Do you mind if I call you Lys?”
“I’d prefer it. If you’ll come with me, we’ll go to my suite to talk. Until the situation is settled and made official, I’d prefer us to meet in private rather than Nassos’s office so we don’t have to make explanations to anyone.”
“You took the words out of my mouth.”
They walked to the bank of elevators and took the next empty one that carried them to the third floor. He followed her to the end of the hall where she opened the door to a small foyer. It led into a typical hotel suite sitting room. Nothing special here, nothing that told him about her personality.
“There’s a guest bathroom down that hall. If you’d like to freshen up, I’ll call the kitchen and ask for lunch to be served. Anything special you would like?”
“Why don’t you surprise me?” He watched her disappear before he left the room. When he returned, he found her seated in one of the chairs around the coffee table with the phone in her hand.
Her gaze wandered over him as he sat down. He enjoyed the sensation far too much and castigated himself. “Danae just called to tell me she met you outside the penthouse door looking for me. I’m curious. How did you gain access to the private elevator?”
He leaned forward with his hands clasped between this legs. “When I worked here for a year, I was given the code to take VIPs to the penthouse for Nassos.”
A genuine smile broke out on her beautiful face. “You knew his birthday code.”
“I’m afraid I couldn’t resist finding out if it still worked, but I caught Kyria Rodino off guard. For that, I’m sorry.”
“That’s my fault. When I told you I lived at the hotel, I failed to be more specific. It wasn’t until Nassos separated from Danae that he moved to the penthouse.”
“I had no right to do what I did.”
“I’m sure Danae was more amused than offended once you introduced yourself. It’s something Nassos might have pulled if he’d been in your shoes. He had an impish side and indicated you were clever.”
“If you translate that, it means I went where angels feared to tread far too often.” The gentle chuckle that came out of her coincided with the rap on the door to the suite. Takis got up first. “I’ll get it.”
After tipping the employee, he carried their tray of food into the sitting room and put it on the coffee table. He removed the covers on horiatiki salad and Greek club sandwiches filled with lamb while she poured the coffee for them.
They both sat back to eat. She appeared hungry too. He swallowed his second half in no time. “This is an excellent lunch. Kudos to the chef.”
“You can tell Eduardo yourself.”
Takis glanced at her over his coffee cup. “My attorney examined the legal work and it is quite clear that Nassos didn’t give either of us a choice. We’re stuck for six months. How do you feel about that?”
She averted her eyes. “I don’t have a right to feel much of anything. As I told you earlier, it’s possible he didn’t want me to be the sole owner for fear I might make bad decisions. The one man he felt he could trust was you, so I can understand why he made certain you would be there to help me if I got into trouble.”
Nice as that compliment sounded, he didn’t buy it. “Have you gotten into trouble in the past?”
His question seemed to unsettle her. She put her coffee cup on the table. “Not in business, but he didn’t always approve of the men I’ve dated.”
That had been the one thing on his mind since he’d seen her in the church. If she was in a relationship now, he should be happy about it.
No doubt Nassos hadn’t liked any male who tried to get too close to her. He’d probably had a man in mind for her, but only when the time was right. By becoming her guardian, he’d taken his responsibility seriously.
“Though I can’t imagine it, is it possible he didn’t want you to fall for someone who wanted more than your love?” A man would have to be blind not to want a relationship with her if he could. The fact that she was the owner of one of the most famous hotels in Greece would make a man heady if he could have both.
She sat back in the chair. “He couldn’t have known that he would die this early in his life.”
“No,” he muttered. “No man knows that.”
“But I wouldn’t put it past him to have worried that I might make a bad emotional decision because of some man, even at the age of sixty or seventy.”
“If Nassos had a fear that you could put the welfare of the hotel at risk no matter your age, he would never have willed half of it to you. I’m convinced your personal happiness was all that concerned him.”
“Coming from you, that means a lot.”
What Takis still hadn’t worked out yet was why Nassos had made him co-owner. His partners had tried to disabuse him of the notion that when Nassos had made out his will, he’d seen Takis as the needy boy from Crete.
He still didn’t want his father to know he’d inherited it from Nassos. He feared his parent wouldn’t understand and would wonder what Takis had done to deserve such a gift.
Her features grew animated and she got to her feet to pour herself another cup of coffee. “Now that you’re here, I have a proposition for you.”
The course of their conversation intrigued him. “Go ahead.”
“When six months have passed, Nassos said we could do whatever we wanted with the hotel. I’ll be honest and tell you up front that I’d like to buy your half. I’ll be twenty-seven by then and will have come into the inheritance from my father. Whatever price you set, I’ll be able to meet it.”
Takis hadn’t been expecting a proposition like that. Her own father’s inheritance would make her independently wealthy. There was no question she’d be able to buy him out. In half a year’s time this unwanted situation could be turned around and he’d be done with it.
“On the face of it I like the idea. Since you worked with Nassos, then he would have taught you how to invest your money wisely.”
Her eyes lit up, reaching his insides. “I’d like to think that’s true. Takis...if it suits you, I’ll continue to run the hotel, leaving you free to go back to your other businesses.” If she was eager to see the last of him, he had news for her. “But if you want to be here full-time in a hands-on capacity to honor Nassos’s wishes, then we’ll work things out any way you’d like.”
Hands-on?
Not only was she gorgeous, she was too good to be true. He hadn’t known what to expect, but it wasn’t this amenable woman whose only agenda he could see was to eventually own the hotel outright. If she had an ulterior motive somewhere, he hadn’t detected it yet.
When she’d told him at the castello they were co-owners, hadn’t Takis wanted to be free of Nassos’s gift?
He got to his feet, troubled because she was seducing him without even trying. Not since losing his girlfriend had he felt such emotion. But this was much stronger because he was no longer an eighteen-year-old boy.
“You’ve made this insanely easy for me in every way. Why don’t we meet tomorrow morning at the Villa Kerasia outside the city? The quiet, small back room of the dining area will help us to keep a low profile while we talk business and discuss where we go from here.”
“That sounds good to me,” she answered without taking a breath. “Before you leave, I wanted you to know that within the week the penthouse will be empty. You can use it, decorate it, do whatever you want.”
“Thank you. But when I’m in Crete, I stay with my family.”
Her eyes went suspiciously bright.