Theo looked at his brother, internally applauding his sense of diplomacy. Kostas was four years younger than he, but times like this he acted more mature and collected. Maybe because Kostas had always lived with their parents—and been always around more mature folks. The years when Theo had lived with their grandparents, Kostas had to mature fast to keep up with the adult conversations around him.
Also, their mother loved meddling. Which only meant the weight of responsibility lay heavy on Theo’s shoulders. Lead by example, his grandfather had always said.
Maybe Kostas had a point, though. Theo had been visibly abrasive to his uncle lately—and it’d only cause more attrition when he became the president and majority stock holder of Rhodes Enterprises.
Theo said goodbye to his brother, and a few minutes later, got on the elevator and headed to the top floor.
“Mr. Rhodes.” His uncle’s assistant Maria rose at his arrival. She reached for the phone. “I’ll tell Mr. Horace you’re here.”
“No need.” Theo lifted his hand in disagreement. Hell, hadn’t his uncle surprised him and walked into his office countless times before without announcement? Maybe giving the prick a taste of his own medicine would show him how inconvenient he was. “I’ll surprise him.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
Theo opened the heavy door and walked inside, quietly, as his uncle spoke quickly into the phone. “Amaya Lopez. Yes, that’s her name. Find out everything about her.”
Theo’s blood ran cold.
His uncle kept staring at the glass wall, his shoulders tense. “I don’t care. Go to Nevada if you have to. I want to know why in the world this woman is in Greece with my nephew—”
This woman? Theo’s fingers curled into fists. He’d never told his uncle she was from Nevada. How did he know Amaya? The familiarity with which he called her name brought a nauseating sensation to his gut.
“I thought I’d paid you enough to take care of my problems,” his uncle huffed, waving his hands in the air, obviously annoyed. “Don’t you think I fucking know? I’m not going down because of a damn accident with some no-names.”
What the hell had his uncle gotten involved with this time?
Theo ran his fingers down his face, temples throbbing. His uncle began to move around, holding the phone and gesticulating as if whomever he talked to on the phone was in front of him.
“No, I won’t calm down. Not when—”
At last, Horace turned around and saw Theo. He stopped in his tracks, his face paling. Swiftly, he turned off his phone and sat it on the desk.
Tension charged in the room.
“Hello, Uncle,” Theo said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “You want to tell me what business you have with Amaya?” What if his uncle had found out about the virgin auction? Theo popped his knuckles. Nah. That wouldn’t be enough to get his usually cool uncle in knots.
A bob made its way down Horace’s throat. Horace opened his mouth, hesitated, then ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “What business do you have with her, my dear nephew?” Horace asked. “Don’t you think it’s a tremendous coincidence you brought her into your house? A woman you think can ruin me? When I heard you and Kostas talking, I paid attention to her name. Amaya Lopez. The first name didn’t ring a bell, but the surname has been haunting me for a year. What are the odds of a woman from Vegas conveniently coming to Greece with you? A woman who tragically lost her parents.”
A woman…
Wheels moved in Theo’s mind.
The conversation he’d overheard echoed in his ears, and as he glared at his uncle, he drew in a breath. Think man, think. Why would Horace be so mad at Amaya’s presence in Athens? If anything, he could use her against Theo—to show Talia Theo was living his last months of freedom in full-on debauchery.
Theo winced. Talia wouldn’t care.
A damn accident with some no-names.
A tremendous coincidence you brought her into your house.
Theo’s heart stopped working for a second. “You killed Amaya’s parents,” he said, each word bringing him more clarity. His uncle had decided not to travel anymore to Vegas to meet with business partners since a year ago—around the same time Amaya had told him her parents had died. Theo had taken turns with his father, but ever since his father began having health scares and began to lay low, Theo had gone in his place.
Horace’s color dissipated from his face. His eyes widened. “It was an accident!”
“You were drunk,” Theo said, remembering Amaya’s words.
Horace fumbled with his tie. “Tipsy. Not drunk. And those people jaywalked. They committed a minor infraction of their own by ignoring the crosswalk.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He launched at Horace, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall. His uncle gasped, beads of sweat forming under his nose. The only sound filling the space were their own labored breaths—his uncle’s because of fear, and Theo’s because of frustration. His body pounded with rage, blood about to pop from his temples. “Is that why you fled the scene and never waited for help? Because of their minor infraction?”
