Greg sighed. ‘Such a shame you chose to wear that dull brown when I knew you. Maybe I’d have thought twice before taking the route I took.’
‘No, you wouldn’t have. Your slimy nature makes you interested in taking care of number one. Are you going to tell me what you want any time soon?’
‘You’re distressed so I’ll let that insult slide. But be careful now or I’ll forget my manners. Now, what do I want? It’s very simple: I want Pantelides Shipping. And you’re going to help me get it.’
You’re out of your mind was the first of many outraged responses that rushed into her head. She managed to stop herself before they spilled out. Slowly, she sank onto her sofa, the only piece of furniture in her living room aside from a lone coffee table, as her mind raced.
‘And why would I do that?’
‘To protect your dirty little secret, of course.’
She licked her lips as fear threatened to swamp any semblance of clear thinking. ‘What makes you think my boss doesn’t already know?’
‘Don’t take me for a fool, Anna.’
‘My name is Brianna.’ The woman Greg thought he knew no longer existed.
‘If you want to keep calling yourself that, you’ll give me what I want. And don’t bother telling me Pantelides knows about your past. He’s scrupulous when it comes to any hint of scandal. You’re the last person he’d employ if he knew your past was as shady as his father’s.’
This time her gasp was audible. It echoed around the room in tones of pain, shock and anger. ‘You know about his father?’
‘I do my homework, sweetheart. And if he’d bothered to do his he’d have discovered who you really were. But I’m glad he didn’t, because now you’re in the perfect position to help me.’
The vice tightened harder around her chest. ‘What exactly is it you want me to do?’
‘I need information. As much as you can get your hands on. Specifically, which of the board members hold the largest shares, aside from Pantelides. And which of the other members will be amenable to selling what shares they have.’
‘You know this will never work, don’t you? Sakis—Mr Pantelides—will crush you if you come within a whisper of his company.’
‘God, you haven’t gone and done it again, have you, Anna?’ came the soft taunt.
Brianna shivered. ‘Done what?’
‘Offered that foolish little heart of yours on a silver platter to another boss?’ he murmured in a pitying voice.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ But deep down there was no hiding from the truth. Her feelings for Sakis had morphed from purely professional to something else. Something she was vehemently unwilling to examine right now, when she needed all her wits about her to defend herself against what her grimy ex was intent on pulling her into.
‘You have four days, Anna. I’ll be in touch and I expect you to have the information I need.’
Her mouth went dry. Her heart hammered with sick fear and loathing and the unmistakeable, sinking feeling of inevitability. ‘And if I don’t?’
‘Then your boss will wake up to a most tantalising double-page spread of his treasured assistant in the tabloid press on Saturday morning. I’m pretty sure with very little effort I can get Pantelides Shipping to start trending again on all social media.’