Chapter 32
C H A P T E R
NIKOS BATTED AWAY HIS DISAPPOINTMENT AND RESISTED THE URGE TO GO AFTER HONEY.
He nearly had her and could feel it from the way she had melted in his arms. If Christos hadn’t interrupted them, Nikos was positive he could have had her laid out on his desk while he told her exactly why they shouldn’t let this connection slip between them.
But he would just have to wait until the next time he saw her to try to persuade her again.
Whenever Christos came to him, it had to be something important, and he had already probably pushed Honey too much tonight.
“What is it?” Nikos asked as he sat down behind his desk, watching as Christos laid out three boxes before him. He hadn’t been expecting Christos to come bearing presents and yet here they were.
“Gifts.”
Nikos opened the first box and inside was a box of Regius Double Corona Cigars, which he knew ran about nearly fifty thousand per cigar. He ran his fingers over the box before he noticed the note tucked on the side.
“To Nikos, welcome to the family. From Richard,” Nikos read out.
Nikos had met Richard three times since he had come here.
The first time was when his uncle introduced them because he had wanted him to meet all of the important men in their group who held ranks, titles, and power.
The second time was when Nikos visited him after his uncle went out of commission.
The third time was when Nikos came to tell him the good news of taking out their enemy.
The other two gifts he had received were a bottle of seventy-year-old wine and a Cartier Rolex, each from important figures in their group.
“They’re showing respect,” Nikos said, looking at his gifts.
Gifts like these were not passed around lightly for the hell of it.
A few months ago, Nikos was certain that all these men thought he wasn’t fit for this position even if he were Giannis Drakos’s son.
To send him these gifts meant change was happening within their group.
“And loyalty,” Christos added, and Nikos nodded.
To a certain extent, he wasn’t surprised.
Taking out Ricardo had not been a small feat, and he knew it would gain him respect from the other heads of their group.
It had been a huge weight on their shoulder even long before he had gotten here, and now that the burden was gone, it put them back at the top again and showed that even with Antonis out of commission, they were still strong, if not stronger.
Nikos took a cigar out, smelling its smoky, wood scent, that oddly smelled like power.
He wasn’t much of a smoker, so he pulled out another one and offered it to Christos, who deserved these gifts as much as him.
Nikos wouldn’t have been able to get to the position he was in now without him.
Aris had been right to tell him to keep Christos by his side.
He was someone he could depend on and trust, and he was also his friend.
“No, thank you,” Christos said, declining him. “My wife won’t appreciate the smell.”
Nikos laughed and put the cigar back down, briefly wondering how Honey would react to the scent on him. A few months ago, it would have been a strange thought, one that wouldn’t have even bothered to cross his mind, but now it was different.
“They respect me now,” Nikos murmured to himself, still reeling off that fact.
“It’s more than just respect,” Christos replied. “They believe in you.”
Respect was one thing, but to believe in someone was another thing entirely.
Believing in someone was the power his father had.
It was the reason he stood at the top of a dominant organization with men willing to die in his name.
It was something only leaders in power possessed, and though he knew that it was something that most men dreamed of, he was not one of them.
He knew what Christos was trying to say, that these gifts showcased that they didn’t just respect him but wanted to follow him, and Nikos could tell that too.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered sending such expensive gifts to begin with, especially to someone like him, who only held this power because another was out of commission.
Nikos chose to ignore Christos’s words because he had no interest in that kind of power.
He had not come here to run the American brotherhood for his father, and he had no such ambitions for that position.
And though many months had passed since his uncle had gone out of commission, Nikos had not forgotten about him, who had been on his mind more often than ever lately after his night spent with Honey.
He would accept their respect, but he wouldn’t take their belief. That brought more trouble than what he wanted to deal with. It was already enough that he would have another pressing matter to deal with in the future if he were able to persuade Honey.
“Take the rest of the night off and go back home to your wife,” Nikos said, letting Christos retire earlier than usual.
Tonight was a good night, and he should be able to spend it with his wife.
Nikos wished he could spend his night with someone else too, but that wouldn’t be possible if she kept running from him, which judging by the way she had scurried out of here earlier, wouldn’t happen any time soon.
“Who will you be going back home to?” Christos asked.
Nikos arched a brow, wondering if Christos knew.
He had made no mention of Honey being in his office earlier.
Nikos thought it had been because he hadn’t suspected anything.
But then again, what was there to suspect with an employee in her boss’s office?
Now, Nikos wondered if they had given something away, even though they had been standing apart.
Had there been tension in the room? Had their actions been different lately since the night they slept together?
Christos was a perceptive guy, though. It wouldn’t be strange if he were able to see right through him, just as he had been able to before in the beginning when he had warned him on multiple occasions about his relationship with Honey.
At the time, Nikos had brushed aside every concern because there hadn’t been anything between them then. But now, it was different.
He wanted her in every possible way.
“There will be trouble,” Christos warned.
Unlike in the past when he vehemently denied anything between himself and Honey, he said, “I’ll handle it.”
Christos nodded before taking his leave.
Nikos sighed before putting his cigar back in the box and closing it.
He walked over to the windows and looked down at the club with nothing but desire humming beneath his skin.
A dam had broken in him and all the wants and desires he had were flowing freely.
After having Honey, he had to have her again, and in order to do that, he would have to handle the situation with his uncle.
But first, he needed to persuade Honey.