Redeemed By Her Innocence (HQR Presents) Page 15

  He hung his head, sickened at the thought, but it was the truth. The ugly truth that his father was untouchable, protected by his own wall of fear, his henchmen like gargoyles on the ramparts; no one got near, no charges ever brought against him, so no justice would ever be done.

  And anyone who turned informant would have a fate worse than death. That had been drummed into him even as a child. Fear. His whole life had been defined by it and he had gone on the run because of it.

  The fear was real. No matter that he was thirty-five now. A widower. Had a multibillion-dollar-turnover business and a place on the Forbes list. It was still there, right down there on the streets of Manhattan, brewing. He could feel it. He could feel Arthur’s wrath, could feel him coming for him.

  Lauren had been the last one on the list to suffer the poison. He’d known as soon as he’d stepped out of his office and had seen her ashen face. At first he’d thought something had happened to Jacquelyn. Panic had grabbed his heart with both hands and squeezed the air from his lungs. Was that the moment he’d realised he loved her?

  Lauren handed him the notepad where her shaky hand had written two sentences.

  Daddy’s home and he wants his money back.

  Three p.m. Central Park West.

  For a split second he thought about getting the jet ready, heading to Italy or London, anywhere but here. But there was iron in his blood now. There was lead in his spine. He could crush his fear, and he would not run any more. He would use every weapon he could and do the right thing.

  Nikos gripped the barrier that encircled the top floor of his terrace and gazed at the park. Somewhere down there he was waiting. He and Bruno.

  This was it. Time to finally grow up. He was not going to be the frightened boy hiding under his bedclothes any more. He was going to meet him here, get him to admit what he could with the police listening in, give him money if he had to and let the cops do the rest.

  He was doing this for his mother, for Maria, but most of all for Jacquelyn. There would never be another chance, and there would definitely never be another Jacquelyn.

  She was one in a million and worth every second of this. She was fighting for her business, her family, her reputation. She had more honesty and integrity than any other human being he had ever met, and she had stayed true to her principles until he had dragged her to his bed.

  And he would never forgive himself for hurting her. She had trusted him and look what he had done. Trying to seduce her again and then sending her on her way because she wouldn’t get into bed with him.

  As soon as this was over he was going to find her. Maybe she would give him another chance. He put his hands together and bowed his head and prayed.

  * * *

  ‘Hello, Nikos. I’m...I’m outside with your father.’

  The second she said the words, he grabbed the phone.

  ‘You hear that. I’ve got your little friend. So let us up.’

  Whatever Nikos said, Arthur’s face lit up, then he nodded as the car moved forward like a tank, and then stopped at the carpet.

  ‘This doesn’t feel right,’ said Bruno from the front.

  ‘Relax. He’d never double-cross me. He hasn’t got it in him. Here, sort yourself out,’ he said, grabbing up her fallen shoes and bag and shoving them at her.

  Jacquelyn slowly uncurled herself from the corner of the seat and tried to make her shaking limbs work. She stuffed her feet into the shoes, the pain of the blister not even registering as she forced her heels down and tried to smooth her dress with trembling hands.

  The doorman seemed to hesitate before he stepped towards the vehicle.

  ‘Right, Blondie, you’re going to get out and smile at the nice man. Then walk inside. I’ll be right beside you. And I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you try anything stupid.’

  The door opened. Sunlight danced on the green carpet. Her beige patent shoe struck the ground and she tried to stand, and round her waist the hateful hands of Nikos’s father—a warning.

  She climbed out and he came out right behind her, his hot breath at her ear, chilling and deadly. Bruno followed. She thought about running but her legs were useless, her mind was useless. All she could think about was Nikos and how he’d think she was part of this. How they might hurt him. What she could do to stop it happening.

  The door to the building was opened, the concierge looked up and smiled, holding her eyes for an extra second, but then dipped her head back down to her screen.

  Help! screamed Jacquelyn silently but there was nobody there to see the panic in her eyes.

  The lift flew up, and bumped to a gentle halt at the penthouse. The doors slid open...

  And there was Nikos and her heart soared. He looked right at her. His eyes telegraphed shock then anger in quick succession. She tried to mouth It’s OK to him, but her lips wouldn’t work. She felt a jab in her back, urging her forward.

  ‘Long time no see,’ sneered Arthur.

  ‘This wasn’t the deal,’ he answered hoarsely.

  ‘What...no hug for your old dad? After all this time?’

  ‘Adding kidnapping to your list of crimes? I didn’t think you’d be that stupid.’

  ‘You can thank Bruno for that. He clocked her on the street. I hear she made quite an impression the first time they met—and here she is: the added insurance in case you decided to pretend you didn’t know me again.’

  He squeezed Jacquelyn’s hand, making her shudder.

  ‘Imagine being disowned by your own son. You’d think I brought him up better than that. All his fancy houses and cars and his money and no respect. What would you do with a son like that?’

  Nikos stood still, eyes blazing furiously. Jacquelyn desperately wanted to run to him but she faltered, too afraid to move.

  ‘You didn’t bring me up. I owe everything to my mother. You’re no better than a cheap little drug dealer.’

  ‘Your wife didn’t mind that I was a dealer. Shame you didn’t join the party. That was some party,’ he said, turning to smile at Bruno.

  ‘You low-life piece of scum. Just tell me what you want and get out of here.’

  ‘You’re the same scum as I am, underneath your suits and all your fancy stuff, you’re still my son. You make money just like I make money. You get your needs met, you like your women...’

  He trailed a finger down the back of Jacquelyn’s arm and she shuddered and stiffened in one sickening moment.

  Nikos opened his mouth and then closed it again. She saw a flicker pass over his eyes like an icy wind blowing through a stormy sky, but then his face was hard like granite.

  ‘Come here, Jacquelyn.’

  She heard the words, her heart flew to her chest and she leapt forward.

  ‘Oh, no. Not so fast, Jacquelyn.’

  Arthur’s fingers curled round her upper arm, crushing it, but she didn’t move or make a sound. She looked at Nikos, but the rage in his eyes chilled her and she looked away, too afraid to think of what he would do. It was like being between two bulls, their hooves stomping, breath thrusting from their noses, bull rings shining in the sun.

  ‘Touch her and I swear I will rip your head off.’

  Nikos stepped forward; he seemed to broaden, growing in stature, more terrifying by the moment. Jacquelyn sensed something weaken in Arthur behind her, and startled like a deer ready to run. At the same moment Nikos lunged for her, thrust his fist right past her head as he did so, bone meeting the flesh of Arthur’s face and her body swung neatly behind his, shielded by him.

  Arthur yelped in pain and stumbled off to the side, clutching his face.

  ‘Bruno. Take care of this,’ he said, through his hands cradling his head.

  Bruno hesitated.

  ‘We know the Feds are all over the Cayman investments. We’ll settle for the Picasso.’

  ‘You’r
e getting nothing of mine.’

  ‘Easy for you to say with all your millions. What do you think paid for the shirt on your back when you were a kid?’

  ‘I’d rather have had nothing than anything involved in crime. You’re the lowest of the low, making money from people who can’t help themselves. Bullying the weak. I thank God every day that Mum got away from you.’

  ‘She can’t run far now though, can she?’

  Loathing reared in Nikos like a monster and he lunged forward, trying to land another punch, but Bruno blocked his arm. Maddened, he swung again and shoved him crashing into one of the bronze art deco statues.

  ‘Get out of my home. Get out before I rip your head off too.’

  ‘Bruno. Get the painting...let’s get out of here,’ Arthur gasped.

  Nikos lurched forward, heading straight for his father, who was now reeling, the bull finally charging the matador, the force of his movement huge and brutal and deadly.

  And it broke Jacquelyn’s heart to see him. This strong, gentle man, this man who had shown her such kindness, who had shown her how to make love and cherished her as much as his broken spirit could allow.

  ‘No,’ she called out and tried to pull him back. Her fingers landed on his back. ‘Please don’t be like him. You’re better than that.’

  Nikos stopped and reached for her, blindly grabbing at the air, as if he were stopping himself from falling off a cliff, and she found him and held him and hugged him close, pulling him back from the edge.

  He looked into her eyes with such pain, and love. Just a moment, but it stretched there like a path to eternity and she knew she would go to the ends of the earth for this man.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered.

  Then it all happened. Noises in the hallway, feet thundered on the parquet floor, the doors flew open, figures in dark uniforms. Guns.

  Arthur roared, Nikos shielded her. Bruno stood, shoulders slumped, as if he had finally given in.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ‘SO THAT IS HOW I see us taking the intimate, highly personal experience that has been Ariana’s trademark for generations, and translating it within each concession, and, even more importantly, online.’

  Jacquelyn clicked the final slide on her deck and smiled round at the board. The faces were stony but she glanced up at Brody and saw him wink and give a discreet thumbs-up.

  ‘Questions, anyone?’ he said, as she sat beside him at the top of the table.

  In the seconds that followed, Jacquelyn knew that her fate was being decided. Not just hers, but Victor’s, the seamstresses’ and machinists’, her father’s, her mother’s. This was the deal of a lifetime and she had presented it with every ounce of skill she possessed.

  ‘No questions. Just a guarantee of exclusivity. You come to us and you trade in the UK, but that’s it.’

  ‘If the price is right, yes,’ said Jacquelyn, swinging her chair round slowly to face the CEO of Nikos’s biggest rival. Her heart raced faster than the dollar signs she could see spinning in Brody’s eyes. But she crossed her legs, steepled her fingers and kept her cool.

  ‘And the stock is owned currently by whom?’

  ‘I own ninety per cent and my business partner—’ she nodded to Brody ‘—owns the other ten per cent.’

  ‘Any plans for that to change? Or let me put it another way—any plans for Nikos Karellis to get involved?’

  At the mention of Nikos’s name, Jacquelyn’s heart skipped a momentary beat. Brody opened his mouth to talk but she put her hand up, silencing him.

  ‘I don’t imagine anyone has asked you if your wife has bought stock recently, so you’ll understand my surprise at your question.’

  ‘House is our prime competitor. I have to ask.’

  ‘My business affairs are wholly my own. As are my personal affairs.’

  She stood up and the faces round the table all rose to watch her.

  ‘If you feel that you need to know more than the quality of my work, or the health of my accounts, then perhaps our chemistry isn’t going to work, after all.’

  The room held its breath as she reached for her tablet and began to slide it into the leather pocket in her tote bag.

  ‘Now, now, Miss Jones. Please don’t be too hasty.’

  She kept her eyes down but she could almost taste the buzz in the room.

  ‘I think we’re ready to make you an offer.’

  She looked up into the eyes of every person round the table, checking for nodders or dissenters, and then, satisfied, she sat back in the sumptuous leather chair and smiled.

  ‘Good. I’m ready to hear it,’ she said.

  * * *

  Two hours later Jacquelyn stepped from her car onto the pavement outside her new favourite restaurant in Manhattan.

  She stared up at the soaring glass and glimpses of bright blue sky above her head. She was completely in love with this city already, after only five days here. A city that welcomed, and spread out its possibilities like tempting canapés for her to try. Here, she was Ariana, unapologetically the CEO of a business that was contemporary and had legacy. She wasn’t defined by her father or her grandmother, or by a failed relationship.

  She was writing her own history one step at a time.

  She stared in through the glass to see if she could see Nikos but the swirl of servers and lunchtime customers was too dense.

  She stepped under the glass canopy just as she felt arms wrap around her.

  ‘Nikos,’ she sighed, sinking into his warm, strong body.

  ‘Hello,’ he said, tugging her towards him, and then he turned her slowly in his arms, and held her face. Then when he had smiled at her, and she had smiled at him, he kissed her slowly and thoroughly.

  ‘I was beginning to think you’d stood me up. Where have you been?’ he said, linking his fingers through hers and leading her off down the street.

  ‘With my new best friends,’ she said as they waited at the intersection to cross.

  ‘Are you going to tell me who they are or do I have to guess?’ said Nikos as he tucked his arm around her and walked them over the street.

  ‘I’ll give you a clue. They’ve got stores in every major city in northern USA and Australia. They’ve got an online platform to rival the best. And even better, they’ve just launched in China.’

  ‘You signed with Blue?’

  He stopped dead on the pavement, his hands on her shoulders. She smiled so broadly it felt as if she’d run out of face.

  ‘My biggest rival? You signed with my biggest rival?’

  ‘It was beautiful, Nikos. They were looking for bespoke bridal. The store within the store. Ariana in Blue. Doesn’t that just roll off the tongue? Authentic. Italian. They loved my new designs and they can give me the resources to scale everything up. And with the digital team that Brody has hired, we can convert the whole experience to the Internet too. Brides can upload their photos and measurements and we can dress the whole wedding party before they set a foot inside.’

  ‘Wow,’ he said as they started to walk again.

  ‘But nothing will ever beat the personal touch. And that’s what I’m going to get the most pleasure from creating. We’re going to launch in Australia first.’

  She’d kept that bit to the end, but he didn’t pick up the cue.

  ‘Jacquelyn, you’re amazing. Look what you’ve done. In less than two weeks you’ve transformed your business. You’ve walked into New York and owned this city. You’ve gone further than I ever did.’

  ‘Oh, come on, Nikos, you know that’s not true. You built House from the dust.’

  She threaded her fingers through his and stared happily at every passer-by, every shop window, every car.

  ‘You and Mark are the only ones who truly know that. Everybody else thinks that I got it handed to me on a plate. But never mind me and Hous
e. Tell me how you handled the crusty old chief exec.’

  Jacquelyn laughed and looked up. They were nearing the park. Their lunchtime place to stroll and talk, this past week.

  ‘He asked about you.’

  ‘What about me?’ he said, pausing a moment to look at her. And just that sideways glimpse made her heart race. Those eyes that captured everything, those lips she ached to kiss, the inky trail of his tattoo snaking down under his Fifth Avenue shirt collar.

  ‘He wanted to know if you would be getting involved further down the line.’

  ‘And what did you tell him?’

  ‘That it was none of his business. And if he wanted to make it his business then we wouldn’t be taking this any further.’

  They walked along together, her pointed patent toes and his black leather, totally in step. Bright sunshine bounced all around; they were nearing the park.

  ‘And I pointed out that he wouldn’t like it if I asked about his significant other.’

  He was silent, but their feet stepped forward together, left, right, left, right, and she felt the press of his hip against hers, and the strength of his arm holding her close.

  ‘Well. Good for you. Sounds like you handled the whole thing brilliantly. Brody is just as happy with the terms you got?’

  She squeezed her arm against his side. Her little way of telling him to wind his jealous neck in.

  ‘He’s over the moon. Just like I am. I can go back to Lower Linton with my head held high. I can pay off all my debts and give everyone a pay rise. We can have our own Wellbeing Suite, and I can sponsor kids or start-ups, or do everything I ever dreamed of. Honestly, I’ve got everything now. And I can’t thank you enough, Nikos. You were the first person I wanted to tell.’