life someone had listened to her and his words had stayed with her, day and night. When life had grown hard it had been a comfort to remember that she had someone to go to if things were desperate.
And things were desperate.
‘He’ll help me.’
‘That man is more likely to hurt you than help you. You have no experience of men like him. I would not put you with a man like Ziakas. I would find you someone kind and gentle who deserves you.’
‘I don’t want him to be kind or gentle. I need him to be ruthless or this isn’t going to work. If he doesn’t have the guts to stand up to my father then there is no hope for my plan. I want to run my own business and Ziakas knows more about how to do that than anyone. He did it all himself. He lost his parents when he was young. No one helped him. No one gave him a helping hand. And look at him now. He was a billionaire by the time he was thirty and he did that by himself.’
She found his story inspirational. If he could do it, why couldn’t she?
Her mother struggled upright, finding energy from anxiety. ‘Do you honestly think you’ll just be able to walk up to a man like Stefan Ziakas and ask him for money? He is protected from the outside world by layers of security, just like your father. Getting an appointment with someone like him would be almost impossible, especially at short notice. Even if you could somehow find a way to leave the island undetected while your father is away, Ziakas won’t see you.’
‘He’ll see me. And I have found a way to leave the island.’ Determined not to reveal too much, and even more determined not to let her mother batter her confidence, Selene stood up. ‘I will be back tomorrow, which gives us plenty of time to get far away before my father returns from—from his trip.’ ‘Trip’ was the word they both used to describe her father’s frequent absences from the island. It disgusted Selene that he didn’t even bother to keep his infidelities a secret. Disgusted her more that her mother accepted them as part of the marriage deal.
She couldn’t allow herself to think about what she’d do if her mother refused to leave, as she’d refused so many times before. All she knew was that she didn’t want to spend anther day on Antaxos. She’d lived here all her life, trapped within its rocky shores, thirsty for a life other than the one she’d been given. She didn’t want to spend another day in this ‘family’ pretending that everything was perfect.
The events of the last week had shown her that she had to do it sooner rather than later.
Bending down, she kissed her mother on the cheek. ‘Dream about what you’re going to do on the first day of your new life. You’re going to laugh without worrying that the sound is going to draw his attention. You’re going to paint again and people will buy those paintings, just as they used to.’
‘I haven’t painted for years. I don’t feel the urge any more.’
‘That’s because he didn’t like you doing anything that took you away from him.’ The anger was like an energy source, giving her a determination that felt close to power. ‘You’re going to get your life back.’
‘And if your father returns from Crete early and finds you gone? Have you thought of that?’
It was like stepping off a cliff or missing a step on the stairs. Her heart bumped uncomfortably and she wanted to clutch something for support. ‘He won’t return early. Why would he?’
Bored out of his mind, Stefan lounged with his feet on his desk.
Far beneath the glass cocoon that housed his corporate headquarters, Athens was slowly waking up. Athens, a city in trouble, licking its wounds as the world watched in wary fascination. People encouraged him to move his base to a different city. New York. London. Anywhere other than the troubled Greek capital.
Stefan ignored them.
He had no intention of abandoning the place that had allowed him to become who he was. He knew what it was like to have everything and then lose it. He knew how it felt to go from prosperity to poverty. He understood fear and uncertainty. And he knew all about the effort required to drag yourself back from the edge. It made winning all the more satisfying and he’d won in a big way. He had money and power.
People would have been surprised to learn the money didn’t interest him. But power? Power was different. He’d learned at an early age that power was everything. Power opened doors that were closed. Power turned no to yes and stop to go. He’d learned that power was an aphrodisiac and, when it needed to be, it was a weapon.
It was a weapon he wasn’t afraid to use.
His phone rang for the tenth time in as many minutes but he chose to ignore it.
A tap on the door disturbed his thoughts. Maria, his PA, stood in the doorway.
Irritated by the interruption, Stefan lifted an eyebrow in question and she pursed her lips.
‘Don’t give me that look. I know you don’t want to be disturbed, but you’re not answering your personal line.’ When he still didn’t answer, she sighed. ‘Sonya’s PA has been ringing and when you didn’t answer Sonya herself called. She isn’t in a good mood.’
‘She is phoning to give me an update on her moods? I have marginally more interest in the weather forecast.’
‘She wanted me to give you a message. She said to tell you she’s not playing hostess at your party tonight until you make a decision about your relationship. Her exact words were …’ Maria cleared her throat. ‘“Tell him it’s either on or off.”’
‘It’s off. I already told her that in words that even she should have been able to understand.’ Exasperated, Stefan picked up his phone and deleted all his messages without listening to them. Even without looking he could feel Maria’s censorship and he smiled. ‘You’ve worked for me for twelve years. Why the long face?’
‘Doesn’t the end of a relationship ever bother you?’
‘Never.’
‘That says something about you, Stefan.’
‘Yes. It says I’m good at handling break-ups. Go, me.’
‘It says you don’t care about the women you date!’
‘I care as much as they do.’
With a despairing shake of her head, Maria cleared two empty coffee cups from his desk. ‘You have your pick of women and you can’t find one you want to settle down with? You are a success in every aspect of your life except one. Your personal life is a disaster.’
‘I happen to consider my personal life an unqualified success.’
‘You must want more than this from a relationship.’
‘I want hot, frequent, uncomplicated sex.’ He smiled at her disapproving expression. ‘I pick women who want the same thing.’
‘Love would be the making of you.’
Love?
Stefan felt something slam shut inside him. He swung his legs off his desk. ‘Did your job description change when I wasn’t looking? Has there been some EU employment
