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But Chloe didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy looking askance at Ariston, her mouth twisted in confusion. “Why would you care?”
“Family is family.”
“Which is why you see your parents so often.” As digs went in the present circumstances, it was a good one.
“Neither of my parents are interested in relationships conducted on anything but their own terms.” And Ariston was not a man to let others dictate the circumstances of his life.
He hadn’t been since long before reaching his majority when he’d put a stop to the visitations with both parents in favor of attending boarding school in New York and spending holidays with his grandfather in Greece.
“So you should understand my estrangement with my father.”
“I merely enquired as to whether you knew he was ill.”
“Rhea told me as much. She said that was why he’d put her in charge of the company.”
“But you were not sure whether or not to believe her.”
“It was entirely possible Rhea was simply playing to my heartstrings. I’m not so naive that I don’t realize my own sister has a good dose of business shark in herself as well. And she wants to save Dioletis Industries badly.”
Chloe’s expression turned troubled. “And I don’t know how much of my father’s illness is real and how much is contrived to manipulate Rhea into doing what he wanted. He felt a younger and more appealing face at the head of the company would have a positive effect on share prices.”
Ariston let out a derisive sound.
“You know, there’s something I don’t understand.”
“What is that?”
“Why you wouldn’t speak to Rhea.”
“I would think that would be obvious.”
“You wanted to see me again,” Chloe said with some resignation.
“Yes.” He ate another bite of steak, but this time she didn’t mirror his actions and he gave up, pushing his own plate away. “It is dangerously high blood pressure, I believe.”
“What?”
“Your father’s health issue.”
Chloe’s expression hardened. “I didn’t ask.”
“In light of his health, you do not feel the time has come to mend fences?”
“No.”
“That is unlike you.”
“As we established earlier, I’ve changed.”
“Not in every way. You still find me irresistible.”
“The feeling is mutual, it seemed to me,” she said with some asperity.
He didn’t deny it, but part of him would have liked to. Even if it would have been a lie. “Tell me what you want for Dioletis Industries.”
“For hundreds of people to keep their jobs. For my sister not to end up having a heart attack before she’s thirty.”
“And you do not care how that happens?”
“Of course I care. What do you mean?”
He waved at her meal. “Eat. I didn’t mean anything offensive. I merely wondered if maintaining the Dioletis name was important to you. I would guess not.”
“Not for me, no.” She made no move to eat.
Ah, but maybe it was for her sister, whom Chloe still spoke to and made no bones about loving despite their many differences. “What about Rhea?”
“She’s willing to offer up enough stock to make you majority shareholder, if that’s what you’re asking,” Chloe said after they’d eaten in silence for a few minutes. “Frankly, I can’t imagine a better outcome.”
He kept his surprise at that pronouncement off his face. “In exchange for how large an infusion of cash?”
Rhea had been right to assume he would insist on being made a majority shareholder before he gave the Dioletis empire another fifty cents. Those shares would preferably come from Eber, but Ariston wouldn’t quibble about the source, merely the final outcome.
He was pleasantly surprised that Rhea was already in the right headspace for the deal he meant to propose though.
“I don’t know.”
“You do not know?”
“No. I told you, I don’t have anything to do with the company now. Rhea said you would know what needed doing and if you were willing to do it, would set the terms.”
“Rhea’s a smart woman.”
“Yes.”
“And if my terms included taking most or all of your sister’s stock?” he asked, giving no indication whether her answer would make any difference to him.
“That sounds more like a hostile takeover than a bailout or a merger, but I don’t have any doubts Rhea would go for it,” Chloe said, making no effort to hide how desperate Rhea was to save the company.
“No doubts at all?”
