The Greek Tycoon's Lover (6 page)

Dimitri wasn’t fooled and chuckled at her attempted fabrication. “No you’re not. Hop up Helen. Take some aspirin, drink lots of water and meet me at the office when you feel better. We have a lot to discuss today.”

“Discuss?” she squeeked. “What do we need to talk about?” She wished her mind would focus so she could remember what she’d said last night.

“Greece, for one.”

“Greece?” she parroted. “What’s in Greece?”

Dimitri laughed again. “Many things. Including you by this time next week. Get dressed and meet me at the office.”

“Um…okay,” she said softly, very confused.

Hanging up the phone, she was finally able to pull herself to a sitting position without wanting to chop off her head. But that was as far as she got. The towel fell down and she gasped as she pulled the towel and blanket back up to cover her chest. She was naked? Why in the world hadn’t she put on her nightgown? She had a vague idea that Dimitri had put her to bed, but that wasn’t impossible. Was it?

Only one way to find out, she said to herself. She got up and stumbled to the bathroom, downed two aspirin with a large glass of water and then stepped into a hot shower. A half hour later, she was feeling somewhat better now that she was showered and dressed. The entire trip to the office, she worried about what Dimitri wanted to discuss with her. Why would she be in Greece? She lived in London. The idea of living in Greece was only a fantasy. She’d always wanted to visit the country where the sun shined down on the beautiful coastal towns, escaping the dreary, wet winters of London.

Finally entering the office that morning, only fifteen minutes late, she was still feeling the effects of the night before. And for some reason, when she first saw Dimitri, her face turned bright red. “Good morning, Mr. Theopolis,” she said primly, quickly looking away and down at her desk.

“Nope. Can’t call me that anymore,” Dimitri said, leaning over her desk with his hands flat on her desk. His eyes were green lights of fire as he watched her face turn an even more becoming shade of red. “You called me Dimitri last night. So it’s just going to have to continue.”

Helen pulled some papers out of a file folder and shuffled them needlessly, nervously. “Well…about last night Mr….I mean Dimitri. What did I say?”

She happened to glance up at his face at the right moment and caught the amusement that lit his eyes. “You don’t remember?” he asked.

Helen swallowed, worried now. There was something very wrong here. “Not really,” she said.

The smile moved from his eyes to his mouth as his lips curled up at the edges. “That’s interesting.”

He moved off into his office, leaving Helen to wonder what he was thinking, what he was remembering about the previous night.

She followed him, too worried about the possible comments she might have revealed to stay away. Standing in his doorway, she asked, “Aren’t you going to tell me?”

He smiled at her worried expression but wouldn’t relent. “Yes. But not today. Bring your notebook in and let’s talk,” he said and disappeared behind the mahogany doors of his office.

Helen went back to her desk, picked up her pen and notebook, then followed in his wake. Her eyes were worried but she tried to appear confident and unconcerned. Taking the seat as she normally would, she sat down and waited expectantly for him to begin.

“How is your mother doing?” he started off.

This definitely wasn’t the conversation she’d been expecting. Usually, when he called her into his office he started shooting off instructions at rapid speed, and Helen hurried to keep up with him. His question threw her momentarily. “Great,” Helen replied immediately, wanting to reassure him. “The apartment you found was wonderful. She barely has time for me anymore since there is so much to do within the community. She’s made many friends. I can’t thank you enough for finding it for me. It was a great find.”

“Good. You said she barely has time for you anymore. Is that a problem? How often do the two of you get together?”

Helen smiled and relaxed slightly. This was a safe conversation. “I call her often but the last time she had time for me was about two weeks ago. When I speak to her on the phone, she’s so excited about things she’s done, I can barely get a word in.”

“So if you were to move to Greece, that wouldn’t cause problems with your mother’s care?”

Helen’s heart went into overdrive. “Greece? You want me to move to Greece?” She said the words in a whisper, almost reverently. She tried to keep the hope out of her voice but she knew it was coming through.

He nodded his head slightly. “Yes. My assistant there wants to retire. I was hoping you’d take over that position with slightly different responsibilities.”

Helen’s smile instantly brightened. “Oh, that would be wonderful. Are you sure I’d be qualified?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.

Dimitri didn’t answer immediately. He simply stared at her face, thrilled that she was willing to come out to Greece with him. It was asking a lot for her to give up everything familiar here in London and follow him to his country but apparently she was more than willing to do so if her expression were any indication. “I can honestly say that you would be perfectly suited for the position I have in mind for you.”

“When?” she asked, unable to hide her excitement.

Dimitri laughed. She had moved on her chair from a relaxed position where she’d been able to take notes quickly to sitting on the edge of her chair, her excitement more than obvious. “As soon as possible. But you have to understand, this is a slightly different kind of role. You’d be more of a personal assistant to me than an executive assistant. There is travel required, parties and conferences to plan and attend. I’d need you in a different type of capacity,” he cautioned, careful not to reveal too much for fear that he would scare her away. “Are you sure you’d be prepared for that kind of a position?”

“Planning parties? Travel? What a dream!” she gushed. “Absolutely. I’d love to grow more in that capacity.” She was so excited she was almost shaking in anticipation. Then a thought struck her. “But aren’t I a little….” She wasn’t sure how to phrase the question. She bit her lip nervously, unsure of how to ask him. But then the hurt from the previous few days reared up and she squared her shoulders. She had been about to ask if she was too frumpy and old fashioned for the job. Dimitri was one of those people who was regularly pictured in society columns and the women he escorted wore beautiful gowns and were confident and poised.

Who was to say she couldn’t mould herself into that kind of a woman? Not that she had any aspirations to become one of Dimitri’s women. There was no possibility of that. But she could definitely polish up her image so she was more suitable for the role he was proposing.

“What were you going to ask?” Dimitri questioned, extreme curiosity gleaming from his sharp, green eyes.

Helen shook her head and lifted her chin. “Nothing. I was going to say something but I realized it was irrelevant. I can definitely help you out and no, there is nothing holding me here. I would love to move to Greece and become your personal assistant.”

Dimitri smiled and Helen’s heart flip flopped. “Good,” he said. “Then you’ll need to get a work visa. There’s no need to find an apartment immediately. You can use the corporate apartment until you find something you like. But don’t rush into anything.” He actually had no plans for her to find an apartment ever. If things went the way he planned, she would move into his house, and into his bed.

Helen left his office and sat down nervously at her own desk. Her hands actually shook as she reached out to the computer mouse so she hid them under her desk. Was this really going to happen? The idea of leaving London, traveling to Greece with Dimitri was more than she could imagine. Her happiness was almost overwhelming her and she had to stop thinking of the possibilities and concentrate on the realities of getting everything done in one week.

Taking a deep breath, she forced her mind to concentrate on the specific things she’d need in order to be able to leave with Dimitri on the desired date.

Clothes! That was one area she’d need to change immediately. First things first though. She quickly searched through the government web sites to find out what she would need to do to get a work visa for Greece. Printing out that information, she then called a real estate agent and arranged to have her house rented out. Moving company was next. Dimitri had said she could use the corporate apartment in Athens but she would never put him out that much. She would find an apartment immediately so she wouldn’t need to rely on his generosity too much.

The next week was a blur of nervous excitement for Helen. She wrapped up issues within the office efficiently, reviewing contracts and adjusting the filing system so it made more sense to the person who would take over.

Each day during her lunch hour, she would shop. With the help of a personal shopper, she found flattering skirts, shirts, shoes with higher heels that flattered her long legs. She wore soft sweaters and delicate jewelry paired with long slacks or pretty skirts, some that flowed around her legs and some that hugged her hips. All were still professional looking but less boxy. Everything was feminine.

She visited one of the boutiques and had a facial and re-learned how to apply makeup. She didn’t want too much, knowing that the heat in Greece could be intense and she didn’t want a great deal of makeup to smother her. Just some powder, mascara and lipstick usually but she also purchased several colors of eye shadow, shades that would bring out the color of her eyes and coordinate with her prettier, more feminine clothes.

The day after her conversation with Dimitri, she wore one of her new outfits to the office. As soon as she stepped off the elevators, several of the men actually stopped their conversations to stare at her. Dimitri’s reaction was also encouraging. He had been reading a report when she’d walked into his office, notebook and pen in hand prepared to take instructions for the day. Initially, his eyes only glanced at her appearance, then went back to the report but within a second, they snapped right back to her pink, V neck sweater and shorter than normal skirt that hugged her slim hips. Her new heels were higher than normal but not so high that she stumbled when she walked. She smiled bravely at him, enjoying his stunned reaction.

When he didn’t say anything for a long moment, Helen’s self-esteem took a nose dive. “Do I look okay?” she’d asked, biting her lower lip in fear that she looked ridiculous.

His response was a broad smile and a green light lit up his eyes. “Definitely. That color of pink suits your blue eyes.”

His comments gave her courage and she became more confident with her wardrobe choices. There wasn’t anything that slowed down her efficiency and she wondered why she’d pushed her femininity so far away all these years.

“Are there any travel arrangements I should make for you?” she asked Dimitri two days before they were scheduled to leave. She usually didn’t make these kinds of arrangements since his PA in the Athens office took care of them. But since she was going to be that person, she wanted to make sure she was covering all the angles.

“No, Alessandra will be doing that from now on,” he explained, relaxing behind his desk, enjoying the view of her long, sexy legs which were revealed in her flirty, floaty, flowered skirt. Pulling his eyes away from her legs, he went on, “Besides, you’ve been working too hard lately. Why don’t I take you out to dinner tonight and we can go over the details of the trip.”

Helen’s eyes widened at the new female name. “Who is Alessandra?” she asked, trying to hide the jealousy that flared up into her eyes.

Dimitri watched with satisfaction as the female name caused the appropriate reaction. He like that about her, the fact that he could read her expressions so well. There was no subterfuge with Helen. It was all there, written on her face.

“Helen is my new secretary out in Athens.”

Helen gulped nervously. “I thought I would be taking over all those duties.” She heard her voice and cringed, wishing she didn’t sound so insecure and jealous.

“No. You have a different position entirely.”

She licked her lips nervously, wondering what she’d done wrong. Why had he hired a secretary. Wasn’t that her position now? “I don’t understand.”

Dimitri smothered a smile and knew he would have to explain this carefully. He couldn’t reveal his plans for her until he had her away from the London office. He suspected that she was going to rebel and climb back into her shell. He didn’t know why, but Helen had a very precarious self-esteem and he wanted to protect her feelings and her growing confidence in herself as a woman.

As it was, he was having a very hard time controlling his raging libido with her new wardrobe. Helen had taken to wearing tighter, shorter skirts in lighter, more feminine colors that were very sophisticated and shoes with slender, sexy heels. Today’s little floaty number was a complete deviation from the norm but he liked it just as much as the slim fitting skirts. Hell, there wasn’t much about Helen he didn’t like, he knew.

Her shirts were made of soft, silky material or sweaters that clung to her voluptuous curves. All of which he was aching to touch and not just because the clothes revealed her figure more prominently. Just a few more days, and his plan would be put into place he reminded himself.

“So how about that dinner? Go get your purse and I’ll take you out.”