Suddenly the fog cleared and it all made sense. Theo shared the same last name as his grandparents. His father wasn’t a part of his life. That would explain Theo’s reluctance to do business with the man. And also Elias’s insistence that Theo, and only Theo, do the tours.
Anger rose up inside Trish. No wonder Theo had been so hostile. Elias Stamos had put her in the middle of a family matter. And he hadn’t even had the decency to give her the basics…beginning with the fact that the man wanted her to bribe his son.
When she had walked away from Theo’s table tonight, Trish had hoped she could find some common ground, address Theo’s concerns and come to an agreement. Now that hope was gone. She closed her eyes against a sudden upwelling of regret. There would be no journey back to Corfu. No second or third chance to change Theo’s mind.
If Elias Stamos wanted Theo to do his tours, the shipping magnate was going to have to deal with his son himself.
Trish was through being a pawn.
T
HEO HAD BARELY MADE IT
home when his cell phone rang. “
Yasas
.”
“Theo, this is Katherine.”
He plopped into the nearest chair and switched to English. “Hello, Katherine.”
“You’re probably wondering why I’m calling,” she said, then continued without giving him a chance to answer. “Helena and I feel strongly that you must join us on this cruise. We’re concerned that if you don’t, it might be months or years before we get together again.”
While Theo was touched they’d called, he didn’t have any interest in joining the cruise. “I’m sure the cabins are all booked,” he hedged.
“The penthouse is available,” Katherine said. “I’ll take care of getting your passenger sailing card. I’ll even arrange for your flight back to Corfu from Barcelona.”
Theo leaned back in the chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers. The woman was determined. “I don’t know”
“Theo, this is Helena. Can’t you make it work?” The younger sister’s voice turned persuasive. “We’re only asking for five days of your life. And the penthouse has a full business center so you can do anything here that you can do in your office, with a lot less distraction.”
Normally doing what they asked would be out of the question, but Basil had called as Theo was driving home and said he was feeling better and would be back doing tours tomorrow. Theo considered for a moment. Other than working on some paperwork for a grant, there was nothing on his agenda that couldn’t wait until next week.
But did he really
want
to go back to the ship? Was furthering a relationship with his half sisters worth the additional effort and inconvenience?
Theo thought of his grandparents, now in their seventies. His mother had been an only child so he had no aunts, uncles or cousins. Once his grandparents were goneother than his motherhe’d be alone. If he and his half sisters could forge an amiable relationship, he might have a new family.
All the way home he’d thought about what he wanted out of life, and, as he drove through the darkness, one thing had been crystal clear: he wanted family.
He wasn’t sure whyand maybe he wasn’t ready yet to probe any deeperbut he wanted his sisters in his life. The longing was so powerful, as if it had always been there inside him, just waiting for him to acknowledge it. “I guess a short vacation never hurt anyone.”
Helena gave a little shriek and must have handed the phone back to Katherine because the next voice he heard was hers.
“Wonderful news,” Katherine said. “The guard will have your boarding pass when you get here. You’ll just have to show some identification.”
“When do I need to be there?” Theo asked.
“The sooner the better,” Katherine said. “The Captain wants all passengers on the ship by two.”
Theo glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ll pack a few things and head back to the dock.”
“The card the guard will give you will be your key to the penthouse,” Katherine said. “Sleep late and we’ll plan on getting together for brunch.”
Theo’s fingers tightened around the phone. Was he making a mistake? He’d muddled through a couple of hours with his half sisters, but did he really want to be with them for five days? Still, he knew Katherine was right. This could be their only real chance to get to know each other. “Sounds good.”
“If you encounter any problems with the guards, have them call me,” Katherine added.
“I will,” Theo promised. “And, Katherine…”
“Yes, Theo?”
“Thanks for calling.”
T
RISH LEFT THE DISCO
shortly after midnight. Sally was still out on the dance floor with the dentist, doing her own version of the electric slide.
The loud music coupled with her close encounter of the slimy kind had left Trish with a nagging headache. But those weren’t the only reasons she’d left the club and headed for the top deck. If she’d calculated correctly, Cassidy should be back at the hotel in Orlando after spending the day at Epcot.
When Trish had learned she’d needed to make this trip, she’d assumed her ex-husband would watch their daughter. Those plans had blown up when Steven announced he’d be out of town on a business trip that week. Thankfully her sister had come to the rescue, offering to take Cassidy on a family vacation to Disney World.
Trish took a seat in a deck chair close to the front of the ship and punched in her sister’s number.
“This is Angie.”
“You sound pretty chipper for someone who spent the day at Epcot with four children,” Trish teased. Her older sister and her husband had three busy little boys ages eight, six and two.
“We actually had a lovely day,” Angie said. “Tom bought fast passes so we didn’t have to wait in long lines. Cassidy, Brent and Tyler went on all the rides together so all I had to worry about was Ben.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of her.” To her surprise Trish found her voice trembling. This was the first time she’d left her daughter for more than a night or two and it scared her to death. “It’s so hard to be this far away. But I don’t worry knowing she’s with you.”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t entirely true. She still worried, but that was just the mother in her.
“We’re taking good care of your baby girl” Angie began.
“I’m not a baby,” Cassidy called out in the background, the indignant tone bringing a smile to Trish’s lips.
“I think someone wants to talk to you” The words had barely left her sister’s lips when Trish heard the sweetest sound in the world…her daughter’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“I miss you, Mommy.”
Trish blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes. “I miss you, too, sweetheart. But it sounds like you’re having lots of fun with Aunt Angie and the boys.”
“Me and Brent and Tyler went on a roller coaster,” Cassidy said, her small voice reverberating with excitement. “Ben couldn’t go ’cause he was too little.”
“What other things did you do?”
Trish leaned back in the chair as Cassidy prattled on about the rides she’d gone on and the Slurpee she’d spilled down the front of her shirt. A wave of pure happiness washed over Trish. At that moment, she would have given everything to be in Orlando with her daughter, getting hugs from Mickey and oohing and aahing over Cinderella’s palace. Especially with the kind of disaster this cruise was turning into…
“Did the man sign the piece of paper?”
The question startled Trish, and for a moment she wasn’t sure what Cassidy was asking. Then she remembered she’d told her daughter that she was going to Greece to get Mr. Catomeris to sign a “piece of paper” saying he would do tours for Trish’s company.
“No, sweetheart.” Trish gentled her tone. “The man didn’t want to do the tours.”
“He will, Mommy,” Cassidy said. “Everyone wants to work for you.”
Though Trish appreciated her daughter’s unwavering support, she knew the real issue was whether she could get Theo Catomeris to work with Elias Stamos. She knew Theo had must feel insulted that his father had tried to bribe him, but that understanding didn’t change the fact that her business would suffer if he didn’t sign her contract.
After promising to call Cassidy tomorrow, Trish dialed her office. Since it was after seven in the evening, Florida time, she didn’t expect anyone to be there. But she could give her employees an update on voice-mail. Though she believed honesty was best, she still hadn’t decided how much to tell them. After all, they’d have to deal with the bad news soon enough.
To her surprise, a familiar voice answered the office’s private line. “Twyla? Is that you?”
“It’s me.” Concern filled the woman’s voice. “But why are you calling? Is something wrong?”
“Everything is fine,” Trish said reassuringly. “I was just going to leave you an update. I didn’t expect anyone to be there this late.”
“There were a couple of things we didn’t get done today that needed to be finalized,” Twyla said. “I volunteered to work late.”
Though Twyla didn’t say it, Trish knew that being away from the office had put her staff behind. But she reminded herself she was in the Mediterranean for only one reason: to save their jobs.
“And I’ve done a bang-up job of that,” Trish muttered.
“What did you say?” Twyla asked.
Trish realized with sudden horror that she must have spoken aloud. “What did you do with Sam?”
Twyla was a fellow single mother and the sole support and caregiver for a precocious two-year-old son.
“He’s here. I picked him up from day care and brought him back to the office with me,” Twyla spoke in that upbeat chirpy tone that defined her personality. “Of course we had to drive through McDonald’s for a quick dinner on the way.”
Trish smiled. Twyla made working late sound like a fun adventure, but Trish knew the sacrifice she was making. “I really appreciate”
“Don’t give it a second thought,” Twyla said quickly. “We’re a team. We help each other out.”
Trish recognized the words she was always spouting and her throat tightened “Still, I appreciate the extra effort.”
“Enough about me. How’d it go today?” Twyla asked. “Did you get Catomeris to sign?”
Twyla was aware of the importance of keeping the Liberty account. She and James were counting on her to close the deal and save their jobs. How could she tell them she’d failed. Not failed, she reminded herself, given up.
“I met him today,” Trish said, choosing her words carefully. “While I didn’t get a firm commitment, he is thinking about it.”
“Well, at least he’s considering the offer,” Twyla said. “And if anyone can close this deal it’s you.”
“I’m going to do my best.” Trish vowed to figure out another way to contact Theo before she left this part of the world. And she wasn’t just going to do her best, she was going to close the deal. Because Twyla’s and her son’s happiness depended on it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
W
HEN
T
HEO HAD ORDERED
food to be brought to his penthouse for a late-morning brunch, he’d never expected the staff to turn his deck into an elegant buffet.
Helena and Katherine hadn’t seemed surprised at all when they’d arrived, leaving him to assume such extravagance must be the norm in their world. The food tasted as good as it looked and conversation flowed easily throughout breakfast. Still, Theo could tell Katherine had something on her mind.
He’d been watching her closely, and she was definitely more withdrawn than she’d been last night.
“Is something wrong?” Theo asked her pointedly after the espresso had been poured. “You seem preoccupied.”
“I’m afraid I have to get off the ship tomorrow in Naples,” Katherine said, true regret in her voice. “Father called this morning. He insists I meet him in Athens tomorrow to discuss some last-minute changes in the new publicity campaign we’re getting ready to launch.”
“You couldn’t discuss it over the phone?” Theo knew it was futile before the words left his mouth. From what he understood, when Elias Stamos called, you answered.
“’Fraid not.” Katherine grimaced. “When it comes to business…”
They hadn’t really discussed Elias Stamos and Theo had been thankful for that. But now he found himself curious. Could this last-minute meeting in Athens simply be the man’s way of cutting short Katherine’s time with him? “Did your father know you and Helena were meeting me?”
Helena took a sip of her mimosa. “We told him.”
“He was supportive,” Katherine said, answering the unspoken question in Theo’s eyes.
“That surprises me.” He wanted to trust what Katherine had to say but he couldn’t help but be suspicious. After all, how could a man who’d spent his entire life pretending he didn’t have a son suddenly do a three-sixty?
“For all his faults, family is everything to him,” Helena said.