Adonis in Athens - Page 37

“Not as well as I thought.” Apollo folded his arms across his chest and waited. His father was a ruthless businessman, but a softie when it came to his kids.

“You have to understand why I did what I did.”

“I don’t and I never will. You could have told me. You could have given me the respect I’ve always given you. You should have—because my reputation has been irreparably damaged. The staff will never respect me now.”

“Apollo! This is ridiculous! They know nothing!”

“They know that right after I supposedly landed a multimillion-dollar contract, my father came in and closed the deal. It doesn’t matter what was said or how it was said—you effectively erased every bit of respect I’d earned in the last year. You’ll have my resignation by the end of the day.”

“Apollo!” Dimitri’s face flushed red. “This is nonsense! This was Pio’s game and I played along because he asked it of me! He didn’t trust Fabrizio, and I didn’t think it would be a big deal to make it seem as though I had the same issue with you, but this was never my—”

“Again, if you truly trusted me, you would have told me and we could have done things differently. By going in there yesterday to handle the actual signing of the paperwork, you undermined everything I’d done. Since you obviously want to be back at work, it’s the perfect time for me to spread my wings, perhaps take my skills elsewhere.”

“Apollo, enough!” Dimitri’s voice was loud but controlled. “I apologize for going behind your back, but it was not you whom we were testing. I was having a little fun, but not because of distrust or because I thought you couldn’t do it.”

“It amounts to the same damn thing!” Apollo yelled, throwing up his hands. “Even if you walked in there today and had a meeting with the staff to tell them exactly what happened and that this was a little game you and Pio played, the seeds of doubt are planted. And if I’m not capable of running the business, there’s no point in my being the CEO. You might as well come back to work, Baba.”

Dimitri pursed his lips. “You’re overreacting because your mind is on the pretty American—something else we have to discuss.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” Apollo met his father’s eyes defiantly. He’d planned to draw this out a little, make his father grovel, but he was madder now than he’d been when he first found out.

“Kali-mera.” Paige tried to keep her voice steady as she stepped into the room with her hand outstretched to Dimitri. “I’m Paige.”

“Kalimera, Paige.” Dimitri smiled at the young woman in surprise. Pio had told him she was very attractive, but he hadn’t expected her to be wholesome as well. Apollo’s taste in women over the years had leaned towards less sophisticated, wilder and a bit on the trashy side. He understood that those women had been chosen for one specific reason, without substance or interest in a relationship, but Paige didn’t even come close to what he’d thought was Apollo’s type and he was pleasantly surprised.

“Let’s have some coffee,” Apollo said.

“I’ll make it.” Melina had come in behind Paige and turned around again.

“It would be helpful if you had a place for people to sit,” Dimitri muttered in Greek, looking around.

“I’ll get chairs from the kitchen,” Paige said.

“I’ll get them.” Apollo put a hand on her arm. Though he wouldn’t throw her to the wolves, he knew his father wouldn’t be unkind if he left them alone. Even if he didn’t like her or approve of their relationship, he wouldn’t use his first opportunity with her to say or do something hurtful. His mother might be a different story, but not his father. He left the room after putting a soft kiss on her cheek.

“Do you speak English?” Paige said quietly.

“Enough,” he nodded. “I speak less, understand more.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry we’re getting off on the wrong foot. Apollo and I did something foolish, but we really care for each other. We were young and…” She held up her hands, palms up as she shrugged. “I can’t explain why we did it.”

“Love,” he said simply, a twinkle in his eyes. “Sometimes this is not easy to explain.”

She knew her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t avert her gaze. “We just wanted a little time to be together…to see if we still feel the same. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “Of course. This is smart. The situation with the business—” He said something in Greek she didn’t understand and paused at her frown, scratching his head. “Bad timing?”

She smiled. “Yes. An added complication.”

Apollo came in with four folding chairs and set them down, opening each and motioning for his father to sit. He walked with a cane even though he didn’t need it most of the time. It was simply a little extra protection for when he occasionally lost his balance, and Apollo didn’t like the thought of him getting overtired.

“I’m going to get the table too,” he said, going back to the stairs.

Dimitri sat down and looked up at Paige. “You will sit also? You are too tall.”

She smiled and sat beside him.

“Apollo is angry,” he said after a moment. “I did not wish this.”