The irony of those words weren’t wasted on Dimitrios when he considered his own alarming state of mind since he’d left New York. His interest in Ms. Hamilton better be a phase.
Ananke jumped up from the chair. “There’s something different about you since your return.”
No one knows that better than I do.
“If I’m different, it’s because I’m feeling the weight of a father’s responsibility without being a father. Perhaps it’s time you knew that my brother never wanted to be a part of the family business, either.”
She shook her head. “That’s not true!”
“I wouldn’t lie to you. Leon always preferred to be out-of-doors.”
“Surely you’re not saying he would rather have had a career in forestry than work for the Pandakis Corporation!” Her angry laugh resounded in the room.
“I have no idea how his life would have turned out had he lived.” His voice grated. Thanks to you, we’ll never know. “The point is, my nephew shows the same lack of interest in business as his father.”
A stricken look crossed her face. “You’re so cold, Dimitrios. Don’t you care that he might leave us for good?”
“You already know the answer to that question. But forcing something that goes against his nature will only push him in the opposite direction that much faster.”
“You wouldn’t say that if he were our son.”
“If Leon were my son and I’d been the one who’d died—” he spoke without acknowledging her attempt to personalize the situation “—I’d like to believe my brother would have listened to him, guided him as much as possible, then let him come to his own conclusions. Fortunately he hasn’t made a definite decision yet.”
He checked his watch. “We’ll have to continue this conversation another time. My secretary and I need to get to the office.”
“She already left.”
His head reared back. The sudden movement reminded him of his recent head injury. “When?”
“I saw her leave in a taxi half an hour ago.”
If he didn’t miss his guess, Michael had asked her to come to the hotel room before her workday began. Dimitrios felt like he’d just been kicked in the gut.
“If Leon wants to talk, tell him to call me on my cell phone. I’ll see you later.”
He left the dining room and rang Kristofor to bring the car around. While he waited, he phoned his secretary on her cell phone. If the call came at an inopportune moment for her, he didn’t particularly care.
To his surprise she answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Ms. Hamilton.”
“Mr. Pandakis. How are you feeling?” She sounded bright.
He gritted his teeth, trying to shut out certain pictures in his mind. “Well enough to be headed for my office. Shall I swing by the hotel and pick you up?”
“I—I didn’t realize you meant to go into work today,” she stammered.
Obviously not.
Attempting to tamp down his anger, he said, “Does that present a problem for you?”
“Actually it does.”
Dimitrios inhaled sharply. “When can I expect you?”
“Tomorrow morning? You see, I was under the impression you needed to convalesce one more day, so I thought this would be the perfect time to visit Soufli and check out preparations. My flight’s just been called.”
“You’re at the airport?” he demanded incredulously.
“Yes. It’s one of those commuter planes we’ve advertised for the trade fair. After it lands in Alexandroupolis, I’ll rent a car to drive the rest of the way. So far everything’s working perfectly. If the car is at the airport waiting for me as I requested, then I don’t foresee any problems for the fair attendees.
“I’ll check each silk exhibition en route. In case there are any glitches, we’ll have time to sort them out tomorrow. I’ll return on the first flight back to Thessalonica in the morning and report straight to your office.”
No boss could ask for more than that from his secretary. She gave a thousand percent all of the time. He had no right to be upset with her. No right at all.
“That’s fine,” he muttered, still trying to recover from the shock of realizing she wasn’t anywhere in the villa. “Keep in touch with me.”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, Mr. Pandakis, but I have to board now or they’re going to close the gate. Goodbye.” She clicked off.
Goodbye? Her cheery tone irritated the hell out of him.
If his secretary thought she’d seen the last of him until tomorrow, she had another think coming.
Using his phone once more, he canceled the car, then sent for the helicopter. While it was coming, he made one more call, to a lodge in Dadia requesting two rooms for the night. After that was accomplished, he returned to his bedroom for some additional clothes and his backpack.
One thing he knew about Ms. Hamilton. She would never lie to him, but that didn’t mean she’d gone to Soufli alone. If joining her meant he interrupted something private, then so be it.
Alex walked through the Alexandroupolis terminal to the car rental counter where she’d arranged for transportation.
Everywhere she looked, whether in or outside the terminal, she saw flags and banners advertising the trade fair. It had been the same at the airport in Thessalonica. There was a sense of festivity in the air that seemed to have affected everyone except her.
Two nights of living in close proximity to Dimitrios had created a physical ache for him that wasn’t about to go away. For her own good, she’d wrenched herself from the villa early this morning in order not to see him.
She thought she’d escaped him until she’d heard his deep, familiar voice on the phone at the airport. Now she was in more pain than before. It was absolutely vital she leave her job the second the trade fair was over.
While waiting to board her flight, she’d phoned her mother to let her know she was all right. She’d kept their conversation brief. As for Michael, she’d finally been able to connect with him.
It sounded like he and the guys were having a terrific time. But when he wanted to talk about the costume and Dimitrios, she told him she had to go and would debrief after her return from Soufli.
“Kalimera. My name is Alex Hamilton. I requested a car?” She displayed her passport.
The employee was all smiles. “It’s the black four-door right outside the building at the curb,” he said in beautiful English. “You can’t miss it because it has our company logo on the back window.”
“Thank you.” When nothing else was forthcoming she said, “May I have the key?”
“We have provided you with an English speaking driver.”
“Oh. I had no idea.”
She shouldn’t have been surprised. The Pandakis name insured outstanding service. Dimitrios was a very special man, and no one knew that more than Alex.
There were women he dated who would have fought to be first at his side had they known about the accident, yet he’d insisted on Alex’s attentions. Looking after him all night had bonded her to him in a brand-new way.
But she had to face the fact that if he’d preferred her company for the last two nights, even over that of his own