and she was no more interesting than her seventeen-year-old self. ‘You want to know more about the product? It’s a really good-quality candle. It’s made of beeswax and it’s smokeless and virtually drip-free.’
‘I can hardly contain my excitement.’ But he was smiling as he picked up the candle again and she had a feeling his mind was still on seduction rather than the product in his hand. ‘That wasn’t my question.’
‘Oh. I expect you want to ask me about my revenue projections. I’ve had an order for five thousand from Hot Spa. They’re the most exclusive chain of spa hotels in Greece. But of course you know that …’ Her voice tailed off. ‘You own them.’
Stefan handed the candle back to her. ‘That wasn’t my question, either.’
She gulped. Licked her lips. ‘Sorry—I’m talking too much. I do that when I’m—’ desperate ‘—excited.’
‘My first question,’ he said slowly, ‘is why someone like you would even want to set up a business. Are you bored?’
Bored? She bit back a bubble of hysterical laughter. ‘No.’
‘You’re an heiress. You don’t need to run a business.’
He had no idea. ‘I want to prove myself.’
He stared at her for a long moment. ‘Which brings me to my second question—why come to me? If you’re serious about this then your father could put up the investment.’
Selene made sure her smile didn’t slip. ‘I don’t want my father’s name on it. This is my project. I want to own it. I don’t want anyone doing me favours.’ It was a lie, of course. She needed all the favours she could grab. ‘I can’t approach the banks because they won’t help me without asking my father’s permission. I tried to think of someone who isn’t under his thumb and I came up with you. You told me to look you up in five years—’
The silence stretched between them.
Looking at his hard, handsome face she felt the confidence drain out of her. In an appalling flash of clarity she realised she’d made a monumental mistake. Losing her nerve, horribly embarrassed, she rose to her feet. ‘Thank you for listening.’
He stirred, uncrossed those long, lean legs and stood up, dominating the room. ‘You came to me for a business loan. Don’t you want to hear my answer?’
‘I—I thought you might need time to think about it.’
‘I’ve had all the time I need.’
So the answer was no. Her shoulders sagged. Misery seeped into her veins.
‘Right. Well—’
‘My answer is yes.’
Because it wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, it took a moment for his words to sink in.
‘Seriously? You’re not just saying that because I’ve made it hard for you to say no?’
‘No is my favourite word. I don’t find it hard to say.’
But he wasn’t saying it to her. ‘I just thought you might be agreeing to help me because you don’t want me to feel bad.’
A strange expression crossed his face. ‘That isn’t the reason.’
His eyes were on her mouth and she saw something in his face that made her heart pound just a little harder in her chest.
I lie awake at night thinking about you.
He was silent for a long moment and then strolled to the window and stared across the city. ‘It is going to drive your father crazy. Does that bother you?’
Yes, it bothered her. Her safety and the safety of her mother rested on a knife-edge, which was why she had to get away.
She had a sudden urge to tell him the truth, but years of keeping her secret and loyalty to her mother prevented her from doing it. And she knew enough about Stefan Ziakas to know that he wasn’t going to be interested in the details of her personal life. He avoided all that, didn’t he? He would never let anything personal interfere with business. ‘He has to understand that this is my life and I want to make my own mistakes. I want to be independent.’
‘So this is delayed teenage rebellion?’
Let him think that if he wanted to. ‘I know you’re not afraid of going up against him. I read that article recently—the headline was “Clash of the Titans”. And the mere mention of your name is enough to put my father in a bad mood for days.’ She stared at his broad shoulders, wondering if the sudden tension she saw there was a product of her imagination.
‘And has he ever told you why?’
‘Of course not. My father would never discuss business with a woman. He won’t be pleased with me but he’ll have to get used to the idea.’ The ache in her arm reminded her just how displeased he was likely to be. ‘I hadn’t thought about the implications for you. If it bothers you that he’ll be angry …’
‘That’s not a problem for me.’ There was the briefest pause and then he turned back to his desk in a smooth, confident movement and pressed a button on the phone. Without any further discussion or questions he instructed someone in his legal department to start making all the necessary arrangements to loan her whatever money she needed.
Having braced herself for rejection, or at least a load of awkward questions, Selene stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.
He was going to lend her the money. Just like that.
It couldn’t be this easy, could it? Nothing in life was this easy.
The knot of tension that had been lodged in her stomach for as long as she could remember started to ease. Anxiety was replaced by a rush of euphoria that made her feel like dancing round the room.
Apparently unaware of the impact of his decision, Stefan ended the phone call, supremely relaxed. ‘It’s done. My only stipulation is that you work with one of my business development managers who will give you access to all the in-house resources of the Ziakas Corporation. That way you won’t be ripped off by suppliers or customers, and basically you can draw on whatever funds you need.’
He was watching her from under those thick, dark lashes and her stomach flipped.
He was gorgeous.
People had him so wrong. It wasn’t right that everyone should talk about him in hushed voices as some sort of cold, conscienceless machine when he was obviously capable of all the normal human emotions. Maybe he was hard and ruthless in some aspects of his life, but to her he’d been nothing but kind.
‘I—’ She was dizzy with euphoria, hardly able to get her head around what had just happened. She was going to be able to start her own business, rent a small apartment and help her mother leave her father. She wanted to fling her arms round him and then remembered that this was a business meeting and she was pretty sure people didn’t do things like that in business meetings. ‘That’s an excellent outcome. Thank you. You won’t be sorry.’ She should shake
