Page 10 of Loving the Greek Billionaire

Her abrupt question caught him off guard.

He coughed on the bit of pita lodged in his throat. Once he cleared the food, he took a sip of his drink. “Sorry, wrong pipe.”

With concerned eyes, she asked, “Are you okay?”

He nodded and took another sip. “Fine, thank you. Mr. P?”

“It’s easier to say. Papadakis is so long.”

He nodded, letting the shortening of his last name slide. “What makes you think Mr. P doesn’t spend time with his children? They are the light of his life.”

“You mentioned they’re with their grandparents while he was held up in another country. He put business before family.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t seem like a caring father to me.”

The corners of his mouth turned down and tension crept into his shoulders. “And what about the need to provide for his family? Or the grandparents’ need to spend time with their grandchildren?”

Rose ran a finger along the rim of her glass. “The business is lucrative, and I would guess it provides plenty of income without much effort on his part. I’m sure someone else could run the company and see over the day-to-day operations with very little inconvenience to or input from him.”

Leo consciously released his grip on his drinking glass before he shattered it. “That scenario might be quite comfortable, even preferable, to a man who’d been spoiled in his youth and didn’t learn about duty and responsibility. Mr. P thankfully had more diligent parents than you may paint. He cares for the company, all who work in it, and especially the growers. He knows everyone by name, from myself to the youth who mulches the trees in the farthest olive grove. A man who cared less could afford to do less and reap the benefits of others’ hard work. But Mr. P doesn’t expect more from those in his employ than he’s willing to give himself.” His voice had risen and attracted a few looks from nearby diners.

Leo took a long drink, adjusted his tie, and resettled the napkin in his lap before speaking. “You make many assumptions about a man you’ve not met. What drives you to malign a stranger so much?”

Looking properly contrite, Rose folded her hands on the edge of the table. “Forgive me. I forgot my place. I don’t usually speak ill of my employers or allow others on the film set to do the same in my presence. Negativity doesn’t breed harmony. I apologize for speaking out of turn.”

The tension leaked from Leo’s shoulders at her placating words. “Thank you for your apology. I accept on Mr. P’s behalf. However, you didn’t answer my question.” He wasn’t letting her off so easily. If his curiosity hadn’t gotten the better of him, he’d have let her go despite the trouble of locating another nanny on short notice.

The waiter delivered her soup and hismozzarella burrata.

Rose swept her waves over one shoulder. “Earlier in adulthood, I spent some time with the well-to-do.” She swirled her spoon through her soup, gathered a bite, and blew on it three times before taking a tentative sip.

Leo watched her wage an internal struggle and waited. He couldn’t tell if she was deciding how much to tell him or simply trying to find the words to do so.

“At first the people were nice, welcoming, even loving.” She stalled by taking another spoonful of soup.

Leo didn’t touch hisburrata. He sensed any move he made might tip her into silence, and he wanted to hear the story, though he didn’t know if she would tell him all at this time. They’d known each other less than three days.

“But later, when life took an unexpected and sad turn, they thought their money could sway me on an important point. When I refused to budge, they offered more money, but I wouldn’t change my mind. They were angry, and their concern for my well-being went out the window when I thwarted them in their desires. We parted ways and don’t speak anymore.”

Her late husband and the circumstances that followed must be what she was alluding to. Sensing that her willingness to share was at an end, Leo cut off a piece ofburrataand dipped it in the peach ginger sauce before sliding it into his mouth. He let the saltiness of theprosciutto di Parmamix with the acidity of the tomatoes and the hint of sweetness of the grilled green pepper. “You should enjoy your soup before it gets cold.” He pointed to her bowl with his fork. “That’s what we came for after all.” He shot her a small smile.

She nodded, and they ate their appetizers in silence.

Leo took the opportunity to study Rose. He knew from her dossier that she was barely thirty. In fact she’d celebrated her birthday less than a month ago. Her skin had a healthy sun-kissed glow that he imagined would deepen with the extra time she’d spend outdoors with the children. She had a heart-shaped face, eyes of dark amber, a nose with the tiniest upturn at the end, and a full mouth. She kept her posture erect, yet seemed to carry an aura of ease that kept her from coming off as austere. Her eyes continually drew him back in with their hint of deep sorrow. She knew the loss of a loved one. Nothing in the world could duplicate that pain. He knew it intimately.

With the first course cleared and emotions returned to equanimity, Leo believed the time had come to venture into safer topics.

He pointed to her phone, which lay on the table above her plate. “I believe you were going to show me your pictures.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve seen it all in person. I don’t want to bore you.”

“I don’t think you could ever bore me, Rose.”

That delightful blush tinted her cheeks, and she placed her phone between them. As she shared her pictures and experiences, she grew more animated, adding in bits of history Kyrene had shared with her. Images of the Acropolis, Plaka, the Parthenon, Erechtheion, the Temple of Hephaestus, Ancient Agora, and Herod Atticus Odeon flew under her nimble fingers. Her neatly trimmed fingernails made the lightest of tapping sounds against the screen.

“There’s a crack in your screen,” Leo said.

Rose ran a finger over the corner. “I dropped it at the temple. Thankfully the case did its job, and only the corner suffered minor damage. It’s nothing really.”

“I’ll see that it’s repaired immediately.”

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