Doukakis's Apprentice (16 page)

‘Bullying is unacceptable behaviour. You should have had support. You shouldn’t have had to leave.’

‘Leaving was the best thing that happened to me. I hated that school and so did Arianna.’

‘
Arianna
hated it?’

‘Yes. The girls were vile. Honestly, I think we were just unlucky with our year group or something. She didn’t really want to hang around there without me and she thought my party plan would work better if she joined in.’

The news that his sister had also hated the school was a solid blow deep in his gut. Shaken by those unexpected
revelations, Damon turned the full force of his own guilt into anger. ‘Why the hell didn’t one of you tell me the truth?’

‘Arianna did say that she might, but you were storming and ranting and looking like thunder so I think she lost her nerve. Look—just forget it. It’s such a long time ago I can hardly remember.’

He didn’t believe her for a moment. It had obviously left deep, permanent scars. ‘Don’t lie. For once, I want the truth.’

‘The truth is that it doesn’t matter any more. None of it. I’ve moved on.’ She was silent for a moment, as if her own words had come as a surprise to her. Then a tiny smile touched the corners of her mouth and she sat back in her chair, as if she were surprised by something. ‘Wow. I’ve said those words a million times and never really meant them. But this time I really mean them! I really
have
moved on.’ Her smile widening, she sprang to her feet and did an impromptu twirl. Then she grabbed the front of his coat and her eyes shone into his. ‘Do you have any idea how good that feels? You can deal with something, you can put it behind you, but that’s not the same as actually being over it. And I’m
over
it! Honestly, truly over it.’

Observing this unrestrained display of ecstasy with growing bemusement, Damon found himself overwhelmed by a sudden urge to drag her back to bed. Staring down at the tiny dimple at the corner of her mouth, he wondered what had happened to restraint and discipline.

‘I can see now what a difficult time you’ve had.’ The words stuck in his throat. ‘And then I took over your father’s company and stormed and ranted and looked like thunder.’
And made things worse for her.

And he was about to make them worse still by telling her that their relationship was over. That whatever they’d shared was just a one off, never to be repeated.

‘You were worried about your sister. I get that. Don’t worry.’ Still smiling, she stretched her arms above her head and yawned. ‘Arianna is lucky to have you. You might be misguided sometimes, but I know you care. That’s the thing that matters.’

Damon dragged his eyes from her slender arms and tried to wipe the memories of her sliding those arms around his neck. ‘Misguided?’

‘Well, you smother her, which means she always feels the need to rebel. But don’t worry about it. Plenty of parents make that mistake and you’re not even her parent.’ There was a flash of admiration in her gaze. ‘I don’t know how you did it. None of the sixteen-year-old-boys I’ve met are capable of caring for themselves, let alone someone else. My dad, who was several decades older than you, completely freaked out when my mum walked out on him and left me with him. Not that I remember because I was only two. But I remember us both having a laugh about it one day. He told me that he sat there looking at me, and apparently I sat there looking at him. I didn’t quite have to change my own nappy, but I learned pretty early on that if I wanted something done I had to do it myself. And I did things for him too.’

Damon was appalled at her parents’ utterly selfish behaviour. ‘How long was it until your father remarried the first time?’

‘It felt like about five minutes. My dad is rubbish at being on his own. As soon as a relationship breaks down he latches onto the next person. I didn’t even think much of it until I went to senior school—’ She gave a matter-of-fact shrug. ‘Everything is so much more complicated at senior school. Younger children are much more accepting of differences.’

Examining his own behaviour, and not liking what he saw, Damon paced to the balcony and stared down at the Paris
streets, jammed with traffic. ‘You are a very bright, very clever young woman. Why didn’t you go to university?’

His question was met with silence and when he turned his head to look at her she gave what could only be described as a forced smile.

‘I spent my childhood in and out of the company. The people were like my family. Once I started at the day school I often hung out there because it was more fun than going home to an empty house. I used to help Doris Cooper in the post room and then I’d find an empty desk somewhere and Mr Foster in Accounts used to help me with my maths homework. By the time I reached eighteen I could see the company was a mess. I could also see a way I could make a huge contribution and pay back some of their kindness to me. They were always worried that they’d lose their jobs. I didn’t want that to happen.’

‘My sources tell me your Mr Foster is struggling.’

‘Because the board never invested in training.’ She defended her colleague hotly. ‘He just needs help with spreadsheets. I’ve been doing my best to train him because frankly he’s the reason I did well at maths, but there isn’t a whole lot of time in the day.’

‘I imagine there isn’t when you’re running an entire company single-handed.’ His dry tone earned him a frown.

‘Don’t mock me.’

‘I’m not mocking you.’

‘If I was responsible for the company then I didn’t do a good job, did I?’ she said in a gloomy voice. ‘Because everyone could still be made redundant.’

‘
Theé mou
, if I give you my assurance no one will be made redundant can we talk about something other than work for five minutes?!’ Damon jabbed his fingers into his hair and wondered how the conversation he’d been planning had somehow been so dramatically derailed. Somehow what he had to
say felt even harder in the light of what she’d just revealed. ‘Polly—’ with a huge effort, he controlled the tone of his voice ‘—we have to talk about what happens next.’

‘Well, if you’re serious about not making anyone redundant then I’ll get straight on the phone to reassure everyone and—’

‘Polly!’ His tone finally snagged her attention.

‘What? You’re not about to tell me you were joking, are you?’ Her face lost colour. ‘Because that would be a really cruel thing to do.’

‘I’m not joking. Everyone who previously worked for your father can keep their jobs.’

‘Really?’ Her expression was transformed from worry to wonderment and she flung her arms around him, dancing on the spot and hugging at the same time. ‘Oh, thank you, thank you, I take back every evil thing I ever said about you.’

Easing her away from him before he found himself repeating his mistakes of the previous night, Damon realised that her cheeks were wet. ‘Why are you crying?’

‘I’m just so happy! You have no idea—’ She covered her face with her hands and drew in a juddering breath. ‘I knew what a mess everything was but I just didn’t know how to sort it out.’ She wiped her cheeks on her sleeve. ‘Sorry. But those people have been part of my life since I was small.’

A small, lonely little girl whose father had no time for her, finding friends and comfort among the people he worked with. Shaken by a depth of emotion he hadn’t felt before, Damon instinctively withdrew. ‘If you could stop crying, that would be good.’

‘Sorry.’ She produced a tissue and blew her nose hard. ‘I expect you’re used to mopping up tears from all those women you make cry.’

‘I do
not
make women cry.’

‘Of course you do, but don’t worry about it. Today you’re
my hero. You can do no wrong. Thank you
so
much. Can we fly straight back to London now? I want to tell everyone.’ Her nose was pink and her eyes glistened with tears and
still
she’d made no reference to what had happened between them.

He wondered whether she’d already mentally moved her things into his penthouse?

‘Polly, we have to talk about what happened last night.’

No longer looking at him, she pushed the tissue into her pocket. ‘What is there to talk about? We both know what happened, but honestly there’s nothing to talk about as far as I’m concerned.’

Damon, who recognised evasive action when he saw it, refused to be deflected. ‘So that’s it? We have hot sex all night and you don’t intend to mention it again?’

‘Basically, yes. I’d rather no one knew, obviously, because I don’t want all those nudges and winks, but I’m fairly sure you don’t want that either, so I’m not worried that you’ll say anything. Just forget it.’

She expected him to forget it?
‘Polly—’

‘Last night you kissed me to prove a point. I kissed you back to prove a point. It got a bit out of control.’

‘Are you saying you didn’t know what you were doing?’

‘Of course I knew what I was doing! I wasn’t drunk or anything.’ She gave a tiny shrug. ‘I don’t understand the post mortem. So we had sex? This is the twenty-first century. No one is involved except us. We used protection. What’s the problem?’

‘You’d never had sex before.’

‘Well, there’s a first time for everything.’ Her BlackBerry buzzed and she picked it up and opened an e-mail. ‘I’ve never visited Paris before either, so it’s been a time of firsts. What time are we flying home?’

Shocked by her matter-of-fact response to the situation,
Damon failed to process that question. ‘So you have no intention of repeating the experience?’

‘Visiting Paris?’

He ground his teeth. ‘Sex.’

‘Some time, probably.’ Gathering up her notebook and pen, she stuffed them into her bag.

Goaded by her indifference, Damon shot out a hand and yanked her against him. ‘Are you pretending you didn’t feel anything?’

‘No, of course not. What is the matter with you?’

‘We spent seven hours having sex last night.’

‘You don’t have to tell me that. I was there.’

‘Generally women want to talk about it afterwards,’ he said silkily, ‘
not
walk away.’

She was silent for a moment and then she lifted her gaze to his. ‘You’re telling me that after sex you like to lie there and talk about it? Sorry, but I find that incredibly hard to believe. You strike me more as the get-her-out-of-my-bed-before-she-grows-roots-type.’

Damon inhaled sharply, because that assessment was startlingly close to the truth, and Polly gave a faint smile.

‘See? I’m right again. And that’s fine. You don’t have to exhaust yourself trying to let me down tactfully. As far as I’m concerned, it’s forgotten.’

The fact that she was proposing forgetting something so incredible irritated him as much as the thought of her prolonging their relationship had aggravated him just moments earlier.

The knowledge that he was behaving illogically simply fuelled his frustration. ‘You want to forget it?’

‘Yes, of course! You must have gathered by now that I’m rubbish at relationships. And you’re obviously not exactly brilliant either. So that’s fine. We’re cool! I’m going to pack while you read my proposal.’ With a reassuring smile, she
disengaged herself, scooped up her laptop and strolled across the terrace towards the door that led to the second bedroom. ‘I’m so thrilled you’re not going to make people redundant. I feel really happy.’

Speechless, Damon stared after her.

She was happy because he wasn’t going to make her colleagues redundant, not because they’d spent the night having mind-blowing, intimate sex.

She wanted to forget it had happened. There had been no awkward conversation, no full-scale demolition of inflated expectations. Apparently she didn’t have any expectations. As far as she was concerned it had been a one-night stand.

This was his definition of a fairy tale ending and he waited to feel a rush of relief.

Nothing happened.

‘T
HE
budget is how much?’ Debbie plopped down on the chair and fanned herself with her hand. ‘That’s incredible. You’re a genius.’

‘Gérard liked my ideas.’

‘And Demon Damon can’t fail to be impressed. I hope he comes crawling back with an apology.’

Careful not to look up, Polly scrolled through her ‘to do’ list. ‘He isn’t really Demon Damon. He’s pretty decent, really. He just cares about his sister.’ When Debbie didn’t respond, Polly lifted her head. ‘What?’

‘Sorry, but isn’t this rather an abrupt turnaround? Just two weeks ago he was the Big Bad Wolf poised to eat everyone in one gulp.’

Polly felt the fire burn in her cheeks and quickly turned back to her desk. ‘He’s guaranteed everyone’s jobs. That wins my vote.’

‘Mmm … So are you ever going to tell me what really happened in Paris? It’s been two weeks and you’ve said virtually nothing.’

‘I told you it was a very successful business meeting.’

‘Obviously. But I wasn’t talking about the meeting.’

‘The Eiffel Tower looked pretty at night.’

‘All right—let’s stop messing around here and get straight to the point.’ Debbie folded her arms and strolled round the desk so that she could see Polly’s face.
‘Did he kiss you?’

Polly felt the breath catch in her lungs. For two weeks she’d
been trying not to think about Paris. And she’d tried especially hard not to think about the way Damon kissed. ‘Will you leave it alone? What is the matter with you?’

‘Oh, my God, he
did
kiss you.’

‘Did you feed Romeo and Juliet while I was away?’

‘You think I’ve put them on a diet?’

‘Polly, I’ve just managed to agree a fantastic rate for those primetime ad slots.’ Kim came scurrying across the office, the baby tucked against her shoulder and her BlackBerry in her other hand. ‘I’ve sent you an e-mail.’

Relieved to be rescued from Debbie, Polly stretched out her arms and took the baby for a cuddle. ‘I gather your child minder has let you down again? I can’t believe how much he’s grown in just two weeks.’

‘Sorry I had to bring him in. I would have worked from home but I have to finish those magazine tie-ins for the
Run, Breathe, Live
campaign. Sam doesn’t mind.’

Polly kissed Sam’s downy head. ‘Maybe not, but I have a feeling that the boss might. We have to introduce him to these things gradually or he’ll have a heart attack. The plants and the fish almost finished him off. If he sees that you’ve brought Sam to work I think it might test his new found patience.’

‘He isn’t going to see. Damon flew to New York two weeks ago and hasn’t been seen since.’

New York?

Falling on that crumb of news like a starving bird, Polly wanted to ask how Kim knew but she could see Debbie’s foot tapping impatiently as she waited to be able to continue her interrogation. It would be asking for trouble to show too much interest in Damon’s whereabouts.

She wished she’d known he wasn’t even in the country.

Apparently she hadn’t needed to spend the past two weeks watching the door in case he walked in.

‘Maybe he
was
in New York,’ Debbie murmured, ‘but he’s
not now. He just walked through the door. And you are holding a baby.’

Polly’s heart pounded against her chest and she knew she was blushing. ‘OK, this is
not
good. Why did he have to pick this particular moment to check on us? Kim, take Sam into one of the meeting rooms quickly. When Damon has gone, we’ll come and get you. Move.’ She gave the baby back to Kim and went to head Damon off.

Underneath the panic, she felt absurdly excited at the prospect of seeing him and that feeling horrified her. She was like a puppy, wagging its tail. As she walked up to him all she wanted to do was fling her arms round his neck. ‘Hi there. Good trip? Did you hear back from Gérard? He called me this morning. Great news.’ She tried to urge him back towards the door and away from Kim and the baby, but he stood fast, clearly happy to conduct the conversation in the middle of the office.

‘He rang me five minutes ago. Congratulations. I gather he accepted your—how did you describe it?—“shockingly massive” budget’. And he wants to talk to us about pitching for more of their brands. Congratulations. You just landed the biggest marketing fish in the pond. The only stipulation is that he wants you to lead the team.’ His eyes were dark. Unfathomable. ‘With that in mind I thought it was time to discuss your position in the company. I don’t think we can have an executive assistant advising a vice president.’

‘You’d better make me president, then. Then I can boss you around.’ Not for anything was she going to reveal how pleased she was to see him again. She was about to ask him more about his call with Gérard when a faint cry came from the other side of the office. Polly froze in horror. ‘So what position were you thinking of?’ She raised her voice. ‘Whatever you think is fine by me.’

Damon flinched. ‘Why are you shouting?’

‘Because I’m really, really excited. I’m excited that Gérard went with the bigger programme.’ Behind her she could hear the baby’s muffled yells and sweat broke out on the back of her neck. ‘Could we discuss it in your office? I really think this conversation is something we should have in private.’

‘You want to go somewhere more private?’

Realising that she was now trapped into the position of having to be alone with him, Polly felt her heart-rate double. But what choice did she have? She didn’t want him finding out that Kim had brought her baby into the office. He’d go into meltdown. ‘Absolutely. There are some things that should be confidential.’ Without giving him a chance to respond, she strode towards the stairs furthest from the crying baby.

When she realised that he was following her, she sighed with relief.

As they reached his office, she smiled at his personal assistant. ‘Hi, Janey, your plants are looking lovely.’

‘They do cheer the place up. Thanks for the recommendations. Can I bring you coffee, Mr Doukakis?’

Damon was staring at the plants in disbelief. ‘Where did those come from?’

‘I ordered them and they just arrived.’ Janey smiled calmly. ‘I admired the ones on Polly’s floor and she advised me on which to buy. The plants need to be quite tolerant.’

‘I know the feeling,’ Damon breathed, and Polly grinned and nudged him towards the office.

‘A few little plants aren’t going to destroy your mega-efficient office atmosphere. Relax.’

‘Polly, that plant was at least six foot. Not by anyone’s standards could it be described as “little”.’

‘They create a very healthy working environment.’

‘Next you will be asking me to provide fish as standard office equipment.’

‘No, I don’t think so.’ Polly wondered whether he was
finding the conversation as hard as she was. They were talking about plants and fish but what she really wanted to say was
Why are you back?
and
Did you miss me?
‘Fish are very different. They need very specific care. They wouldn’t be any good for people who aren’t interested.’

‘I was being ironic.’

‘I know, but you take yourself far too seriously so I thought I’d play along. The plants aren’t going to hurt you, Damon. They’re not flesh-eating ones. Now, about this promotion—’ Trying not to look at the width of his shoulders or the sexy curve of his mouth, she flopped down in the chair next to his desk. ‘I hope I’m going to get a huge glass office and lots of fawning secretaries?’

‘You’d be miserable in an office. You have to be surrounded by people and noise to function.’

The fact that he was starting to understand her so well was more than a little unsettling. ‘OK, so no office and no fawning secretaries. You wanted to talk about my job?’

‘I’ve been thinking about how best to use your skills. You seem to have been doing everything single-handed. You’re undoubtedly creative, but you’re also an organiser so I don’t want to limit you.’ He sprawled in the chair on the other side of his desk, watching her through those eyes that could make a woman’s pulse rate accelerate like a racehorse at the finish line.

Remembering how he’d looked when he’d made love to her, Polly shifted in her chair and tried to concentrate. ‘Whatever you think is fine by me. I’m really not that into titles and that sort of thing. I’m happy just doing the job.’ She wished he’d stop looking at her as if he were contemplating pouncing from across the table.

Now that she was in front of him she couldn’t stop thinking about sex, and she had a feeling he was having the same problem.

‘You need to be client-facing, because you clearly have a gift for communication. So I propose to make you an account director, with full responsibility for the High Kick Hosiery account. Any creative work can be farmed out to my in-house team, but you can join them whenever they’re brainstorming for new brands. And it’s time you earned a decent salary.’ He named a figure that made Polly feel faint.

‘Gosh. That’s a lot.’

‘It’s slightly above market rate,’ he drawled. ‘I never lose anyone for money.’

‘Right. Well, that’s great. But you’re not going to lose me.’ The moment he said the words she realised how they could be interpreted. ‘At work, I mean. Obviously.’

A frown touched his dark brows, as if she’d said something that hadn’t occurred to him before. ‘I also wanted you to take a look at this.’ He pushed a file across his desk. ‘I thought you might be interested.’

Puzzled, Polly opened the file cautiously. Inside were materials on an MBA course. For a moment she couldn’t breathe. Her hands shaking, she flicked through the pages. ‘I—I sent off for this—’

‘Every year for the past four years. I know. They told me when I requested the information.’

‘Y-you spoke to them?’

‘I wanted to be sure they’d take you if you wanted to go.’

‘You’re asking if I want to do an MBA?’ Delight mingled with consternation. ‘You don’t want me to work for you any more?’

‘I just said I don’t want to lose you. You’d be doing both—working and studying. This way you still work for me and take time off when you need it.’

There was a loud buzzing in her ears. ‘You’re saying I could study
and
carry on at DMG?’

‘It would be hard work. You might want to refuse.’

‘Why? Because I’m generally lazy?’ She kept it light to try and stifle the lump in her throat that had come from nowhere. He knew how badly she wanted a formal business qualification. He’d taken the time to research courses for her. ‘I don’t have a first degree.’

‘They’d take into account your experience working in the business. You might have to take a couple of exams in order to qualify.’

It felt too good to be true. ‘I wouldn’t be able to afford it.’

‘The company would pay. We’d be the beneficiaries of all that expertise.’

The lump in her throat grew. ‘Why? Why would you do this for me?’

‘If you’re going to be working here long term and embarking on a proper career path with DMG then it’s right that you should have a career plan.’

Polly didn’t know whether to laugh or sob. ‘I always thought you were a traditional Greek male. A woman’s place is barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and all that.’

‘I am traditional. I have no problem with a woman being pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen if that’s where she wants to be. But I’m also an astute businessman. I employ the best person for the job. I want you in my company. I’m happy to have you as you are, but you’ve always wanted to do this and I believe that if there’s something you really want to do you should do it.’

Afraid she really was going to cry, Polly stood up quickly, clutching the file like a lifebelt. ‘If it’s OK with you I’m going to take this away and read it.’

‘Sit down. I haven’t finished.’

Polly sat, still overwhelmed by what he was offering.

He was silent for a moment, his long fingers tapping a
rhythm on his desk as he watched her. ‘You and I are going out tonight.’

‘Oh?’ She tried to concentrate and behave professionally. ‘We have a business dinner?’

‘Not business. A date. You can leave your notebook behind.’

Date?
Suddenly Polly forgot the file in her hand. ‘You—you’re asking me out?’

‘Yes.’

Her heart pounded. ‘I work for you.’

‘I don’t care,’ he said testily. ‘For once I’m going to do what I want to do just because I want to do it.’

‘Oh.’ If she’d thought she was happy before it was nothing to how she felt now, as her eyes met his. ‘So—not for business or anything? Just for the hell of it?’

He gave a wry smile. ‘Just for the sheer hell of it. You’re always telling me I take myself too seriously.’

‘Well—wow.’

‘Does “wow” mean yes?’

She was grinning like an idiot, ridiculously pleased. ‘Yes. Where are we going?’

‘Somewhere special.’

‘Ah, so no flamingo-pink tights.’

‘You’ll be dancing. I’ll pick you up at ten.’

‘Dancing?’ Polly stood up again and this time she virtually floated towards the door, her mind already occupied by what she was going to wear.

‘Oh and Polly—’ his deep sexy drawl stopped her as she reached the door ‘—about the baby you’re hiding in the office—’

Polly froze. ‘Baby?’ Her voice was a squeak. ‘Er—what baby?’

‘I don’t want to give Health and Safety a heart attack so you can tell Kim we’re looking into providing crèche facilities
so that she can give the boot to that unreliable child-minder of hers.’

Polly clutched the door. ‘How do you know about Kim’s problem with the baby?’

‘He was in your offices the day I came in and fired the board.’

‘You
knew
the baby was in the office? And you didn’t say anything?’

‘There’s a limit to how much disaster a man can absorb in one session. I’m told Kim is excellent at what she does so I’m going to use her in my media department. She needs good childcare.’

Polly gaped at him. ‘Are you feeling all right?’

‘Never better. Why?’

‘Because you’re being worryingly reasonable. A couple of weeks ago you would have fired the lot of us for bringing a baby into the office.’