Chapter 16 #2
“Yeah, the problem is I can’t just cut ties with him.
His father is my employer and, if anything, this whole experience has made me even more determined to make this restaurant a success.
” I was so determined to prove Nikos wrong and to show the people at Greystone that, not only was I a phenomenal cook, but a creative businesswoman as well.
“I’d love to help if I can. Just tell me when you want me to come out there,” Liv said.
“Oh, sweetie, you already have so much on your plate.” After finishing culinary school last year, she’d started working as a recipe developer for the test kitchen of a major London-based chef.
She’d gotten married, her husband was busy taking over winemaking at a vineyard in France, and they were expecting their first baby.
“The great thing about my job, Cal, is that I can do it anywhere. And now that you have a working kitchen, we can cook together. It’ll be fun!” I loved her enthusiasm. She was as much a sister as a friend, and I was longing to see her.
“Really? I’m not gonna lie, it would be amazing to have friends here.”
“I don’t have any vacation time now. Otherwise, I too would be all over those Greek beaches. You did say there were a lot of bored Greek ladies?” Levi piped up.
“Yeah, they would be overjoyed to have a single, hot fighter pilot on the island. Too bad you can’t make it.” I would have loved to see Nikos’s fangirls defect to the I Love Levi club.
“I’ll be there in spirit. Check your email, Cal. I just sent you some essential reading for your upcoming battle.”
“Will do. And, Liv, let me know what works for you. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Okay, love you. And don’t forget to call your parents! Your mom has been calling nonstop.”
After a quick call with my parents, who were biking through tulips in the Netherlands, I stayed in the bath luxuriating in the hot water and coming up with my next plan of attack.
I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to Nikos: his big hands and broad shoulders, those ridiculously long eyelashes and the sexy scruff on his face.
Mmm, I wondered what that scruff would feel like between my legs.
Stop it, Cal. Let Gaz be a lesson. No more self-absorbed assholes .
I was turning over a new leaf. I was done with these guys, full stop.
* * *
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” I placed my e-reader aside. I’d downloaded Levi’s copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War on to it after he’d sent it with a note that made me smile.
“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”
Levi wasn’t one for writing long messages, and I’m pretty sure he was only in our group chat because we’d forced him into it, but he always had a quote from The Godfather at the ready when you needed one.
It sounded like good advice to me. Since I had a lot of time to kill while my ankle healed, I wanted to come up with the best strategy for winning this war.
Besides, I wasn’t good at convalescing. I didn’t know how to sit around, so I spent the first couple days on my terrace spying on my neighbors—well, one in particular.
Nikos’s house was directly across the harbor from mine.
I could see him come and go between his house and office, and I’d figured out his office hours were roughly 10–6 every day with an hour or two for lunch (I wondered who he was serenading now at the taverna).
Aside from the occasional child or elderly person, his patients seemed to be mostly young, attractive women.
How many of them had he slept with? I wondered, trying to ignore the tiny stab of jealousy in my gut.
Unfortunately, I’d also learned this morning, as I was drinking my coffee, that he sometimes went for a swim in the bay.
When I caught my first glimpse of him in just his swimming trunks—all broad shoulders, chiseled abs, and golden skin—I dribbled coffee all over my robe.
He had quite a few tattoos, one large one on his side that I would have liked to see up close.
I tried to remain indifferent to the half-naked sight of him.
But it was impossible. He was beautiful in the water, sleek and powerful as a dolphin.
When he climbed back on his dock, I was still gawking, and thanks to my damn ankle, not quick enough to dart away. He had the nerve to wave at me, so I turned my chair and presented him with my back. Okay, so much for my new career as a spy. I wouldn’t be joining MI6 anytime soon.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at my door. When I didn’t answer, he called out, “I just wanted to check on that ankle.”
“It’s fine. Go away.” I peeked through living room window and watched him saunter off.
Did he have to walk like that? Like a damn panther, with slow, self-assured steps like he owned the whole damn island.
He wore those slouchy linen pants that hung on his lean hips and his sleeves rolled up over his forearms. His hair was still wet and wavy, and I bet it smelled like salt and sex. God, this was so unfair.
The worst thing was, I was dying for company. So when Yiannis had the misfortune of walking past my place, I practically dragged him inside. Yiannis owed me big time and I was ready to collect.
He tried to hide the fear on his face when I closed the door behind him. “Miss Calista, I was sorry to hear about your fall. I hope you are settled now.”
“Let’s stop playing games, please. I know what you did,” I said, crossing my arms and giving him my most intimidating stare. “Now, normally I should report you to Greystone for taking nearly two weeks rent for a house that I never lived in. I’m sure that’s against most rental laws.”
His eyes widened, then he was practically stuttering out excuses. “Please, I didn’t want to. It wasn’t my idea.”
“Oh, I know that. You don’t strike me as a devious person. I’m willing to overlook everything if you agree to help me.”
I invited him out to the terrace for some mezzedes and wine. He stared at the food warily as if he suspected I’d poisoned it all.
“You are angry?” he asked.
“Well, yes. Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine that you’d been sent to a strange country where you don’t speak the language and you’re counting on the kindness of strangers to make adapting easier. But instead, they play a nasty trick on you. It didn’t feel great.”
He hung his head, his light brown hair falling over his boyish face. He held his hands up. “I am sorry. I should never have agreed to this, but it seemed like the only way to . . .”
“Scare me off?” I suggested.
He shrugged. “Yes.”
“I know there’s resistance to the resort here. But I’d like to understand why he ”—I gestured to Nikos’s house angrily—“is so opposed to it. He told me it wasn’t personal, but it sure feels like it is.”
“Uh, I don’t know where to begin.” Yiannis glanced anxiously across the cove and moved closer, speaking in a whisper.
“Nikos spent every summer here as a child. His grandfather was the doctor and the mayor here for many years. Very respected.” Yiannis grew excited, and I could tell that he too held the old man in high esteem.
“When did he pass away?” It was all starting to make sense now. The intensity with which Nikos defended the island, almost as if he was charged with protecting it by some divine right.
“Three years ago. Nikos came to take care of him after . . .” He hesitated.
“After?” I prompted, sensing he was on the verge of revealing sensitive information.
“Nikos had a bad experience in New York. He never talks about it. It is not for me to say.”
I could tell that Yiannis wouldn’t reveal anything more, so I dropped that line of questioning. Though I was curious for personal reasons, this was strictly business. What mattered most was figuring out if everyone else was as influenced by the grandfather as Nikos.
“Did everyone share the grandfather’s opinion that tourism was a bad thing?”
“No, Florakis, who sells his land, and the current mayor were always fighting about this with him.”
“The mayor who is in Australia until the end of the month?” Not having the mayor here was turning into a big problem. I needed someone on my side.
“Yes, he wants to develop tourism here.”
“And what about you? Wouldn’t it help your business as well?”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I don’t want to see the crowds like in Santorini. I am sorry.”
“I agree with you!” I poured him another glass of rosé. “That’s what Greystone wants as well.”
“Nikos doesn’t believe that is true.”
“Nikos doesn’t know everything.” I swirled my wine in my glass. “Let me guess, everyone on the island respects Nikos like they did his grandfather, so they go along with whatever he says. Especially his fangirls.”
“Fangirls?”
“Yeah, the young women that are constantly trailing in and out of his office.”
Yiannis sniggered. “I like this term. Yes, he does have many fangirls. Panos is jealous. The girls on the island have never been so sick since Nikos is back.”
I frowned because I could totally see why they were obsessed. I couldn’t blame them—they were most likely bored, desperate for anything new.
Something new, of course! “Yiannis, I need you to help me organize a party.”
He startled at the sudden change in subject. “A party?”
“Yes, a big party! And everyone on the island is invited.” I needed to convince the locals that I wasn’t coming for their island.
In the short time I’d been here, and despite my less than warm welcome, I’d grown fond of this place.
It was magical, and there was no way I’d want its beauty impinged on.
I was going to win over everyone, one by one.
If Nikos got wind of my plans, however, he’d launch some devious counterattack, so it was essential he didn’t find out. “You cannot tell Nikos though.”
“Ehh . . .” Yiannis grimaced. “I am not good with secrets. He will find out.”
“That’s funny, you were pretty good at keeping secrets from me,” I reminded him. “You don’t have to lie to him, just don’t mention it. We’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.”
“He will kill me.” Yiannis groaned and gripped his head in his hands.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I won’t let him. When would be a good time to do it?”
“Please, on a Thursday. That’s when Nikos goes to Kos.”
“To see his children?”
“Children?” Yiannis looked baffled. “You mean? Ah, yes, the children.”
Amazing how people didn’t seem shocked that he had offspring by multiple women. I held my hand out for him to shake. “Okay, Yiannis, we’re partners now.”
“Partners?”
“Yes, you’re going to help me prove Nikos wrong.”