“Yassou, Ananke.”
“It doesn’t surprise me my son reached you before I did,” she began without preamble. “I have to know—Is he willing to stay in school one more semester? Please tell me yes,” she cried.
Her desperation found a vulnerable spot inside Dimitrios. He wasn’t exactly enchanted by the bombshell his nephew had dropped on them.
“I’m still working on it.”
“How soon are you coming home?”
“Late tonight. I told Leon we’d all sit down and discuss this in the morning.”
“Thank you.” Her voice trembled.
“Ananke? Just remember, there’s only so much I can do.”
“You can stop him!”
Dimitrios heaved a sigh. “If this is his destiny, then no earthly power will make a difference.”
The sobbing on her end meant the conversation was over, for the time being, anyway.
He undid his seat belt. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmured before ringing off.
As the vehicle pulled to a stop, Dimitrios levered himself from the back of the limo and hurried up the steps of the plane.
“Kalimera, Kyrie Pandakis.”
Instead of his pilots or his steward speaking to him in Greek, it was Ms. Hamilton who greeted him in his native tongue as he entered the plane. It was a first for her. She never failed to surprise him.
“Kalimera,” he said back to her, relieved she was here.
“Hero poli.”
“It’s nice to see you, too.” He responded in Greek once more, impressed by this latest display of her many talents. She’d spoken with barely a trace of accent. Continuing in the same language he said, “Shall we carry on this fascinating conversation after we’ve fastened ourselves in?”
“I’m sorry.” She reverted to English. “I didn’t understand anything else you said after you told me it was nice to see me, too.”
Her honesty was so refreshing, he burst out laughing. For a moment it dispelled the cloud that had enveloped him since his nephew had confided in him.
The rest of his crew welcomed him aboard, but he was barely aware of them as he gave the nod to prepare for takeoff.
“What I just said to you, Ms. Hamilton, was that I was looking forward to a lengthy discussion in Greek, but thought it would be wise to strap ourselves in first so the pilot can do his job.”
“Oh.” She took the seat opposite him and fastened her seat belt. “I’m afraid you’ve heard my full repertoire until we reach Greece. Then I’ll impress you by asking where the post office is, how much does a stamp cost, that sort of thing.”
His chuckle got lost in the scream of the jet engines.
After a smooth liftoff it didn’t take long until the plane had attained cruising speed and they could unstrap themselves.
Out of the periphery he saw that she already had her nose in the notebook she called her bible. He noticed it went everywhere with her.
“Your friend didn’t mind bringing you to the airport so early?”
She lifted her head. “Yanni’s on his way to Athens, so it worked out fine.”
“To be with family?”
“That, and to attend the fair.”
The steward chose that moment to serve them tea. Dimitrios thanked him, then sat back in his seat, wondering why her answer mattered. It was none of his business if she planned to be with her lover in Thessalonica.
As soon as the brew had cooled, he took a long swallow. It was so delicious he drank the rest without pause, then requested more.
Speaking in Greek, he complimented his steward who murmured in the same language, “She brought it on board. Insisted on steeping it herself.”
Intrigued, Dimitrios flicked his gaze to his secretary. For once she had irritated him by being too absorbed with her work. “My compliments, Ms. Hamilton. This tea tastes like the proverbial nectar of the gods.”
She raised her head in his direction. “According to Yanni who won’t drink anything else, that’s the name of it in Greek. He says it comes from the sage that grows wild on the mountains of the Peloponnese. I told him you have a sweet tooth, so he said to add honey instead of sugar. I’m glad you like it.”
Dimitrios should have been appreciative of her desire to please him with a special treat. He was pleased. But for some reason it irritated him that Yanni had any part in her thoughtful gesture.
She opened her laptop computer. “Shall we go over the timetable of events now? I’ve made a hard copy for you. If there’s anything you want to change, I’ll enter it and print it out when we reach Greece.”
In an oddly rebellious mood Dimitrios adjusted the seat so he could fully relax and close his eyes.
“Why don’t you read it out loud instead. I’ll interrupt if I think of something you haven’t.”
He sounded tired, bordering grumpy.
Alex had thought the tea might sweeten him up. Normally he was very even-tempered for a man who shouldered so much responsibility.
But she’d worked closely with him over the last six months and had started to notice a pattern to his change in mood. It only came on when he was getting ready to fly home to Greece.
If her mother was right about his past, he probably had hidden demons still to be conquered.
It happened to a lot of people. Alex’s only unmarried sister chose to feel like a victim. Except for the occasional visit, she preferred to remain in California rather than come home and deal with family on a more frequent basis.
Deciding it would be best to humor her boss, Alex began reading the countdown of the first page out loud. Halfway through, she detected a change in his breathing. He was asleep.
Zeus at rest.
That’s how she thought of him.
This was only the second time she’d flown in the Pandakis jet with its eagle emblem. As on her first flight with him to San Francisco, she had the feeling she was being spirited away by the legendary Olympian god to his private kingdom in the sky.
Through her lashes, she studied his long, powerfully built body stretched out in his seat opposite her, his piercing black eyes closed for the time being.
She wished she were a painter so she could capture him on canvas. He had the bold facial structure of his Macedonian ancestors, and that beautiful olive skin born from the kiss of a hot Mediterranean sun. Yet there was something childlike in the quiet way he slept.
More handsome than the young god Adonis. The paparazzi claimed he was the lover of many women, yet faithful to none. Alex could vouch for a goodly number of females who called the office anxious to talk to him.
However, she really had no idea what he did after she left for her apartment at the end of the day. Presumably there was a certain amount of truth to the gossip in the tabloids.
But Alex regarded him in a different light. To her, raven-haired Dimitrios Pandakis could well be the supreme ruler of the gods who shaped the corporate world below. One word of displeasure from his sensuous lips was like the proverbial thunderbolt hurled at those who lied or broke oaths.
The experience nine years ago had already provided her with firsthand knowledge that he was the god of justice and mercy and a protector of the weak.
After saving her from the unwanted attentions of his cousin, he’d shown her kindness before removing the other man from her sight.