Brash Boss Read online

  ‘You bailed on me. You came up with this stupid idea, got me to agree and then left me to it.’

  ‘I did genuinely have work to do and I kept my promise and attended your therapy sessions.’ His tone of voice was all business as he let me know he wasn’t amused with my accusation.

  I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes at him.

  ‘I need to be honest with you, Nico… seeing as you’re having so much difficulty in being honest with yourself.’ His long eyelashes flickered beneath his glasses and he swallowed deeply waiting for me to restart. ‘Spending all that time by myself in your house, without you in it, I quickly came to an understanding that I really don’t know much about you at all, and to be frank what I do know isn’t enough.’

  ‘I’m sorry, you’re right…I shouldn’t have left you alone.’ His tone changed again with acceptance.

  ‘No, you shouldn’t have. You came up with this idea in the first place… and yes, I know I was crazy enough to agree, but…’

  He tightened his grip on my hand, like he was afraid I was going to pull it away.

  ‘Look, Barbara… It’s not much of an excuse, but I’m not used to having to think about anyone other than myself. It’s going to take some time to get my head around that.’

  ‘Well, news flash, we don’t have much time left… and to make it worse you’ve been holed up in there,’ I gesticulated towards the other compartment behind us with my empty hand, ‘since we left Vegas…I’ve had to play the part of your girlfriend in front of your friends and Pearl while you’ve… I don’t know, what have you been doing, working or just avoiding me?’

  It was his turn to sigh and, give him his due, he began to look uncomfortable like I’d caught him out somehow.

  ‘I don’t know, I’m really not sure that this can work.’ I shrugged my shoulders at him.

  A genuine look of concern flooded his features and then his left eye narrowed on me, as concentrating hard he tried to read further into my mind, behind the words I’d given him. I warmed slightly knowing that I now had his complete attention. ‘And now I’m sitting here with you, holding your hand… Now how do you feel?’

  ‘Confused,’ I answered truthfully, feeling a little calmer after releasing my frustrations from the last few days.

  ‘About?’ he questioned.

  ‘You blow hot and cold, and truly I don’t think you’re a man I can keep up with.’

  ‘I’m not an easy man, Barbara. But I never told you I’d be easy to be around, did I?’

  ‘No, I know you’re not and I know you didn’t… but I don’t think I can marry you if you’re going to be like this.’ My heart was pounding in my chest as I released out loud just what had been going over and over in my head for the past week.

  I felt his thumb moving brusquely over the huge diamond on my finger, in what felt like anger, as he moved the contentious object from side to side. But when I allowed myself to delve further into his eyes, the only thing I could find there was perplexity.

  ‘It’s just that I see this side of you, Nico, when for a few hours you let me in past the façade you present to the world. Then you pull away because I think you’re scared I’ve seen too much and I don’t see you for days.’

  ‘There is no façade, Barbara. Take every rumour you’ve ever heard about me and double it. I am the man you’ve heard all about. I’m heartless, arrogant, single-minded and controlling. I’m not a nice person. I have done and ordered things to be done that would turn your stomach…’ He let out a loud sigh. ‘What I’m trying to say is, please don’t get some romantic idea in your head and think for one minute that you can see anything more inside of me. Because I can assure you, you’d be imagining something that categorically doesn’t exist.’

  I tried to shelve the hurt that had unfolded itself inside of me at my stupidity and hoped my face didn’t give me away.

  ‘You have remembered that this is only an arrangement between us, haven’t you, Barbara?’

  ‘Of course, I have. But you need to understand that for us to pull this off, we need to be in this together,’ I countered quickly, pretending that I really couldn’t care less.

  ‘I agree, so let’s have some fun doing it. I more than like you, Barbara, and I know that I’m not mistaken when I say that I know you feel the same.’

  ‘Just what exactly are you asking me for?’ My heart rate increased with either panic or excitement, I wasn’t sure which.

  ‘Nothing more than what we’ve already agreed… Let’s enjoy each other’s company and see where it goes…I know this is a strange situation between us, but at the end of it you’ll be in a better place and I’ll have given my grandmother what she requires from me… I know that we can carry this off with more commitment from me.’

  ‘If I agree to carry on with this, you’ll most definitely need to be more available to me, and also I want your oath that you will not see any other women while we remain engaged or married… I might, in your eyes, look like I have stupid romantic notions of you being something more than a merciless bastard, but I will not be made to look a fool in anyone else’s… Do you understand me?’

  A smile decorated his perfectly square jaw.

  ‘I understand perfectly, and I expect the same commitment from you also. Now drink your coffee and get some sleep if you can. My grandmother is looking forward to meeting and spending some time with you.’

  ‘What Nonna wants, Nonna gets?’

  ‘Exactly,’ he answered.

  ‘Then that shows me that you’re not heartless, Nico. Whatever you want to believe about yourself.’

  With his hand refusing to let go of mine I started to recline my seat and, turning my head away from him, I closed my eyes and began to pray that sleep would carry me away.

  * * *

  I looked down at our conjoined hands, trying not to look surprised that even though we had left the plane and were walking over the tarmac to get to security, he still hadn’t attempted to break our connection. Surprisingly, holding his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world and from the looks we’d been getting from our small entourage I could almost hear the “ahhhh’s” going around their heads.

  I hadn’t slept as he’d demanded and was beginning to feel tired and emotional. I’d sat in the plane for an hour feigning sleep, all the while feeling the warmth of his hand on mine and the more I thought on our previous conversation, the more I understood he was trying to warn me not to get too close to him.

  The man was truly a mass of contradictions and conflicting actions. I was struggling to keep up.

  Suddenly, a man with what sounded like an Australian accent shouted over to us.

  ‘G’day, mate.’ I watched as the guy jogged the short distance between our two groups and he talked to Trip almost as if they’d met before. Franco and his men instinctively gathered closer, only to be ordered away by a quick shake of Nico’s head.

  ‘Hey.’ Trip stopped and a smile spread over his face.

  ‘It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the pilot we met a few years ago in New York,’ the charismatic looking Aussie questioned.

  ‘Yeah, I remember. You were trying to check in your goat, what was its name?’

  ‘Mutton… or Snowflake, it depends on who you ask.’ The guy laughed at the memory.

  Check in a goat? I was starting to think that I was so tired my mind was playing tricks on me.

  ‘That’s it.’ Trip released a small laugh at the memory. I watched Kendall as she smiled too, like she’d heard the surreal story before.

  ‘Well, some things don’t change… This time though I’m trying to collect my wife’s pet, any idea where I go?’

  I could sense that Nico was as confused as I was, as we carried on walking towards the main building listening to the weird conversation.

  ‘You’ll need to go out to the cargo facility. I can’t believe your “pet” is still travelling with you.’

  ‘Oh, you’d better believe it, mate. My wife Aubrey could sell oil
to a tycoon.’ He waved at a beautiful red-haired lady who immediately waved back at him.

  ‘Anyways, thanks for the info, I’ll be seeing ya.’

  We all watched as the man jogged back to his wife and placed his arm around her shoulders.

  ‘You make some strange acquaintances, Trip.’ Nico laughed as he provoked him.

  Trip turned his head to look at Nico and with a deadpan expression on his face he answered, ‘You don’t say, Boss?’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Barbara

  The feel of the sand between my toes and listening to the waves as they lapped at the shore was grounding. I hadn’t been this close to the sea since I’d lived in the U.K. as a young child and although that period of my life didn’t have many happy memories, spending time at a beach near to where my dad was stationed was one of them.

  It didn’t matter whether it was cold and windy, or warm and sunny like I knew today would eventually be, I found the beach a refreshing and cathartic place to be. One of the only good memories I had of my mom, involved her spinning around and around with her arms open wide as the sea breeze rushed over her. I could hear her voice in my head, see the rapturous smile on her face and her blonde hair as it whipped up and away from her shoulders as she shouted over at Brody and I to join her. Soon we were spinning right beside her while she shouted over the top of the wind to “feel the freedom” while my dad sat on a nearby sandbank and laughed at the three of us.

  The warm water lapping at my bare toes brought me out of my memory. I wiped away the solitary tear that was running down my face, but as I did so I acknowledged that although the memory had made me sad, I also had a smile stretched right across my face. The memory of the beach was one of the last truly happy times in my life.

  I had a feeling deep down inside of me that from the brief glimpse I’d had so far of Crete that I was going to love it. It was an awe-inspiring place, with natural beauty to be found everywhere you looked. So far, I’d been able to hear the sea as it gently lapped against its shores or crashed against the rocks every place we’d been. Stupidly the thought had been going over in my head that I thought I could be really happy here.

  Snap out of it, you’re jet lagged. This is only for a year!

  I took a quick look up behind me and saw the house Nico had brought us to. It was large but built very sympathetically from the two different coloured stones you could see almost everywhere on the island. The light had to be just right for you to detect his home was even there, nestled safely away in the hills. From here, and probably from various viewpoints around the land that contained his property, I was certain you wouldn’t get any clues as to just what the well-designed construction concealed within it.

  The infinity pool was one of the hidden gems and a swim in it was most definitely on my list of things to do later that day. The previous night, after the incredible dinner made by his grandmother, I had taken myself off and had sat down on a lounger that was bathed by the muted lighting at the pool side. Eventually, I hadn’t been able to resist any longer and after having taken off my sandals, I’d plunged my aching feet and legs into the cool water. I’d sat there alone lost in my own thoughts for a while, before Nico had come out to find me. He’d smiled at me as he noted the obvious pleasure I was receiving from the tranquil space and had then sat down beside me. Sitting close together in a comfortable silence, we’d both watched as the most beautiful iridescent dragonflies swooped and flew around us. They’d danced just above the pool and dipped their legs momentarily into the cool water washing away the heat of the day, completely ignoring the fact that the two of us were even there. Watching them was truly one of the most magical things I’d ever witnessed, and I was even more pleased to be sharing the experience with him. I’d looked over at him once or twice as we’d watched together and delighted in the relaxed, fascinated expression on his face as I knew it matched my own.

  Finally, they’d flown away and almost like Nico felt the need to mark sharing the experience with me, he had once again picked up my hand and pressed his lips to it. The touch of his lips on my skin was lingering, as was the feeling it left me with after he’d lowered our conjoined hands back to the tiles between us.

  Watching the dragonflies and experiencing that moment with him, I resolved there and then that they would be one of the subjects I was going to concentrate my very limited photography skills on.

  His home here, I had quickly found out yesterday evening as he’d shown me around, was to the exact same specifications as his home in Red Rock Canyon. Although I’d been given the master bedroom as my room here in Crete, I had easily managed to find my way around and out of the large building before the sun had even risen this morning, to come for a walk on the private beach.

  I looked out to the horizon again, just in time to watch the warm colours of the sunrise as they began to light up the hills to the right-hand side of where I was stood, and I lifted my camera up to my face. I’d had enough time locked away in Nico’s stone fortress in Vegas to study everything I needed to know to begin taking some amateur shots. Not being able to sleep in the large master bedroom all by myself with the smell of Nico’s cologne permeating from the furniture, I’d decided that now was the ideal time to start my new hobby.

  The click of the shutter as it drew in the beautiful sight that was appearing as if by magic, as this part of the world began its brand new day, ignited my blood. The fact that I knew it would hold this sight within its confines, until I was ready to expose it to the world, was an enlightening experience and it was hard to contain the childish excitement that was whipping around inside of me. To have felt dead for so long and to then be suddenly thrust into feeling everything was overwhelming, but so far it was overwhelming in a good way.

  I flicked the switch to auto and heard as the camera began to relay shot after shot as the yellows spread to oranges and then eventually the warm reds grew ever bigger, consuming the paler colours. I was beginning to feel the warmth of the rays already on the bare skin of my chilled arms, which was a welcome relief. I hadn’t thought it through properly in my bid to escape my confines, that this early hour of the morning would still contain the cold chill of night in its air, when back in Vegas no matter what the hour it was always warm. So, I had only just grabbed at one of the sundresses I had hung up yesterday and pulled it quickly off the hanger. All the while I had been trying hard not to acknowledge that Nico’s clothing was hung up beside mine, and captured within the offending material was the strong fresh ocean scented cologne he always seemed to wear. The smell of the man had drifted up and into my nose as soon as I’d opened the door of the closet. With my dress clutched in one hand I had closed the door as quickly as I could.

  Inhaling a deep breath, I cleared my thoughts and concentrated on the job in hand.

  High above the warm glow of the impending sunrise the stars and the crescent moon were still visible and in the very bottom of my lens I saw them all reflected on the surface of the water. I knew it would make an amazing picture.

  Stars were hardly ever noticeable above Vegas due to all the light polluting the sky, but here in this beautiful place, through the protection of my camera lens, I could see the start of the brand new day and the demise of the old. I hoped above all else that this was an omen for the way my life was going to progress from this day forward. What I was experiencing was truly miraculous and I wanted to do it justice by taking a decent picture.

  ‘Good morning.’ I ever so slightly started as Nico’s deep, warming voice entered my bloodstream and caused an involuntary shiver to travel down my back. I was only wearing the pale blue sundress and had put my hair up into a ponytail in preparation for what I knew would be another beautifully warm day. But I instantly recognised that my choice of dress wasn’t nearly enough to protect me from the sensation of having him so close to me.

  ‘Morning,’ I answered, but didn’t stop the automatic function on the camera. Instead, I gratefully held it in place in front of my face, as a f
orm of protection from the man who was stood directly behind me, so close I could feel his every exhale on the back of my exposed neck.

  ‘It’s beautiful here at this time of day.’ Nico placed his hands on the top of both of my arms and began to slowly and gently rub at the bare skin in an attempt to warm me.

  ‘It truly is, breathtaking almost.’ My voice left me on a whisper and the only sound to be heard now, apart from the sea and the camera as it kept on taking picture after picture, was my own pulse as it pounded against my eardrums.

  ‘Couldn’t you sleep?’ he questioned.

  ‘No.’

  As the sun finally exposed the whole of its warm globe over the hills beside us, I reluctantly flicked the auto button off and lowered the camera from my face.

  ‘Me neither… I went down to make some coffee and saw your wrap on the chair by the door. I figured you’d taken a walk and well, the only walk that’s near enough is down to the beach.’

  ‘So, you found me.’

  ‘Uh huh.’ The vibration in his voice rippled through me.

  ‘Thank you for bringing me here, Nico. I’ve only been here a few hours, but I feel at home and at peace already.’

  ‘Thank you for agreeing to share this with me, I’m happy you’re here and so is my grandmother. I could see by the look on her face last night that you surprised her in every sense of the word.’

  ‘I did?’

  ‘Yes… and in a good way. I think, like Trip, she expected me to marry some Botox-filled, silicon-breasted celebrity wannabe.’ He laughed at his own words and his laughter helped to warm me.

  The inclination to turn around in his arms as his hands continued to gently rub my skin was growing ever stronger. So, for once, I let my instinct control me. I released the camera from my hands and let it fall gently until its weight was on the strap around my neck and turned around in his hold.