“Suicide?” she stammered “Jim isn’t suicidal…there must be some kind of mistake” she stuttered
Reaching into his pocket he had pulled out a letter which she had taken from him, her fingers a little shaky
Reading the words she had smiled sadly
“This isn’t a suicide note” she said, looking up at the man before her whose face was now dark with anger
“I’m so glad you find it funny” he said grabbing the small note from her hand before reading it aloud
“Dearest Lee, I have never felt this way before. I am in love and it is breaking my heart. I think that it would be best for everybody if I just ended it.”
Looking back at her, he had moved even closer, surprising Lee at the instant tingle of awareness which flooded her whole body at his closeness.
“I am glad that you find the fact that my friend was so in love with you that he decided to kill himself so amusing” he had bit out, his voice tight and angry
Lee had shaken her head suddenly annoyed at the absurdity of his accusations
“That isn’t what the letter is all about” she had said realising that he was serious as her wonderful eyes had stared back at him
“Then perhaps you could enlighten me” he replied his tone low as his eyes flashed dangerously
Biting her lip Lee had looked up at Yanis Demitri, the explanation on the tip of her tongue, before with a small sigh she had shaken her head
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. It’s up to Jim to tell you….I promised him I wouldn’t tell anybody” she said a determined expression crossing her face as her chin had risen slightly.
He had given a contemptuous half laugh, his eyes racking her face with disdain before stepping away from her, his voice now controlled
“You are a liar Miss Andrews, and now my friend is fighting for his life. I will make you sorry that you have done what you have to him” he said before moving back to the door and pulling it open, looking once more at the young woman before him
“Very sorry indeed. Women like you are dangerous to men like my friend” he had bit out before leaving, slamming her door hard behind him.
As the noise died away Lee realised that she was shaking at what had just happened. She stared at the now empty spot he had stood, not believing that they were now treating Jim’s accident as a suicide bid, even more shocked by her first encounter with Yanis Demitri, Jims best friend since they had grown up together in Greece.
Jim had spoken of Yanis often with such affection, recounting how he had pulled himself from his humble beginnings to now be the CEO of one of the largest shipping companies in the world. He would describe how his friend led a play boy jet set life style, with some of the most beautiful women in the world as his mistresses. Yet he had always been so proud that Yanis had never been so busy as to not regularly make time to meet up with him, and Lee could tell that Jim had been completely in awe of him, often describing how women would fall at his feet, and only now, after meeting him did she fully believe this, understanding the devastating effect he could have on any woman, the effect he was even now having on her.
However, with a frown she had remembered how he had looked at her as though he could have killed her, hardly able to control the anger he had felt, believing that she could have treated his friend so badly, and despite her attempts to explain, she knew that he had not believed her. With a sigh she had briefly thought how stupid he would feel when Jim did wake up. With a small frown which puckered her lovely brow she had thought, if he wakes up, knowing that at that point she would have to tell what she knew because she couldn’t have his death marked down as suicide. Lee had sighed wearily once again as her whole body had again felt so tired, as she moved back to the bathroom and the relaxing hot bath which awaited her.
That night Lee had slept badly. Images of Yanis Demitri glaring down on her from Jim’s grave haunting her as she had woken up with sweat dripping down her back, tears running down her face as his stone had lain beside another set of graves.
The next few days passed quickly with Lee maintaining her routine. Her work had become so frantic over the last few days of the charities campaign, often resulting in her having to put in many extra hours, after which she would visit Mrs Green before going to see Jim whose condition remained the same. She had been relieved not to have bumped into Yanis Demitri again, having no desire to meet with his arrogant contemptuous look, which she had not been able to forget, remembering how those wonderful dark eyes had glared at her, each time making her shiver with an awareness she could not fully understand.
On the third day she had received a phone call from the manager of the small accountancy company her brother worked for. He had asked that she come down to see him as a matter of urgency and with real concern she had soon found herself in the reception of her brothers company. Distractedly she had nervously looked around the small waiting area, with its bland grey walls and periodicals littering the small coffee tables positioned around the uncomfortable chairs. Frowning, Lee had been worried. After the death of her parents it had been she who had brought up Peter, her young brother, and like any mother she was concerned as to what would be so important that she would need to be called down to meet with his employer