his mother!”
“Yes, and I saw firsthand how you’ve been providing for him. Peasants in my country live in better conditions.”
His scathing comments hurt. She hadn’t been able to provide Damien a mansion to live in, because normal people didn’t actually live like that. There were many other people far worse off than she was and she wasn’t one to complain. But hearing Alexi judge her… It cut like a knife in an already gaping wound.
His threat to take Damien away from her had been the final straw. I’m his mother. He can’t do that! Her mind screamed that declaration over and over again, in an attempt to make it true.
But in reality, she knew that Alexi probably could take Damien away from her. They were headed to his country, where he had the law on his side and she was nothing more than a visitor who didn’t speak the language. In Greece, she didn’t have any rights and he knew it.
Gemma lashed out. “You bastard! What gives you the right to waltz back into our lives after two years and think you can dictate how the future is going to look? I’m Damien’s mother and you can’t just wish me away.”
Alexi had listened calmly and then inclined his head. “No one is wishing you away. I was simply letting you know what to expect in the future.”
Gemma’s control had completely snapped. She scooped Damien up. “Take your idea of the future where the sun doesn’t shine!” She retreated to the bedroom.
Locking the door behind her, she did her best to put on a happy front for her son. She waited until Damien fell asleep before she gave into the tears of fear and frustration that had been threatening to spill over for the last few days. Damien was her world. Just because Alexi contributed some sperm to the conceiving process didn’t mean he had to be involved in the child’s life. He’d been gone for two years when Gemma could have used his help and support.
He’d even offered to try and make a stable home for Damien once they arrived in Greece. She’d laughed at his proposal. He expects me to trust him after all of this? The man must be certifiably insane. He’d burned her not once, but twice now. She wouldn’t let him do so again. I can’t. There is too much at stake.
The only bright side to everything currently happening was that she’d been promised a large bonus once she’d started working on the painting. Not when the restoration work was completed, but just after she started it. Alexi had promised her enough money to pay for her brother’s tuition. Why does even that seem like a betrayal?
She laid her head down as more tears started to fall. She longed for someone to tell her everything was going to be alright, but the only someone around was Alexi.The ruthlessness he’d displayed the last few days was so unlike the man she’d spent three weeks with. She couldn’t make the two images mesh.
She finally gave up and let sleep claim her tired mind. There was nothing she could do about tomorrow now, so she would take each moment as it arrived and trust herself thatshe would make the right choices when the game was called. But I’ll do it with my son by my side. No way is Alexi taking him away from me.