Chapter Eight
S YLVIE WALKED BACK to the office on numb legs. She was going to have to tell everyone that the acquisition was off. And that they had a very substantial injection of cash promised by Christos Onassis.
And it was inevitable that the rest of the story would come up.
She felt like she was in a haze. How was this possible? If her father were alive, she would’ve had the fortitude to tell Christos no. She would’ve been able to cope well enough to reject him. It needed to be done. Instead…
She had seen the easy way, and she had taken it.
Really? You really think the easy way is being married to Christos Onassis? It has nothing to do with the fact that you’re…fascinated by him?
No. She wasn’t going to acknowledge that. Because it was ridiculous.
Yes, they’d slept together. But it never would have happened if she would have known that it was Christos.
It really never would’ve happened if he would’ve known it was her.
The audacity of that man. To ask whether or not she had known. Of course she hadn’t. She would never… She simply would have never.
She was still shimmering with spite when she walked into the board room, where most of the board was still assembled.
“Great news,” she said. “The acquisition is off.”
Daniela looked up at her. “How?”
Sylvie opened her mouth to speak, when the door behind her opened, and she whirled around and nearly flat out into Christos.
“Because I called it off,” he said.
Her shoulders bunched up around her ears. “Yes,” she said. “He did.”
“But don’t worry. I will be investing a sizable amount of money in the future of the company.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Ben, one of the other board members.
“Luckily, it doesn’t have to make sense to you,” said Christos.
He turned and walked out of the boardroom, and she almost went after him, but Daniela stood up. “What’s going on, Sylvie?”
“I… We… That is to say… Christos and I are having a baby. And getting married. And he agreed to give me the company as a wedding gift. Bye.”
She turned on her heel and began to walk out of the office, and Daniela pursued her at a hasty clip. “And you had the gall to accuse me of sleeping with him?” she asked.
Sylvie turned around. “I didn’t accuse you of sleeping with him.
I was really only accusing you of finding him attractive.
And I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But I am not sorry that I have maintained ownership of the company.
And if I have my way, when we sell it off, if we ever do, and if it becomes hugely profitable, your pockets will not be lined because you betrayed me. ”
“It’s business, Sylvie,” Daniela said. “And generally speaking, you can’t talk your way out of a situation like that.”
Sylvie supposed she deserved that. It wasn’t how it had happened, but how would she ever explain what had actually happened?
How was she ever going to convince anyone that what had happened was she had slept with him, not knowing who he was?
Right. Like anybody was going to believe that.
It was ridiculous. It was flat out ridiculous.
It was what had happened, but it was ridiculous.
She was standing in the hall fuming, when the door to her office opened and Christos looked out at her. She scampered over to him and then inside. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m not finished with you. We need to establish a firm timeline.”
“Why?”
“Because it is important. First, we will have a doctor’s appointment. Do you prefer to have it at your house or mine?”
“I don’t… Excuse me?”
“The doctor. I have found one who can see you in an hour. Do you prefer to have the appointment at your house or mine?”
She blinked. “What the hell kind of appointment is it?”
“We need to establish the viability of the pregnancy. Also, do a paternity test.”
“I already told you, I’m not sure about the paternity test.”
“I don’t trust people. I don’t take them at their word. It is not meant to offend you.”
“It’s the risk involved.”
“There is no risk. There are noninvasive methods now. We will be able to have everything done today.”
Her stomach went tight. “Wait… Everything?”
He nodded. “Yes. My lawyers have also begun work on a basic prenup—to be revised within thirty days of the marriage if both parties agree. As it stands, my assets remain mine, with agreed-upon alimony and child support should we divorce, and your assets remain yours. Including Jones & Abbott.”
Her head was spinning and she didn’t think sitting down would be enough. She needed to lie down. With a cold compress. In a dark room. For the next six months.
Instead she took a deep breath. “You want to get married before the baby is born?”
“Yes. I already told you I did. There is no need to have a wedding, filled with pomp and circumstance. I have no friends. And any colleagues who decided they wanted to make much of my nuptials would simply be doing so for grim purposes. No one would actually be happy for me. And anyway, I don’t care for parties. ”
Of course it was a party that had started all this. He’d managed to go to that, hadn’t he?
“You do go to them, though,” she said, pointed.
He shrugged. “If I have to.” Then he made a sweeping gesture, as if he were changing the subject with the wave of his hand. “If the fetus is viable, and if it turns out that it is mine, we will marry after the appointment.”
“What?”
“We will marry today,” he said. “There is simply no point putting it off.”
Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might actually pass out. She couldn’t get a breath. “I disagree. There is… the need for things to adjust. The need for us to wrap our heads around the changes.”
“There will be no changes, not after we’ve gotten the full picture of the situation.”
“Meaning if the baby is alive and if it’s yours? I can’t believe how callous you’re being.”
“No less than you were.”
She felt a twinge of guilt. “I…”
“You were trying to hurt me,” he said, tilting his head to the side, an expression of wonder on his face.
She had been, she realized. She wanted him to feel lost and uncertain like she did. She wanted him to feel something over losing the relationship they’d had.
It had mattered to her.
She’d loved a man who hadn’t existed. Who’d taken her virginity and then ghosted her.
She’d loved a man who had turned out to be the man she hated most in all the world, and she was still reeling with it.
That and the truth that she wanted him.
When the reality of who he was had crashed into the reality of what she’d believed, she’d felt like she’d lost her breath. She hadn’t gotten it back.
He’d been shocked for mere seconds and now he was combating it by taking control. So yes, she had tried to hurt him.
It was hollow and horrible to realize it wasn’t possible.
Because the emotion she felt, the fear, the grief over losing what she’d thought was a real love affair meant nothing to him.
“Should all tests come back positive we will marry. You will move into my home in New York. We will not see each other with great frequency. The house is large. You will have plenty of space, and I spend a great deal of time traveling for business.”
She blinked. “Just like that. Just like that you think I should marry you and vacate my apartment and—”
“Are you attached to your apartment?”
The truth was, while it would be big enough for her and her brand-new baby, it was not suitable for a toddler or a child. Though, she doubted his penthouse was any more suited to it.
“Can you imagine raising a child where you live?” she asked.
“Not long-term. But we will discuss the best places for the child to spend more of their time.”
“You’re willing to plan all this out, but choosing a child-appropriate home is a bridge too far for you?”
He ignored her. “As for now, it will make the most sense for us to reside in the city.”
Everything was happening so quickly, and she didn’t know why she ought to be surprised. Except it was…it was impossible to marry the image that she’d had of her lover with the reality of him.
It hurt. It hurt, and even though she knew she couldn’t hurt him she had to do something with the pain, the poison rising inside her now.
She hated him then as much as she’d thought she’d loved him and she was very, very clear Christos and her mystery lover were one in the same.
Because the betrayal felt so sharp. So real right there.
She might not be able to hurt him, but she’d swing at him anyway.
“I wish I hadn’t found your phone that night.
You know, what’s really funny is I remember I ran into you that night.
And you were an ass. Making it very plain that you were intent on acquiring the company.
My father had died six months earlier, and you didn’t express any sympathy.
And then I found that phone, and I reached out to the person who owned it.
And he responded to me. With empathy. He gave me someone to talk to.
I think the worst part about finding out that it’s you is knowing that none of that was real.
Because look at you . You’re made of stone.
You don’t have any feelings. You’re…you’re awful. ”
“Trying to hurt me again?”
But there was something in his gaze. Something different. Something that seemed to suggest he didn’t feel nothing about what she had said.
“I’m not stupid enough to think that I can hurt a rock wall. If I fling myself at it, I’m only going to end up injured.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth. That it was me. And that it was you.”
The words were strange, uncharacteristic, really.
“Why are you sorry?”
“I don’t know.”
She felt slightly run-over by the statement. But it didn’t get any better, because after that she found herself being propelled from her office and toward the elevator.
“You know everyone thinks that I slept with you to stop the acquisition.”
“Does it matter?”