he so obviously expected an instant ‘yes’. But it would not be forthcoming from her. She sympathised with his personal loss. That didn’t mean she wanted to work with him. Especially not to be under his control as an employee.
She couldn’t think of anything worse.
‘I appreciate the offer,’ she said. ‘But I can’t possibly accept. I suspect you know why.’
His legal team had undermined her credibility at every opportunity. Even though her newspaper had won the case, she had come out of it bruised and battered with her reputation intact but shredded around the edges. Even three years later she felt it had influenced her employer into ‘letting her go’. And that was apart from the stress it had put on her marriage.
He scowled. ‘I want to make amends.’
Alex Mikhalis make amends? To her? She frowned. ‘Is this some kind of trick?’
‘No tricks,’ he said. His voice was deep, assured, confident. Yet did nothing to reassure her.
‘I find that difficult to believe. You...you threatened me. Told me you would get even.’ He made her so nervous it was difficult to get her words out. She had heard the rumours of how effectively he had brought down his business opponents. But she would not let him sense her fear.
‘That was a different time and place. There is no threat.’
‘Why should I trust you?’ Memories of his intimidation on the courtroom steps flooded back.
Dell became aware that she and the tall, broad-shouldered man were the focus of interest among the customers of the café. She moved closer to him so she could lower her voice. He moved closer as well. Too close. She felt as if he were taking up all the air, making her heart race, her breath come short.
‘I’m a different man,’ he said, his expression intent, dark eyes unreadable as he searched her face.
He looked different, that was for sure. Stripped of designer trappings to a raw masculinity that, in spite of her dislike of him, she could not help but appreciate. As for his nature? Leopards didn’t change their spots. And there had always been something predatory about him.
She couldn’t help the snort of disbelief that escaped her. ‘Huh! You? As if I believe—’
A flash of pain contorted his features but was gone so quickly she might have imagined it if it hadn’t made such an impression on her that it stopped her words short. For a long moment she stared up at him. It had been three years since she had faced him on the courtroom steps. He had been through trauma like she couldn’t imagine. Who knew how that might have affected him? Maybe he was telling the truth.
She felt a gentle tap on her arm and turned, dazed, to see Lizzie. ‘Perhaps you should consider this offer,’ her friend said quietly. Her eyes gave her a silent message. You have debts.
Dell was only too aware of the debts she had run up during her marriage and that had become her responsibility. Lizzie always gave her wise counsel. Her friend would be horrified if she knew the decision she had made just the week before she had lost her job. If it paid off, she might need a job more than ever. And with so many people reviewing restaurants online for free, she felt the newspaper editor had been telling the truth when he’d told her that her role was redundant. Job offers weren’t exactly flooding her inbox. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath.
Then turned back to face Alex. ‘Why do you want to make amends?’ she said. ‘And what makes you think we could work together? I’m a writer, not a restaurateur.’
‘I’ll answer both your questions with one reply,’ he said. ‘Every criticism you made about my restaurant Athina was true. My manager was systematically defrauding me. Your judgement was spot on. I should have taken your review as a warning instead of taking you to court.’
‘Oh,’ was all she was able to choke out. Alex Mikhalis admitting he was wrong?
A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. She was more used to seeing him glare and scowl at her. The effect was disconcerting. A devil undoubtedly. But a fiendishly handsome devil. For the first time she saw a hint of the legendary charisma that had propelled him to such heights in a people-pleasing business.
‘I’ve shocked you speechless,’ he said.
‘I admit it. I’m stunned. After all that...that angst. When did you find out?’
‘When I slipped back into Sydney for the review of the police handling of the siege,’ he said, now without any trace of a smile.
Dell nodded, unable to find the words to say anything about what must have been such a terrible time in his life. The saga had made headlines in the media for weeks. ‘From my memory, the manager was your friend,’ she said instead.
‘Yes,’ he said simply.
How betrayed he must have felt on top of everything else he’d had to endure.
‘Perhaps if I had been an investigative reporter I might have discovered that,’ she said.
‘I wouldn’t have believed you. Everything in your review pointed that way. I just didn’t see it.’
‘Didn’t want to see it, perhaps,’ she said.
He paused, then the words came slowly. ‘I... I’m sorry, Adele.’
Alex Mikhalis apologising? After all this man had put her through?
She thought again about all he had been through since. Realised she was intrigued at the thought of what project he might be working on now. And that it wasn’t healthy to hold a grudge or wise to refuse an apparently sincere apology. Especially when she really needed a job. Lizzie was right. She should consider this.
‘Dell,’ she said. ‘Please call me Dell. Adele is my newspaper byline, the name on my birth certificate.’ She looked up at him. ‘Tell me more about this job.’
ALEX DIDN’T KNOW why it had suddenly become so important that Adele Hudson—Dell—accept his impromptu job offer. But he didn’t question it. Much of his success in business had come from following his instinct and he’d learned not to ignore its prompts.
Dell could be just the person he needed to help him launch his new project. The project he needed to get him back on track with life.
Mentally, he checked off the skills she brought to the table. Without a doubt she was good with words—a huge asset for launching into a new market. Another strength was she saw the hospitality industry through the eyes of the customer while at the same understanding how the business side operated. Her blog gave her an international view with access to readers all around the world. On top of that, she was smart and perceptive.
Her review of Athina had raised red flags he should have heeded. His traitorous so-called friend had been doing illicit deals with suppliers and siphoning off funds to a private bank account. He would have saved himself a good deal of money if he hadn’t let pride and anger blind him to the truth of what she had observed.
Since he’d
