Part One
Leonidas
These two were goodtogether, Mrs. Sanchez thought fondly as she watched her billionaire boss gently wake his wife from her nap.
The young Mrs. Gazis had fallen asleep somewhere over the Atlantic, her head tilting toward the window of the private jet, a tablet still clutched in her hands. Something technical on the screen, full of diagrams and equations that Mrs. Sanchez couldn’t begin to decipher. The girl was always working on something, always lost in her world of machines and calculations.
But now Leonidas was crouched beside her seat, one hand carefully removing the tablet before it could slip, the other brushing a strand of dark hair from his wife’s face. The gesture was remarkably tender, so unexpectedly soft from a man who commanded boardrooms with the mere lift of an eyebrow.
In the decades she had been working for the Gazis family, she had seen Leonidas grow from a reckless young racing prodigy into the controlled, leonine figure he was today. Golden-haired, tawny-eyed, with that single streak of silver at his temple that only made him look more untamed rather than older. A modern-day monarch, ruling his billion-dollar empire with quiet, absolute authority.
And yet here he was, handling his sleeping wife like she was something precious and delicate.
It would have made more sense if their first stop from Athens had been Monaco. That was where the business waited, after all. But Leonidas had always been protective toward the young Mrs. Gazis, and so Mrs. Sanchez and the rest of the staff had simply exchanged knowing smiles when they’d seen the flight plan.
Athens to New York, and then the crew was to enjoy a paid leave while Mr. Gazis flew commercial (first class, of course) to Monaco, and only upon his return to New York would the couple use the private jet to fly back to Athens.
All this trouble, Mrs. Sanchez thought with quiet amusement, just so his wife wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of flying commercial.
“Lexy.” His voice was low, patient. “We’ve landed.”
Mrs. Gazis stirred, blinking those serious dark eyes. For a moment she looked disoriented, a small crease forming between her brows. Then she registered her husband’s face, and something in her expression settled.
Not joy, exactly. Not the swooning adoration Mrs. Sanchez had seen from other trophy wives. Just...calm. Recognition. Like he was a familiar landmark in an unfamiliar landscape.
“Already?” Lexy sat up straighter, reaching automatically for the tablet Leonidas had already set aside. “I was in the middle of—”
“It can wait.” The billionaire’s tone was gentle but firm.
“I guess.” Hers was of quick acquiescence, and hearing this had Mrs. Sanchez struggling to keep her face blank. The truth was, the young Mrs. Gazis might look innocent and biddable, but she could be surprisingly stubborn on most things...except where her husband was concerned. What Leonidas said, Leonidas got...because Lexy trusted her husband to always have her best interests at heart.
Leonidas rose to his full height with the unconscious grace of a man who had been impeccably dressed since birth. “Come. The car is waiting.”
Another round of discreet smiles were exchanged among the staff as they listened to their handsome and normally aloof boss betray his humanity in the next few minutes, with Leonidas acting more like a parent would with a forgetful child as he reminded Lexy about keeping her belongings safe and warning her against talking to strangers.
“But I’ve never been the friendly type,” Lexy protested. “You know how much Ihatetalking to anyone—”
