Kayla’s phone vibrated, and she rolled her eyes. “Probably Konstantin checking on us again. He worries when he’s not here.” She looked at her phone with a smile, but then it vanished.
“What is it?” I asked, getting concerned.
“Nothing,” Kayla said quickly, shoving her phone into her pocket. “Hey, do the twins sleep on their backs? Because this one…” she gestured to her baby, “…won’t sleep unless she’s on her stomach.”
I refused to be distracted. “Kayla. What was on that phone?”
“Nothing.” Kayla wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Just... you know how these Greek tabloids are. Always making up mess.”
My heart started racing. “What are they saying?”
“Honestly, it’s probably fake news. You know how they...”
“Kayla!” I snapped. “What does it say?”
She winced. “There’s an article saying Aris’s assistant filed a lawsuit against him.” She said it fast.
“A lawsuit?” I frowned. “For what?”
Kayla hesitated and it told me everything. Whatever it was, it was bad.
“Deanna, it’s probably not even—”
“Tell. Me. What. It. Said.”
She looked at Domna and Irida like she wanted backup, but they both stared at her expectantly. Even Irida, who usually had something to say about everything, stayed quiet.
“Sexual harassment,” Kayla said quietly, not looking me in the eye.
32
Walking into that boardroom felt like entering enemy territory. I surveyed the room, taking in the lawyers, HR representatives, PR team members, and my brothers.
I caught myself adjusting my tie and immediately stopped. It was a pointless, nervous gesture. I wasn’t in the wrong here, and I wouldn’t allow anyone to put me on the defensive.
Konstantin sat rigid, jaw clenched in characteristic restraint. Dimitrios paced the perimeter of the room, radiating anger. I took my seat, maintaining a neutral expression, and with a nod indicated for the head of legal to begin.
“Mr. Christakis,” he began with unnecessary hesitation. “According to this lawsuit, Miss Phoibe Stavrou claims that while in your employ she was subjected to a hostile working environment. She states you made unwanted sexual advances on multiple occasions, and when she refused, you retaliated in ways that made her work life untenable.”
The accusation was absurd. I terminated Phoibe’s employment the day after she showed up at the hospital, after months of her testing my boundaries.
My new assistant had been in place for weeks now, and there’d been no contact between us since her termination. The suggestion inverted reality so completely that it would be amusing if it weren’t potentially damaging.
The lawyer glanced at me, clearly anticipating an outburst, but I remained motionless. “She also states that your communication contained lascivious verbal innuendo, and that your proximity often made her feel uncomfortable and cornered. She claims you developed a pattern of predatory behavior that made her feel her professional standing would suffer if she continued to refuse your advances.”
Three weeks ago, I’d stood in an operating room convinced I was about to lose everything. I’d watched Dede’s blood pressure drop, heard my son’s silence before his first cry, felt the paralysis of trauma threatening to consume me. I’d walked out of that hospital with my wife alive, my children breathing, and a heart filled with gratitude.
Now, this woman threatened to destroy it all with lies.
My wife was postpartum and didn’t need this added to everything else. I needed to shut this down before it reached Dede, and before tabloids turned Phoibe’s lies into headlines.
My gaze moved around the table, assessing each face. Kostas and Dimi, despite our frequent disagreements, would remain loyal. The lawyers were paid to be skeptical. HR would follow protocol. PR would calculate damage control.
The head of legal cleared his throat. “Mr. Christakis, do you deny these allegations?”
“Completely,” I said without hesitation. “Every claim in this lawsuit is fabricated. I reported this woman to HR every single time she stepped out of line. They have the records.”
I directed a look at my HR manager, who straightened. “We have documentation of ten separate incidents over the past five months, Mr. Christakis. Time-stamped complaints with your signature.”
