CATHERINE GEORGE - Eligible Greeks - Tycoon's Revenge - Proud Greek, Ruthless Revenge / The Power of the Legendary Greek / The Greek Millionaire's Mistress

Tahlia could hear the relief in Peter Reynolds’s voice, and tears stung her eyes. ‘Thank God,’ she whispered shakily. ‘Mum must be overjoyed.’

‘We both are,’ Peter said in a choked voice. ‘We’re going out to dinner tonight to celebrate—my credit card can just about take it. Will you come?’ He hesitated, and then added, ‘There’s something I need to discuss with you.’

‘Of course I’ll come,’Tahlia agreed, puzzled by her father’s tone. Her mother had beaten cancer and the world was suddenly a wonderful place, so why did he sound so tense? ‘Dad, what’s the matter?’

There was another long pause before Peter spoke. ‘I’ve had a letter from the bank, threatening to repossess Carlton House.’

‘What?’ Tahlia’s legs gave way and she dropped onto a chair. ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand. How can the bank repossess Carlton when you and Mum jointly own it?’

‘I had to remortgage the house as well as take the loan when we refurbished the shops,’ Peter explained flatly. ‘Your mother agreed to it because I assured her it was just a temporary solution to a cashflow problem with the company, and she thinks I’ve already repaid it. I was hoping the bank would give me some leeway, but I’m behind with the repayments and they are demanding I pay the arrears immediately. ‘There’s no money left, Tahlia. I’ve used every penny of my personal savings trying to keep Reynolds afloat. I hope to God Vantage Investments are serious about buying Reynolds Gems,’ he said thickly, ‘because if not I will be solely responsible for losing Carlton and breaking your mother’s heart. How did the meeting go?’ he asked; a note of desperation audible in his voice. ‘Steven Holt sounded pretty keen when I spoke to him a few days ago.’

Tahlia’s brain seemed to have stopped functioning. Her parents could not lose Carlton House. It was inconceivable. In her mind she pictured the graceful old manor house that had been built during the reign of Elizabeth I and which had been passed down through her mother’s family for generations. The house was a listed building and had been a serious drain on her parents’ finances for years, but they had swiftly dismissed any idea that they might be better to sell Carlton and move to a smaller house which required less upkeep.

Her mother would be utterly heartbroken if she was forced to move from the home she loved now, and after the past two gruelling years of fear and chemotherapy she did not deserve to suffer further misery.

‘Yes.’ She uttered the word instinctively, because she could not bring herself to say no—to reveal that the meeting had not gone as she or her father had expected, and that the CEO of Vantage Investments had been instructed to sound enthusiastic about buying out Reynolds by Thanos Savakis, head of Vantage’s parent company Savakis Enterprises, a man whose only agenda was revenge.

‘As you said, it was only a preliminary meeting. There are still a few points to discuss before a buy-out is absolutely certain. Leave things with me while you concentrate on Mum,’ she added hurriedly. ‘Why don’t you take her to Cornwall and stay with Aunt Jess for a few days? You could both do with a break, and Jess would love to see you both.’

She gripped the phone, willing herself to remain calm. ‘Dad…you’re not serious about the possibility of losing Carlton, are you? I mean, there has to be a way…’

‘The only way I can settle the debt on the house is by selling the company,’ Peter said flatly. ‘A while back there were a couple of other firms who were interested in buying Reynolds, but I turned them down because Vantage Investments offered the best deal. If Vantage should change their mind I’m sunk. The bank is putting pressure on me, and there’s no time to find a new buyer. You say that a few things need to be ironed out? I think I should call Steven Holt.’

‘No.’ Tahlia fought to keep the panic from her voice. If her father phoned Vantage he would learn from Thanos that there was no deal and never had been, that the offer to buy Reynolds had just been part of a cruel trick designed to punish her . This was her fault, she thought despairingly. If Vantage had not approached her father he would have sold Reynolds to one of the other firms who had been interested, and Carlton House would be safe.

‘Are you prepared to stand by and allow your father to lose the company…?’ Thanos’s voice mocked her. The thought had torn her apart, but she had rejected his solution, vowing to find another way to save Reynolds. The defeated note in her father’s voice now made it clear there was no other way. It was not simply the company that was in danger but Carlton House, and her parents’ happiness and peace of mind.

‘Each of us has something the other wants.’ Thanos was a billionaire who had the means to buy Reynolds, and in return he wanted…

A tremor ran through her. He wanted to have sex with her. She couldn’t do it, she thought wildly. But hard on the heels of that thought came the acknowledgement that she had no choice. Her father had admitted he was at rock bottom, and she was at the limit on her own overdraft and credit cards. She could not raise enough money to cover one mortgage repayment on Carlton, let alone clear the arrears.

‘There are just a couple of minor points that need clarification before Vantage agrees to the deal,’ she told her father, forcing herself to sound calm. ‘I’ll get back to them and sort it out. Can I speak to Mum?’ she asked quickly, before her father could argue.

‘Oh, yes—of course…’ There was a moment’s silence, and then Vivienne’s voice sounded down the line.

‘Tahlia! Isn’t it wonderful?’ she said tremulously. ‘I feel as though I’ve been given a second chance at life.’

The raw emotion in her mother’s voice tore at Tahlia’s heart, and she swallowed the tears that clogged her throat. ‘I hope you enjoy every minute of it, Mum,’ she whispered. ‘You and Dad deserve to be happy.’

And she would do everything in her power to help them, she vowed fiercely as she put down the phone. Even the unthinkable.

Thanos emerged from the en suite bathroom and padded across the bedroom to answer the phone, his brows lowering in a frown as he listened to the message relayed by the receptionist. He hesitated for a few moments, wondering why Tahlia Reynolds was standing in the lobby of his hotel at eleven o’clock at night, and silently acknowledged that he was intrigued.

‘Inform Miss Reynolds that I will see her in my suite in fifteen minutes,’ he murmured, before he replaced the receiver. It wouldn’t hurt Tahlia to cool her heels, and if the reason for her unexpected visit was sufficiently important she would wait until he was ready to see her. He also needed to get dressed—unless he intended to greet her wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. When he recalled his body’s involuntary reaction to her at their last meeting it was clear that clothes were a necessity, he conceded, his mouth curving into a self-derisive grimace.

To his annoyance his curiosity grew over the following quarter of an hour, and after pouring himself a liberal malt Scotch he paced restlessly around his suite. What did Tahlia want? Had she, after all, decided to offer her body in return for him saving her father from financial ruin? His mouth twisted as he recalled her scathing refusal to sell herself to him earlier in the day. Her reaction had surprised him, he acknowledged. He had first-hand evidence that she had the morals of an alley cat, and the recent story of her affair with another married actor was not the first time her love-life had been reported in the press.

He had been certain that she would agree to sleep with him in return for his agreement to buy Reynolds Gems, but instead she had looked as scandalised as if she were a vestal virgin—which was a laughable notion, he thought sardonically.