When they emerged from the lift there was a veritable entourage of people waiting for Alexio. Someone took his jacket and coat; someone else handed him a folder. Someone else was on the phone. And then someone approached her and said, solicitously, ‘Miss Fitzgerald? If you’d like to follow me I can show you where you can wait...’
Sidonie was looking helplessly at Alexio, who glanced at her and then waved her off in the direction of her guide. He was already being spirited away in the opposite direction.
Sidonie was led down plush carpeted hallways. She saw the distinctive Christakos logo on the walls and blanched when she realised that this entire building must be his.
The young woman in a pristine trouser suit with her dark hair clipped back showed Sidonie into a palatial office with huge windows looking out over what seemed to be the whole of London. This had to be Alexio’s office, with its massive desk near the window.
The woman spoke with an accent that Sidonie guessed must be Greek. ‘Can I get you anything, Miss Fitzgerald?’
Sidonie looked at her and felt even more mussed up. ‘Er...maybe some tea would be nice?’
‘Of course. I’ll be right back.’ And she left and pulled the heavy door behind her.
Alexio’s scent was in the air, faint and tantalising. Exclusive. Masculine. Sexy. Sidonie took a deep breath in and walked over to the window to take in the view. It was spectacular, breathtaking.
She could see doors leading out to a terrace and opened them. She went out and was confronted with the real vista—not behind a plane of glass. It was in that moment that she had the full, gut-churning sense of the man she’d met only a few short hours before. He was one of the kings of the world.
‘Miss Fitzgerald?’
Sidonie whirled around to see the assistant hovering with a tray. She rushed forward, aghast, and took the tray from the startled woman. ‘I can look after it myself. Thank you so much.’
The woman backed away. ‘If you need anything else I’m just down the hall. Mr Christakos shouldn’t be too long, I heard him say he wanted to keep the meeting short.’
Sidonie’s belly somersaulted. Was that because of her? She nodded her head and the woman left. Sidonie put down the tray. She didn’t want to sit at Alexio’s desk so she sat at a small coffee table on the other side of the room. She noticed that her hand was trembling when she poured the tea.
Lord. What was she doing here? Sitting in Alexio Christakos’s palatial office, waiting for him. He’d picked her up on a plane.
Sidonie blushed. She’d engaged him in conversation in the first place. If she’d buried her head in her book he probably wouldn’t have looked twice at her. Sidonie put down her teacup. She knew she could walk out of there right now, get her bag out of his car and melt into the crowds in London and quite possibly never see Alexio again... But, treacherously, she didn’t want to.
The novel sensation of putting herself first was uncomfortable. It felt like a coat she’d never worn. Tante Josephine’s face popped into her mind...but even Tante Josephine was okay for the moment, on holiday with her friends. There was no reason why Sidonie couldn’t be here, doing this.
Sidonie felt a sense of lightness, freedom, and it was heady. Dinner tonight. A place to stay. A chance to get to know this amazing man a little better. She breathed deeply and tried to quell her rapid heartbeat. That was all. And that was all she wanted. No matter what her body might be screaming for. She would emerge from this adventure with her emotions intact.