Thanos was not a man who gave second chances, Tahlia surmised as she stared at the rigid set of his jaw, and she felt a pang of sympathy for the head of the PR company who must have borne the brunt of his fury.
‘Ordinarily my PA would have alerted me to the fact that Cosmo Communications were useless,’ Thanos continued. ‘But Stephanie is on leave—visiting her family in South Africa—and I have spent much of the past six months in America with Melina.’
Tahlia felt a pang of guilt for the unwitting part she had played in his sister’s accident. ‘What will you do? Can you find another PR consultant at such short notice?’
‘I’ve already found one.’ He leaned back in his chair and gave her a level look. ‘I’m impressed by the work you did for Reynolds Gems, and I want you to organise the party.’
For a few seconds Tahlia was lost for words. ‘That’s an enormous responsibility,’ she said slowly. ‘Do you really trust that I can meet your expectations?’
‘I trust you implicitly, Tahlia, which is why I am awarding you the contract for the Artemis party.’
The words hovered in the air between them, and for some reason Tahlia felt a lump form in her throat. ‘Well, that’s good to hear,’ she said huskily, shocked by how much his opinion of her mattered. ‘I’d be honoured to do it.’ Panic kicked in as she contemplated the prestigious event he had asked her to organise at short notice. ‘But how can I make arrangements for the party when I don’t speak Greek?’
‘A member of my staff will assist you. Ana speaks English fluently, and she can translate for you when necessary. Your job is to come up with ideas for a party that will be unforgettable and will put the Artemis on the list of the world’s most exclusive hotels.’
Thanos handed her a folder.
‘This is the guest list. You’ll see that many of the celebrities have specific requirements on everything from the size of room they want to the colour of the towels in their bathrooms. It will be your job to ensure that they cannot find fault with the Artemis.’
Tahlia scanned through the file and noted that a well-known actress had given instructions that she was only to be served foods from those listed on her strict macrobiotic diet sheet. She would have liked six months to organise an event of this magnitude instead of three weeks, and her doubts must have shown on her face.
‘I have every faith that you can do this, Tahlia,’ Thanos murmured. ‘And I will, of course, pay you a salary for your professional expertise,’ he added in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘Your work for Reynolds has proved that you have talent and a wealth of innovative ideas, which are exactly the qualities I’m looking for.’
After all the misunderstandings between them, and the contempt he had shown her when he had believed she had been his brother-in-law’s mistress, the note of respect in his voice was balm to her battered self-respect. She was ashamed that she had agreed to be his mistress in return for him helping her father, but there had been no other way. Now, in offering her the party contract, she felt as though Thanos considered her an equal, and there was a new confidence in her voice when she stood up and smiled at him.
‘I’d better make a start,’ she said briskly. ‘Three weeks will fly past.’
She refused to dwell on the knowledge that at the end of that time Thanos would no longer need her in any capacity, and that she would go home and probably never see him again. Enjoy the here and now, she bade herself as she followed him into Ana’s office. She could no longer kid herself that being with him was a hardship. She was drawn to him in a way she did not understand, and she could only pray that her fascination with him would have faded by the time he ended their relationship.
‘Why the frown?’ Thanos queried, regarding Tahlia across the restaurant table. ‘Don’t you like the baklava?’
‘Unfortunately I like it too much,’ she replied ruefully, popping the last piece of the delicious pastry made with ground nuts and honey into her mouth. ‘I adore Greek food—but it’s not doing my waistline any good.’
‘You look gorgeous to me, agape.’ Thanos watched the flush of rosy colour stain Tahlia’s cheeks and felt the same curious ache in his gut that had assailed that morning, when he had woken before her and studied her while she slept.
Three weeks in the Mediterranean sunshine had given her skin a light golden tan and added streaks of blonde to her pale red hair, making her eyes appear an even denser shade of sapphire-blue. He felt the familiar flood of heat course through his veins, but he had given up trying to fight his desire for her and instead savoured the anticipation that very soon they would return to the hotel and he would make love to her.
‘So, what’s troubling you?’
Tahlia gave him an incredulous look. ‘The Artemis party—what else? You do realise it’s a week from now? I was just thinking that I must phone the pyrotechnic company tomorrow, to check the arrangements for the firework display they’re giving as a finale.’
It was one of several dozen items on her ‘to do’ list, she brooded anxiously. To celebrate the fact that Thanos owned hotels around the world she had decided on an international theme, and she had booked entertainers and chefs from the Caribbean, South America and the Far East to fly out to Mykonos. But, as she had feared, it was proving difficult to make the arrangements at such short notice, and her long days in the office were fraught with problems. Despite being involved in intense negotiations to buy the Ambassador Hotel in London, Thanos was taking a close interest in the party. She just hoped it would live up to his expectations.
‘Ana can phone them,’ Thanos told her. ‘We’re going to Santorini tomorrow. I have another hotel there—the Astraea. It opened a year ago, and has already gained an excellent reputation. I thought it might be useful for you to see a hotel similar to the Artemis in operation.’
That made sense, Tahlia acknowledged. She had planned the various entertainments for the Artemis party while the hotel was empty, and she was having trouble visualising the reception rooms packed with people. ‘How long do you think the trip will take? If we’re going in the morning I should be able to go into the office in the afternoon.’
‘Uh-uh.’ Thanos shook his head, and his smile stole her breath. ‘We’ll be out all day—maybe all night too,’ he added, a devilish gleam in his eyes. ‘You’ve worked ten-hour days for the past two weeks and you need a break.’
He did not add that he had planned the trip so that he could spend some time alone with her away from the office, where the predominant topic of conversation between them was the forthcoming party. He could use some relaxation time too, he conceded, running his hand around the back of his neck and feeling the tight knot of tension. In the weeks after Melina’s accident his usual coping strategy of suppressing his emotions had kicked in and he had functioned on auto-pilot as he’d combined running a billion-pound company with helping to nurse her. Now Melina was recovering so well that her doctors predicted she would soon be walking unaided. His relief was indescribable, but in the last six months he felt as though he had aged ten years.
He settled the bill for their meal and followed Tahlia out of the restaurant, slipping his hand into hers as they strolled along by the harbour, where fishing boats rocked gently on the calm sea. ‘We’re travelling to Santorini on my boat. I’ve a meeting scheduled with the manager of the Astraea, but it shouldn’t take too long. After that we’ll have the day to ourselves.’
Don’t read too much into it, Tahlia told herself firmly. It was true she had worked hard these past couple of weeks. Thanos was simply being kind in offering to take her out for the day. But she could not deny her excitement at the prospect of sharing a whole day with him. Usually they only spent a few hours in the evenings together, when they ate dinner at the Artemis, or walked into Mykonos Town and found a little restaurant, before strolling back to the hotel to make love until they were both sated.
‘Would you like to go to a club or head back to the Artemis?’ he murmured as they passed the doors of one of the island�
�s many nightclubs.
Would she seem too eager if she said she would prefer to return to the privacy of their suite? The gleam in his dark eyes told her he had read her mind, and she gave him an impish smile. ‘I’d like to go back to the hotel.’
His brows lifted quizzically. ‘You’re tired?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Ah.’ His deep laughter rumbled in his chest. ‘Then an early night is definitely in order, agape mou. Come on—we’ll walk back along the beach.’
They walked down the steps, onto the sand, and kicked off their shoes. Thanos rolled up the hems of his trousers and led her down to the shore, slipping his arm around her waist as they wandered slowly along the water’s edge.
She would not be seduced by the moonlit beach, or the myriad stars that studded the velvet sky above them, Tahlia assured herself. Thanos was a charming companion, and they had enjoyed some wonderful dinners together—and of course the sex was amazing—but he meant nothing to her. But when he halted and turned her to face him she felt the familiar weakness invade her bones and knew she was kidding herself. They had become friends as well as lovers over the past weeks, and had discovered a shared interest in films and authors as well as a mutual love of travel. His dry sense of humour made her laugh, and his desire for her, which showed no sign of lessening, equalled her passion for him.
‘Come back,’ he murmured, his deep, gravelly voice tugging her from her thoughts. ‘You keep leaving me tonight. What are you thinking about?’
About how empty my life is going to be without you, she thought silently. About how afraid I am that I’m falling in love with you.
‘I was thinking about Melina,’ she told him. It was not completely untrue—his sister had been on her conscience since Melina had discovered her in bed with James. She felt him stiffen, but he said nothing so she continued huskily. ‘I would like to write to her and explain…that I never meant to hurt her…that I didn’t know about her, and that if I had I would never have dated James. He fooled both of us,’ she said sadly. ‘I would do anything to change the events of that night, and I would like to tell her how sorry I am about everything.’
No sound disturbed the still air and the darkness seemed to press in on them.
‘Have I made you angry?’ she whispered, when she could bear his silence no longer.
‘No. I’m not angry with you.’ His anger was solely with himself, for the way he had misjudged her, Thanos acknowledged bleakly. He had believed the press stories about her and assumed she was a callous bitch. He had given Tahlia every reason to hate him, but during the past weeks he had come to know her, and he seriously doubted that she possessed the capacity for hatred. She had neither judged nor condemned him for the way he had treated her when he had first brought her to Mykonos, and he felt humbled by her generosity of spirit. Somehow she had slipped beneath his guard, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.
‘I have already explained the situation to Melina, but I think she would like to hear from you. She has moved to the convalescent wing of the hospital now. I’ll give you the address.’
‘Thank you.’ Tahlia breathed the words against his lips as he claimed her mouth in a slow, sweet kiss that drew her urgent response. Don’t fall for him, her head whispered. But her heart knew that the warning came too late.
The Leandros was a ninety-foot luxury yacht, so lavishly fitted out that Tahlia lapsed into stunned silence while Thanos gave her a guided tour.
‘Besides the master bedroom there are four additional guest cabins, as well as staff quarters,’ he told her as he led the way back through the sumptuous lounge and dining room up the stairs to the main deck. She followed him over to the seating area beneath a white canopy which billowed gently in the breeze. As she sat down a uniformed deck-hand immediately stepped forward and served them flutes of Buck’s Fizz.
‘It’s an amazing boat,’ she murmured, taking a sip of her drink and then blinking hard. ‘The bubbles have gone up my nose,’ she giggled self-consciously. ‘I hope there’s a higher ratio of orange juice than champagne. I don’t usually drink alcohol at ten o’clock in the morning. It’ll probably send me to sleep.’
‘I will do my best to ensure you stay awake,’ Thanos murmured, his eyes gleaming with amusement when she blushed.
He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, and utterly gorgeous in close-fitting sun-bleached jeans and a black tee shirt which was stretched tight over the powerful muscles of his chest and abdomen. His black hair was brushed back from his brow, and he looked lean and fit and so incredibly sexy that Tahlia almost melted on the spot.
His smile made her heart flip, and she grinned back at him. ‘Do you take the Leandros out often?’
‘Not as often as I’d like. Work tends to dominate my life. Melina and I used to invite a crowd of friends and cruise around the islands for a few weeks in the summer, but that stopped once she married. James’s idea of fun was to go clubbing every night, and he moaned that the pace of life on the boat was too quiet,’ he said grimly.
He had known from the outset that James Hamilton and Melina were not suited, he thought heavily. Given the chance, he would have done his best to dissuade his sister from marrying the brash American actor, but he’d had no opportunity to voice his doubts. Melina had arrived at his house in Athens with a cocky Hamilton in tow and revealed that they had married on the spur of the moment in Las Vegas.
‘Don’t be angry,’ she’d pleaded, when Thanos had muttered his disapproval. ‘I know James is the right man for me, and we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’
But James had quickly grown bored with married life. He had never trusted his brother-in-law, Thanos conceded. In all honesty he had expected Melina’s marriage to fail. He had known of James’s reputation as a playboy, but in his fury over Melina’s accident he had blamed Tahlia and refused to believe her claim that she was innocent.
At his mention of Melina and James, Thanos had fallen into a brooding silence that stretched Tahlia’s nerves. ‘How long will it take us to reach Santorini?’ she murmured, keen to change the subject.
‘We’ll be there in about half an hour.’ He stretched his long legs out in front of him and regarded her from behind his designer shades. ‘Have you visited the Greek islands before?’
She shook her head. ‘No. I backpacked around France and Spain, but other than that I’ve always spent my holidays with my parents in Cornwall.’
‘You’re close to your parents, aren’t you?’
‘I adore them,’ Tahlia agreed. ‘I’m their only child, and I guess there was a danger they could have spoiled me rotten, but they brought me up to appreciate the value of love and friendship rather than money, and they encouraged me to work hard at school so that I would have good career prospects. They would have liked more children, but Mum miscarried two babies after me and said she couldn’t face the heartbreak of it happening again, so they decided to be thankful that they had one child. They’re great people,’ she added softly. ‘I’d do anything for them—’
She broke off abruptly, wondering if Thanos would make some scathing remark about how she had sold herself to him to help her parents, but he remained silent and she quickly changed the subject again.
‘Do you own hotels on any other Greek islands?’
‘The Alkimini on Agistri was my first hotel, followed by the Athena on Poros, and my latest project, the Aphrodite, is currently being built on Rhodes and should be ready to open next spring. My aim is to build hotels on all the most popular islands.’
Thanos was not joking, Tahlia realised as she heard the determined note in his voice. ‘How did you start your business?’ she asked him curiously. ‘I mean, what made you decide to build hotels?’
He was silent for a moment, considering the question, and then he said grimly, ‘Desperation is probably the best answer. Desperation to keep the promise I had made my mother that I would look after Melina. I had nothing, you see. No money and litt
le education. The only thing I had was some land on Agistri. My mother had inherited it from her family, but I did not know about it until after her death. I learned that I owned six acres of land and a spectacular view of the sea.’ He laughed. ‘To be honest I was not overly impressed. The ground was too rocky to farm, and its only use was as grazing land for goats. Meanwhile I was travelling to the nearby island of Aegina every day, to work as a labourer on the dozens of hotels being built there. One evening back on Agistri I watched the sun setting over the sea, and it struck me that if I could build a hotel on my land the view would be a major attraction for tourists.
‘It wasn’t easy,’ he admitted. ‘But I managed to talk the local bank manager into giving me a loan for building materials, and I convinced the island’s councillors that a hotel would help Agistri’s economy. For the next two years I worked on construction sites on Aegina during the day and in the evening I paid a group of labourers to help me build my hotel. The Alkimini is named after my mother. Agistri’s close proximity to the mainland and Athens meant that many Greek families came for holidays, and the hotel was soon so successful that I was soon able to repay the loan and buy a prime site on the island of Poros.’
Thanos made light of his route to success, but Tahlia was sure that his life had been incredibly tough, and she felt a surge of admiration for him. ‘How did you manage to take care of Melina while you were working all those hours?’
Proud Greek, Ruthless Revenge Page 13