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“I am not stupid Stefano. I do not need you to tell me how to behave whilst at work,” she replied as her breasts heaved in irritation.
“I do not fear your work relationship with him nearly as much as the one which you might find yourself involved in outside of the office. My brother oozes charm, but he has responsibilities he must see through and I will not allow anyone to hurt Olympia more than my brother already has.”
“What does that mean?” she asked watching him closely as he debated his words.
“Demetrius was sent to Greece last year to work with our grandfather after Nikolas lost his business. I continue to run things from whichever office best suits my needs at the time. Olympia is the daughter of my main business accountant in Greece. Demetrius has treated her poorly, worse than his treatment of you. He seduced her thinking it would get Grandfather to open his trust and allow him full access to it. Olympia became pregnant but a car accident caused by Demetrius on a rainy evening had her losing the baby before anyone was aware, she was expecting. I was in Greece at the time of the accident and learnt what happened. I gave Demetrius two options, marry Olympia and do as I say in business, or face Olympia’s father’s contempt when I let him know what he had done to his only daughter.”
“I take it she’s fully Greek?” Hailey questioned.
“Yes, and we do not take kindly to any man playing our women for fools. So perhaps you now see where my concerns lay?” he queried when she said nothing.
“I have no intentions of allowing Demetrius to play me for a fool again Stefano. I have a pleasant life and social existence; I will not be throwing myself at him if he flashes one of his smiles my way.”
“I do hope so, but Demetrius is not thrilled with the engagement and if there was anyone, he could convince Mother to help him end the engagement for, it would be you,” he stated watching as she let out a snort of surprised laughter. “Mother adores you, if Demetrius turns on his charms and you begin to fall for them, she would accept the end of his engagement to Olympia for you.”
“You’re crazy Stefano. I would never accept Demetrius into my life that way…”
Stefano gave her a shake of his head, stopping her words. “But Demetrius would find a way to get Mother and your parents to insist upon your marriage to him, especially if he were to claim you were with child. You would find yourself quickly married to him for appearances sake.”
“Then keep Demetrius in Greece,” she stated not liking the direction things were headed.
“Olympia is too close to a breaking point, if he stays in Greece where I cannot watch over him, he will find another girl to talk into his bed and I do not wish to be responsible if she does something drastic. By bringing him, and by extension Olympia, here, having her stay with my Mother I can ensure that does not happen. The only thing I did not factor into this was you Hailey. You can derail everything if Demetrius senses that you are available, or if upon his return your feelings for him reappear.”
“Then I’ll tell him I’m involved with someone and keep my distance,” she offered making Stefano laugh. “What?”
“Demetrius would insist on meeting this person, so unless you are seriously involved…” he saw her shake her head no and nodded. “Then he will know it is all a ruse.”
“I’m not quitting my job Stefano. I am quite good at it. I have clients that come here specifically for my help,” she stated, and he knew it was true.
He looked over the employee files the moment he took full control, and he knew there was only one way to ensure that both Olympia and she were safe from Demetrius. She wouldn’t like it. After all, she did not like him in the least, not that he blamed her. His attitude the night he’d discovered her in Demetrius’ bed had been shameful, but he had been berating himself for suddenly lusting after a sixteen-year-old girl. In his self-loathing, he had been harsher than necessary, humiliating her for the crush he’d known she’d had on Demetrius.
“Yes, I know,” he said calmly keeping his desires under control as he eyed her trying to figure out how she would react to his suggestion.
“So where does that leave us Stefano?” she questioned when he simply sat watching her closely, making her self-conscious about everything but especially her appearance.
“It leaves us right where we are, together,” he answered after a few more moments of silence. “Even if you were with someone Demetrius would still attempt to come between you in hopes of avoiding marriage to Olympia.”
“Is it fair to Olympia to force her into a marriage she won’t be happy in?”
“She will be happy; I will ensure that Demetrius makes her happy.”
“And what do you plan to do with me then?” she questioned hating the runaround she was getting. She just wanted a straightforward answer from him; he was generally good at that.
“There is only one option to protect you and Olympia from Demetrius,” he stated reaching out lifting her hand from the arm of the chair as he let his finger stroke her palm. “There is only one man whom Demetrius will not attempt to steal you from,” he added, and Hailey felt her heart stall knowing what his next words would be but yet hoping she was wrong, “me.”
“What does that mean?” she questioned trying to extract her hand from his, but he held tight, turning his wrist to grasp hers in a single hand to stay her.
“It means that in my brother’s and therefore everyone else’s eyes, you must belong to me until he is well and fully married to Olympia and she has regained her dignity, the piece of herself that Demetrius has stolen from her.”
“You cannot honestly expect anyone to buy that we…Stefano no! No one would dare imagine us together like that,” she said shaking her head at him. “I am the last person you would ever be with, date…”
“Not the last,” he said keeping his desires tamed down as he stared at her. “But we will not be merely dating, Demetrius might attempt to worm his way in if he thinks there’s a chance that we’re not serious. No, from now until I say, you will be my fiancée.”
“What? No…no, no way,” she said standing up to move away from him. “I am not about to parade myself about as your fiancée. I won’t do it.”
“Why? Because you still think yourself in love with Demetrius? You are not and have never been in love with him Hailey; it was a foolish crush that it is time to overcome. That is what I shall help you with,” he said pulling her up against him as he slid a hand behind her head, keeping her wrist within his easy grasp.
“I don’t think I’m in love with Demetrius. I know I’m not,” she replied as anger filled her. “I would never pretend to be your fiancée because A, no one would believe it. B, the moment our ‘engagement’ ends, I’ll become the poor pathetic girl who couldn’t keep you and working here would be impossible with the smirks from the women who would be thinking ‘I told you so’. And C, the instant my mother hears I’m ‘engaged’ I will be ordered back to the Cove so she can start wedding arrangements and you are the last man I’d ever marry…or at least close to it,” she added knowing the last would-be Demetrius.
