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“No. She’s willing to have the company absorbed by SSE if that’s what it takes to keep people employed, and anything that gets my sister out from under the two-ton weight she’s got on her shoulders right now is a good idea to me.”
“I doubt Rhea would thank you for telling me either of those things.” Not that knowing them made any difference to the outcome.
He had already decided what was going to happen.
“Right now, my sister is fighting to save her marriage and a company that’s going down the drain faster than water. She’s not going to quibble how she manages either.”
“Her marriage?” He knew Eber had not approved of Samuel, but Rhea had always seemed smitten.
“Samuel is sick of coming second to the company and Rhea’s had two miscarriages already. The doctor said if she continues working under such stressful conditions, her chances of a viable pregnancy are almost nil.”
“She could have allowed someone else to take over the chairmanship.”
“Not according to my father.” Chloe’s tone was laced with a more intense form of the same anger she’d shown toward Eber Dioletis every time his name was mentioned.
“Rhea is an adult. She makes her own choices,” Ariston pointed out.
“Some choices are harder to make than others.”
“Like moving across the country and starting a new life.”
“That one wasn’t so hard.”
“I think perhaps you have a streak of ruthlessness.”
Chloe’s lovely green eyes widened and she shook her head. “No.”
“You left Greece without looking back.”
Her face spasmed with emotion. “We aren’t discussing the end of our marriage.”
“No, apparently you’re more interested in seeing that your sister’s marriage doesn’t suffer a similar fate.”
“Yes.” This time Chloe’s tone was filled with a wealth of emotion. Her shoulders slumped. “I hate seeing her so stressed. Samuel makes her happy, he makes her feel loved and wanted, but she’s going to lose him for the sake of my father’s approval and the company.’’
“It’s a pity you didn’t take our marriage as seriously as you take your sister’s.”
“It was an entirely different circumstance.”
“Really? You certainly maintained a happy facade during our marriage. I would not have considered you an actress capable of keeping up that kind of subterfuge for three years.”
“I … that’s not important any longer.”
“No, your sister’s happiness is all that matters.”
“Hundreds of employees and their families matter, too,” Chloe said with complete earnestness.
“Once again, you are not thinking of yourself.” Which was something his plans counted on, so he wasn’t complaining. Merely observing.
“I’m not important in this.”
“You’d be surprised.” He asked, “Do you want your sister to maintain a directorial position with the company?”
He didn’t see Rhea happy as a homemaker and Chloe had stated her sister’s happiness was at the forefront of her priorities.
“She’s willing to step down completely, but is hoping you’ll keep her on in a managerial capacity. I’m hoping it will be a position with more normal hours and stress levels.” Chloe gave him a beseeching look. “Rhea’s smart. You know that. She’s got her MBA from Harvard. She has impressive contacts and if our father had stepped down five years ago, maybe the company wouldn’t be where it is today.”
Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not. Chloe was wholly unaware of Ariston’s moves behind the scenes and for now, he was content to keep it that way.
“She has more in common with your father than with you, Chloe, no matter what you’d like to think.”
Chloe surprised him by nodding in quick agreement. “But she’s not just like him, and for her sake as well as the people who love her, I don’t want to see Rhea become any more like Eber Dioletis than she is.”
“I think you are seeing a softness that isn’t there.” The woman had refused to leave her job despite the fact that the stress levels and long work hours had resulted in multiple miscarriages.
“No. It’s there. She cares about people. Samuel. Me. She saved my life.”
“What do you mean?”
Chloe looked away, an expression of shame flitting across her features. “It doesn’t matter—all that matters is that I’m here because she deserves for me to be.”
“And if you want me to listen to your pleas on her behalf, you’ll tell me why I should.”
