Page 35 of Below Deck Billionaire
‘And you’re going to tell him you will.’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are.’
It was irritating how much his brother didn’t give a rat’s ass that he was the CEO of the company, and older. ‘You want me to lie to him?’
Ari crossed his arms and let out a long-suffering sigh. ‘I think if these past two months have taught you anything, it’s that your life has been much less complicated without the tabloid drama, right?’
Theo had to admit not being followed around by paparazzi and reading uttermalakiesabout himself online had been a very pleasant by-product of this dare.
‘So,’ Ari continued, ‘if you’re not out there flaunting a different woman each night on your arm at all the cool places, if you’re just more discreet, for fuck’s sake, I think Dimitri will call that a win.’
The cool places. It had been so long since he’d been out he’d forgotten all about them. He wasn’t sure when the clubs of Athens or Milan or Barcelona had started losing their appeal, but all Theo could think about now was what was waiting for him on theNerida.
Another image of Tiffany fluttered through his grey matter, and he stomped on it. The sea. Adventure. Crete. That was what was waiting for him, damn it.
‘Fine,’ Theo huffed. Being more discreet wouldn’t kill him. ‘But it’s going to have to wait until I get back from Crete.’ No way was he delaying that for anyone. Not for Dimitri Kouris or his grandfather.
‘About that…’ Ari said, trailing off as he turned back to the window.
Theo narrowed his eyes at his brother’s profile. ‘What about that?’
‘He and his wife are going to be in town tomorrow on their way to Mykonos so I extended an invitation to them on your behalf to spend a couple of days with you on theNeridadoing some island-hopping, and you could drop them off there.’
Gaping was all Theo was capable of right now. This could not be happening.
‘What?’ Ari said, a smile tugging at his mouth as he glanced at Theo. ‘It’s on the way. Also, they’re delighted.’
Theo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d been looking forward to this trip for the past two weeks so he could relax and get away from it all. Enjoy this amazing playground of islands and sea that were entwined into the fabric of his life and he got to call home.
And now he was going to have to entertain an old curmudgeon who’d wouldn’t know a good time if it sat on his face.
‘You know I’m your boss, right?’
Ari raised an eyebrow. ‘You know I pay you, right?’
Neither was strictly true, but it was familiar patter for them. ‘Fine,’ Theo huffed. ‘Two days.’
Ari grinned. ‘Good. They’ll be on board tomorrow afternoon at five to get settled in for dinner. Dimitri expressed a desire for calamari.’
Theo glared at his brother. Dimitri Kouris would get whatever the hell Maria put down in front of him.
Grinning, Ari slapped his brother on the back. ‘Let me know how it goes,’ he said, backing away as Theo turned his glare on the view. ‘Theo,’ he called as he got to the door.
‘Fine,’ he snapped, not looking at his brother. ‘He can have the damn calamari.’
‘No, it’s not…’ Theo heard the seriousness in Ari’s tone and half turned. ‘I’ve done all I can but he’s still a little hesitant. You need to be on your best behaviour. It’s up to you to convince him now. For Pappou.’
Theo sighed at the not so subtle turning of the screw. ‘Yeah, yeah. I’ll play nice.’
Ari grinned. ‘I kinda wish I was going to be there now.’
Theo brightened. ‘Brilliant idea. Why don’t you and Kelsey join us?’ The more the merrier. Theo could demonstrate he was a huge proponent of family and, with more people to spread the conversational load, there’d be less opportunity for Dimitri to lecture.
‘Ha. Good try. Even if she was back from London, the answer would still be no. You’re on your own with this one.’
And with another grin, he swaggered out the door.
