He heard it and froze. Green eyes speared hers in a look so intense her heart stuttered. ‘Who hurt you, Brianna?’ he asked again softly.
Feeling herself floundering, she sagged against the counter for support. ‘I...this isn’t really a topic for the office.’
‘Who?’ he insisted.
‘You had problems with your father. Mine was with my mother.’ Her voice sounded reedy, fraught with the anguish raking through her.
His smile held no mirth. ‘Look at us: a pair of hopeless cases with mummy and daddy issues. Think what a field day psychologists would have with us.’
Not once in the past eighteen months had she believed she had anything in common with Sakis. But hearing his words brought a curious balm to her pain.
‘Maybe we should ask for a group discount?’ She attempted her own smile.
His eyes darkened then the pain slowly faded, to be replaced by another look, one she was becoming intimately familiar with. ‘Was there a reason you came looking for me?’ she asked a third time.
Sakis’s jaw tightened. ‘The investigators have confirmed there’s a connection between the crash and the takeover.’
‘Really?’
He nodded. ‘It’s highly suspect that a day after my tanker crashes Moorecroft Oil and Landers Petroleum make a bid for my company.’ He turned and headed back into his office. ‘Their timing was a little too precise for it to be opportunistic.’
She entered his office in time to see him snatch up his phone. ‘Sheldon.’ He addressed his head of security. ‘I need you to dig deeper into Moorecroft Oil and Landers Petroleum.’
At the mention of Landers, Brianna froze. Thankfully, her ringing phone gave her the perfect excuse to return to her desk.
When Sakis emerged, she’d found some semblance of control, enough to accompany him into the board meeting without giving the state of her agitation away.
The conference call to Richard Moorecroft descended into chaos less than five minutes after Sakis had him on the line.
‘How dare you accuse me of such a preposterous thing, Pantelides? You think I would stoop so low as to sabotage your vessel in order to achieve my ends?’
‘You haven’t achieved anything except draw attention to your own devious dealings.’ A note of disdain coated Sakis’s voice. ‘Did you really think I’d roll over like a puppy because of one mishap?’
‘You underestimate the might of Moorecroft. I’m a giant in the industry—’
‘The fact that you feel the need to point that out impresses me even less.’
A huff of rage came over the conference line. ‘This isn’t over, Pantelides. You can count on it.’
‘You’re right, this isn’t over. As we speak, I’m digging up any connection between what happened to my tanker and your company.’
‘You won’t find any!’ The bravado in Moorecroft’s voice was tinged with a shadowy nervousness that made Sakis’s eyes gleam.
‘Pray that I don’t. Because, if I do, you can rest assured that I will come after you. And I won’t be satisfied until I rip your precious company to little pieces and feed them to my pet piranhas.’ The menace in his voice made ice crawl over Brianna’s skin. ‘And any accomplices will not be spared either.’