Читать книгу Proud Greek, Ruthless Revenge - Шантель Шоу, Chantelle Shaw - Страница 6

TAHLIA glanced surreptitiously at the clock on the gallery wall and was shocked to see that almost an hour had passed since Thanos had asked her to act as his guide around the exhibition. She could hardly believe she had spent so long in the exclusive company of the sexiest man in the room, and she could not help but find his attention flattering. His hand was resting lightly in the small of her back, and she was agonisingly aware of his lean, hard body, so close to her that she could feel the warmth that emanated from him and smell the subtle scent of his cologne. He seemed in no hurry for them to part company—but she was supposed to be networking, offering business cards to anyone who admired her necklace. So far she hadn’t done a very good job of drumming up new business.

‘I’m sure Rufus will be able to discuss his work in far more depth than I can,’ she murmured, as Thanos halted in front of a painting that looked as though the artist had flung splodges of vivid colour onto the canvas, and which to Tahlia’s eyes did not resemble anything vaguely recognisable.

Thanos followed her gaze across the room to where the long-haired and bearded Rufus Hartman was chatting with a group of guests.

‘But he is not nearly such an attractive guide,’ he drawled, a gleam of undisguised sexual interest in his eyes as he turned back to Tahlia, stealing her breath. Thanos Savakis was an outrageous flirt, and her common sense told her she should walk away from him and keep on walking. But her usual caution seemed to have deserted her; she was blown away by his charismatic charm, and when his mouth curved into that devastatingly sexy smile her heart began to race.

Thanos glanced back at the picture. ‘Mr Hartman’s abstract paintings are the sort of thing I’d like to have in my new hotel. They’re contemporary and eye-catching and would suit the modern design of the building.’

‘I understand you own a chain of hotels? Crispin mentioned it,’ Tahlia admitted, flushing at Thanos’s quizzical expression.

What else had Crispin told her? he wondered sardonically. That he was a billionaire with a penchant for blondes? Had Tahlia asked the gallery-owner to introduce them, confident that he would find her red-gold hair and milky-pale skin intriguingly different from the dozens of bleached blonde, sunbed-tanned women who were milling around the gallery, eyeing him rather than the artwork on display?

‘I own hotels in many parts of the world, including the Caribbean and the Maldives, and I’m currently in negotiations to buy the Ambassador Hotel, where I am staying on this trip to London.’

Tahlia’s eyes widened. The Ambassador was one of the most exclusive hotels in the capital. She had taken little notice when Crispin had said that Thanos was a billionaire, but now it struck her that he could probably buy Reynolds Gems out of his petty cash.

‘My latest development is in one of the Greek Islands,’ Thanos continued. ‘The Artemis is a five-star hotel, offering the ultimate pampering experience—superbly equipped gyms, spas and beauty parlours, together with shops selling designer clothes and jewellery.’

‘It sounds wonderful,’ Tahlia murmured, her mind focusing on Thanos’s mention of jewellery shops within his hotel. Unconsciously her hand strayed to the row of sapphires and diamonds around her neck. The ornate necklace was not the sort of thing she usually wore, but it was undoubtedly impressive, and tonight she needed to impress.

Thanos’s gaze followed the movement of her hand. ‘Your necklace is almost as exquisite as the woman wearing it,’ he remarked.

She blushed. ‘It’s just one of a wide range of pieces made by the expert goldsmiths and designers at Reynolds Gems. Our gemologists source the finest precious stones and diamonds to ensure that every piece of jewellery is of top quality.’ Tahlia hesitated. Was it fair to subject Thanos to the hard sell when they were at a party, not in a boardroom? Their business needed all the help it could get, she reminded herself, and she had to seize every available opportunity to promote the company.

‘Perhaps you might like to consider selling a selection of Reynolds Gems jewellery at the Artemis?’ she said carefully. She opened her purse and extracted a business card. ‘I believe it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Reynolds has an excellent reputation for superb craftsmanship, which would be in keeping with the high quality of your hotel. And we are an expanding company,’ she added, as Thanos studied the card she had handed him.

‘Really…?’ He gave her a razor-sharp glance, and Tahlia felt the colour rise in her cheeks.

‘Oh, yes. We have a dynamic management team which is always on the look out for exciting new ventures.’ That, at least, wasn’t a downright lie. She knew her father would jump at the chance to improve Reynolds’ profits.

Thanos’s slow smile once more sent heat surging through Tahlia’s veins, yet at the same time she was again reminded of a wolf stalking its prey.

‘That’s certainly a very interesting proposition, Tahlia. I’ll give your suggestion serious consideration,’ he murmured.

‘You will?’ She forgot that she was supposed to be a hardheaded businesswoman and grinned at him. She felt as though Christmas had come early—and maybe it had, she thought excitedly. Thanos owned up-market hotels around the world, and if he allowed Reynolds Gems to promote their jewellery to his wealthy clientele it could completely turn around the company’s fortunes.

Thanos’s eyes narrowed on Tahlia’s face. Gone was the exquisite and rather haughty-looking socialite. In her place was a young woman with an impish smile and sparkling blue eyes which were more beautiful than the most priceless of sapphires. How could she lie so blatantly and yet look so innocent? And how could he hate her and want her with equal intensity? He despised her, but at this moment he despised himself more—because he could not deny his longing to pull her into his arms and claim her soft, smiling mouth with his lips.

Suddenly he was tired of the game he had been foolish enough to start. He should have revealed from the beginning that he was her lover James Hamilton’s ex-brother-in-law. He was tempted to tell Tahlia there was not a chance in hell he would enter into any ‘mutually beneficial arrangement’ with her or her company, but he swallowed the words. He had laid his plans carefully, and now he was poised to destroy Reynolds Gems. His moment of revenge would be sweet, and he wanted to savour the expression on her beautiful face when she realised that she had lost everything.

There was no reason to remain with her any longer. Sheikh Mussada had left the gallery some fifteen minutes ago, he reminded himself, infuriated by the knowledge that he had prolonged his time with her because he had found her intelligent and witty conversation utterly captivating. He glanced around the gallery and saw that the blonde who had attached herself to him like a limpet when he had first arrived was giving him baleful looks. To his annoyance he could not help but compare Lisette’s fluffy platinum blonde curls and her sequined dress with its plunging neckline and thigh high skirt to Tahlia’s graceful elegance.

His jaw tightened and he gave Tahlia a cool smile. ‘I must ask you to excuse me, Tahlia. I’m expecting a business call and need to return to my hotel.’

‘Oh, but…’ Tahlia stared at Thanos’s retreating form, startled by his abrupt departure. He was striding away across the gallery. She felt embarrassed at the thought of calling him back, but she might never have this opportunity again. ‘Can I look forward to hearing from you when you’ve had time to consider my idea about selling Reynolds Gems jewellery in your new hotel?’ she called desperately.

Thanos paused and glanced back at her, his expression unfathomable. ‘Oh, you’ll certainly be hearing from me, Tahlia,’ he promised softly. But for some reason his words sent a frisson of unease down her spine.

Tahlia woke early on Monday morning, with a heavy sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. Today her mother was due to see a specialist, to hear whether a mastectomy followed by a course of chemotherapy had destroyed her breast cancer. In the past few weeks Vivienne had regained some of her strength, and her hair had grown back enough that she no longer needed to wear the brightly coloured silk scarves mother and daughter had chosen together before the start of her treatment.

Her mother had been so brave, Tahlia thought, swallowing the lump in her throat. The past two years since Vivienne had been diagnosed had been a nightmare for both her parents, and she hoped with all her heart that today they would be given the news that she was completely cured.

The future of Reynolds Gems was another worry, she acknowledged grimly as she stepped into the shower. She was not hopeful that Thanos Savakis would agree to promote their jewellery at his new hotel, and if Vantage Investments decided against a buy-out, she did not know what would happen to the company her father had devoted his life to.

She would try and find out more about the situation today, she decided as she applied minimal make-up and swept her hair into a loose knot on top of her head.

The May sunshine streaming through the window was warm enough for her to choose a lightweight outfit. Her pale grey pencil skirt and matching jacket were years old, but the precarious state of her finances meant that new clothes were out of the question. She was grateful that her mother had taught her to choose classics rather than high fashion items, because the suit still looked good, and she teamed it with a lilac blouse, slipped her feet into kitten heels and checked her handbag for lipstick, keys and various other essentials, before hurrying out of her flat, praying that her ancient Mini would start this morning.

Tahlia was puzzled to see her father’s car in the car park when she arrived at the Reynolds Gems shop just off Bond Street, and she raced upstairs to the office. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you,’ she greeted him, her smile fading when she saw the tense expression on Peter Reynolds’s face. ‘What’s wrong?’ She paled. ‘You can’t have heard from the hospital this early?’

‘No.’ Her father sought to reassure her. ‘Your mother’s appointment is still scheduled for eleven-thirty. I’m here because I received a call from Vantage Investments at eight o’clock this morning, informing me that they’ve changed the date of our meeting from Wednesday to midday today.’

‘But today is impossible. Ask if we can reschedule for tomorrow.’

‘I tried,’ her father said wearily. ‘But they say we can meet today or not at all.’

‘You have to go to the hospital with Mum,’ Tahlia said urgently. ‘Nothing is more important than her appointment with Mr Rivers. What about asking the hospital if they can rearrange your meeting with him?’

‘I’ve tried that too, but he’s flying off to a conference later today.’ Peter sighed heavily. ‘I hate to put this on you, Tahlia, but I’ve told Steven Holt from Vantage that we’ll go ahead with the meeting, although only one of the directors will be present. This will just be a preliminary meeting, but it sounds as though they are seriously interested in making a deal. Obviously if it all goes to plan I’ll be involved in the negotiations, but today it’s all down to you. Do you think you can handle it?’

‘Of course I can,’ Tahlia assured him firmly, her heart contracting when she noted the deep lines furrowing his brow. Her father looked as though he had aged ten years since her mother’s illness had been diagnosed, and she was willing to do anything to alleviate his stress. ‘Leave the figures for me to read through, and I’ll do my best to convince Vantage to buy Reynolds Gems. You need to go home and keep Mum calm before her appointment.’ She bit her lip and added huskily, ‘Ring me as soon as you have any news, won’t you?’

‘I will,’ her father assured her gravely. ‘All the paperwork is on my desk,’ he added distractedly, and Tahlia knew that the only thing on his mind right now was her mother.

‘Go,’ she said gently, giving him a little push towards the door. And with a ghost of a smile he walked out of the office.

Two hours later, Tahlia put down the documents which outlined the company’s financial situation and picked up her cup, grimacing when she took a sip of cold coffee. Only a miracle could save them, she acknowledged dully. It was clear that Reynolds Gems’ profit margins had been low for the past couple of years, but despite that her father had gone ahead with a costly refit of all three shops, and had had to borrow a huge amount from the bank to do so.

Now, because of the global recession that had affected so many businesses, the bank was demanding that the loan be repaid—and, as was obvious from the figures, Reynolds did not have enough money to clear its debts. Tahlia could see from various letters that her father had pleaded with other banks for help, but in the present financial climate no one was interested in rescuing a failing company.

If she failed to persuade Vantage to buy Reynolds Gems the company would go bankrupt—it was as simple as that, she acknowledged sickly. The responsibility was terrifying, and as she gathered up her briefcase and handbag she felt a churning sensation in her stomach that grew worse as she walked briskly out of the office.

Vantage Investment’s offices were in the heart of the city. Tahlia knew that parking would be a nightmare, so instead of driving she took the tube to Cannon Street, arrived much too early for her meeting and had twenty agonising minutes to kill before she finally pushed open the glass doors and walked through the plush reception area, her heels echoing loudly on the marble floor. The receptionist directed her to the lift, and on the journey up to the seventh floor she peered at her reflection in the stainless steel walls. She quickly applied another coat of lipgloss, dismayed to see that her hand was shaking.

‘Miss Reynolds? I’m Steven Holt,’ a sandy haired man greeted her when she emerged from the lift.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Holt,’ Tahlia returned the greeting with a nervous smile, hiding her surprise that the CEO had met her, rather than his secretary or a junior manager.

He made no further conversation as she followed him along the corridor, and her confusion increased when he ushered her into a room and quietly closed the door after her. She stared blankly at the solid wood. Was she supposed to sit here and wait for him to return? Tension knotted her stomach as she turned into the room, and her heart almost leapt from her chest when she caught sight of the man sitting behind the desk, his broad shoulders and the proud tilt of his head silhouetted against the bright sunshine pouring through the window.

‘Mr Savakis?’ She halted abruptly and stared at him, her pulse-rate accelerating as her eyes swept over his thick black hair and hard-boned handsome face, then lowered to his impeccably tailored jacket, blinding white shirt and navy silk tie. He was even more gorgeous than the man who had tormented her dreams: a suave, sophisticated billionaire businessman—but what business did he have here at Vantage Investments, with her?

Thanos was watching her impassively, his dark eyes cold and—the word filtered into Tahlia’s mind—pitiless. He made no response to her uncertain smile, simply dipped his head to indicate that she should sit down.

His silence unnerved her, and her voice was unnaturally high-pitched when she burst out, ‘I don’t understand. I’m here for private discussions with Mr Holt.’

‘Steven Holt is the chief executive of Vantage Investments, and in ordinary circumstances your discussions would have been with him,’ he told her coolly. ‘But these are not ordinary circumstances, Tahlia.’ For a split second emotion flared in his eyes, and Tahlia caught her breath at the look of simmering fury he directed at her before his lashes fell, masking his expression. ‘Vantage is a subsidiary company of Savakis Enterprises.’

‘I see,’ Tahlia said carefully, shaken by the look he had given her, and utterly bemused by it. ‘Then…you must know why I’m here?’

‘Oh, yes, Tahlia. I know exactly why you’re here,’ Thanos leaned back in his seat and brought the tips of his fingers together. He was a remote and forbidding figure, and he made no attempt to disguise the contempt in his eyes as he raked them over Tahlia’s designer suit. No wonder Reynolds Gems was in trouble if Tahlia paid herself a salary well above average to finance the luxurious lifestyle she obviously took for granted, he mused cynically.

‘You are hoping to persuade me to buy out your company and save it from bankruptcy. The same company that you assured me is an expanding operation with a dynamic management team,’ he said mockingly.

Tahlia felt her cheeks burn as she recalled her suggestion that he might consider allowing Reynolds Gems to sell their jewellery at his new hotel. Clearly he had never had any intention of taking the idea seriously. For some reason he had just been playing her along, and the knowledge sparked her temper.

‘Why didn’t you tell me of your connection with Vantage Investments, instead of letting me believe there might be a way to save Reynolds?’ she demanded angrily. ‘Did you enjoy making a fool of me?’

‘I admit I found the situation mildly amusing.’

The expression in his eyes chilled her to the bone. ‘But why?’ she choked. ‘What have I ever done to—?’ She broke off and stared at the photograph of a young woman that he had pushed across the desk—for a second her heart stopped beating.

‘I believe you have met my sister?’ Thanos asked, in a dangerously soft tone.

‘I…’ Tahlia groped for words, her brain in freefall.

‘I imagine it was not a long meeting. And there would have been a certain awkwardness to the situation, seeing that you were in bed with Melina’s husband at the time. Of course my sister no longer looks as she does in that photo,’ Thanos went on, in the same chilling tone of barely suppressed aggression. ‘And it is unlikely she will ever dance again—which is a pity because, as you can see from the picture, she loved to dance.’

Tahlia could not formulate a reply as she stared at the photograph of the beautiful young woman whose face was so shockingly familiar. In the picture her dark hair was swept up into a chignon, rather than falling in a mass of curls around her shoulders as it had been on the night Tahlia had seen her, but there was no mistaking that this was James’s wife.

‘Melina was distraught after she caught you and Hamilton together. She fled from the hotel, and as she dashed across the road she was hit by a car,’ Thanos said harshly. ‘Eyewitnesses said she was thrown at least twenty feet into the air before she hit the ground. She was in a coma for three weeks, both her legs were broken, and she suffered spinal damage.’ He ignored Tahlia’s horrified gasp and went on remorselessly, ‘For a while the doctors believed she would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Thankfully her last round of surgery was successful, and she is having intensive physiotherapy to help her to walk, but she will never dance again,’ he finished grimly, a nerve flickering in his cheek as he picked up the photo of his sister and stared at it.

The silence in the room screamed with tension, until at last Tahlia forced herself to speak. ‘I…I didn’t know,’ she whispered.

Thanos gave a savage laugh. ‘You mean you didn’t hear the ambulance sirens? Or you did hear them but you were not sufficiently interested to go and find out who had been injured? Presumably you and Hamilton continued with your sexual gymnastics after Melina left?’ he snarled contemptuously. ‘Neither of you had the decency to follow her, even though it must have been obvious—even to a heartless bitch like you—that she was devastated at finding the man she loved in bed with his whore.’

Tahlia bowed her head while Thanos’s savage fury crashed over her. His anger was no less than she deserved, she acknowledged sickly, and her mind relived that terrible night six months ago, which had started off so wonderfully.

She had felt excited and a little nervous when James had checked them in to the hotel he had booked for a romantic weekend.

‘Just one key?’ she’d queried tremulously, her heart thumping.

‘One key, one room—one bed,’ he’d replied, with that disarming grin that melted her heart. ‘You know I love you, Tahlia,’ he had murmured when they’d reached their suite, and he had pulled her into his arms and kissed her. ‘And you love me—don’t you, baby? Making love is the next step in showing our love for each other.’

She had been unable to resist him: good-looking, easygoing James, who had swept her off her feet. She had been ready for them to become lovers, and when James had started to undress her she had not hidden her eagerness. But as they had tumbled onto the bed the door had burst open, and a woman had stumbled into the room.

She would never forget the look of shock on the woman’s face, the tears streaming down her cheeks and her voice crying brokenly, ‘How could you, James? How could you? I am your wife…’

‘I didn’t know about your sister’s accident,’ she insisted shakily, dragging her mind back to the present. ‘I left James almost immediately.’ After his sulky confirmation that, yes, he was married—‘but that’s no reason to get hysterical, Tahlia.’ ‘I ran down to my car, parked at the rear of the hotel. Melina must have run out of the front of the hotel, and I drove home along a different road. I don’t remember hearing sirens or anything—but I was in shock,’ Tahlia said falteringly, remembering how she had driven away, desperately trying to hold back her tears until she reached her parents’ home. ‘I had no idea that James was married.’

‘Liar.’

The solitary word cracked through the air like a whip, and Tahlia jumped. ‘I swear I didn’t know—’ she began, but Thanos silenced her with a savage glare.

‘Of course you knew. Just as you knew that the actor you’ve been having an affair with recently was married. Far from attempting to hide your relationship with him, you brazenly flaunted it, allowing yourself to be snapped by the press leaving a hotel with him.’ Thanos’s lip curled. ‘Tell me, do you enjoy a feeling of power when you have sex with other women’s husbands? Women like you disgust me.’

Women like his father’s mistress, Thanos brooded grimly. Wendy Jones had known that his father had a wife and children, but that had not stopped her flirting with Kosta Savakis and pursuing him with single-minded determination, uncaring of the pain and destruction their affair caused. Wendy and Tahlia were two of a kind—predatory, heartless bitches who lacked any moral decency. His hatred of the woman who had become his stepmother had burned inside him for years, and as he stared across his desk at Tahlia’s pale face his fury threatened to choke him.

The icy anger in Thanos’s eyes sent a shiver down Tahlia’s spine, and she said frantically, ‘I promise you I did not know James was married. If I had I would never have dated him, let alone agreed to spend a weekend with him.’ She jumped to her feet and gripped the edge of the desk, breathing hard so that her breasts rose and fell jerkily. ‘When your sister burst into the hotel room and announced that she was James’s wife I felt terrible. I felt as though I were the lowest life form on the planet.’

‘An apt description,’ Thanos snapped, his jaw hardening. ‘And I have no doubt that you felt terrible—you’d just been caught out, and you knew James was likely to end his affair with you so that he could try and persuade his wealthy wife to forgive him. I don’t understand what you saw in my brother-in-law,’ he added scathingly. ‘James Hamilton is a penniless, talentless waste of space. But, according to the press reports, you seem to get a kick out of sleeping with other women’s husbands.’

The colour leached from Tahlia’s face, and for a second she was tempted to flee from the room, but she forced herself to meet Thanos’s cold stare. ‘The reports in the tabloids about my supposed affair with Damian Casson are a complete fabrication,’ she said stiltedly. ‘And I have instructed my solicitor to proceed with legal action against the papers involved.’ Her eyes dropped to the photograph of Thanos’s sister and she swallowed. ‘I am so sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I wish I could apologise to Melina, and explain to her that James deceived both of us.’

‘Do you think I would allow you anywhere near my sister?’ Thanos demanded harshly. ‘Melina has suffered enough, without having to hear your lies.’

He had also risen to his feet, and was surveying her with visible contempt. She could understand why he was angry, Tahlia conceded, but his refusal to listen to her and his determination to believe the worst of her sparked her temper.

‘I am not lying,’ she told him with quiet dignity. ‘And I am not the woman portrayed by the tabloids. I had no idea that James had a wife.’ Tears stung her eyes, and she lowered her head so that Thanos would not see them. She had felt a fool that night in the hotel, when James’s treachery had been revealed, but her emotions were of little significance compared to the pain—both mental and physical—that Thanos’s sister must be suffering.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she repeated shakily. She had been an innocent pawn in James’s game, but she still felt responsible for his wife’s terrible accident.

‘It’s too damned late to be sorry,’ Thanos grated. ‘It’s a pity you did not feel this touching remorse before you slept with my sister’s husband.’

‘I never slept with him,’ Tahlia said quickly. ‘Although I realise that will be small comfort to Melina. I admit that I had intended to become James’s lover. The night that Melina found us at the hotel would have been our first night together.’ She swallowed, but forced herself to go on, aware that Thanos and his sister deserved her honesty. ‘I had fallen in love with James—although I realise now that I never really knew him at all,’ she added bitterly.

She was good, Thanos conceded grimly. She almost had him convinced that she was as innocent as she protested—and the shimmer of tears in those beautiful blue eyes was a nice touch. If it wasn’t for the story in the tabloids about her affair with another married actor he might have been tempted to believe her.

But perhaps he wanted to believe that Tahlia had been hoodwinked by James Hamilton because of his own inconvenient physical attraction to her? he brooded irritably. Today she was the epitome of understated elegance: her slim-fitting skirt skimmed the gentle flare of her hips, and the cut of her jacket emphasised her tiny waist, while her soft lilac-coloured blouse complemented her creamy complexion. The scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks matched her red-gold hair, while the long lashes fringing those startlingly blue eyes were a slightly darker shade of gold.

She might be lovely on the outside, but inside she was rotten to the core, and all the evidence proved that she had known just what she was doing when she began her affair with James, Thanos reminded himself. He was not going to be duped by her lies simply because his hormones were raging out of control. His mouth tightened and he forced himself to move away from her, strolling across the room to stare out of the window at the view of the city.

Tahlia watched him, her eyes roaming over his broad shoulders and the arrogant tilt of his head. Despair settled like a lead weight in her stomach.

‘You never had any intention of buying out Reynolds Gems, did you?’ she said dully.

‘None whatsoever,’ he replied coolly. ‘It seemed entirely fair that you should suffer a fraction of the misery my sister has suffered, and so I decided to destroy your company. But, to be honest, bringing about Reynolds Gems’ downfall has not been difficult. Some of the decisions taken by the company during the last two years have been downright reckless, and they are directly responsible for Reynolds’ current financial situation. I simply tricked you into thinking that Vantage Investments would offer a rescue package, and you were gullible enough—or more likely greedy enough—to be fooled into believing you could hang on to your self-indulgent lifestyle.’

It was no coincidence that Reynolds Gems’ problems had begun at the same time as her mother’s illness had been diagnosed, Tahlia acknowledged. During that terrible time business had come a long way down her father’s list of priorities, and she felt guilty that she had not become more involved with running the company.

‘Reynolds Gems is my father’s company, not mine,’ she said quietly. ‘If you destroy it you will be hurting him.’

‘You became a partner three years ago. My investigations were very thorough,’ Thanos said coldly, turning away from the window to give her a sardonic look. ‘It’s too bad your father will lose the company he built from scratch, but he shouldn’t have brought his daughter up to be an immoral slut.’

Anger, swift and white-hot, churned inside Tahlia. Her eyes flew to the clock above the desk and she felt a pang of dread. Had her mother been told that her battle with breast cancer had been successful? Or, as the specialist had warned might happen, had the cancer spread? Even if the news was bad, her father would hide his fears and support Vivienne, just as he had done every day for the past two years. Only Tahlia knew that sometimes he sat alone in his study and wept. Peter Reynolds, of all people, did not deserve Thanos’s disdain.

Shaking with fury, she marched across the office and stood directly in front of Thanos. ‘Think what you like about me, but don’t you dare say a word against my father. He is a better man than you will ever be.’

‘Not in business,’ Thanos drawled sarcastically.

Tahlia flushed. ‘I accept he had made some unwise decisions, but there were reasons…’ She glanced at Thanos’s mocking expression and halted abruptly. She refused to discuss her mother’s health problems with him when she was sure he would accuse her of lying to gain his sympathy. Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had arrived, leaving her feeling drained and despairing as the realisation hit her that there was no hope of saving Reynolds Gems from the administrators.

‘I wish more than anything that I’d never met James Hamilton,’ she said huskily. ‘And I hope with all my heart that your sister makes a full recovery.’

She swung away from him, choking back the tears she was determined would not fall until she was outside his office. Her knee collided painfully with the coffee table.

‘Damn it!’ She stumbled, dropped her briefcase, and bit back an oath as it burst open and spilled its contents over the floor.

No doubt Thanos was enjoying seeing her on her knees, she thought furiously, as she knelt and began to scoop up the pages of figures that spelled the demise of Reynolds Gems. She dashed her hand over her eyes and froze when she realised that he had crouched beside her and was helping to gather up her paperwork.

‘Thank you.’ She took the papers he handed her and slowly lifted her head, startled to find him so close. The tang of his cologne drifted around her, teasing her senses, and she could feel the dry heat emanating from his body. How could she be so agonisingly aware of him when he had made it clear that he despised her? she wondered despairingly.

It was suddenly imperative that she stood up and moved away from him, before he realised the effect he had on her, but her muscles had seized up. Her eyes were drawn to his—and shock ricocheted through her when she glimpsed the unmistakable feral desire blazing in their depths.