Greek Tycoon, Wayward Wife(26)

‘Or for one of us,’ his recently demoted campaign manager, who’d always been keen to push the team approach, chipped in.

Rion pasted on a smile which didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Of course—or for the team.’

‘I have a question.’ A middle-aged man at the front of the crowd raised his hand, and Rion signalled for him to go on. ‘You say there’ll be a new hospital, and five hundred new houses that the likes of us’ll be able to afford, but after that how do we know that the rest of Metameikos won’t become like it is up there?’ He motioned in the general direction of the new town amidst murmurs of agreement.

‘How indeed?’ another male voice—sly and deeply unpleasant—piped up from further back in the crowd.

Libby leaned slightly to the right and saw immediately that the owner of the voice was the grubby-looking man who had been standing with Spyros and his wife last night.

‘For wasn’t Delikaris Experiences’ last project an exclusive block of apartments?’

There were renewed mutterings from the crowd, this time of concern.

‘Indeed it was,’ Rion said with calm assurance. ‘And, whilst I consider my business endeavours entirely separate from what I hope to achieve in Metameikos, since you have asked I will gladly explain why that was.’

Spyros’s man looked triumphant, but only for a second. Rion continued. ‘Athens is the best location from which to run Delikaris Experiences. A capital city is always best for business, and,’ he said with a proud curl of his lips, ‘why would I choose anywhere other than the capital of Greece? However, it’s also a very expensive place to live. In order that I might help my employees I bought a block of apartments which had fallen into disrepair and had the whole building renovated—far more cheaply than if each apartment had been bought and refurbished individually. It allowed me to offer them to my staff to buy or to rent at a very reasonable price, if they so chose.’

Spyros’s man looked incensed that his question had backfired—until he seized upon a counter-argument. ‘Because you do not pay your staff enough for them to be able to afford a home on the open market, Mr Delikaris?’

‘No, Stamos, because I believe people deserve a break. So to answer your question, sir—’he returned his attention to the man at the front ‘—I believe luxury has its place, but I’m no fonder of the idea of Metameikos becoming a sea of over-priced holiday homes than you are. Once I’ve built five hundred affordable homes, I promise you I will endeavour to build five hundred more. After all, I’m sure your children would like to be able to buy homes of their own one day too.’

The man nodded earnestly, and the murmurs of the crowd became more approving, until Stamos interrupted once again.

‘Oh, yes, we learned yesterday that, contrary to widespread opinion, you’re the ultimate family man. This is your wife, is it not?’ He pointed at Libby.

There was no gasp of surprise. It seemed the news had travelled fast. Instead there was a sea of awkward yet curious glances, as though Stamos had asked an inappropriate question, but one to which everyone wanted to know the answer.

She took a deep breath, wishing she could see the expression on Rion’s face instead of the back of his head. But the composure in his voice suggested it would be giving no more away than it ever did.

‘Indeed. My wife and I have been apart for some time, but I’m delighted to say that’s no longer the case.’ He turned to look at her fleetingly, before nodding as if to invite more questions. Preferably not about the woman he hadn’t wanted at this meeting in the first place, she thought glibly.

‘And was it your husband’s heart-warming policies that drew you back to him just in time for his election campaign?’ Stamos said archly, directing his question at her.

Rion’s head turned sharply towards the edge of the stage, anger flaring in his eyes, but Stephanos shot him a warning look which said It will do more harm than good if we throw him out. When he turned to face the front again he saw to his horror that Libby had stepped forward to take the microphone.

‘No,’ she said, and heard him draw in a sharp breath behind her.

It was tempting to blurt out the truth, but the thought of it made her lungs fill with the guilt that had been rising ever since last night. And suddenly she wondered whether if she bit her tongue at this moment, when she had the chance to ruin him, he might see that she was sorry for the pain she had caused him, whether it might make him reconsider whether she really deserved to be used in this way.

‘No. Actually, I wasn’t aware of my husband’s decision to run in this election until…very recently. It was my career which led me back to Athens, where we were reunited.’