“Tell the Norwegians I’ll host them for lunch,” he said absently. “With their pick of wine from the cellar. And send my apologies to the minister.”
“Yes, sir. And the Dryfuss deal?—”
“Later,” Alexandros cut in, his voice low but final.
Julius hesitated. “Very well.”
The elevator descended with a soft hum, opening directly into the penthouse-level executive suite of Kallistratos International. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered an uninterrupted view of Athens awakening below—traffic flowing like silver veins, marble monuments rising between ultra-modern buildings.
But Alexandros saw none of it. All he saw was Dani.
Her smile as she’d watched him leave. Her sun-kissed skin. The delicate lines of her collarbone beneath that loose peasant blouse.
I still don’t know what her favorite color is,he thought.Or whether she prefers sunrise to sunset. What she dreams about when she’s alone. But I’ll find out. I’ll learn every inch of her… body and soul.
He didn’t realize Julius had stopped speaking until the man cleared his throat.
“My apologies,” Alexandros muttered. “Tell legal I’ll join the meeting in thirty. Come prepared.”
Julius gave a curt nod. “Understood.”
Alexandros crossed the expansive office and closed the door behind him. The silence that followed was thick and deliberate—his fortress, his control. But this morning, the silence was threaded with impatience.
He pulled out his phone and dialed his brother, Theo.
The line barely rang once.
“Where the hell have you been?” Theo barked, his voice clipped with irritation. “Gina cornered me at that rooftop club in Kolonaki last night, going on about you kicking her stepbrother off your yacht. And that’s not even the worst of it—the Dryfuss deal is this close to going sideways.”
Alexandros ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the edge of his desk, grinning despite himself. “Would it help if I told you I seriously considered tying an anchor around Vito’s neck before tossing him overboard?”
Theo laughed, despite his obvious annoyance. “That would’ve made my night a hell of a lot easier.”
“She’s not one of my lovers,” Alexandros said firmly. “Despite what Gina wants.”
“Then tell her. Before I have to hear about it again.”
A pause before Theo added, “So…what’s the story? Vito was going on and on about some mechanic throwing herself overboard after making a scene.”
“She didn’t make a scene—well, she did, but she had a right to. Vito locked her in my stateroom,” Alexandros replied, the smile returning to his lips. “And yes, she escaped—after punching me in the groin.”
“She didwhat?! She attacked you? And what do you mean, she jumped overboard? At night?” Theo chuckled.
“Yes. Then, she had the nerve to ask if I was nuts for following her. Her name is Dani. I’ve never met a woman like her before, Theo. She is magnificent.”
There was another pause. Theo chuckled and released a low whistle. “Dani, huh? You sound… serious.”
Alexandros turned toward the windows, eyes scanning the horizon without seeing it. “I am. She’s… smart. Gorgeous. Funny. Real. And I want her. All of her.”
“Damn,” Theo muttered. “And here I thought we agreed neither of us did serious.”
“I didn’t. Until her.”
Silence stretched between the brothers for a beat before they shifted back into business mode, breaking down the Dryfuss merger with sharp efficiency. Numbers, projections, liabilities. But even as they strategized, Alexandros’s mind kept drifting back to Dani’s smile.
Before they ended the call, Theo asked, “When are you introducing her to the family?”
“This weekend. At the estate.”
