It was a pity that she was an innocent, but that would not stop him from doing his best to seduce her. He wanted her, plain and simple, and he always got what he wanted.
And so he said frankly, “It’s perfect because this way I will not set tongues wagging when I ask you out.”
Mairi sputtered.
His lips twitched. It was Ioniko’s first time to have a woman speechless in such an unattractive way after being asked out by him. “And so, my darling little Mairi, are you free to join me for dinner tonight?”
She still did not answer.
Ioniko leaned back against his chair. “Please do not pretend to be surprised, Ms. Tanner. You should know with just one look that I found you enthralling from the very start.”
Mairi slowly shook her head, having a hard time understanding that something like this was happening. Oh, no, no, no. She squared her shoulders with a frown. Actually, she was not going to let this happen. In all the bedtime stories her aunts told her, a love triangle always ended up breaking everyone’s hearts and she so did not want that in her own love story.
When Mairi Tanner looked at him, Ioniko was startled to see a fierce look in her lovely eyes. It was almost as if she was preparing herself for a battle, and yet all he had done was ask her out.
And then she spoke in German, her voice earnest.
“Mr. Vlahos, you are a very handsome man.”
Ioniko did his best not to reveal his astonishment. He had expected her to say anything but that.
“But I have to decline because---” Mairi paused. “I…I…” Velvet would tell her to lie now. Mandy, being practical, would probably tell her the same thing. But…it just wasn’t in her nature to do that.
Ioniko asked sardonically, “Because what, Ms. Tanner?” He refused to acknowledge how crushing his disappointment was, realizing that Mairi Tanner might just be like other women, playing hard to get because they were angling for a better offer.
She smiled and it took Ioniko by surprise, the way the sight of that awkward smile hit him hard, like a f**king arrow aimed straight at his heart.
Mairi mumbled, “Because I think I might have found the man I’m meant to live happily ever after with.”
Lesson 4
To catch a Greek billionaire you must get to know him first.
She said: Find out who he really is – learn who the man is behind the billion-dollar image.
He said: What a beautiful liar you are, matakia mou. You are only ashamed to admit the truth.
She said: I am NOT a liar!
He said: Fine then, my love. You are whitewashing it. You got to know me by using an autograph book.
Goddamn ass**le was stealing his woman right under his nose.
While Mairi had been locked away in the washroom, Damen had moved swiftly, issuing instructions left and right to clear his schedule for the remainder of the week. It had been a very long time since he had wanted a woman this much and he was not letting another moment go to waste. The sooner he had Mairi in his bed the better and if he had his way, Damen would not let her leave it until the end of the week.
And yet when Damen strode back into the conference room, it was to see Mairi flirting with Ioniko Vlahos.
Years of rigidly controlling his emotions allowed Damen to maintain an implacable expression on his face even though he was violently inclined to thrash the other man to an inch of his life.
One…two…three…how many f**king minutes did they need to talk about a girl’s grades in English? Damen’s blood boiled at the thought that maybe, just f**king maybe the two were no longer talking about the girl’s grades.
And to think she had f**king said she loved him.
The memory made Damen clench his fists. He wanted to laugh at himself, at his f**king stupidity for thinking that there was a girl in this age who was still innocent and without any designs on his fortune. He was a billionaire. Of course women would do everything – pretend to be anything – to snare his interest.
Even though he had told himself he would not look anymore, Damen couldn’t help it, his gaze straying to Mairi once again.
Fuck.
They were f**king holding hands now – in a school that was supposed to f**king discourage fraternizing between faculty and patrons. What the hell did that mean? Was she ready to throw away her career and settle for being Ioniko Vlahos’ mistress?
Fuck.
Damen strode to his sister, anger stamped on his features. Diana looked at him worriedly when he reached her side. “I have to go, sweetheart.”
“Damen…” Diana stopped, realizing how hard it was to say what she wanted to say. She knew her brother very well, enough to see what the others didn’t see. Ms. Yay, for better or for worse, had captured his interest.
And more often than not, it meant heartbreak for the women who did.
Damen made an effort to smile at his sister. “What is it?”
She sighed. “I know you like her, Damen.”
He stiffened.
“If you’re not going to treat her right, then can you please just forget about her?”
His smile became cold. “Do not worry about her, Diana. I have a feeling that your sweet little Ms. Yay is a lot tougher than you think.” And a much better actress than they gave her credit for.
Mairi barely had time to breathe when she received a request to go to the headmistress’ office. Hurriedly sliding her feet into her bedroom slippers, she walked as quickly as she could to get to the other building. It was already a quarter past eleven in the evening, with the faculty dinner lasting a lot longer than she had anticipated.
All she wanted to do right now was sleep and maybe dream about Damen Leventis. But since she was in GAYL, a request from Rose really meant it was an order that had to be obeyed – and right away, too.
She knocked softly on the door. “Ms. Thorn?”
“Come in, Mairi.”
Inside, Mairi saw Rose seated behind her desk, already dressed in her sleeping gown. “I know you’re tired dear, but you have a phone call from home and I imagine you’d like to take it.”
Mairi’s heart jumped at Rose’s words. A phone call from home? And neither Aunt Vilma nor Aunt Norah thought about calling her directly on her mobile? Immediately, her mind jumped to the worst conclusions and her voice was a little shaky as she thanked Rose. “I-I’ll take it.”
Rose gestured to the sitting area to their right. “You may take the call there, Mairi. I do hope nothing untoward has happened.”
Mairi lowered herself on one of the armrest chairs and took the receiver. “Hello?” Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear herself over it. Oh God, she hoped---