“I love you.” The words just came out and then she turned around and floated away.
For the first time in his life, Damen Leventis was left gaping and speechless.
Had he just heard her say---
And then he saw where she was heading. “Ms. Tanner, wait!”
She looked at him over her shoulder with a still-vague look on her face. “Huh?” She turned around but it was too late.
Bam.
Lesson 3
To catch a Greek billionaire, he must first be made aware of how desirable you are.
She said: Being desirable means being your own woman, being true to yourself---
He said: Again, you overcomplicate things. The fuck of the matter is---
She said: The FUCK of the matter?
He said: Yes. The fuck of the matter is, you had me by the balls when I realized other men found you desirable…and worse – that they could steal you away from me.
There really are birds. Mairi dizzily counted them as she swayed a little on her feet, mind rattled by the impact of hitting the heavy metal doors of the conference room on her way in.
Are you okay? That sounded like Diana.
I’m calling a doctor. That seemed to be Damen Leventis, and he did not sound happy.
Everyone, please settle down. Everything is all right. That was definitely Rose Thorn, and she did not sound happy either.
The voices reached her like distant echoes. Mairi couldn’t really pay attention to them. She was still counting the number of chirping yellow birds flying around her head.
“Ms. Tanner, are you okay?” Snap. Snap.
Her gaze gradually cleared. The first thing she saw was Damen. A smile curved on her lips. “Hi.” Her voice sounded a little drunk even to her ears, but Mairi couldn’t help it. She felt like she had just been woken up by her prince – oh, wait, no, she had been woken up by the Greek billionaire of her dreams.
Velvet and Mandy were both on their knees next to Mairi, and they exchanged looks at their friend’s faraway tone. Mandy looked at Rose Thorn, who was frowning suspiciously while Velvet stole a look at Charity, who was scowling.
If Rose Thorn found out about Mairi’s little secret “dream’, she would be fired. And if Charity found out about Mairi’s interest in the Greek billionaire, the bitch would likely create a situation to have Mairi fired.
One way or another, if they didn’t do anything now, Mairi was totally screwed.
They made a snap decision.
“Up you go, Mairi,” Mandy said briskly, pulling her friend up and not-so-subtly pushing Damen Leventis away.
“We’ll take care of her, Ms. Thorn. Please don’t worry about her,” Velvet was saying at the same time, using her hips to push Charity out of the picture. But unlike Mandy, she did not bother trying to be subtle about it.
Before anyone could react, Mandy and Velvet had quickly gotten their friend past the crowd and inside the closest washroom. By the time they were inside, Mairi had started to recover from her little bump. She also started to remember what she had let slip.
A long moan escaped her. “Oh my God.”
Velvet jumped at the sound, which was eerily close to how a dying person probably sounded like. “What is it?”
Mairi was completely pale now. “I…I…”
Mandy was tempted to shake her friend. “What?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I…umm…said I love him?”
SILENCE.
And then---
Laughter.
The kind that had her friends doubling over, bodies shaking, clutching their sides, the sound of their loud laughter bouncing off the walls.
Completely recovered now, Mairi scowled. “Way to be supportive, you guys.”
Velvet managed to get her mirth under control long enough to say, “Yay you!” She and Mandy burst into a fresh round of laughter.
Mairi gritted her teeth. “This is not a laughing matter! What if I scared him away? What if he thinks I’m a psycho? What if…what if he doesn’t want me anymore?” She ended up wailing the last words.
Damen Leventis was the Greek billionaire she had been waiting forever for. She was sure of it. Fate, instinct, a message from the Greek gods – Mairi just knew.
The problem was – did he really know that she was the one for him, too?
STOP MOPING AROUND.
Mairi stared grumpily at Mandy’s text message. Easier said than done, she thought. How could she not mope around when Damen Leventis had been MIA for an hour now? Maybe she really had scared him off.
“Kalimera.”
Mairi started, cheeks flushed with guilt as she realized there were people sitting across her and she hadn’t even noticed. The first one she noticed was Katya, a statuesque and perky brunette who was also one of her favorite students from Class E. Seated next to Katya was yet another tall, dark, and handsome Greek with wickedly gleaming green eyes.