When She Fell for the Billionaire(27)

“Don’t be snide. You can do better than her.”

Eleni spoke her mind. It was one of the things he had liked about her at the start.

“That’s not for you to say.”

“Maybe not, but think of what your mother would if she learns that her son is consorting with a woman like Sabrina Connelly.” She mistakenly thought his silence was a cue for her to continue. “I looked her up. She had an affair with a married man that led to him divorcing his wife of twenty years. Plus she was living blatantly with her boyfriend at the same time.”

So that was what she had been busy doing on her laptop when he came in. His Catholic mother had very strict requirements for what she wanted as wives for her sons. If his mother had her way, all her sons would be marrying virgins. Since his father had left her, she had become quite a realist. She had relaxed her requirements and would be happy if they settled for a biddable, maternal girl from a good family, career not necessary.

His mother had approved of Eleni. She was intelligent and very good in projecting what one wanted to see. She played the part of the doting, submissive girlfriend in front of friends and family. In private, she was anything but.

Her jealousy bordered on the pathological. Any woman who came near him was suspect. His previous secretary had left, in tears, because Eleni accused her of flirting with him when she had caught her once smiling at him. She had flown into such a rage in his office, screaming and humiliating the poor girl by calling her foul names that she fled without even giving Luca notice. He had been away on a business trip that time and Eleni had arrived in Milan a day before his return. He had been in the dark as to why his secretary of several years had suddenly quit. It was only weeks later after their break-up that someone in his staff had enlightened him about what had happened. It took him months to catch on because on the surface, she played the ideal girlfriend role to perfection. She flew to Milan every weekend. He found it flattering that she was so into him. She went with him to all his functions, shared his interests, was keen to meet all his friends. She charmed his mother and his siblings.

Until that day she saw a photo of Luca with an ex-girlfriend in a magazine. He had accidentally bumped into his ex and her husband at a charity event. Eleni was in Athens. He had been woken in the middle of the night by the insistent ringing of his mobile. It was Eleni. She was in a jealous rage over the woman in the photo. It took him an hour to calm her down and point out that the woman was happily married and her husband had been with her at the event. She was mollified and profuse in her apologies about flying off the handle.

Until the next photo, or the next woman Eleni would see him smiling at or talking to. She’d rage, he’d placate. When she wasn’t throwing a jealous fit, Eleni was sweet, smart, and funny. She’d often hint that she wouldn’t mind moving to Italy. She could find a job and then eventually open another marketing firm. When she was being Dr. Jekyll, Luca could see it working out with her. But when she was in Hyde mode, Luca wanted to hide from her. As their relationship progressed, so did her possessiveness and demands on his time and attention.

The incident at the bar had been the last straw. He broke it off with her that night, right after he had brought the shaken woman to the emergency room for the thankfully small gash on her temple. She claimed she had tripped and hadn’t meant to really hurt the woman, just scare her off. He had refused to answer her calls after, horrified at her behavior and disgusted with himself that he hadn’t broken it off earlier with Eleni. He allowed everyone to believe the lies she spread after. That Luca had been unfaithful and she had dumped him.

“I’d appreciate it if you stayed out of my personal life.” He spoke in Italian.

Eleni answered in Greek. “I hope you can still see me as a friend, Luca, even if we’re not lovers anymore.” He stared at her, trying to see past her earnest entreaty. “I deeply regret that incident at the bar. We all make mistakes. I owned up to it, but I hope we can put the past behind us.”

“I’ve moved on, Eleni. That’s how I’ve put the past behind me. You should too.” In the months after the break-up, Eleni had tried to use her PR firm to set up various meetings with him. He always sent Chiara to attend. After all, she was the creative director.

“We can still be friends, right?”

Luca sighed. Misguided though she was, she was still the cousin of his friend. He was bound to see her in future occasions like this one, which he couldn’t avoid. No point making things difficult for him. “Si. We can still be friends.”

Her full lips curved in a smile that suspiciously looked self-satisfied. “We’ve always understood each other, Luca. I’ve always wanted what’s best for you. As your friend, I’m duty bound to tell you that Sabrina Connelly is bad news.”