Conveniently Wed To The Greek. Kandy ShepherdЧитать онлайн книгу.
not a restaurateur.’
‘I’ll answer both your questions with one reply,’ he said. ‘Every criticism you made about my restaurant Athina was true. My manager was systematically defrauding me. Your judgement was spot on. I should have taken your review as a warning instead of taking you to court.’
‘Oh,’ was all she was able to choke out. Alex Mikhalis admitting he was wrong?
A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. She was more used to seeing him glare and scowl at her. The effect was disconcerting. A devil undoubtedly. But a fiendishly handsome devil. For the first time she saw a hint of the legendary charisma that had propelled him to such heights in a people-pleasing business.
‘I’ve shocked you speechless,’ he said.
‘I admit it. I’m stunned. After all that...that angst. When did you find out?’
‘When I slipped back into Sydney for the review of the police handling of the siege,’ he said, now without any trace of a smile.
Dell nodded, unable to find the words to say anything about what must have been such a terrible time in his life. The saga had made headlines in the media for weeks. ‘From my memory, the manager was your friend,’ she said instead.
‘Yes,’ he said simply.
How betrayed he must have felt on top of everything else he’d had to endure.
‘Perhaps if I had been an investigative reporter I might have discovered that,’ she said.
‘I wouldn’t have believed you. Everything in your review pointed that way. I just didn’t see it.’
‘Didn’t want to see it, perhaps,’ she said.
He paused, then the words came slowly. ‘I... I’m sorry, Adele.’
Alex Mikhalis apologising? After all this man had put her through?
She thought again about all he had been through since. Realised she was intrigued at the thought of what project he might be working on now. And that it wasn’t healthy to hold a grudge or wise to refuse an apparently sincere apology. Especially when she really needed a job. Lizzie was right. She should consider this.
‘Dell,’ she said. ‘Please call me Dell. Adele is my newspaper byline, the name on my birth certificate.’ She looked up at him. ‘Tell me more about this job.’
ALEX DIDN’T KNOW why it had suddenly become so important that Adele Hudson—Dell—accept his impromptu job offer. But he didn’t question it. Much of his success in business had come from following his instinct and he’d learned not to ignore its prompts.
Dell could be just the person he needed to help him launch his new project. The project he needed to get him back on track with life.
Mentally, he checked off the skills she brought to the table. Without a doubt she was good with words—a huge asset for launching into a new market. Another strength was she saw the hospitality industry through the eyes of the customer while at the same understanding how the business side operated. Her blog gave her an international view with access to readers all around the world. On top of that, she was smart and perceptive.
Her review of Athina had raised red flags he should have heeded. His traitorous so-called friend had been doing illicit deals with suppliers and siphoning off funds to a private bank account. He would have saved himself a good deal of money if he hadn’t let pride and anger blind him to the truth of what she had observed.
Since he’d been back living in the land of his ancestors he had thought a lot about the Ancient Greek concept of fate. Was it his selfishness or fate that had put Mia in his city restaurant when a sociopath had decided to make a deadly statement? Could it be that fate had brought Dell back into his life? Right at the time when he needed help to launch something different and she was in need of a job? At a time when he was growing weary of punishing himself for something that had been out of his control.
Dell looked up at him, her green eyes direct. ‘What exactly does the job entail?’ she asked.
Fact was, there wasn’t a job vacancy as such. He would create a role for her.
Alex looked around the café, filling up now as lunchtime approached. Lizzie had left them to return to the kitchen. ‘We need to go somewhere more private where we can talk.’
Dell nodded with immediate understanding. ‘What about the harbour front?’ she said.
He put cash on the table to cover both his coffee and a very generous tip. ‘Good idea.’
He followed her out of the café. She looked good in shorts with her slender legs and shapely behind. In fact she was downright sexy. How had he not noticed that sensuous sway before? Alex forced his gaze away. This was about business.
He walked with her past the adjoining bookstore towards a lookout with a view across the stone-walled harbour with its array of fishing and pleasure craft. The scene was in some ways reminiscent of the fishing village his Greek ancestors came from, in others completely different.
He’d been born and grown up in Australia and thought of himself as Australian. But his Greek heritage was calling to him. He was back here just for a quick visit to help celebrate his father’s sixtieth birthday and to take a look at Bay Breeze. Greece was where he wanted to be right now. He didn’t think he could ever live back in Sydney again. Not with the memories and regrets that assaulted him at every turn.
‘No one will overhear us here,’ Dell said when they reached the lookout. ‘Fire away.’
He looked around to be sure. His success hadn’t come about by sharing his strategies. ‘I would usually require you to sign a confidentiality agreement before discussing a new project.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m good with that. Just tell me where to sign.’
Through his dealings with her as an adversary he’d also come to a grudging admiration of her honesty. According to the judge, her review had been scrupulously within the boundary of fair comment. And his lawyers had been unable to dig up even a skerrick of dirt on her.
‘I wasn’t expecting this, so I don’t have an agreement with me,’ he said.
‘You can trust me,’ she said. ‘I’m good at keeping secrets.’
He had been accused of being a ruthless and cynical businessman—never taking anyone on trust. Yet instinct told him he could talk to this woman without his plans being broadcast where they shouldn’t.
Still...he hadn’t changed that much. ‘I’ll email a document to you when I’m back at the resort.’
‘Of course,’ she said with a tinge of impatience. ‘I’ll sign it straight away. But right now I’m dying of curiosity about the role you have in mind for me.’
Alex leaned back against the railing. ‘I’m not at Bay Breeze for the yoga and the parsnip tea,’ he said.
Dell’s green eyes danced with amusement. ‘I kind of got that,’ she said.
‘I’m a stakeholder and I wanted to see what my investment has got me. The more I’m involved, the more I like the well-being concept. It seems right for the times.’ And for his time.
‘You want to start a similar kind of resort?’
He nodded. ‘It’s already under way. On a private island. Upscale. Exclusive. To appeal to the top end of the market. But my experience is all in restaurants and nightclubs. A resort is something different and challenging. I need some help.’ Alex had to force out the final words. He never found it easy to admit he needed help in anything. Had always seen it as a weakness.
‘That’s where I come in?’
He