CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER THREE
Lynna froze. She wouldn’t deny that the money was tempting. It solved a lot of problems, but she was a problem solver. She hadn’t needed anyone’s help before this moment, why would she need it now? With enough hard work and determination, she could give Rhys and her mother everything they deserved.
Or at least close.
Maybe she wanted that to be true more than it was. Regardless, there was one thing Athan was offering that no amount of her hard work would ever accomplish.
No matter what she did, she would never be able to clear her father’s name from the accusations Constantine and Athan had leveled against him. Crushing his spirit, ruining his reputation, filling a once loving and generous man with bitterness…and putting a black spot on Rhys’s future.
A public apology. “You would only do that to make your father look bad.”
“Does it matter why I would do it if I would do it?”
She didn’t dare look at him. Because the question was simple and her answer was not. Did it matter? To her it did, she wanted nothing that helped either man, but she did not think her mother would have such qualms if it cleared her father’s name. Her mother would make that deal with the devil. And Rhys would be free of that stark black stain.
Of course, her mother would possibly have her own aneurysm at Lynna marrying an Akakios.
She was not considering this. It was lunacy. Lunacy.
A public apology. A guaranteed job and mentorship for Rhys.
How could she deny him that chance?
How could she feed him to the lion’s den that had essentially killed their father?
“Sleep on it.” Athan said this with that thread of silk and coercion in his tone that had no doubt fooled her father, that had once fooled her into thinking he was a friend . Why would she listen to him? She knew what he was.
“We will breakfast together. Feel free to put together a counteroffer.”
She looked at him then, focused on being calm, cool, and completely unaffected by him and his outrageous offer. Because, no. This just wasn’t a realistic offer or choice or anything .
He was just…shell-shocked. By his father stealing his fiancée out from under his nose. A man like Athan didn’t do shocked and upended like other people did. He went into scheme mode.
But this scheme was just…not possible.
“My counteroffer is no.” And since he didn’t have the good sense to nod or accept or look the least bit like he understood, she didn’t have the good sense to shut up and leave. “It also involves you taking a long walk on a short pier.”
His mouth curved, and something deep inside of her seemed to curve in response. She was quite certain it was a feeling associated with hate since no one else she’d ever encountered had caused that strange tightening sensation so deep within her.
“Think on it, Lynna. If your answer is still no in the morning, I will respect that. I will pay you for the full three weeks, and you may return home or enjoy a vacation in Mykonos at my expense.”
She narrowed her eyes. It was a trick. She knew a trick when she saw one. But didn’t that mean she could be immune to the trick part of it? “At your expense?”
“You only have to spend the night and give me your answer or counter in the morning.” He shrugged, as if it was oh so simple. “You were going to be staying here for the week anyway. What’s one night?”
She knew better. She did . And still…all the things he was offering kept shuffling through her mind. She couldn’t make a deal with the devil, or even a lower-level demon. No one came out of those unscathed.
But did she need to be unscathed? She was resilient. If it got Rhys and Mom what they needed… Could she withstand a little damage?
Maybe it wasn’t ridiculous to sleep on it. To go to her room, where she’d been planning to stay the next week anyway, as he’d pointed out, and write out a pros and cons list. Really sort out the smartest choice, taking all of her mixed-up feelings out of it.
Because while she was an excellent decision-maker, and coolheaded in most things, she knew Athan brought out more emotions in her than she liked. Time and space was sensible , and how she made every major life decision.
Carefully. Mathematically. Emotions, feelings—both positive and negative—led to catastrophic decisions. She had watched her parents lose everything because they’d trusted kindness and love. She’d watched her father dig himself deeper into suffering by being so obsessed with bitterness and betrayal that only alcohol had quieted his mind in his last months.
The only reasonable option was to take all that feeling out of it. No revenge. No knee-jerk refusal. And certainly no reckless acceptance. She inhaled deeply. “All right. You’ll have my answer in the morning.”
And it would be no, because of course that was the only answer, but she would be certain of her no and would have absolutely no regrets or second thoughts, because by tomorrow morning she would have looked at it from every angle.
And come to the correct conclusion.
* * *
Athan didn’t bother to retire. He wouldn’t sleep. Not tonight. So he went to his study—not the kind of dark, medieval type of study his father preferred, but a bright room full of natural light and colorful art. Comfortable chairs instead of old stuffy ones.
He poured himself a drink and considered his options. He needed a backup plan. He would find a way to make Lynna say yes, but he had to be flexible enough to understand it might not look exactly as he liked.
This, he had determined, was his father’s greatest flaw. Sure, being an inflexible, demanding monster could build you an empire, it could get you far enough, but it would also eventually be the source of your downfall.
So, Athan was determined to handle this with all the flexibility it required. He could keep twisting the deal until Lynna took it. As long as it made AC International his, it was worth any price.
When his phone rang, he looked at the screen readout and frowned. He could ignore it. It would make the most sense.
But he’d never been a man to back away from a challenge. He answered it. “Well, good evening, my darling. Have you landed in Athens? Cleaned the knife of my blood? Or did you leave it in my back to twist it?”
“I am sorry, Athan,” Regina said quietly. He wouldn’t say she sounded contrite , but there was a certain solemnness to her tone.
He studied the amber liquid in his glass. Considered hurling it at the wall. But he kept the bitterness out of his voice and settled for dry and underwhelmed. “Well, an apology changes everything.”
“His offer was better. Surely you of all people can appreciate that.”
“You didn’t give me the chance to counteroffer.” He thought of Lynna. Would she? Was there any way his offer had gotten through that thick skull of hers?
Regina laughed. “Part of his offer was not allowing you the chance to counter. It was very lucrative, and I’m sure I’ll be very happy. So would you be if you just accepted your father has a better grasp on things.”
Athan took a deep drink from his glass. Had his father spearheaded this phone call? Because not that long ago, Regina had believed in his bid to take over. Which, he supposed, meant she didn’t care about the business side of things at all. She was just looking for the best deal.
He didn’t blame her, exactly, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it. “He’s twice your age, Regina.”
“He’s a handsome, powerful interesting man. My father loves him. It’s hardly a downgrade.”
“Your father is terrified of him.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“You should be.” And Athan could not think of a simple way this conversation came to a productive conclusion, so he hung up on her.
Because she should be terrified. No woman came away from his father’s clutches unscathed. No matter how smart or strong, silly or weak, beautiful or plain.
Constantine Akakios was a user. An expert user, but a user all the same. Anyone who didn’t escape was bled dry—one way or another.
Athan pushed to his feet and stalked over to the balcony, its bright white gleaming in the golden light of a fading day. Beyond his extensive villa was the impossibly blue bay, the rocky shoreline and hilly fingers of land that seemed to reach out for the sea.
He looked out over the crashing waves. Darkness encroaching, but light holding out there on the horizon. For a little while longer yet.
Lynna would agree to marry him. And then he had two years to make certain that his father paid.
For everything.