Chapter One
Part Two
Jonathan clenched a tall glass of
cold draft beer, staring at the heavy rain whipping the windows of the small
pub located near his office. He checked his watch yet another time and drew a
deep breath—seven thirty and no sign of Eleanna.
Where is she? What happened this morning,
after she stormed out of the office without saying a word?
The door behind his booth swung open, and he turned abruptly, only to be
disappointed by a couple barging inside, soaking wet and laughing. He tipped
the bottom of his glass toward the ceiling and waved to the waiter for a
refill. The nasty weather and dense darkness outside were a perfect reflection
of his emotions right now. Waiting on Eleanna for the last thirty minutes, he
was worried sick. Her husky and trembling voice on the phone had shaken him up. She hadn’t explained anything, only asked
him to meet her at their favorite pub at seven. Where the hell is she? It wasn’t like her to be
late—Eleanna was one of the most punctual
people Jonathan knew. Something serious was up, and that something probably had
to do with her mysterious past.
The waiter brought another glass
of beer, and Jonathan sipped it absentmindedly. His thoughts drifted back to
when he and Eleanna had first met. They’d known each other for about two
years, ever since that cold, rainy morning in December when she’d walked into Bishop, Marks & Sanders to
interview for an executive secretary position. The
moment the stunning beauty with the golden-brown hair and the amazing hazel
eyes stepped off the elevator, all the men in the office dropped what they were
doing. And thirty-five-year-old Jonathan Sanders—the youngest partner in the
firm—was no exception. He was smitten with her right
from the start, and the fact that he could sense something mystifying about her
made her more desirable than ever.
Eleanna came highly recommended by Peter
Haze—a partner in a small but reputable law firm in the outskirts of London. She
passed the interview with Henry Marks—one of two senior partners in the firm—with
flying colors. Smart, efficient, polite, and punctual, she was excellent at her job.
But she was also distant and kept to herself. At first, her attitude could be
misinterpreted as arrogant but Jonathan was too smart and too interested to let
her go. He wanted to know more about the out-of-reach beauty who haunted his
dreams. So, he did the one thing he had promised never to do again, and, of
course, would never confess to anyone—he called
his brother.
Ian Sanders—Jonathan’s
brother—was an ex-homicide detective turned private investigator, who was the
main reason Jonathan divorced his wife, Michaela… Or rather, Michaela divorced Jonathan four years
ago, after only two years of marriage.
Jonathan would never forgive Ian,
and, above all, he would never forgive himself for having Ian follow Michaela.
He’d suspected that his sexy Spanish wife was having an affair when in reality
she was taking private lessons to improve her English. After Jonathan had
confronted her, no matter how sorry he was and how hard he tried to make up for
the misunderstanding, his hot-tempered wife never forgave him for doubting her and
filed for a divorce.
Ever since, Jonathan had promised
never to speak to Ian again. But he broke that promise when he asked him to
check up on Eleanna. He was desperately in love with her and, sensing that
something wasn’t right, he had Ian investigate her past since she stubbornly
refused to talk about it.
And what Ian had found out was a heartbreaking story of pain, sorrow, and abandonment. Then again, some things didn’t seem
right, and Ian was puzzled—especially by the fact that he couldn’t trace any
information on Eleanna’s family. It was
as if her parents and one-year-old Eleanna appeared out of nowhere.
When Ian informed Jonathan about
his findings, Jonathan was puzzled, as well. However, he couldn’t quench his
yearning for Eleanna. He’d fought for her affection for months, and finally, he’d
managed to become her friend—probably her only
friend.
Only after Jonathan had come to
know her better, did he realize that her arrogant attitude was just a front she put up. Too vulnerable at the time,
she’d mastered an act to appear cool, self-confident, and inaccessible in order
not to get hurt. Eleanna would never talk
about her past, but Jonathan knew that her mother had recently passed away, and
she had nobody else in the world.
Her father had walked out on them
when Eleanna was seven and her little
brother, Mike, was only two. A year later, Mike disappeared without a trace. Tragedy-stricken, young Eleanna and her
heartbroken mother, Violet, had clung together, loving, comforting, and
supporting each other in their little two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of
London. A few years later, Violet became ill and fought esophageal cancer for
years until three years ago she passed away.
After Violet’s death, probably
unable to bear the familiar surroundings, Eleanna left their apartment and her
job and moved to downtown London.
Jonathan squeezed his glass. He
could feel in his gut that something was wrong, and he was worried sick. He
loved Eleanna with all his heart, even though their relationship had never been
anything more than friendship. She was sweet and unselfish, and they got along
well. She was one of few women whom he could talk to about more than just conventional things. At times, she was
quiet and withdrawn, but he’d learned to
appreciate those peaceful moments as
well. And he always respected the times she wanted to be alone—not that she
gave him any choice. Those times that Eleanna
would disappear and not answer her phone for hours always puzzled and worried
Jonathan, but she would stubbornly refuse to tell him where she was going or
what she was doing.
“Would you like something else?” The
waiter was suddenly standing beside him.
“What?” he asked, staring up at
the young, skinny server with the red hair and thick glasses.
“I said, would you like something
else?” The waiter pointed at Jonathan’s empty beer glass.
“Yes,” Jonathan replied, his mouth still feeling
dry. “Bring me another one.” He watched the waiter turn and walk toward the bar
in the back of the small pub.
Then he reached into his pocket
and grabbed his cell phone. I hope she
answers this time, he thought since Eleanna
hadn’t answered the previous two times he’d called. The phone kept ringing
until it got diverted to the answering service. Damn! He slammed it down on the table.
Relax, she’ll be here. He tried to calm the frantic pounding of his heart. But
still, he couldn’t erase the lost look on her face when she’d flown by his office that morning. He’d jumped up and followed her
to the elevators, but she was already gone.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t
notice her coming in. Only after she’d sat down across from him, did he realize
she was there.
“Eleanna!
Thank God, you’re here! I was so worried about you.”
“Hello, Jonathan. Sorry, I’m late, but it’s this nasty weather. I
couldn’t get a cab, and I had to walk for twenty minutes in the rain.”
“Are you all right?” Eleanna seemed
to be miles away. She hasn’t been home at
all. Eleanna was wearing the same light gray suit she had on this morning. He
reached over and covered her clenched-together hands with his. A chill shot
through his spine when he felt how cold they were.
Eleanna was
soaked to the bone but didn’t seem to mind. It was obvious that her mind
was preoccupied. Where has she been all day?
“I’m okay, I guess,” Eleanna replied unconvincingly.
The waiter came to the table, so
Jonathan had to wait until after Eleanna
had ordered a glass of white wine to ask what happened. That’s a change from her
usual fruit punch, he thought but kept his mouth shut. When the server finally walked
away, he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Eleanna,
what happened? What was that all about this morning?”
She stared
at her hands.
Jonathan watched her closely
until he couldn’t bear the silence any longer. “Listen, I don’t mean to pry…”
he started but was interrupted by the waiter bringing Eleanna’s
drink.
“I’m just so worried about you,”
he continued after the man was out of earshot. “However, if you don’t want to talk about it, just say so. I
won’t like it, but I’ll understand.”
Eleanna took a sip of her wine and
stared at their reflections in the window. “My father
is dead,” she said simply.
She spoke so softly that Jonathan wasn’t sure if he’d
imagined it.
“An attorney called this morning,” she added.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled,
squeezing her hands, not knowing what else to say. She hadn’t heard from her
father in all those years, but he was still her father. Besides, they’d never
talked about her family before, and he didn’t want to say anything that would reveal that he’d checked up on her. What’s going through her mind?
“He named me in his will. Apparently
there’s an eight-hundred-acre estate with a hotel and an old mansion on
Skopelos that now belongs to me.”
“An
estate with a hotel?” Jonathan asked, surprised. “On Skopelos? Where on
earth is Skopelos?”
“It’s a Greek island in the
Aegean Sea, a few hours from Athens.”
“Did your father live there?”
“I have no idea.”
Jonathan glanced at her, puzzled.
“My father walked out on us when
I was very young. I have no idea where he was
all those years.” She pulled her hands away from his and stared at him
for the first time since she’d walked into the pub.
Jonathan swallowed hard, seeing
the pain clouding her lovely eyes. “I’m really
sorry to hear that.”
“I’m the only one mentioned in
the will,” she continued. “Which means that he knew about Mike’s disappearance,
even though he never got in touch with us.”
“Mike? Who’s Mike?” Jonathan hated
himself for having to lie to her. But he couldn’t bring himself to admit that
he’d had Ian investigate her past. She would never forgive him for not trusting
her—just like Michaela never did.
“Mike was my little brother,” Eleanna replied, her voice trembling with
emotion. “He disappeared when he was only three years old.”
“Oh, wow! I’m so sorry, Eleanna… I had no idea.”
He watched her as she tried to
regain control of herself. But he knew better than to touch her; he could see
how upset she was. She tapped her fingers on the table and returned her gaze to
the window.
“I have to go there,” she said
finally.
“What? Go where?”
“To Skopelos. I have to go,” Eleanna repeated more to herself than to him.
“But you can sell everything
through an attorney. I can take care of that for you—”
“I’m not going to sell,” Eleanna interrupted.
“What are you talking about?”
Jonathan was seriously worried now. She
must have lost her mind. What does she mean she’s not going to sell?
“Don’t you understand? I have to
find out…” Her words trailed off.
“Find out what?”
“I have to find out what kind of
person my father was and what kept him away from us for so long,” she replied.
However, Jonathan had a feeling that this wasn’t what she intended to say at
first.
“Eleanna,
be sensible! You can’t just get up and go. What about your job? What about us?”
However, the words died on his lips as he could see that she wasn’t paying any
attention to him. She was lost in her
thoughts once more.
“The attorney informed me that my
father had a partner, someone named
Stephanos Ioannou, who owns a lot of businesses and properties in Greece. My
father had borrowed from him some years back, and after he couldn’t repay the
loan, Ioannou acquired a large percentage of the hotel and the estate.”
“What do you mean by large?”
“Fifty percent.”
“Fifty?”
“Yes… It seems that he’s willing
to buy me out—”
“That’s great!” Jonathan cried
out. “That’s exactly what I told you,
sell and—”
“I’m not going to sell,” she
insisted stubbornly, “at least, not right away. I have to find out some things
first.”
“You’re going to fly to some
foreign island you know nothing about, just to see where your father lived?
Eleanna, be sensible! What about your job?”
“I’m going to ask for a couple of
months’ leave. I’m sure Mr. Marks won’t have a problem with that since I’ve been such a punctual
and dedicated employee, and I’ve never missed a day of work. I’ve never even
taken the vacation days that I was eligible for.
I’ll explain to him that I have to go to Greece for a while to take care of
things.”
“Take care of what?” Jonathan could
hardly control his agitation. She’d been
so stubborn about the whole thing; she had no business going to Greece. Deep
down inside, he was afraid of losing her, and he was going to do everything in
his power to change her mind.
***
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