Page 38 of Reclaimed By His Billion-Dollar Ring

Conscious that she could hear the thud of her heart.

Hating it that she could.

The restaurant Nikos had chosen was quiet, and discreet. Warily, Calanthe took a seat at the table as he stood up at her approach. He was in a superbly tailored charcoal lounge suit, with a dark grey tie. Every inch the businessman. Not the lover. It might have reassured her, but it didn’t. She herself had dressed sombrely, in an olive-green dress with a high neckline and no jewellery.

She had not seen Nikos since that fateful dinner party where her father had nearly died. Why had he asked her here?

That was the question she put to him once the waiters had left them alone, after fussing endlessly, it seemed to Calanthe, with menus and iced water and bread rolls and wine lists.

His answer, when he disclosed his reason, froze her in disbelief.

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘YOU WOULD BE doing it for your father,’ Nikos heard his own voice saying.

‘Would I?’ Calanthe’s tone was scathing.

‘There would be other reasons, too.’

His eyes rested on her. Her face had closed, her mouth was pinched, and her eyes were steely.

‘Really? You mean apart from handing my father’s company to you on a plate.’ She gave an acid smile that didn’t alter the expression on her face. ‘And myself as well.’

He lifted his glass to his mouth. Felt himself relax.

‘It is what your father wants,’ he said smoothly. ‘You surely know that.’

Her face stayed rigid. Then she cut to the chase.

‘Why you?’

He eased his knife through the tender fillet of chicken, cut himself a slice.

‘He believes me capable of running his company...finding synergies with my own, to our mutual advantage.’ He paused. ‘He spelt it out quite clearly to me when he all but interviewed me for the role the week of that dinner party.’

Her eyes were gimlets. ‘Which role would that be? CEO or son-in-law?’ Again, her words were acid.

‘Both.’ He forked up the chicken. ‘That’s the whole point, Calanthe.’

He let his eyes rest on her again. Rejection radiated from her like a force field. It might have been a sign to be taken negatively, but he knew it for the opposite. Knew why she was radiating rejection on all frequencies.

A small smile formed briefly at his mouth as he watched her bristle like a porcupine at his words. Her sole was barely touched, her utensils gripped in nerveless hands.

‘You saw at that dinner party with his friends and peers how acceptable the notion was to him,’ he went on. ‘How expected. It was always going to be so—one day his daughter would marry suitably, and his son-in-law would carry his business forward.’

He tilted an eyebrow.

‘You have no interest in doing so—he made that clear to me—and he also made clear he would have welcomed it had you done so. But he respects your choice of career. However...’

He paused again, his gaze levelling with hers.

‘He will not willingly see his life’s work discontinued. Without a competent and suitable son-in-law, after his days have passed, the assets would be disposed of and the company either liquidated or sold on. No matter how much money that would leave you with, what he has spent his life building up would be dissipated. He does not want that. Hence this solution. It suits everyone all round.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘Except me,’ she said.

Nikos’s expression changed, his eyelids half veiling his gaze. ‘You say that to me after our night together?’ he said.

There was a caress in his voice, he knew. A promise.

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