Another Day In Paradise_A Steamy BWWM Romance

by Brandy Blake

  Imani couldn’t figure out how to connect to the internet and was feeling pretty hopeless at this point. She looked at the bed across the room, the only thing that seemed like it had been cleaned in the last year. She decided to crawl up under the covers instead of dealing with the situation, having no desire to think about the things that were causing a migraine to form. Seeking Wi-Fi would be a good excuse to indulge in a café again in the morning. At the end of the day, Imani was grateful to have a bed to sleep in and blankets to keep her warm. Still, the only thing that could make that better would be if she had someone to share the bed with. There would be no one there to make her coffee in the morning, no one to chase into the playroom as they snuck pancakes in. It was funny how quickly she adjusted, almost as quickly as she fell asleep.

  ****

  Stavros looked down at his desk, not having anything to work on at the moment, wondering if he had just made a huge mistake. He could have stopped Imani from walking out the door, but there would be others like her, right? They might not have the same bouncy hair, smooth velvety skin, or moon eyes, but he could pay anyone to teach his son. He could find any girl willing to get into bed with him, and there would always be someone to replace them if they didn’t like the way he spoke to them.

  There was a knock on his door, breaking Stavros’s thought, angering him only so he’d have another legitimate excuse to be angry.

  “Go away,” Stavros told whoever was banging. He was the beast holed up in his castle, not wanting to deal with the real world.

  “Stavros, someone is here to see you, and they said it’s important,” Petra told him as she opened the door, despite his pleas for her to leave.

  “I’m done with visitors for the day!” he shouted, upset that two of his staff members were gone already that week. He didn’t want to lose Petra, but he also wasn’t in the mood. Petra never let the yelling get to her, remembering that she was the one who made the food. She gave him a moment to remember how he was supposed to speak to her, having no interest in being spoken to the way that he had done so to Imani and Mateo.

  “What is it, Petra?” Stavros asked after he had a moment.

  “Stavros Mena?” said a short man with wide and round glasses.

  “Yes,” Stavros responded. The small man handed him an envelope and left without saying a word. Stavros frantically opened the package.

  “Why did you let him in here?” he asked while he read the papers as fast as he could. He’d had run-ins with small men like that before.

  “What? What is it?” Petra frantically asked.

  “It’s Ursa,” Stavros responded. “She wants full custody of Darius. She wants to take him to the U.S.”

  “What? She can’t!” Petra responded.

  “She says I’m unfit to be his father. She’ll destroy me, Petra. You’ve seen the pictures of me out with women. I’m not a bad father, Petra, I’m not,” Stavros explained in a moment of vulnerability.

  “I know you’re not. We won’t let this happen. There’s no way that she’ll win. You’ll get the best team of lawyers, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Darius stays here with us,” Petra told him, trying her best to make him feel better. She was still just standing in front of his desk, the sun beaming hard through his office windows. Even Petra wasn’t allowed in this office, and she felt a little out of place in her apron covered in flour.

  “Maybe I should let her take him,” Stavros explained. “You know I can’t live in America, but there might be more opportunities for my son.”

  “Don’t say that, Stavros! You know that isn’t true!” Petra cried.

  “Maybe I am unfit to be a father. You know I have a problem with women,” Stavros said, more upset now than he had been in a while. Imani was hurting across the city, but she had no idea how bad Stavros was feeling. The paparazzi had caught him out a few times with woman, and there were plenty of willing people who would share their stories with the court if it meant getting their fifteen minutes of fame.

  “Stavros, no! That is your son. He will take over your companies one day. You have to lead him; you have to be his father. You want him to turn out like his mother? Addicted to fame and money and beauty? You’re a strong man, Stavros; your son needs that,” Petra told him. She hadn’t been that honest with Stavros before, but it was certainly what he needed to hear. Stavros looked her in the eyes, knowing that everything she said was right. He was feeling low, unsure of himself, an emotion he hadn’t felt in a while.

  “What am I going to do?” he yelled at Petra across the desk.

  “Don’t yell at me!” she told him.. “You need to improve your image. Make people believe that you’re not a party man.”

  “I already donate to plenty of charities. I have a son,” he told her.

  “No, no, that’s not enough,” she explained. “Something big, something serious.”

  “What am I supposed to do? Get married?” he asked Petra. It had been several years since his wife had passed, plenty of time for it to be acceptable for him to get married. His first one had ended in heartache, and the judge not wanting to take his son away from a grieving father might work in his favor, but showing that he was dedicated to a family would certainly lock in that he didn’t have his son taken away from him.

  “That’s actually not a bad idea,” she told him. She looked at him with an evil smile, already thinking up the details of their plan.

  “Petra, I’m not going to marry you,” he responded.

  “Not me, but I’m sure there’s someone that’d be willing to marry you,” she told him.

  “I can’t just get married. Do you know how many people would try to take everything I have?” he asked Petra.

  “Find someone that is repulsed by you. Then, you know they won’t stick around,” Petra responded. Someone popped right into Stavros’s head as soon as Petra said that.

  *****

  Imani looked at the information for her flight, realizing that it was already thirty minutes delayed. She still hadn’t emailed her father, figuring a surprise visit might be the way to do it. She hadn’t told anyone else that she was headed away from Mykonos, but there wasn’t really anyone else to tell. She realized her flight being delayed was a good thing, as the boat that was taking her from Mykonos to Athens was delayed as well. It was September, so the rain was starting, and soon gray skies would be the norm. The winter was short on the island but long enough to be significant, and part of Imani was relieved that she was headed back to the U.S., living on the west coast where it would still be fairly warm for a few months.

  She thought she’d be more excited to go home, but she was actually pretty disappointed. She was scared coming over, partially wishing that something would come up, so she would have an excuse not to go. That never happened, and she travelled far, only to get screamed at in a mansion after dealing with Stavros’s unruly child the day before. She had fun with Darius and was looking forward to living in a different place, but that all quickly floated away from her, just like she soon would be from the island.

  Just as Imani spotted the boat pulling into the dock, she heard someone screaming her name from the street behind.

  “Imani!” she saw Stavros scream as she turned around.

  “What are you doing here? You should leave,” Imani said. There weren’t many people waiting for the boat to dock, but there were enough that she was feeling a little embarrassed to be bombarded by Stavros.

  “Imani, just listen to me. You can’t leave,” he told her with a begging tone and desperation in his eyes.

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” Imani said, being pretty confrontational up front. She wasn’t about to get bossed around by him again.

  “I’m sorry, OK, just let me apologize. If you miss this boat and still want to go back, I’ll find a way to get you across. Will you please just let me talk for a minute?” he begged.

  Imani looked at the boat and then back at him. She nodded, just as the rain started falling hard on the both of
them. They were standing under a small shelter, Imani’s sandals not holding up to the wet conditions anymore. “Hurry!”

  “Listen, I know we didn’t get off to the greatest start,” he explained. “But I want to hire you back.”

  “I don’t think me working for you is the greatest idea. It already got sour; I don’t see how it would get much better,” she told him, her voice fighting the sound of the pounding rain. Imani was feeling strongly that was really the time or place to have a conversation like that.

  “It’ll be different terms. I’ll double your salary,” he told her. “And it’ll be a different position.”

  “What might that be?” she asked, not sure if this was a strange rich guy way of messing with her.

  “Instead of Darius’s teacher, I want you to be my wife,” Stavros said with the straightest face possible. Imani wasn’t sure what was going on.

  Imani couldn’t believe what he was asking. She started hysterically laughing, watching as the rest of the people waiting had given up on trying to hear their argument and instead began boarding the boat.

  “My wife, my ex-wife’s mom, she wants to take my son. She wants to take my little boy with her back to America. I need to prove I’m fit, and I need a family. I know I can trust you,” he told her. “I’ll pay whatever price, you make the terms. You don’t have to do anything, just live with me and help take care of Darius. Once they trial happens, you can go home, and you never have to see me again.”

  Imani knew he wasn’t joking by the tone in his voice and didn’t even know where to start when it came to asking questions. At the same time, she felt incredibly confused, she also felt somewhere deep inside of her that she already knew the answer.

  “OK I guess,” she told him, not sure what she was getting herself into. Her and Stavros started laughing. He grabbed her bag and led her back to his car, Imani watching the boat pull away, her still on the island.

  Chapter5

  A few weeks had passed since Imani had agreed to Stavros’s strange offer, and the only thing she could think about the situation up until now was, “so far, so good.” That feeling that something wasn’t right had faded, and now a different wave of worry washed over Imani. She feared that what she might be doing was wrong, and that Darius was better off with his grandmother. She thought that perhaps living on the secluded island wasn’t best for him, and with how little Stavros was actually around, Darius should have someone that was going to be around more often.

  Imani walked down the stairs, now getting an even nicer guest room on the right side of the house, close to where Darius slept as well as the location of three other massive guest bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Imani thought her staff room was nice, but she had a better view, larger balcony, and a tub bigger than a jacuzzi. She was still banned from Stavros’s side of the Mykonos castle, but she was away from the staff hallway, at least. She walked down the stairs, back sore despite her luxurious bed. Someone had been ringing the doorbell since Imani was in the bathroom, none of the staff around to answer the door.

  She finally made it to the front, seeing a small figure on the outside of the glass door, opening it to find an older-looking woman accompanied by a man twice her size. Both had sunglasses and neither looked very friendly.

  “Who are you?” the small woman asked with a light Greek accent, looking over the top of her sunglasses with her fierce green eyes.

  “Who are you?” Imani said back with sass. This was her home now, after all, so she wasn’t about to be disrespected on her own turf.

  “Ursa. Iliana’s mother. Where’s my grandson?” Ursa asked, her words cutting like knives into Imani, the tall man behind them not saying anything. She was wearing a nice matching pant suit, her hair perfectly styled around her snow-white face.

  “I’m not sure. I can let him know you stopped by,” Imani responded. She wasn’t sure where he actually was, but she wasn’t about to go looking around the house for him when Ursa was giving this much attitude.

  “What are you, the maid?” Ursa said in an insulting matter. Imani was wearing a silk robe over black shorts and a white t shirt. She certainly didn’t look nice, but it was clear she was living there and not one of the staff members.

  “No, I’m his fiancée,” Imani responded, surprised that she felt so proud to recite that phrase.

  He had announced his engagement to a few of his friends, Stavros, Imani, and Petra the only ones who knew the truth. Even Darius was just told that they might be getting married. They hadn’t made an official announcement, not wanting it to seem like a timely advantage. They were being very strategic about it, but Imani wasn’t afraid to let Ursa know what was going on between the two. Seeing the look on her face was worth if there were any consequences Stavros might have against Imani for bringing up the engagement.

  “Fiancée? Is this a joke?” Ursa said, laughing a bit at the same time. She looked up at the man standing behind her and back at Imani over the top of her designer sunglasses.

  “You! You get out of here!” Petra said, coming from the downstairs hallway into the front entrance.

  “You don’t talk to me like that!” Ursa screamed back. The women started to yell at each other in Greek, Imani not sure what to do. She just watched as the two argued, the tall man eventually dragging Ursa away, Petra slamming the door.

  Imani just looked at her, stunned, realizing she’d never know exactly what was said between the two women.

  “Come now, breakfast is ready,” Petra said angrily. Imani followed her in the kitchen.

  Petra was quiet that morning and Darius was sleeping late since it was the weekend, so Imani had a lot of time to sit and reflect on her thoughts while she picked at the quiche and scones Petra had made for brunch.

  Imani had a lot of free time lately, as there weren’t many responsibilities that came along with pretending to be someone’s wife. She was still helping to take care of Darius, but Petra was more like a nanny/helicopter grandmother than she had originally led on. Darius had also gotten accepted into a new school, and with Imani around, he was doing better with his behavioral issues. Imani was certainly starting to feel motherly feelings for Darius, not sure how to blur the line of their relationship. She wasn’t sure where they stood and how close she should allow herself to get to Darius.

  He would be starting in the spring semester, meaning for now, Imani was just working on making sure that he was prepped to catch up with his classmates. Imani, Petra, and a generous donation from Stavros helped new school administrators to look past his permanent record and realize that he was just another young hopeful mind seeking out a better future. With Stavros not around as often, she wondered more and more how having few parental figures at all would play into his development. She was doing her best to be a good role model for Darius in the meantime. Only time would tell how long she would have to develop their relationship. They had agreed to go their separate ways once the court case drop, but Imani wasn’t so sure she’d be able to emotionally handle letting Darius go that quickly.

  Imani knew very little about what was going to happen. Stavros had already given her almost half a million dollars with the agreement that she would pretend to be his fiancée until the court case ended. They would stay together for just a little bit after that as well just to settle things for good, and then she’d be able to head back to America, bank account heavy and Darius at home with his father. Their case had been pushed back about half a year, Stavros maintaining custody for the intervening time.

  They hadn’t slept together since the night at the library, though their chemistry was undeniable. She was repulsed by his attitude, but she couldn’t help but think about how good it felt to have him inside of her every single time she walked past the library. She didn’t see him often, but when she did, her eyes immediately went to his lips. There were certain things about him that made Imani excited to leave, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but admit that she would stay up later than her eyelids could handle ho
ping she would see him or lurk on the balcony in the library wondering if he would pop out to ask her to have a cigarette again. Imani didn’t know if she was actually feeling something for Stavros or if she was just feeling lonely. Her king-sized bed was a bit more than she needed, making it feel extra empty every night she had to crawl under the covers by herself, no one to hold her as she dozed off and no beating heart against her back. It had been longer than Imani would have liked to admit since she felt someone’s warm skin against hers as she drifted in and out of sleep at night.

  Petra and Darius at least kept her company, though she still longed for a stronger friendship. She had gone out with Mateo again a week after they met up, but not since then. She had told Stavros that under the condition that she would be coming back to work for him, he would hire back Mateo as well. Mateo had instead found a better and higher paying job in Athens, so he decided to not work for Stavros again. Petra had filled in for some of the parts of the assistant work that Mateo had managed, the rest of the work going to the assistants that worked in Stavros’s Athens and Mykonos offices.

  Mateo was the only one she felt she could call a friend since she had made her way to Greece, going out together a few times as well as at least maintaining a phone relationship. A friend was what she needed indeed. She still talked to her father when they got the chance, the time difference making things just a bit difficult every now and then. What Imani really wanted was a girlfriend to gossip with, the maids not speaking enough Greek. She was surrounded by men too often in her life. Some feminine energy felt like it would rejuvenate Imani.