The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract(4)

Stavros sighed once more. His grandson spoke the truth. But the Andrade heiress was also their only way out of this tight mess.

“Nikos... Costas has offered us a way out.”

Nikos leaned forward in his chair and regarded his grandfather with a curious gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“Nikos there’s no easy way to say this...”

“Just say it straight to me, Pappou. You’ve never been one who beat around the bush,” Nikos chuckled.

“Alright. Costas offers a merger of Demakis and Andrade Shipping. And we’d still be able to gain control of our company.”

Nikos snorted. “That sounds like something the devil would offer in exchange for your soul.”

“Ahh...but then it is not my soul he wants, Nikos...it is yours.”

“Me? What the hell do I have to do with this? Why would he want me?” Nikos exclaimed.

There was a knock on the door and Stavros pressed a button on the side of his desk for it to open. His secretary came in with two cups of coffee. Stavros noticed the way that her eyes roamed all over Nikos and also the come-hither glances she threw his way.

Nikos just raised an eyebrow and turned the corner of his lips upwards in a smile. The secretary looked almost ready to faint.

Stavros coughed. “That would be all, Lydia. Thank you.”

The secretary flushed a deep red and quickly exited the room.

Stavros sipped his coffee slowly in an attempt to postpone the inevitable for a little bit more. Another sigh escaped his lips and he leaned forward and looked at his only grandson and heir in the eye.

“Costas offers a merger that would save our company in return for you marrying the Andrade girl.”

Nikos looked momentarily stunned. He took a deep breath and Stavros could see his hands shaking as he held his coffee cup.

“Say that again...” Nikos implored. His voice was barely a whisper.

“I apologize for this Nikos, but it is the only way. Marriage.”

“This is his revenge on you, right? You stole his bride and now he wants to curtail my freedom? And what does he even gain from this?!” Nikos stood up and began pacing the length of the room.

“I don’t know. But from what I’ve read in the contract, there must be no divorce. Or else, the one who is at fault will lose all the money. Another one of the conditions is that you have to have a child and that child will inherit everything. Costas wants the fate of the companies tied to your marriage with his granddaughter.”

“This is unbelievable!” Nikos spat.

“Right now, the entire Demakis fortune is in your hands, Nikos. What you do with that would determine our company’s future.”

Nikos ran a hand through his hair in frustration at his grandfather’s words.

“I refuse! Pappou, I have my own businesses. They are flourishing! We will never become poor. I can still maintain this lifestyle that we have! I will get everything back for you one by one. This I vow! And I will make Costas Andrade pay!” Nikos vowed solemnly.

“I know you are a very smart man Nikos. And that you are very good with this business. But Demakis Shipping has been in our family for generations. I understand why you do not want to be saddled with this marriage. It just saddens me that there’s nothing else I can do and that the whole business will become lost in my hands. I wanted you to inherit this. I wanted to see you sit at its helm and make it prosper even more...but I might not for this would be the end of our ancestors’ hardships,” Stavros whispered weakly.

He leaned back in his chair and Nikos noticed that his entire body seemed to sag. Gone was the ruthless business tycoon and in its place was just a frail old man. Nikos felt his chest tighten and he immediately regretted his words. But still, it was a huge sacrifice for him to make.

“Pappou...you cannot ask this of me,” Nikos pleaded.

“I understand, Nikos. No one should impose something this big on you. And I will not hold this against you. Just go...I will talk to Costas tonight,” he said in a defeated tone.

“Pappou--”

“Go, Nikos. I will deal with this,” Stavros said and then pressed the button that opened the door once more.

Then, he rotated his chair and stared out of the window so that he would not be able to see his grandson leave, taking all hopes for the company with him. And Nikos Demakis turned his back and left his grandfather’s office with a very heavy heart.

But before Nikos closed the door, he heard one last defeated sigh from his grandfather which tore at his heart.



A few hours later

Vrettos Bar

Athens, Greece



“Where are you?”

“At the oldest bar in Athens, getting myself drunk until all this crazy bullshit disappears,” Nikos replied dryly. He perched atop one of the stools in the crowded bar while nursing a glass of brandy in his hands.

“A drink sounds nice. Mind if I come over?” his college friend Antonio Velez asked.

“Go ahead,” Nikos replied and then gave his friend the address of the bar.

“Great. I am ten minutes away, my friend. Be right there.”

Nikos ended the call and glanced one more time at the name of his friend.

Antonio Velez was one of the richest men in Spain. At a young age, he inherited and led his family’s business. In all those years, their business of exporting the best seafood in the entire world flourished. While Nikos ventured into the hotelier business, Antonio ventured into the food industry. Right now, all of Nikos’ hotels housed Antonio’s restaurants making a more profitable trade for both of them.



“Hi there! You look as if you could use some company tonight.” A blonde sidled into the recently abandoned stool beside him and slanted him a seductive look. She also leaned forward and bared her lovely breasts to his gaze.

Before Nikos could reply, she spoke again.

“You seem familiar...I think I have seen you somewhere,” the blonde whispered.

Nikos inclined his head to the side and waited for her to recognize him.

“You’re Nikos Demakis!” the blonde exclaimed and then clapped her hands together.

Her eyes lit up and Nikos could almost see the dollar signs flashing in them. All his life, women looked at him as though he was a walking bank account. They craved the things he could give them rather than the depth of a relationship, which was alright with him since he didn’t want to form any attachments.

Yet why did this bother him now all of a sudden?

“So how about a drink at my place?” the blonde moved closer to him until her breasts were pressed to his arm.

“Hmm...some other time, maybe? I am meeting a friend here tonight.”

The blonde pouted. “I could do things to you that no one has ever done before,” she whispered.

Nikos almost snorted. He doubted that this blonde could do anything he hadn’t experienced yet. At his age of twenty-four years, he had dated the most beautiful actresses, models who wrapped their long legs around him, ballerinas who were so flexible that they could take up the most outrageous positions, and many more.

“Sorry, sweetie. Not really in the mood right now,” Nikos answered and took another swig of his drink. The blonde pouted yet again and left the stool to search for another rich man she could dig her claws into.

“Ever the ladies man,” a deep voice drawled beside him.

Nikos chuckled and hugged his friend as he sat down on the stool that the blonde has just vacated.

“One brandy for my friend here, please,” Nikos told the bartender.

When Antonio’s drink arrived, he raised it in front of Nikos. “So what are we drinking to?”

“The end of Demakis International,” Nikos replied with a groan.

Antonio raised an eyebrow and waited for his friend to continue speaking. When Nikos did not, Antonio sighed and then downed his brandy in one gulp.

“So the old man Andrade has finally succeeded, has he?”

“Apparently,” Nikos replied.

“Hmm...I can sense that there is something more to this story,” Antonio prodded.

“Costas Andrade told my grandfather that he is willing to offer a merger for Demakis and Andrade Shipping.”

“No! Tell me I didn’t just hear you mention a merger!” Antonio exclaimed.

“I just did.”

“And what are the terms for this? Your grandfather’s soul?” Antonio chuckled.

“Funny. I just said the same thing. No. No souls involved. Well, actually, there is one soul dragged into all of this - mine.”

“How so?”

“In exchange for the merger, I have to marry Cassia Andrade.”

Nikos expected his friend to utter a string of curses, or to spit his drink or smash it onto the marble countertop after his announcement.

What he did not expect was for Antonio to say “Ahh...” like it was a very trivial thing and something that made perfect sense.

Nikos frowned and poured himself another measure of brandy.

“I can sense that you expected a different reaction from me,” Antonio said.

“Well, of course! I just told you that my grandfather wants me to marry the Andrade girl! I mean, have you seen her? Do you know her?”

Antonio raised another eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, I do. I know she is not accepted into the social circle because of her social awkwardness and her appearance. Which reminds me, where has Costas been hiding his granddaughter all these years? It’s only now that I’ve heard of an Andrade heiress.”