Chapter 16
Freshly bathed and oiled, Mia waited for Angelos to come to her room.
He strode in confidently, shirt untucked and open nearly to his navel.
His eyes ran over her half-naked body, and she tried to pretend she wasn’t quivering with longing at the sight of him.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she said, “Let’s get this over with. ”
- One Week with the Greek
CALLIE
I wanted to break something. How dare he target me like that?
When I thought of how scared, lonely, and frustrated—how filthy!—I’d felt since arriving here, rage burned inside me like the molten core of the volcano that had formed this island thousands of years ago.
And beneath it all, I just felt sad. Hurt that he would have wanted to humiliate me.
To think I’d begun to soften toward him, to begin to understand his reasons for being so opposed to the construction of the resort.
I even sympathized with his desire to protect what he loved from change, even though I still believed that change was exactly what the island needed.
After our conversation this morning, I’d made up my mind to talk with Gaz about modifying the plans for the resort, but now . . .
I just wanted to pull up in front of his house in a mega yacht blaring dance music and flashing neon lights.
I should have trusted my gut when it came to him. Instead, I’d once again been blinded by physical attraction. Why, oh why, was I always drawn to self-absorbed assholes?
My arms were aching from angrily hopping around the room on my crutches. The crutches I wouldn’t even be on if it wasn’t for him!
“Bastard!” I shouted as I collapsed onto the sofa. I grabbed my purse on the side table and pulled out my battered phone. For once I had perfect reception. “I’m going to murder him. Lure him up to the rocks and then push him into the sea.”
I jabbed at my contact list and pressed on Gaz’s name. No answer. I called back. This bastard was not going to ignore me any longer either. I kept calling until finally he picked up.
“Jaysus, Calista. I was sleeping,” he mumbled into the phone.
With whom?, I nearly asked, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking I was jealous.
Right now, I could care less who he’d spent the night with.
I wanted to know why he’d left me to the wolves for nearly two weeks.
Sent me out here and then never checked in on me.
I could have died an embarrassing death on the top of those rocks yesterday.
Burnt by the sun and battered by the wind.
Devoured by seagulls or trampled by sheep.
“So sorry to wake you at”—I checked the time—“noon! Shouldn’t you be at Moxie by now?”
“Late night.” He yawned loudly, and I thought I heard a female voice in the background. “What do you want?”
“I would like to know how long you’re going to leave me on this godforsaken island. What exactly is the plan here?”
“Cal, babe, you’re asking the wrong bloke. Why don’t you ring Fred?”
“Because Fred is not the person who had the brilliant idea to send me, a chef, to oversee the construction of a resort on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere with a very hostile local population. Do you know what they’ve done to me?” I started to fling cushions from the couch on to the floor.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“I nearly broke my ankle yesterday trying to get phone service because I’ve been living for the past ten days in a filthy hut surrounded by goats with no hot water, no kitchen, no Wi-Fi!” I wanted to pummel him.
“Sounds exciting. I thought you liked adventures.”
“Gaz, I’m so angry right now. I’m done twiddling my thumbs and waiting for instructions.”
I could hear him stretching on the other end of the line. “What instructions? This is going to be your place, Cal. Your calling card. I thought you’d want to put your mark on it. Plus, you’re a really gifted mediator with a knack for finding solutions to difficult situations.”
“Wow, you sound like you’re quoting bullet points from my CV. I don’t know that any of that is true.” God help me, but my needy little ego was drinking all this up.
“Who exactly is being mean to you?” I hated how he said it as if I were a six-year-old who’d gotten in a playground argument.
“There’s just this one devious asshole. He was behind the plan to scare me off the island. And he really has it out for me,” I admitted.
“Name?”
“Nikos Laskaris.” My lips curled as I whispered his name, almost afraid I’d conjure him up.
“Ah, the doctor? He’s the leader of the opposition.” Gaz snorted. His belittling tone when he said opposition annoyed me. I may not have been a fan of Nikos, but his concerns were valid. To laugh at them seemed disrespectful.
Oh, come on, Cal. As if he respected you.
“Cal, babe, you’ve got all your God-given tools at your disposal to convince him to let you stay,” Gaz continued.
The hair on my neck prickled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, gorgeous. You’re clever, fun when you want to be, and you’ve got an incredible rack. Use it to your advantage.”
“Are you seriously suggesting I flash my tits at him?” I blinked hard, praying I’d misunderstood. “I really hope you’re kidding right now, because not only is that personally insulting, but horribly objectifying and sexist.”
Not to mention that Nikos had already seen a lot more than my naked breasts.
“I’m taking the piss. Jaysus!” He laughed. I didn’t though. Gaz had a dark sense of humor, but that last suggestion was taking it too far. “Look, talk to Fred. Maybe he can come out there to help.”
I snorted. “If I can’t convince the local fishermen’s mafia to change their minds, I don’t think Fred will be able to.” I let out a deep breath. “As usual, you’ve been incredibly helpful. I’m hanging up now.”
“Have a swim. Drink some ouzo by the sea. It’ll all work out, babe. I believe in you.”
“Right.” I hung up, thoroughly sick to my stomach.
He had to have been joking, right?
I stared out the window at the boats rocking in the sea and, weirdly, found myself missing my old view of the ruined temple and the raggedy goats.
It had been shitty of Nikos to put me in that old hovel, but it had grown on me and taught me how to be alone with myself.
Back in London and before that in Paris, I’d always been so busy running around, planning, being productive.
In those days and nights spent under the moon on the hill, I’d had to slow down and listen to myself again.
And I’d impressed myself. I always knew I was resilient, but this had proven to me that I wasn’t some pampered diva like Gaz had always made me out to be. No, I was strong. Like deep-down strong, and I was done doubting myself.
* * *
As I finished unpacking in my immaculate bedroom, I began to calm down. After all, here I was in a house where the wind didn’t whistle through eaves and the stars weren’t visible through holes in the roof.
The huge bed was covered with smooth linens and piles of downy pillows.
The French doors opened onto a small terrace with a breathtaking view of the harbor.
The connecting bathroom had a beautiful claw-foot tub, and I nearly cried at the prospect of taking a hot bath.
Which I did almost immediately, adding jasmine and jojoba bath oils to the steaming water.
I wanted to scald the past ten days off me.
I moaned as I slipped under the water. It felt so completely healing. And so did the glass of wine I’d poured for myself. Opening my group chat with Liv and Levi, I put the phone on speaker.
“Oh, thank God,” cried Liv when she picked up. “I’ve been so worried! We were ready to take the next plane out there, right, Levi?”
“Right,” came Levi’s laconic response. He sounded much less alarmed than his cousin.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, chicken.” I sighed. “It’s been a hellish twenty-four hours.”
“What happened?”
“Where should I begin?” Then I told them all of it. From my fall to my conversation with Nikos, and the horrible discovery that he was behind it all.
“God, Cal, it sounds like a soap opera. I can’t believe he did that to you, leaving you all alone in that place.” Olivia’s voice shook with indignation. “Levi already said that if anything happened to you, he was ready to draw blood.”
“I did?” asked Levi. “You’re always threatening me on people, but you’ve never seen me in action. Don’t let the uniform fool you, I’m more of a lover than a fighter.”
The image made me laugh. I had no doubt he’d be capable of beating a guy to a pulp—he was big enough—but he had such an “aw-shucks” small-town Midwestern appeal that he’d probably charm his way out of a fight.
“Fair enough,” said Liv. “Maybe I should come out there and punch him for you.”
The idea of my pregnant best friend taking on Nikos made me giggle. “Honestly, out of the three of us, I think I’d have the best odds of kicking his ass.”
Strangely though, punching him no longer held much appeal to me. I could think of a dozen kinkier ways to get back at him.
“Did he apologize?” asked Levi
“No . . . well . . . I threw him out before he could. I’m not interested in apologies.”
Then I told them about the call with Gaz and what he’d suggested. I was still shocked even though I was sure he was joking.
“Honestly, could he be any sleazier?” Liv sounded furious. “Cal, please tell me you’re done with him now. What this Nikos did was awful, but I can kind of understand the reason behind it.”
“Are you defending him?”
“No, of course not! But I can see how he could justify it to himself. Gaz, on the other hand, is obnoxious and disgusting. You must see that now.” Liv had never liked Gaz. I wished I had listened to her warnings, but narcissists were my weakness.