She wasn’t sure what she said to the sales assistant, didn’t register that the woman had nodded and gone through to the storeroom. Registered only that a hand like steel had gripped around her wrist.
“What did that woman just call you?”
Cheryl rested her eyes on Nikolas’s face, where all she could see was blank stupefaction and disbelief.
“Um… She called me ‘Dr. Richards’,” she replied in an expressionless voice. “Because that’s who I am, Nikolas. I got my Ph.D. last year… the year my father died. He was a senior research fellow at the university, and I’ve just taken up a research post in his former department, guided now by my old colleague, Dr. Maria Shell.”
His eyes were on her, quite blank.
A self-condemning twist formed at Nikolas’s mouth.“That was for my future wife’s benefit, apparently, not mine. You see, my mother brought no money to her marriage, only her position in society, which my father did not have, being ‘new’ money. Once he’d married her, he acquired her status, and so, after I was born, since she could have no more children, she became… dead weight. She didn’t want that for my wife.” His mouth tightened, and Nikolas looked at her straightly.“We, Adamos, haven’t been a happy family. There has been misery and bitterness and anger and hatred and betrayal. But now it ends. I won’t bring that ugly heritage into our marriage.” His expression changed, lightened.“What I
Nikolas Adamos glanced around him with irritation. It had been a mistake to come here. A mistake to indulge Angelica. He was only in London for a twenty-four-hour stop-over, and when he’d got out of the day-long meeting in the City and returned to his hotel suite, Nikolas had simply wanted to find her waiting for him. Then, once they had made polite and empty inquiries about each other’s well-being, Nikolas would’ve done what his fundamental interest in Angelina was: have sex with her. Instead, he had ended up in this overcrowded art gallery, bored rigid and surrounded by babbling idiots, among whom Angelica was doing her thing. At this moment, she was giving full descriptions of the art market and the financial worth of the artist on display. He couldn’t have c
Not again! Not another damn time! Cheryl kept walking forward. If she kept walking, she wouldn’t think. Wouldn’t think she’d just lost her job… again.“Am I doomed to keep losing jobs? Am I so dumb, so stupid? All I had to do was to carry a tray and that was that” she whispered woefully. “Seriously, Cher, you have to stop being like this. You can afford to keep going ahead in this matter.” It had been her own fault, obviously, and she couldn’t blame them for firing her. She’d let herself be distracted in a fatal way by that incredible man. If she hadn’t been staring at him so stupidly, like a high school girl, she’d have been more aware of what was going on.“But, no! Miss Cheryl Richards had to just stand there like an idiot, gawking at that powerful demi-God! Really, girl, y
She’d gone back to blabbing. The man lowered himself lithely into the seat next to her and reached for his seat belt with a fluid movement. He cast a frowning look at Cheryl.“My… what?”“Your girlfriend. The one I spiled the juice over…” His eyes cleared.“She’s not my girlfriend.” He said the word as if it were deeply alien to him like he just met the woman on the streets and decided to take her with him at the party. Something lifted in Cheryl. Something she knew was quite pointless, but it did all the same. Wonderful! That bitchy snob hadn’t been his girlfriend. Still, it wouldn’t matter if she was, anyway! 
The expression of uncertainty deepened in her eyes.“Um…” she said. “I… I don’t know. I… don’t think so…”“At one point, you’ll have dinner, am I right?”“Yes, but… I…” Cheryl fell silent, just staring at him helplessly as if she was waiting for him to make the decision for her. Nikolas did.“Good,” he decided. “Then that is settled. All we need to decide now is where you would like to eat. Would you like to choose a place you are particularly fond of?” By offering her the choice in order to make her feel more in control of a situation, Nikolas knew it was overwhelming for her. The look of uncertainty in her eyes deepened yet more.“I&he
The ‘somewhere quieter and private’ that Nikolas had promised was the dining room of his suite. Cheryl’s eyes had widened when she’d seen the view, but she had not objected or said anything, simply stared out over the river and the shore beyond. Nikolas came up behind her. His hand rested lightly and very casually on her shoulder while explaining her the view. Through the thin material of her blouse, Cheryl felt warm beneath his touch. And since he felt her quite startled, Nikolas kept his contact brief. He stepped away, feeling a wry smile tugging at his mouth as his eyes flickered over her rearview. She had called her uniform ‘stupid’. But Nikolas had another word for it and it wasn’t one he would use in front of her. Not without pushing her away
Completely overwhelmed with wonder and disbelief, Cheryl sat in the wide leather seat of the private jet. She kept pinching herself, still struggling to believe that being there with him was really happening to her, the most uninteresting and normal woman in the world. ‘What on earth am I doing here? How come he wanted me with him on this trip?’ Cheryl kept asking herself avoiding his occasional glimpse. ‘Seriously, Cher? Nikolas Adamos had requested your presence by his side in this lavishing American trip and instead of enjoying this and him, you’re still looking for mysteries where there are none. Just live this moment, girl! Live him for as long as he will have you.’ The words circled slowly in her brain. It was hard to think coherently, rationally. It was
Nikolas turned to glance at her again. She was leafing through a glossy magazine now, her head slightly bowed and her lovely profile exposed to him, and he let his eyes linger a moment. Yes, she was different indeed. And not just in looks and style. In personality too. Cheryl was quiet, for a start. She didn’t try to talk to him, to make sophisticated conversation, or demands of him. She simply gave a fleeting smile, almost shy, her eyes only briefly meeting his, before drawing away as if she wasn’t sure whether to look at him. Nor did she seem, like all the other women he knew, to relish and revel in the attentions of other men. All the women he had selected for his leisure hours had always known how prized they were and had taken it for granted that male eyes would be drawn to them. Cheryl was