tea table Ellie could only incline her head in agreement and force a smile. But her eyes told Alexander a rather different story.
‘Don’t make threats to me you can’t honour, Ellie.’
He spoke so pleasantly even Kiria Theodopulos smiled.
It was a relief when the steward put the tray of tea in front of them and stopped her relatiating. The man’s whispering presence gave Ellie the chance to look around. She had expected everything on board Alexander’s yacht was of the best, and it was, but everything was restrained to the point of being boring. It was as if in spite of his massive wealth Alexander had no real interest in material objects.
You would look in vain for some sign of frivolity or excess here, Ellie concluded. Everything, including the master of the Olympus, took itself very seriously indeed. The pictures might have been gathered by an expert in classical art, and the colour scheme was muted. There was no relief, from the thick taupe carpet underfoot, to the few ornaments scattered about. They were all in shades of bronze, ivory or pewter-grey. The emphasis on leather and polished wood also added to the sombre atmosphere.
Nothing twinkled.
But that was her style too! In some strange way, Ellie realised, the interior of Alexander’s fabulous yacht mirrored her austere lifestyle on board the simple fishing boat. This was more opulent, obviously, but the environment in which Alexander both lived and worked was contained and controlled to within an inch of its life, just like her own spartan accommodation. It was as if neither of them wanted to draw attention, though for vastly different reasons, of course…
It was quite a shock to recognise these similarities between them. She didn’t enjoy the comparison. Wiping her hands self-consciously on her working clothes, Ellie was forced to admit they were hardly frivolous. The truth was she didn’t possess a single item of clothing, or anything else for that matter, that wasn’t functional.
‘Can I get you anything else?’ Alexander glanced at his wrist-watch as she drained her cup.
The meeting was over, so she had to press for a result. ‘I’m just looking for an assurance that you will take the views of the islanders into consideration before you make any changes that might affect them.’
‘What makes you think that I won’t do that?’
When she didn’t flash back an answer he relaxed. He was over his initial irritation and could see her uses. In fact, Ellie Mendoras had come along at the perfect time. She was the ideal person to win over any remaining dissenters on the island. ‘You have five minutes to tell me where your main concerns lie,’ he said.
Patience didn’t come easily to him, but in this instance it would be worth it. Plus, she was easy on the eye and he was determined to find out everything he could about her. His usual sources had drawn a blank. The locals either knew nothing, or would tell him nothing; the time had come to make his own enquiries.
Everyone had their price, even Ellie Mendoras, Alexander reflected as she talked. She would sail her ramshackle boat to the harbour he had chosen for her, and she would keep her nose out of his business; he was determined on that. So how had this feisty local girl got under his skin? He flashed a glance at Kiria Theodopulos, who had returned to her comfortable seat overlooking the ocean. She was a safeguard, without being an intrusion. Her presence was as much a precaution for him as it was for Ellie. He’d seen too many men in his position trapped by young women who engineered a meeting only to sell their fabricated kiss-and-tell stories some time later. He’d suffered the only deception he intended to at the hands of a woman, and had no intention of repeating that mistake.
Alexander’s gaze returned to Ellie, who was still talking earnestly. He was barely listening to her. Instead he was inwardly celebrating that he had pulled the rug from her feet with such remarkable ease. How had she thought she could confront him, and even shame him in front of a crowd of people, all of whom owed their livelihoods to him? Such naïvety was rare. He put it down to the fact that she had hidden herself away from the world since her father had drowned. Why else had his enquiries about her been met with a wall of silence?
He shifted position restlessly. Naïve or not, she had forgotten the first rule of commerce, which was that he who paid the piper called the tune. He wasn’t going to change his mind about the power-boat races or anything else, including his decision to relocate the fishing fleet…He had been enjoying watching her face growing increasingly animated as she talked, but it was time to wrap this up; she’d had her five minutes. ‘When did you say you intended leaving your mooring?’
‘I didn’t…’ She paled. ‘You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you, Alexander?’
He got up and walked to the window. He’d been sitting down long enough. Ellie Mendoras was out of her depth trying to stand against him. Someone should have warned her that it wasn’t his way to swat mosquitoes when he could afford to drain a swamp and have a road built through it.
‘I think you care more about the celebrities you can attract to Lefkis than the people who actually live here,’ she accused him.
He’d heard enough and rounded on her, eyes blazing. ‘You’re not qualified to make judgements like that. What do you know about how I feel? I beg your pardon, Kiria Theodopulos,’ he was forced to add as his words split the silence. Fortunately, the old lady kept her face carefully averted.
‘I feel sorry for you, Alexander—’
‘Oh, do you?’ He glared back at Ellie. Didn’t she ever give up? ‘Well, you can spare me your pity.’
He spun on his heel, turning his back on her, and then stood motionless, staring out of the window. Her continued defiance made his spine tingle. He was acutely aware of her as a woman. He wanted to take this passion somewhere else. Fast. Have her up against a wall to ease his tension. ‘This meeting’s over,’ he said coldly. Lucky for him that reason took over.
He was on the point of delivering an ultimatum when his glance clashed with the raisin-black stare of Kiria Theodopulos. OK, for her sake and for her sake alone he would offer one more olive branch. ‘Didn’t my agent explain that together with a peppercorn rent for your new mooring you will be well compensated?’
Whatever he had been expecting in response, it wasn’t this. Balling her hands into fists, Ellie came towards him.
‘One stroke of your pen—that’s all it takes for you to change someone’s life, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you something, Alexander; you won’t get away with this—’
‘It’s a perfectly reasonable offer.’ He looked at Kiria Theodopulos for support, only to find that the old lady seemed to have gone conveniently deaf. ‘You’re taking up a berth—’
‘That could be better used by one of your gas-guzzling, planet-wrecking monstrosities?’ Throwing her head back in disgust, Ellie uttered a heartfelt sound of contempt.
As the sunlight caught her auburn hair it blazed like fire. He could picture it spread out on a pillow in all its gleaming abundance…He quickly blanked the thought. ‘I have to think about the economy of this island and the prosperity that an annual influx of wealthy visitors and their boats can bring—’
‘Boats?’ She cut him off. ‘These things aren’t boats.’ She gestured around in a manner worthy of any Greek. ‘They take no skill to sail with their computerised systems, their radar and autopilot! You’re a Greek, Alexander! How could you support these…?’
‘Monstrosities?’
