Kostas closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. How many times did he have to say the same thing? He was furious now. Why wasn’t Stathis listening to him? His teeth were so tight together they were starting to hurt.
‘Kosta?’ Stathis said. ‘Did you hear what I said?’
‘Yes! Yes, I fucking heard what you said! But it seems to me that you still have not heard anything I have said to you.’
‘There is land in Lefkada so much more suitable for your project, Kosta, perfect in fact. Yes, they already have a two-thousand-square-metre marina but there is no complex alongside that. We could fly?—’
‘Ochi!’ Kostas roared, the word firing out into the night air and echoing around the gardens. He had said it so harshly his own chest hurt, heart thumping a furious beat. There was silence on the other end of the line and Kostas knew that his outburst was not only unprofessional but also so emotionally transparent it burned. He needed to be calmer. Clear.
‘Kosta, my job is to best advise you, remember?’
‘I realise,’ he answered. ‘But Stathi, let me make this plain. I am not looking for the best location in Greece for the plans. I am looking for the best location in Kerkyra. And I believe we have found that.’
‘Kosta—’
‘No. I do not want to hear anything else except for you to tell me that you will be here on Corfu tomorrow.’
There was silence for a short time and then: ‘If that is what you want.’
‘Tell me what time you will arrive and I will arrange transport.’
‘Kosta, are you certain that?—’
‘Ta léme.’ He ended the call with the ‘see you’ then took a breath, swallowing down the heaviness in his chest. Anxiety. No, not anxiety. That word was as weak and pathetic as the feelings people claimed overran them. There was no place for anything like that in his world. Looking out over the gardens and the dark skies, only small lights from the complex illuminating flowerbeds and the pool, he sought stability. But what he really noticed was another light on… in Faye’s office. Distraction. That was exactly what he needed to erase the awkward conversation with Stathis from his mind.
16
Faye bashed the keys of her computer as she sat at her desk. It wasn’t right and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her accounts to add up. It was something she liked to do every night before she finally left the office and clocked off. But now it was nearly eleven and her eyes were seeing stars, not euro signs. She should stop, look at it again fresh in the morning, but… she wasn’t a quitter, and how hard could it be to find the probable one mistake?
Suddenly the door of her office burst open and there was Kostas, filling the space, striding towards her with purpose.
‘OK, we need to go back to the beach,’ he said, already half-behind her desk and looking like he might forcibly make her stand up.
‘What?’ she said, wheeling back a little on her chair.
‘To skim stones. Come on. We do not have to go back to Kerasia. We can do it here at your paradise beach.’ He reached out but, before he could make contact with her arm, he paused, retracted but stayed standing close. Very close.
‘It’s eleven o’clock at night,’ Faye said, unmoved. ‘And I’m working.’
‘It is too late to be working unless the VIP guest needs assistance.’
‘Well, I think you showed me earlier that you definitely do not need assistance with skimming stones. And I need to balance these accounts.’
He turned around, facing the computer screen. ‘What is wrong with them?’
‘Stop! No! You can’t look at them!’ She leapt off her chair, brushed past him and put her back to the screen, covering the spreadsheet. ‘It’s confidential! You could get me fired!’
‘Only if someone finds out. Show me.’ He tried to look around her, edging himself into her space.
‘Back off!’ Faye ordered viciously.
Kostas seemed to freeze, and then, after a moment, he took a step back and held up his hands. ‘OK, OK, I am moving back. I wouldn’t want to accidentally see a few hundred euro here or there.’
‘Why do you do that?’ Faye asked, exiting out of the program as soon as Kostas was far enough away not to see anything.
‘Do what?’
‘Take the piss out of anything you think is below your millionaire pay grade?’
