Doukakis's Apprentice

by Sarah Morgan

She told herself that even if she were wrong it didn’t make a difference to the outcome. The two men she loved were at war with each other and there was no way to make peace. Especially not now that her father had married Arianna. Damon would never forgive him.

  Polly felt sick and dizzy and a sense of crawling misery spread through her trembling frame. ‘I think it’s best if I leave. I—I’ll be back at work on Monday, Damon.’

  There was a long, agonising silence.

  Damon stared at her without speaking. His eyes smouldered dark and his mouth tightened. ‘You don’t have to give me your work schedule,’ he said coldly. ‘When you’re naked in my bed I’m your lover, not your boss.’

  His icy response hurt more than all the words that had been flung around the room and Polly had to physically stop herself from throwing herself at him and trying to undo what had been done.

  ‘He’s upsetting you, Pol,’ her father said firmly. ‘We should just leave.’

  It was like separating two stags, she thought numbly. There was never going to be any way of making them get along.

  Devastated, she turned her back on both of them and hurried to the bedroom, trying not to remember the incredible happiness she’d felt only moments earlier. Trying to hold it together, she retrieved her shoes and bag and coat and walked back to the living room.

  Bracing herself for another desperately upsetting encounter with Damon, she saw only her father.

  ‘Where’s Damon?’

  ‘He’s gone. Gave me a look and walked out.’ Her father cast a nervous look around the apartment. ‘The guy’s unstable. You’re well rid of him, Pol. Let’s get out of here.’

  Arriving back at her own home, Polly felt numb with misery. She just wanted to retreat to her room but she knew there was no hope of that.

  Oblivious to her agony, her father was chatting excitedly, telling her about his wedding in the Caribbean.

  She felt as though she were trapped in a recurring cycle.

  Another woman. Another relationship.

  She should have been used to it by now, but this time it felt different and not just because Arianna was her friend.

  ‘Are you mad with me, Pol?’ Arianna hovered anxiously as Polly walked into the house with her father. ‘It’s going to be seriously weird being your stepmother, but once we get over that is everything going to be cool between us? I mean, I know you must be mad with Damon, but that’s just the way he is. You know that, right? And we don’t have to see that much of him.’

  That statement depressed her more than anything else that had been said so far. ‘I’m working for him,’ Polly said flatly. ‘I have to see him.’

  ‘You can get another job,’ her father said cheerfully, sliding his arm around Arianna and kissing her on the cheek. ‘I’m thinking of setting up again. I’ll employ you.’

  ‘No, thanks.’ Polly found that she couldn’t look at Arianna without thinking of Damon. ‘I like the job I have now. Damon is an inspirational boss.’

  Her father looked affronted. ‘Well, he’s good with numbers, that’s true, and he’s certainly—’

  ‘Dad, just—’ Teetering on the edge of an emotional explosion, Polly held up her hand. ‘Just don’t say anything else, OK? This whole thing could have gone a completely different way. Everyone could have been made redundant and—’ She broke off, too exhausted to fight with anyone. ‘Never mind.’

  Arianna walked over and gave her a hug. ‘You’ve had a terrible few weeks. Believe me, no one knows better than me what it’s like having Damon breathing down your neck, checking on everything you’re doing. He does it because he’s a complete and utter control freak.’

  Polly snapped. ‘Actually, he does it because he cares. He cares about you—’ The fury shook her and she pushed her astonished friend away. ‘He thinks about your welfare and he cares whether you’re happy. He sees it as his role to protect you and he’s made enormous personal sacrifices to care for you and make sure that you grew up with family and not a bunch of strangers. So maybe you could start seeing things from his point of view for a change. Why the hell didn’t you phone him?! The guy has been worried sick!’

  ‘Why are you defending him?’ Astonished, Arianna exchanged uncertain looks with her new husband. ‘Polly—’

  ‘I’m going upstairs to do some work.’ Polly turned away, seriously shaken by the intensity of her desire to defend Damon from attack. She would have thrown herself in front of a moving vehicle to protect him from harm. ‘I have a job to do and I intend to keep it, no matter what shambles my personal life is in.’ She knew that no matter what had happened between them there was no way that Damon would allow the personal to overtake the professional. She knew that her job was safe.

  In the privacy of her bedroom, she locked the door and then flung herself on her bed, feeling something close to desperate. The emptiness inside her was a big dark hole.

  It was hard to believe that it was only yesterday she’d been celebrating a promotion and the achievement of a lifetime ambition—to do a business degree—and now—

  Now she felt nothing but a sense of profound loss.

  All the happiness had been sucked out of her.

  Polly turned her head and looked at the prospectus that lay by her bed but somehow today it didn’t have the power to lift her spirits as it had the day before.

  Frightened by how bad she felt, she tried to reason with herself.

  She’d done everything she’d set out to do.

  No one was going to be fired. Thanks to Gérard, money and business was flowing into the company. Damon was finally aware of her true role in the company.

  She should feel proud. Relieved.

  But suddenly none of that seemed important.

  Instead of feeling as if she’d won, she felt as if she’d lost.

  Everything.

  The temptation to go off sick on Monday was huge.

  ‘Don’t go in,’ her father urged as Polly grabbed her BlackBerry and slipped it in her bag. ‘Just stay at home. Switch your phone off.’

  ‘I have a job, Dad. Responsibilities.’ She gave him a pointed look and he had the grace to colour. ‘We’ve just won a massive account and I’m in charge of it. Excuse me. I’m going to be late.’

  She travelled to work by her usual route, feeling as though she had lead weights attached to her feet.

  Maybe Damon would be in meetings all day. Or perhaps he would have found a reason to travel to New York or Athens. She didn’t know which would be worse—seeing him or not seeing him.

  The moment she walked onto her floor she sensed something different in the atmosphere.

  ‘Morning, Polly,’ Debbie said cheerfully. ‘Coffee and muffin on your desk.’

  Polly decided that to confess that she wasn’t hungry would simply invite questions, so she just smiled. ‘Thanks. I’m going to have a team meeting at eleven to discuss the High Kick Hosiery account. Can you summon the troops?’

  ‘Sure, but I just took a call for you—could you pop down to the tenth floor. Accounts.’

  Polly put her bag down on her desk. ‘Why?’

  ‘No idea. I just follow orders. And there are enough of them flying around here.’ With that enigmatic statement Debbie strolled off, leaving Polly with the distinct feeling that something was going on.

  Did they all know what had happened between her and Damon?

  The thought horrified her and suddenly escaping to the accounts floor seemed like a good idea.

  Pushing open the doors, she walked onto the tenth floor and stopped in astonishment.

  The last time she’d been down here it had been as stark and businesslike as the rest of the Doukakis office space. Now, it had been transformed into a carbon copy of her own floor. Photographs had appeared on desks, along with small personal items. Plants clustered in a central point, bringing a soothing, relaxing quality to the huge area.

  Astonished, Polly turned to the woman nearest to her. ‘Er—what happened here?’

  ‘Hav
en’t you seen the e-mail?’ Grinning, the woman tapped a few keys on her machine and brought up an e-mail. ‘Here we are. It came right from the top. “Personalising the office”.’

  Polly leaned forward and read over her shoulder:

  With immediate effect the hot desk system that we have operated for the past year will cease. Employees are encouraged to personalise their office space in any way that they believe will make them more productive. DD

  ‘Isn’t it great?’ The woman was beaming. ‘I can’t tell you how tired I was of moving from one desk to another. I had to keep my books in the boot of my car. Ridiculous. I don’t know who got him to change his mind but they’re a genius.’

  Polly managed a smile. ‘Right. Great.’

  What was going on?

  Puzzled, she looked around, trying to absorb the magnitude of the change, but before she could ask any more questions her phone buzzed. It was Jenny, Damon’s PA.

  Cautiously, she answered it. ‘Hi, Jenny.’

  ‘The boss wants to talk to you, Polly. His office. Five minutes.’

  Her hand shaking, Polly put the phone back in her pocket and the woman looked at her expectantly.

  ‘Was there someone you wanted to see?’

  Polly took a last look at the transformed office. ‘No,’ she croaked. ‘I think I just saw it.’

  But she didn’t understand it.

  Smoothing her dress, she stepped in the lift and felt sicker and sicker as it rose smoothly to the executive floor. As soon as she walked out Jenny waved her towards the office, a huge smile on her face.

  ‘He’s waiting for you. I have orders to make sure you’re not disturbed.’

  ‘That sounds ominous.’ Slowly, Polly walked forward and tapped on the door. Hearing his voice, she took a deep breath and walked into the room.

  Damon sat behind his desk, talking on the phone. When he saw her he beckoned her in and gestured to the chair.

  Feeling ridiculously self-conscious, she slid into the chair—and then noticed the fish tank on his desk.

  Her mouth fell open.

  Fish?

  Wondering if she were seeing things, she blinked, but the fish remained.

  Damon ended the call. ‘You’re wearing your flamingo-pink tights. Good. They suit you.’

  Polly was still staring at the tank on his desk. ‘You bought fish.’

  A faint smile touched his mouth. ‘Someone told me they were an excellent addition to the office environment. Relaxing. I’m feeling tense at the moment so I thought I’d give it a try.’

  Her heart started to pound and she wanted to ask why he was feeling tense. ‘I saw your memo.’

  ‘Apparently I’ve gone up ten points in the popularity stakes,’ he drawled. ‘You were right. People do like personal things around them in the office. It’s just one of lots of changes I’ll be making.’

  She licked her lips. ‘Oh.’

  ‘Now you’re supposed to ask me what the others are.’

  The comment was so typical of Damon that normally she would have laughed, but today she just couldn’t make the sound. ‘What are the others?’

  ‘I’m making pink tights compulsory.’

  Polly flushed, and he watched her for a long moment and then rose to his feet.

  ‘The fact that you can’t even raise a smile tells me that you’re as miserably unhappy about this whole situation as I am. That’s all I wanted to know.’ He walked round his desk and hauled her to her feet in a decisive movement that left no room for protest. ‘I owe you an apology. I lost my temper with your father and I shouldn’t have done.’

  ‘I don’t blame you for that,’ Polly muttered. ‘In fact I lost it with him myself.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have put you in the position of making you choose between us.’ A wry smile touched his mouth. ‘I didn’t think for a moment that you’d walk out on me. You have a way of cutting a guy down to size very quickly.’

  ‘Damon, I really don’t want to—’

  ‘Talk about this. I know.’ He took her face in his hands. ‘But you’re going to. I know how afraid you are of relationships, Polly. Your life has been like a car park, with a constant stream of people coming and going. It’s not rocket science to deduce that you’re going to have commitment issues. That’s why I forgive you for thinking the worst of me on Friday.’

  ‘Forgive you?’

  ‘Yes. Forgive you.’ He bent his head and kissed her mouth gently. ‘It’s not very flattering when the woman you love is so ready to believe that you took her to bed out of an impulse to get revenge on her father. That hurt.’

  Polly stilled, suddenly unable to breathe. ‘Damon?’

  ‘I love you.’ He spoke the words softly but his eyes were full of passion and heat. ‘I’ve spent my whole life making sure I didn’t fall in love. Then I met you again and suddenly I didn’t have a choice.’

  The words sank slowly into her brain. ‘You told me you were never going to let that happen.’

  ‘Which means you’ve proved once again that I’m nowhere near as in control of things as I like to think.’ He hesitated. ‘You’re right that I was scared of being responsible for someone else’s happiness. I saw what happened when my father thought he’d let everyone down. I had Arianna, all these employees—I didn’t want anyone else. Until you came back into my life. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love someone.’

  The happiness was so intense it was blinding. ‘Truly?’

  ‘I told your father that you’re mine now.’

  ‘I assumed you were trying to wind him up.’

  ‘I was telling the truth, but I don’t blame you for questioning my motives. It’s true that I’d do anything to protect Arianna, but this isn’t about my sister any more. It’s about us.’

  ‘Us.’ Polly whispered the word. ‘I’ve never been an “us”. I’m not sure I’ll be any good at it.’

  ‘We’ll learn together. I’m already learning fast,’ he assured her. ‘I’ve turned my company upside down. From now on we’re following the Polly Prince code of office management. And as for the rest of it—I know it breaks every rule, but I want us to be together.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I know you’re scared. I know you’re thinking that your father has just married for the fifth time and that relationships can’t last, but ours can and will—’ He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, his mouth stirring up the fire inside her. ‘Look at me and tell me that you don’t think we’ll still be together in fifty years.’

  Polly looked at him, her heart aching and her eyes swimming. ‘I want to be. I love you, too. Oh, God, I can’t believe I’m saying that.’

  ‘You’ve no idea how relieved I am to hear you say it.’ The corner of his mouth tilted and he reached into his pocket and withdrew a box. ‘I bought this for you. I want you to wear it always. Hopefully whenever the thought of being an “us” scares you, you can look at it and be reminded of how much I love you.’ He flipped the box open and withdrew a huge, sparkling diamond ring and Polly felt as if her whole heart had been opened and exposed.

  Tears fell and landed on his hand. ‘It’s beautiful, but I can’t wear it. How can I? You say that this is just about us, but it isn’t. It can’t be.’ It all seemed hopeless to her. The obstacles too big. ‘I love my father, Damon. I know he behaves like a total idiot sometimes and, yes, he’s careless, but that’s just the way he is—’ She wiped her tears on her sleeve. ‘I’m the first to admit that he’s pretty crap at a lot of things, but he was there. And now you hate him, and he’s married your sister, and we can’t be together with you hating him—’ Hiccuping, she heard her words tumble together, and Damon gave a low curse and gathered her against him.

  ‘Don’t cry. I never want to see you cry. We’ll work things out with your father, I promise.’

  ‘I don’t want to be in a position where I’m always having to take sides and choose.’

  ‘You won’t be,’ he vowed. ‘You have my word on that. I’
ve already been to see your father. We managed to talk without killing each other so that’s a good start.’

  Polly sniffed. ‘You’ve seen him?’

  ‘This morning. After you left for work. My sister apologised to me.’

  ‘She did?’

  ‘Apparently you told her a few truths. She took them on board and suddenly she feels very guilty that she’s caused me so much worry.’ He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. ‘When we were in the boardroom that day you told me I was over-protective and you were right.’

  ‘No, I was wrong. You’re brilliant and Arianna is lucky.’

  ‘But the sense of responsibility I felt towards Arianna prevented me from letting her spread her wings. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her. I’d promised myself that I was going to protect her and I never questioned that as time went on.’

  ‘And you did an amazing job.’

  ‘I want to stop thinking about them and think about us.’ He slid his fingers gently over her cheek, wiping away her tears. ‘Don’t think about our families—that will be fine, I promise you. The decision about our future rests entirely on whether you can bring yourself to spend the rest of your life with me.’

  ‘Wow. Well—’ As happiness finally flowed through her, Polly’s voice cracked. ‘That sounds pretty tough.’

  ‘You’re going to marry me,’ Damon breathed, ‘and, unlike your father and Arianna, we’re going to have a huge wedding so that we can invite all the people who have worked with you for so long, otherwise there will be a mass walk-out.’

  Unable to believe that this was happening, Polly flung her arms round his neck. ‘I love you so much. It’s terrifying. Really, seriously scary.’

  Damon held her close. ‘Then it’s a good thing that you’re brave. You can meet terror head-on, the way you did that morning in the boardroom when you stalked in wearing those sexy boots, looking as if you wanted to knife me.’

  ‘Did I ever tell you that you looked extremely hot in that suit?’

  His laugh was husky as he eased her away just enough for him to see her face. ‘You think I looked hot in my suit? How hot?’