The Emperor Awakes (32 page)

Andros almost choked. Katerina had inadvertently hit the nail on the head; and she didn’t even know the truth about Andrew and Elli. ‘How do you know this?’

‘I have my sources.’

‘What sources?’

‘Dad, that’s my business. Oh, come on, you know how people like to gossip.’ She paused and her demeanour changed from antagonistic to conciliatory. There was no point fighting her father. She knew she wouldn’t change his mind about this, so she might as well help him and resolve this. And, besides, she could show Andrew up for what he really was and expose his deviousness. The thought made her feel slightly better, but not for long. Suddenly she was gripped by anger that Andrew was playing with her father’s feelings. She vowed that he would pay. But she would not admit this to her father now. ‘Anyway, you are right. We have nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain.’

‘Are you mocking me?’

‘Dad, I wouldn’t dare.’ She smiled her mischievous smile and winked at her father. ‘I will go.’

‘I’ve booked you on the morning Emirates flight via Dubai.’

She looked at him surprised.

‘I had no doubt you would go despite your protestations. You will never change. Sense always prevails with you in the end.’

‘Oh, dad, you know me better than I know myself.’ She bowed her head in grudging respect. Her humour had lost none of its caustic sting and effect.

CHAPTER 35

Sydney, Australia
Present day

The sun was rising fast, illuminating the city in a glorious hew of riotous colours, the skyscrapers of the Central Business District and those North of the Harbour Bridge gleaming in the sunlight. Did she imagine it or were they bowing to her, welcoming her?

She simply adored landing in this city in daylight, which brought it out at its best. The view from the plane window was breathtaking, definitely one of the best views in the world in her book.

She had always thought that the positioning of the runway at Sydney Airport was deliberate. Trust the Australians to put on a show for visitors on approach for landing, inspiring the feeling of a dream come true. Sydney was one of her favourite cities.

It was good to be back, even if she did not look forward to her meeting. At least it gave her the excuse to be in this city.

The car whisked her away, plunging bravely into the heavy morning clogged arteries of the city, heading to the Fanari Tower. She just sat back and relaxed, enjoying the ride, enjoying being bombarded with all the snapshots of rushed and incredibly stressed daily life; mundane routine activities that now seemed so beautiful to her. She was honoured to be a silent witness to them without being watched.

She knew it would be the same in every city across the world, but this was a special place, her special place. It was a city, a country, rich in stories that shaped the history of this country and continent both, stories to inspire, and entertain and feed the soul, going back all the way to the Aboriginal stories and their Dreamland and their wisdom and traditions.

She lowered her window. A rush of extraordinarily tempting smells invaded, immediately assaulting her taste buds and triggering involuntary mental salivating. She took it all in like a child arriving for the first time.

It had been long since she was last here. Well, a month to be precise. Yet even that was too long. That was how much she loved this city. It was the same every time. She never bore of this city, this country.

Her musings were cut short when the car stopped outside the building that rose one hundred and fifty metres into the sky, its aggressive design showing its mean intentions, and those of its owner, to spear the clouds, to break through and rise higher and higher.

Inside the glass lobby that rose thirty floors into the innards of the building she could not help but raise her eyes to the crystal chandelier-like sculpture hanging like an ancient stalactite falling towards the lobby, ready to open a hole in the floor and burrow its way to the centre of the earth.

She stopped herself and lowered her eyes just in time to show to the receptionist a dignified business-like face that had seen it all before.

The lift whizzed her to the forty-first floor. She knew the entire forty-second floor was her uncle’s penthouse and out of bounds for all but the most trusted members of his inner circle, and selected guests, when it was used as the stage for impressive parties.

Her uncle was a prolific entertainer and very adept networker who also gave millions to charity and personally got involved in his charity projects around the world. Where he found the time to do all that and at the same time run one of Australia’s largest corporations was beyond her. But then again, although he was a control freak, he had placed brilliant managers in key positions within his organisation who effectively ran the company day to day with terrifying efficiency. His companies basically ran themselves.

He also did like a flutter on the horses, for no less reason that he owned one of the biggest and greatest horse studs in the country with other offshoots around the world. His horses ran in all the big races not just in Australia, but all over the world, with a winning streak not to be sniffed at.

Andrew Le Charos’ secretary, Diana, smiled warmly and showed Katerina into the boardroom. Diana came across as a dragon-lady, but weren’t all personal assistants serving powerful and often arrogant men like that? Men with fingers in many pies, constantly on the move, no time for charm unless personal gain was involved.

Katerina knew what it felt like to be in the shoes of such men and women, having had various demanding roles in her father’s companies. A personal assistant was indispensable. It was a position of trust as they knew almost all your secrets and you spend more time with them than you did with your husband, wife or partner. And that led personal assistants to be protective and even possessive of their bosses.

The boardroom was deserted and Katerina went to the window to take in mouthfuls of the glorious view of the harbour, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Northern suburbs. Her nostrils twitched, taking in the molecules of the smell of sweet-smelling leather wafting from the chairs set in place around the long dark mahogany table.

Her thoughts turned to the forthcoming meeting. It could be difficult. Andrew was not an easy man to deal with and was extremely astute. He missed nothing and was always out to smell the slightest weakness, fear or hesitation, and exploit it, shamelessly, to his advantage, as he had always done throughout his life.

He was a stickler for detail. His antennae were wired to the most minute deceit. And he would expose it, take the culprit by the scruff of the neck and let him fall down useless and worn out, not literally, but that was how it felt like when one got on the wrong side of him.

That was when such a person ended up submitting to Andrew Le Charos’ force of will and leaving with one’s tail between one’s legs. Proper pecking order was established once more. The balance of power in Andrew’s favour was reaffirmed.

For all of these reasons and then some, he had become insanely successful, against all the odds, despite being an outsider in a foreign country. Did he ever let his guard down? That was doubtful, though Katerina wondered whether he could keep it up non-stop. She had this image of him barking orders growling all the way to his bed at night or at any time. She smiled. She would need her wits with her, she thought.

At that moment the door flew open and Andrew was standing in the doorway.

‘My dear, it has been a long time. It’s good to see you.’

He went forward to embrace and kiss her on both cheeks. She thought of a tiger, first licking the air and smelling her prey before he went in for the kill. Actually it had not been that long since they last saw each other. It was during her recent trip to Australia. They caught a glimpse of each other from afar at a restaurant. She was in no mood for hypocritical small talk, so she politely acknowledged him with a curt nod and he responded in kind.

‘I see you have not touched the drinks tray. What can I get you? Some water, perhaps?’

‘I’m fine thank you.’ She turned to the window. ‘I’ve always loved this view.’

‘So have I. I know exactly what you mean. It is the top of the hill you know. You can’t get a better view of the city, except from the Sydney Tower or on your approach …’

‘… to land at Sydney Airport.’

‘You do like to finish my sentences, don’t you? Now, tell me, why were you smiling back there when I came in?’

‘Oh. It was nothing. I was only thinking of Diana and how invaluable she must be to you. She certainly is very impressively efficient.’

She bluffed, but knew she sounded convincing. She could not start the meeting by admitting the truth, now could she?

To her relief, Andrew believed her and thought the same.

‘She sure is. What news of the family in Cyprus?’

‘They’re all fine, busy as ever.’

‘Will you join an old man for lunch to keep him company and maybe hold me from devouring the whole calf, tail, legs and all, as my darling wife kept telling me, chastising me about my healthy appetite? What’s wrong with a healthy appetite, I ask you? It’s not just survival. It feeds the mind and the soul, too, I’ll have you know.’ He said this last part of the sentence in the Australian brawl. ‘And I’m very proud of this stomach.’ He brought his hand to pat his abdominal area as he said that.

‘So, shall I let the cook know there will be two for tea? It truly will be a pleasure to have you.’

She almost laughed out loud. Him? Chubby? That was something. He did like his silly jokes sometimes. He was as trim and athletic as he had always been, with hardly any loose fat on his person, in fact in much better shape than a lot of the young people she knew.

And as for the “old man”, that was hardly an accurate description. He was only sixty-two, after all. Why, though, did it always sound as if he was acting a role? She could hardly refuse the invitation, though, and nodded her assent.

‘I’d loved to.’ She crossed her fingers in her mind as the words left her lips, hoping she sounded whole-hearted and keen, in contrast to how she really felt. And who knows? She may enjoy it and pick up some gossip.

Besides her uncle was a very interesting man, a larger than life personality and tremendously entertaining companion. She would not pretend to fit the larger-than-life- category or a level playing field next to someone of her uncle’s calibre. But these days maybe she did in more than one respect.

Perhaps she was a match for him after all, with less experience but sharp and young and nimble in the bargain too. But first to business and then to feast.

‘Excellent. You’ve made an old man very happy.’

Katerina thought of a snake, a viper. Some snakes very often loved to have prey many times larger than themselves. Large was not a term that could apply to her, which meant that she would probably be a tasty morsel, an appetiser to tease the taste buds in anticipation of the main course. Snakes liked a good meal and to digest it slowly, laughing all the way to the deepest recesses of their digestive system.

Her uncle was immensely more experienced and a smooth and very effective operator. Katerina thought he was planning to lunch on her and digest her twice in the space of a few hours and then spit out the unsavoury parts, but she would not give him the pleasure. It was a long time ago that she was that young girl running around hiding behind cabinets, chairs and lampposts, safe in the innocent and misguided belief that nobody could see her.

Andrew on his part knew that he could not underestimate this young woman who had proven to be a formidable businesswoman and at such a young age.

Andrew picked up the phone, dialled, said a couple of brief words in what she recognised as Mandarin into the phone and then hung up. He made his way to the table, sat down and gestured for her to join him.

‘I have been thinking and I have a proposition to make to you and your father. I presume that you are aware under what circumstances I left Cyprus to come here.’ Katerina nodded. ‘I can sense your scepticism, but believe me when I say that my intentions are entirely sincere. Katerina, I am not getting any younger. Andros, Anna, you and Giorgos are all the family I’ve got left. It may seem cold to you now, but try and see it from my perspective. I had been so preoccupied with survival and then initial success which spurs you to build on success after success, that it’s only now that, having achieved so much, I have, upon reflection, realised that it’s not enough, that it was time, if not, strictly speaking, going back to the fold – only a black sheep in the family would say that – at least to mend the bridges and make up for the past, for the lost years gone and lost moments which would be impossible to recapture.

‘I want to chase away any leftovers from the bitterness that made me leave what was my home.’ Katerina said nothing. She felt there was more. ‘I plan to visit you in Cyprus soon. I’m planning a tour of the European and Middle Eastern operations to coincide with that.’ Katerina raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘I assure you it’s not the other way round. Seeing your family is the reason I’m going there.’ He paused. ‘Katerina, I can also see a lot of synergies between many of our respective operations. I can open up many markets for you, especially in Asia. You can do the same for me in Europe and the Middle East. It’s a win-win situation. Both our groups will emerge strengthened from such an alliance or cooperation, if you prefer, for lack of a better term.’