She nervously moistened the dryness of her lips with the tip of her tongue before speaking. ‘As I’ve said, I would like you to withdraw your offer for Bartholomew House.’
‘Which, unless I have misunderstood the situation, would not seem to be any of your concern. It was Angela Bartholomew who inherited the house on your father’s death and not you,’ Drakon pointed out.
‘But she shouldn’t have done,’ Gemini insisted. ‘Daddy assured me only weeks before he died that he intended making a new will—one that would clearly state that Bartholomew House was to come to me when he died.’
‘Something he obviously failed to do before his unexpected death.’
She gave a pained wince. ‘Well…yes.’
‘He left you nothing?’
Gemini didn’t particularly care for the censure she could hear in Drakon’s tone. ‘I wouldn’t call the cherished memories of the love and caring he always had for me nothing!’
That sculptured mouth thinned. ‘As I am sure you are well aware, I was talking of what you English refer to as “bricks and mortar”.’
‘It wasn’t necessary. My parents set up a substantial trust fund for me years ago,’ she dismissed stiffly. ‘But, as I’ve said, my father assured me that it was his intention to ensure that Bartholomew House came to me after…after his death.’
‘Unfortunately we only have your word for that.’
‘I am not in the habit of lying, Mr Lyonedes!’
‘I was not suggesting that you are.’ Drakon sighed his irritation, both with this conversation and his feelings of discomfort at her obvious distress at her father’s recent demise and the loss of her family home. ‘Only that perhaps you should be discussing all these things with your father’s lawyers rather than with me.’
‘I already have,’ she admitted heavily.
‘And…?’
She sighed. ‘And they acknowledge that my father informed them only weeks before he died that he was in the process of writing a new will.’
Drakon gaze sharpened. ‘But he failed to present this will to them?’
‘It would appear so,’ she confirmed shakily. ‘As such, they agree with you. In the absence of this new will, clearly stating that Bartholomew House was to be separate from all my father’s other properties, then Angela is entitled to it as well.’
‘It is not a case of my agreeing or disagreeing,’ Drakon stated. ‘The law is simply the law—no matter what may have been stated verbally. Besides which,’ he continued firmly as she would have interrupted, ‘if I were to withdraw my own offer for the house and land I have no doubts that your stepmother would simply find another buyer.’
‘I realise that—which is why I’ve come up with another proposal. If you are agreeable, that is?’ Those sea-green eyes had brightened excitedly.
Drakon closed his own eyes briefly, before opening them once again to study Gemini from beneath lowered lashes.
From the things she had just revealed to him concerning the Bartholomew family, she was perhaps exactly who she claimed to be. Nevertheless, as she’d come here today with the sole intention of persuading him to stop his company’s purchase of Bartholomew House, Drakon somehow doubted this ‘proposal’ would be any less irregular!
‘Of course you would have to agree not to tell Angela anything about it for now,’ she added worriedly. ‘Otherwise I know she would do everything in her power to prevent it—to the point of withdrawing from the sale of Bartholomew House to Lyonedes Enterprises.’
Drakon’s mouth thinned. ‘Not without incurring a severe financial penalty for reneging on our present arrangement.’
‘That’s something, at least,’ she breathed shakily.
‘Miss Bartholomew—’
‘Please call me Gemini,’ she invited softly.
‘Gemini,’ Drakon agreed abruptly, although just voicing that unusual name seemed to add a level of intimacy to this already unusual situation that he wasn’t sure he felt altogether comfortable with. ‘You are obviously under a misapprehension concerning my—’ He broke off as he saw Markos reappear at the top of the private spiral staircase leading directly from the offices below.
Gemini frowned as she sensed that his attention was no longer on her but directed somewhere behind her. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned and found herself looking at a dark and handsome man so similar in looks to Drakon Lyonedes that he surely had to be related to him. No doubt this was Markos Lyonedes, Drakon’s cousin.
Whoever he was, Gemini dearly wished he had waited just a few minutes more before making his appearance!
‘Sorry to interrupt, Drakon.’ The man’s deep green gaze was fixed curiously on Gemini even as he spoke to his cousin. ‘I expected you to join me in my office some time ago.’
Drakon looked down frowningly at his slender gold wristwatch, surprised to see that he had been talking with Gemini for almost half an hour rather than the ten minutes he had originally thought necessary before dismissing her. Incredible!
‘I believe Miss Bartholomew has said what she wished to say…?’ He turned to give her a pointed glance.
Instead of taking that as the invitation to leave Drakon intended it to be, she turned and walked gracefully across the room to where Markos stood at the top of the staircase. ‘I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Lyonedes.’ She smiled warmly as she thrust out her hand.
Markos briefly raised dark and questioning brows in Drakon’s direction before turning to take her slender hand in his own. ‘I assure you the pleasure is all mine, Miss Bartholomew.’ Markos’s voice had become dark and smoky.
‘Gemini,’ she invited lightly.
‘Markos,’ he returned warmly.
Her smile widened. ‘I apologise if I’ve made your cousin late for an important business meeting.’
‘Not at all.’ Markos’s gaze darkened appreciatively as he continued to hold onto that slender hand and looked down into the pale beauty of her face. ‘In Drakon’s place I wouldn’t have been in any hurry to leave you in order to attend a boring business meeting either.’
Drakon found himself suddenly deeply irritated by the obvious flirtation taking place in front of him, and became even more annoyed as Gemini gave a husky and appreciative laugh before deftly extricating her hand from Markos’s. ‘I will join you downstairs in a moment, Markos,’ he bit out harshly.
His cousin gave him an amused glance. ‘I would be more than happy to stay here and keep Gemini company until you return from talking with Bob Thompson.’
Drakon’s mouth thinned. ‘That will not be necessary. Miss Bartholomew and I will be meeting for dinner this evening in order to conclude our conversation.’
Wide and startled sea-green eyes turned sharply in his direction. ‘We will?’
Drakon bit back his inner frustration, having no idea why he had even made such a statement. Except he had not liked the idea of Markos remaining alone here with Gemini any more than he had appreciated the way in which his cousin had held on to her hand for far longer than was necessary or polite…
Implying what, exactly?
This woman had forced her way into his presence today by making a damned nuisance of herself, before making several surprising statements—including one concerning Drakon’s relationship with her stepmother. And as a reward for that unacceptable behaviour he was now inviting her out to dinner?
No,