by Maya Blake
I opened my mouth to counter his words.
The look in his eyes stopped me.
‘Of course,’ my mother replied, and then, for the first time in a long time, the hazy cloak she clung to, so she wouldn’t have to face harsh reality, lifted. Her eyes glinted with steel as she stared at Neo. ‘As to your admittedly surprising question—I’ll speak to my daughter first. Clearly you two need better communication. When I’m satisfied that this is what she wants, you can have my blessing.’
Her answer didn’t cow Neo. If anything, reinvigorated tenacity vibrated from him, filling up every spare inch of the living room.
Inclining his head in an almost regal way, he smiled. ‘Very well. May I have a private word with your daughter?’
With a few words and what I expected was a hint of blushing, my mother left the room.
Unable to stand so close to him without losing my mind, or dissolving into hysterics, I hurried across the room, before whirling around. ‘I don’t know what the hell you think you’re playing at, but—’
‘I warned you I intended to do whatever it takes when it comes to this baby, did I not?’ he said, in the even tone he’d used that day in his office two months ago. The one that announced he was chillingly rational. That every word from his lips had been calculated and calibrated to achieve the result he wanted.
A shiver raced down my body, urging me to stay in the present. To give every scrap of attention to this insane moment, lest I was swept away. ‘This is... What are you doing?’ I finally managed, when my head stopped spinning.
‘Taking steps to secure my legacy.’
‘Your legacy? You don’t even fully accept that this baby is yours!’
He shrugged off the accusation. ‘I’ve given it some thought and I’ve concluded that for the moment we’ll proceed as if the child is mine.’
‘Oh, wow. Lucky me.’
My sarcasm bounced off him. ‘You got on a plane and travelled two and a half thousand miles to convince me. This is me meeting you halfway.’
‘No, this is you bulldozing your way into my life with zero regard for what I want.’
He paused, folded his arms across his wide chest. ‘Indulge me, then. Tell me some of what those wants are.’
I opened my mouth to tell him the paramount one. That I wanted him to leave. But with this new level of ruthless determination wouldn’t I simply be postponing the inevitable?
‘Permit me to start. Do you want a stable home for our child?’
‘Of course I do.’
He nodded in that arrogant way that stated he’d scored a point for himself.
‘What else, Sadie?’ he urged softly. Oh, so dangerously.
I shrugged. ‘I want what every normal person wants. To keep a roof over my head and to stop worrying about how to make ends meet.’
He looked around the living room, his face carefully neutral. ‘I have several roofs. You will be welcome to any you choose.’
My mouth dropped open, but he was still talking. ‘Were you serious about finishing your degree?’
‘Of course.’
‘There will be nothing standing in your way, should you choose to see things my way. As for your mother—’
‘She’s still none of your business.’
‘Very well. When the time comes, and you confirm my suspicions, that too will be dealt with.’
Everything I wanted. Offered on a platter. Just like that. I gasped as the penny dropped. ‘My God, this is why you stalled me in your office all afternoon and offered to give me a ride home? So you could chess move your way into my life?’
He didn’t bother to deny it. ‘I merely took time to ensure my plan was sound.’
‘I’m not a damned charity case!’
‘No,’ he replied with heart-stopping brevity, as something close to awe flashed across his face. ‘But according to every imaginable statistic, what is happening is a miracle. The baby you’re carrying is a miracle.’ Then that staggering determination returned. ‘One I don’t intend to let slip through my fingers.’
I wasn’t sure whether to be angry or horrified at his calculated move.
‘Don’t overthink it, Sadie. I’ve simply come up with a plan to remove any stumbling blocks that will prevent what we both want from happening. You have needs. I can satisfy them. It’s as simple as that,’ he drawled arrogantly.
If he’d discovered a handwritten wish list crafted by me he wouldn’t have been off by even a fraction. But what he was suggesting was unthinkable.
Marriage? I shook my head. ‘Even if everything you’ve listed is true, and I want all of it, why would I bind myself to you?’
‘Because I can give you everything you want. All you have to do is marry me.’
I laughed then, because all this insanity needed an outlet. Before I spontaneously combusted. When his eyes narrowed ominously, I laughed harder.
‘Is this just a trait of all insanely wealthy men, or are you cursed with the notion that you can throw your weight around like this and get what you want?’
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead he sauntered towards me, his gaze locked on my face as he approached.
‘You feel the need to resist and rail at what you see as my overbearing move when this is merely accelerating a necessary and efficient process.’
Laughter dried up in my throat. ‘But why marriage?’
‘No Xenakis child has been born out of wedlock. I don’t intend for my child to be the first.’
‘Here’s an idea. Buck the trend. This is the twenty-first century. Set your own path.’
‘No. I will not. Label me a traditionalist if you will, but in this I will not be swayed,’ he replied with deep gravity.
‘You forget that for you to achieve that you’ll need my agreement.’
‘And you will give it. I’m sure of it.’
‘Are you? How? Let me guess—this is where you threaten me with criminal charges again unless I bend to your will?’
For the longest moment he remained silent, considering it. Then, astonishingly, he shook his head. ‘That incident is in the past. It’s time to turn the page. That transgression will no longer be held against you. Regardless of where we go from here, we will not speak of it again.’
Shocked relief burst through me. I searched his face for signs that he meant it and saw nothing but solid honesty.
Where we go from here...
Ominous words that rattled me as he stared at me. As with every second, the urge to consider his offer gathered strength.
To buy myself time, I countered, ‘If you’re standing there waiting for me to give you an answer, you’re going to be disappointed.’
Something crossed his face that looked a little like alarm, but it was gone much too soon for me to decipher it.
‘While you wrestle with that yes you’re too stubborn to say, let’s discuss other issues. I believe one has already been tackled?’
The head-spinning encroached. Again, removing myself from his immediate orbit, from the intoxicating scent of aftershave and warm skin that made me want to wrap my arms around his trim waist and bury my face in his neck, I crossed to the small pink-striped sofa we’d managed to rescue from the bailiff’s clutches and sank into it.
‘I wouldn’t hold your breath,’ I countered.
An arrogant smile twisted his lips. ‘I’d like you to put the marketing plan you outlined into a report for me.’
Excitement of a different kind joined the chaos surging through me. ‘Why?’ I asked, forcing myself not to think of our conversation in the car on the way to the airport. Of my thrill when I solved his marketing problem. The grudging respect in his eyes as he sounded out my solutions. If he wanted a report, did that mean...?
‘Because that will form the basis of your employment with Xenakis Aeronautics,’ he said.
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I was glad I was sitting down, because I was sure the shock would’ve floored me otherwise. ‘What?’
‘Your new role. As my intern starting as soon as we have an agreement.’
More puzzle pieces fell into place. ‘All those questions in the car on the way to the airport...you were interviewing me?’
He nodded.
‘And...?’
‘And you presented a sound strategy—one worth consideration. The second you sign an employment contract I’ll pass it on to my marketing team—of which you’ll be a part. If you wish.’
I did wish. With every atom in my body, I wanted to grasp his offer with both hands.
But all this came at a price.
Neo Xenakis, marketing guru extraordinaire, wasn’t handing round internships of a lifetime out of the goodness of his heart. He was bartering my wish list for complete access to my child.
But, even knowing that, I couldn’t help pride and satisfaction fizzing through me like the headiest champagne. Regardless of what had led us here, to have the president of marketing for a global powerhouse like Xenakis Aeronautics pronouncing my idea sound was an accolade worth celebrating.
‘Thanks, that’s...um...a generous offer.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he returned, and then for some inexplicable reason his gaze dropped to my mouth.
A moment later, I realised I was smiling. And he seemed...fascinated.
CHAPTER SIX
THE MOMENT STRETCHED as we stared at one another, a tight little sensual bubble wrapping itself around us, making it hard to breathe as heat and need and desire filled my body.
This time he was the one who broke contact, his chest expanding on a long breath before he said, ‘Which item do you wish to discuss next?’
None, I wanted to say. But, reluctantly buoyed by the promise of utilising my marketing knowledge, I wanted to hear him out. See where he was going with this.
‘What do you suspect about my mother?’
He shrugged. ‘That she’s far too dependent on you—perhaps uses you as an emotional crutch to hide a deeper problem?’
I pressed my lips together, unwilling to betray my mother.
‘Whatever those problems are, they’ll only grow if ignored,’ he said.
With a grimace, I exhaled. ‘She gambles online. It’s small sums, but—’
‘Addiction like that is insidious, Sadie. It needs to be curbed now or it’ll become a problem.’
Unable to meet his gaze, I toyed with the hem of my dress.
‘Has it already become a problem?’ he intuited smoothly.
The answer spilled out before I could stop it. ‘Yes. I’ve spoken to her about it. Asked her to get help.’
His face hardened. ‘You might have to be a little more insistent. Ruthless, even.’
‘Like you?’
A look flashed in his eyes, but he shrugged. ‘If it makes you feel better to think that way, then so be it.’
Temptation swelled higher. I knew I had to tackle my mother’s problem before I lost the only parent I had, but... ‘She’s my concern. I’ll find her the help she needs.’
Neo nodded after a handful of seconds.
I licked my lips, knowing the most important topic still needed to be tackled. ‘Let’s talk about the baby.’
‘Yes,’ he replied, his voice deep and heavy, with that yearning that still had the power to rock me.
‘How would it even work?’
‘Our marriage would simply legitimise my child and formalise any agreement as to childcare when it’s dissolved.’
A beginning and an end. So...a temporary marriage. A get-out clause and a possible end to his duties as a father when the appeal wore off?
The sting of abandonment registered, deep and true, those flippant words in my father’s letter burning through my brain.
‘You’re pulling out the stops to get what you want now. How do I know you’ll even want to be a father when this baby is a reality? That you won’t simply abandon him or her?’
The hands he’d shoved in his pockets slowly emerged. Purpose vibrated from him. But there was something else. A fleeting look of doubt which evaporated in the next instant as his confidence returned, expanding into the room as he strode forward and sank down in front of me.
This close, the look in his eyes captivated me, made me hold my breath.
‘I’ve experienced what it feels like to believe that fatherhood will never happen for me. The feeling is...indescribable. So perhaps this is one of the things you’ll have to take on faith. I want this child, Sadie.’
The fervour brimming in his voice...
The implacable stare.
That...yearning.
I believed him. But...
‘How long did you see this marriage deal continuing?’
He shrugged. ‘For the sake of the child’s stability and welfare, its first few years at the very least.’
‘Then what?’
‘Then we agree to whatever custody plan works in the best interests of our child.’
The response should have satisfied me, but something cold and tight knotted inside me. Neo might be in full negotiation mode, but at least he was laying all his cards on the table.
Unlike my father, who’d stuck around until the going got tough and then bailed, with a cruel little letter addressed to the daughter he’d claimed to love and cherish. His wife hadn’t even received that courtesy—only a letter from his lawyer, inviting her to sue for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. It was an option my mother was yet to take, the shock and anguish of the abrupt turn her life had taken still keeping her in a fog of despair all these years later.
Wasn’t it better this way? To know what was coming and prepare for it rather than be blindsided by it? Especially when until this morning the possibility that my child was going to start life knowing only one parent had been great? Could I pass up this opportunity on behalf of my child?
Neo leaned forward, bringing his power and his glory and that intoxicating scent into play. With one hand braced next to my thigh, he pinned me in place with his gaze for an interminable moment before he lifted the other hand to rest against my face.
Heat from his palm accelerated my pulse. My unguarded gasp echoed quietly between us, my heart wildly thundering as he slowly glided his thumb over my chin, my lower lip.
My insides were debating whether to flip over or melt when he said, ‘It’s better that we approach this with civility instead of conflict, Sadie.’
Deep, even-toned words that nevertheless gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to keep fighting him.
Jerking away before I did something stupid, like wrap my lips around that masculine thumb, I shook my head. ‘I need time. To think about this.’
Mutiny briefly glinted in his eyes before he gave an abrupt nod and surged to his full height. After a short pace round the living room, he faced me again.
‘I have a family function to attend in Athens tomorrow. A new nephew to meet,’ he said, with a hint of something peculiar in his voice.
I couldn’t tell whether it was anticipation, yearning or bitterness. Perhaps a combination of the three.
‘How old is he?’
‘I’m told he’s almost four months old.’
Curiosity ate at me. ‘How come you’ve never met him before?’
His jaw clenched for a taut stretch. ‘Because no one in my family, including my brother, knew of his existence before a few weeks ago.’
So Axios had been in the dark about his son’s existence?
‘Why?’
He shrugged. ‘The reasons for that will become clear tomorrow, I expect.’ His gaze sharpened. ‘You have until my return to consider my proposal.’
His words flung me back to the present. ‘There was no proposal, as I recall. Onl
y edicts thrown down and expected to be followed.’
‘I merely set out the course of action I believe is best. If you have a better proposal I’m willing to hear you out.’
He said that while cloaked in an arrogant self-assurance that nothing I could come up with would beat his. Blatant certainty blazed in the gaze that held mine for a nerve-shredding minute.
Other sensations started to encroach. Ones that had heated me up from the inside when he’d touched my lips just now and made every stretch of skin his gaze lingered on burn with fierce awareness. It was as if he’d reached out and touched me again. Stroked me. Tasted me.
Intensely aware of my breath shortening, of the place between my legs growing damp and needy, I cleared my throat and stood. ‘If we’re done here...?’
He retraced his steps towards me, moving with lithe, attention-absorbing grace, his darkened eyes scouring my face one more time. From his pocket, he produced a graphite-grey business card, embossed with the iconic dark gold picture of the phoenix etched into every Xenakis plane’s tail fin. The card simply read N. Xenakis and listed a mobile number.
‘My personal cell. Use it whenever you wish.’
His fingers brushed mine as I took it. At my shallow inhalation, his eyes darkened.
It struck me then that there was one subject we hadn’t discussed.
Neo was a virile, magnificent specimen of a man. One who wouldn’t be short of female companionship, should he wish it. Did he intend this proposed marriage to come with the certain leeway rumoured to happen within marriages of conveniences like this?
Even while my mind screamed that it would be the rational course to take, my chest tightened, everything inside me rebelling at the idea.
So what would your solution be?
I ignored the snide little voice attempting to prod me into admitting the secret yearning that had no place in this transaction. What happened two months ago had been an aberration. One that had produced consequences we needed to prioritise now. There could be no repeat of it.
So why were my feet leaden as I followed him to the door? Why did my gaze avidly catalogue his every feature as he stepped out, turned and murmured, ‘I’ll be in touch’?