A Wedding For The Greek Tycoon
“He told me the doctor had examined me and had discovered a lump in my neck.” Vasso saw her shudder. It brought out a protective instinct in him he hadn’t felt since he and Akis were on their own after their father died. Though Akis was only eleven months younger, their dying father had charged Vasso to look after his younger brother.
“Honestly, I’m still surprised I didn’t die that night. I wanted to. I was convinced my life was over. He, along with Iris Themis, one of the women on the church humanitarian council, wouldn’t let me give up.
“They are wonderful people who did everything to help me physically and spiritually in order to deal with my grief. The diagnosis of cancer added another level of despair. My parents and I had never taken a handout from anyone. For them to shower me with clothes and toiletries lost in the fire besides being there for comfort, meant I felt overwhelmed with their generosity.”
Vasso got up from the chair, unable to remain seated. Father Debakis had told him she was a very special young woman.
“Before the fire and my illness, I’d planned to finish my last semester of college to get my English degree. I’d even thought of going on to get a secondary school teaching certificate. Because I had to work at night and go to school during the day, my education had to be strung out.”
A sad laugh escaped her lips. “At twenty-four I would have been one of the oldest college graduates around, but the enormity of losing my parents this last year along with the lymphoma has changed my focus.”
“It would change anyone’s.” When Vasso’s father had died of the disease, the world he and Akis had grown up in was changed for all time. They’d adored their father who was too poor to get the medical treatment needed. As he slipped away from them, they’d vowed never to feel that helpless again.
He watched as she re-crossed her elegant legs. “While I was still at the hospital, I met with a cancer specialist who discussed my illness with me. My student insurance would only cover a portion of the costs. There was only a little money from my parents’ savings to add to the amount owing.
“With their insurance I was able to pay off my student loan. What I had left was the small savings in my bank account that wouldn’t keep me alive more than a couple of months. I was trapped in a black abyss when Father Debakis and Iris came to get me and bring me here.
“I was told the center existed to help Greek Americans with lymphoma who had few sources of income to cover the bulk of the expense. They took me into the chapel where I read what was written on the plaque.”
As she looked up at Vasso, tears trickled down her flushed cheeks. “At that moment I knew the Giannopoulos family truly were Samaritans. You just don’t know how grateful I am.” The words continued to pour out of her. “As long as I’m granted life, I want to give back a little of what your foundation has done for me. It would be a privilege to work for you and your family in any capacity.”
As long as I’m granted life.
What had Father Debakis said? It was a matter of some urgency.
Zoe Zachos’s revelations had left Vasso stunned and touched to the soul. He sucked in his breath. “Are you in a relationship with anyone?”
“I had a boyfriend named Chad. But he got a job offer in Boston around the time of the fire. I urged him to take it and he did. We’ve both moved on. So to answer your question, no, there is no special person in my life.”
Good grief. What kind of a man would desert her in her darkest hour?
“Where do you live right now?”
“I’m at the church’s shelter. I’m planning to find an apartment, but I hoped that if I could work at the center here, then I would look for a place close by.”
“Do you have transportation?”
“Yes.”
“And a phone?”
“Yes.” She drew it from her purse. “Iris will pick me up here as soon as I call her.”
He pulled out his cell. “Let’s exchange phone numbers.” After that was done he said, “Before the day is out you’ll be hearing from me.”
She got to her feet. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to you. No matter what you decide, I’m thankful I was able to meet one of the Giannopoulos family and thank you personally. God bless all of you.”
All two of us, he mused mournfully. Four when he included Raina and the baby that was on the way.
After she left the office, Vasso went back to the desk and sat down to phone Akis. He checked the time. Ten o’clock in Athens. His brother wouldn’t have gone to bed yet. He picked up on the third ring.
“Vasso? Raina and I were hoping we’d hear from you before it got too late. How do things look at the center?”
He closed his eyes tightly. “Alexandra has everything under control. But something else has come up. You’re not going to believe what I have to tell you.” For the next few minutes he unloaded on his brother, telling him everything.
“When we created the foundation, it felt good. It was a way to honor Papa.” In a shaken voice he said, “But one look in her eyes taught me what gratitude really looks like—you know, deep down to the soul. I’ve never been so humbled in my life.”
“That’s a very moving story,” Akis responded in a serious tone. “What do you think we should do? Since Alexandra has made her opinion obvious for whatever reason, I don’t think it would work to create a position for Thespinis Zachos under the same roof.”
“I’m way ahead of you. What do you think if we hired her to work at the center on Paxos?”
He could hear his brother’s mind ticking away. “Do you think she’d be willing to relocate to Greece?”
“I don’t know. She has no family in New York, but she’s very close to Father Debakis and one of the women working for the Church’s humanitarian program.”
“What about a boyfriend?”
“Not at the moment. But I’m sure she has friends she met at college. There was the mention of friends she’d been out with the night of the fire.”
“She’s definitely one of the survivors of this world. What does she look like?”
How to describe Zoe Zachos...? “I can’t explain because I wouldn’t do her justice.”
“That beautiful, huh?” Akis knew him too well. After a pause, “Are you thinking of asking her if she’d like to move to Paxos?”
It was all he’d been thinking about since she’d left the office.
“Just be careful, Vasso. I know you inside and out. If she does take you up on your offer of a job, you’re going to feel responsible for her. Be sure that’s what you want.”
He lowered his head. Funny how circumstances had changed. Vasso used to be the one watching out for Akis. Now his little brother had taken over that role. It gave him a lot to think about, but there wasn’t time if he expected to phone her before nightfall. “I’ll consider what you’ve said. Yassou.”
On his way out of the office, Alexandra was just coming in. “You’re finished?”
“That’s right.”
She looked surprised. “Are you staying in New York tonight?”
“No. I’m flying back to Athens.” The beauty of owning a private jet meant he could sleep at night and arrive where he needed to be the next morning.
“I see. What have you decided about Ms. Zachos?”
“You were right. Her skills can best be used elsewhere.” Her bilingual abilities in English and Greek played only a tiny part of what she could bring to the job. “That’s what I’ll tell Father Debakis. Keep up the good work, Alexandra. My brother and I are relying on you.”
Relief broke out on her face. “Thank you. I hope the next time you come you’ll arrange to stay longer.”
Vasso nodded before leaving the center. After he got in the limo, he phoned the priest.
“Father? This is Vasso Giannopoulos. I’ve just come from the center and am pressed for time. Could I meet with you and Thespinis Zachos in your office ASAP?”
“That can be arranged. I’ll ask Kyria Themis to bring her immediately.”
“Excellent. In lieu of her parents who died in the fire, I look to you as someone who has her deepest interest at heart. I understand she has revered you from childhood. What I’d like to do is present an employment offer to her. I believe it’s vital that you are there so she can discuss it with you.” He paused, then said, “She regards you as her mentor.”
“She’s so grateful to everyone who helped her; her dearest wish is to work for your foundation. She lost everything. Now that she has survived, she wants to give back what she can.”
“After talking to her, I believe that’s true. I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up and asked the limo driver to take him to the Greek Orthodox Church a few blocks away.
CHAPTER TWO
ZOE DIDN’T KNOW what the meeting with the priest was all about. The incredible-looking man she’d met at the hospital earlier had told her he’d phone her before the day was out. Since leaving that office, she’d wondered if he’d really meant what he’d said.
But any concern in that department vanished the second she caught a glimpse of his black hair through the opening of the study door. Her pulse quickened for no good reason the second a pair of jet-black eyes beneath black brows zeroed in on her.
Both men stood when she walked in wearing the same skirt and blouse she’d worn earlier. She only had three or four outfits because no more was necessary living at the hospital. But now she needed to do some shopping for a wardrobe with the money she still had left in her bank account.
Over the years Zoe had been in the priest’s study many times with other people, but she’d never laid eyes on any man as gorgeous as Vasso Giannopoulos. The thirtyish-looking male possessed facial features and a hard-muscled body that were as perfectly formed as her favorite statue of Apollo she’d only seen in pictures. No other man could possibly compare.
Her first meeting with him had been so important, she hadn’t had the luxury of studying him the way she could now. He was probably six foot two and topped the priest by several inches, having an authority about him not even Father Debakis possessed. The dark gray suit toned with a lighter gray shirt gave him a rare aura of sophistication.
“Come in and sit down, Zoe. Kyrie Giannopoulos requested that I be in on this visit with you.”
“Thank you.” She found an upholstered chair next to the couch where he sat.
Father Debakis took his place behind the desk. He nodded to the younger man. “Go ahead and tell her why you’ve asked for this meeting.”
Vasso sat forward to look at her with his hands resting on his thighs. Her gaze darted to his hands. He wore no rings. “After you left the hospital, I phoned my brother to tell him about you and your situation. We would be very happy to have you come to work for the foundation, but the position we’re offering would be on the island of Paxos in Greece.”
Zoe decided she had to be dreaming.
“Have you ever been there?”
She shook her head. “No, though I did go on a two-week university tour to England right before the fire broke out. As for our family, we took trips up and down the East Coast and into French Canada.”
After a quick breath she said, “My great-grandparents left Florina in Macedonia to escape communism after the Greek Civil War and came to the US in 1946. It was in New York my father met my mother whose family were also refugees. They’d planned to take us on a trip back there for my graduation present, but it didn’t happen.”
“Maybe now it can,” he said. “The center here in New York is fully staffed, and it might be a long time before there’s a vacancy. But our center on Paxos has needed an assistant to the manager since the last one left to take care of a sick parent.”
Zoe could feel her pulse racing. “You’ve established another hospital?” That meant she wouldn’t have to work under Ms. Kallistos?
“Our first one actually. My brother and I have interviewed a number of applicants, but the manager hasn’t felt he could work with any of them.”
He? “What makes you think he would feel differently about me?”
“I have a feeling he’ll welcome you because you have one credential no one else has possessed to date. It’s more important than any college degree.”
Her heart was pounding too hard. “What’s that?”
“Compassion. You’ve lived through the agony of having been diagnosed with lymphoma, being treated for it and beating it. The year you’ve spent in the center here has given you the most valuable knowledge of what it’s like to know you have the disease, and to have survived.”
“Still, Ms. Kallistos said—”
“Let me finish,” he cut her off, not unkindly. “For that kind of learning experience, you’ve paid a terrible price. Yet it’s that very knowledge that’s needed to work with patients because you conquered the disease. Everyone in the hospital will relate to you and your presence alone will give them hope.”
“She does that at the hospital every day,” the priest inserted.
Her throat swelled with emotion. “What’s the manager like?”
“Yiannis Megalos served as a rear admiral in the Greek Navy before his retirement.”
A man who’d been an admiral. How interesting. “Then he must run a very tight ship.”
The smile he flashed turned her heart over. “He’s an old family friend and came to us about a position with the foundation after losing his wife to cancer, in order to work through his grief. In that respect you and he already share something vital in common by having a burning desire to help. I don’t need to tell you his organizational skills and his work with the wounded during his military career made him an excellent choice.”
“He sounds remarkable.”
“Yiannis is a character too,” he added on a lighter note. She felt his eyes travel over her. “If I have any concerns, it’s for you. Leaving New York to live in a new country is a huge decision to make. If you’ve got anyone special you don’t want to leave, that could prove difficult.”
She shook her head. “There’s no one.”
“Even so, you may not feel that you can uproot yourself from friends. It might be hard to leave those here at the church who’ve helped you. That’s why I wanted Father Debakis to be here in case you want to discuss this with him in private.”
“Of course I’ll miss everyone, but to be given a chance to work for your foundation means more to me than anything.”
“We can come to terms over a salary you’ll feel good about. You’ll need a place to live. But all of those matters can be discussed once you’ve determined that you want this position. Talk it over with Father Debakis. Take as long as you need.”
Zoe was so thrilled to have been offered a job it took a minute for her to comprehend it. She fought back her tears. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for this offer, not to mention the generosity of your family’s foundation.”
He got to his feet. Again she felt his scrutiny. “Be sure it’s what you want,” he warned in a more serious tone of voice. If she didn’t know anything else, she knew deep down this was what she wanted and needed. “In the meantime I have to fly back to Athens tonight. You can phone me when you’ve made your decision.”
Seize the moment, Zoe. “Before you leave, could I ask you a few more questions?”
“Of course.”
“What’s the weather like right now?”
“It’s been in the low eighties all summer and won’t drop to the seventies until later in September. Usually the night temperature is in the sixties.”
“It sounds too good to be true. Are there shops near the hospital to buy clothes?”
“The center is on the outskirts of the small seaside village of Loggos. There are a few tourist shops, but I’d suggest you do your shopping in Athens first.”
“Then that solves any problems I’ll have about luggage. I lost everything in the fire so I’ll replenish my wardrobe there.”
He paused in the doorway, looking surprised. “Does this mean you’ve already made up your mind?”
She eyed the priest then glanced back at the other man. “I can’t wait!”
“I can see you’re a woman who knows her own mind.” She thought his eyes might be smiling. “Under the circumstances, let’s go out for dinner where we can talk over details. I’ll drive you back to your shelter then leave for the airport.”
She turned to the priest. “Oh, Father Debakis... I’m so happy I could take flight.”
He chuckled. “I believe you could.”
* * *
Vasso knew he’d never forget this moment. It was a nice feeling to make someone happy. He smiled at the priest. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you.”
“And mine, Kyrie Giannopoulos. Bless you.”
“Shall we go, thespinis?”
After they walked out to the limo, he asked her to recommend a good place to eat.
Zoe swung around. “There’s a Greek diner called Zito’s a few blocks over. They serve lamb kebabs and potatoes so soft you can taste the lemon.”
That sounded good to him. He told the driver who headed there, then concentrated on the charming female seated across from him. “We need to talk about your travel arrangements. There are dozens of flights to Athens every day. Once we know the date, I’ll book a flight for you.”
“Thank you, but I’ll take care of that. This is so exciting, I can’t believe it’s happening.”
Her excitement was contagious. He hadn’t felt this alive in a long time. Once inside the diner they were shown to a table for two. The minute they were seated and Zoe ordered for them, she flicked him a searching glance.
“While I’ve got you here alone, I need your advice. If I were to take Kyrie Megalos a small gift from New York, what would he like?”
His lips twitched. “He collects naval memorabilia from all over the world.”
That gave her a great idea. “Thanks for the tip.”
“You’re welcome. Before any more time passes, I need to know about your financial situation.”
“I don’t have one. I’m broke.” A laugh escaped her lips, delighting him. “That doesn’t mean I have no money, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep me alive for more than a few months. That’s why I can’t wait to start work.
“When I look back, I’m pretty sure I know the reason why Ms. Kallistos didn’t want me to work there. I took up a bed in the center for eight months after my first cancer-free checkup. That’s because I was allowed to live in the hospital’s long-term facility for the last eight months and get therapy to help me with grief issues.”
Vasso surmised that was only one of the reasons Ms. Kallistos had problems with Zoe. No woman could compete with this female’s effervescent personality. Her reverence for life sucked you in.
“After the chemo and bone marrow transplant, I was given all the time there I needed to recover, for which I’m grateful. I don’t even have to wear a wig now. No one would ever guess that I’d once lost all of it.”
Without her blond hair that had a slightly windblown look, she would still possess stunning classic features. “You seem the picture of health. If a long stay at the center was what made the difference in your recovery, then I applaud the therapist’s decision.”
She nodded. “I finally got it out of my doctor that the therapist was worried about my recovery. Losing my parents was so horrendous I had gone into a deep depression, and he could see I needed counseling. That part was certainly true. I was an only child and way too connected to them at the hip. They were wonderful and worked so hard, I tried to do everything I could to help them. In one night my whole world evaporated.”
“That’s the way my brother and I felt when our father died of lymphoma. The world we knew had gone away. Luckily we had each other.”
“My therapist explained that if I’d had a sibling, it might have made a big difference. He made me realize why I had such a hard time letting them go. Grief hits everyone differently. In my case I was a twenty-four-year-old woman crying like a child for her parents. You don’t know how much fun they were. We were best friends.”
“Akis and I had the same relationship with our father.” Everything she told Vasso rang so true with him about his own life he had trouble finding words. “I’m glad the priest prevailed on me to interview you. He’s very persuasive.”
Another quick smile appeared. “He is that. The other day when the doctor saw me for my six-weeks checkup and told me I was still cancer-free, something changed inside of me. I didn’t want to stay there any longer and realized I’d come out of the worst of my depression. Father Debakis knew about my wanting to work for your foundation. So for you to give me a chance is like another miracle.” Her voice trembled. “Thank you for this opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“I’m sure you won’t.”
The waiter brought their food, but Vasso hardly noticed what he was eating because emotions got in the way of anything else. Their conversation had reminded him of the father he and Akis missed. Their dad had treated them like buddies. He had laughed and joked with them.
Vasso always marveled over how smart he was. Their father knew everyone and had taught them to treat other people with respect. That was how you got ahead. He and Akis remembered everything their father had told them.
She finished her meal before looking up at him. “Your money saved my life and it’s saving the lives of everyone at the hospital. Not just the patients, but the staff too. My oncologist is thrilled to be working there. You and your family have done more for others than you will ever know.”
“I hear you, Zoe. Now no more talk about gratitude. Because you’ll be living on Paxos, I know of several places you can rent. By the time you reach the island, I’ll have lined up some apartments for you to look at.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, but I can do that myself.”
“I’m sure you could, but you’ll need a place close to the center and they’re not easy to come by.”
“Then I take your word for it. Thank you.”
“If you’ve finished, I’ll run you by the shelter.”
She got up from the table. “I’ll phone you as soon as I’ve made my flight plans.”
“I’ll be expecting your call and we’ll go from there.”
As he walked her out to the limo, he felt as if he too had undergone a life-changing experience. Of course he realized the foundation was helping many people. But for the first time since he and his brother had established the two centers, he had a personal interest in one of the former patients who had recovered.
She’d been so open about her family it triggered memories for him about his father and the life the three of them had enjoyed together before he’d died. Despite their poverty they’d had fun, too. He’d forgotten that aspect until Zoe started talking about her life. Because of her comments about family, he was seeing his own past through fresh eyes. Her story tugged at his heart and Vasso found he was no longer the same emotionally closed-up man who’d flown to New York on business.
August 17, Athens, Greece
Prickles of delight broke out on the back of Zoe’s neck as the plane made its descent through a cloudless sky toward the runway. From her coach-class window seat she looked out at the sea, the islands. Closer still she made out the clay-roofed houses lining Athens’s winding roads. This was Vasso Giannopoulos’s world.
A sense of wonderment accompanied these sensations because she still couldn’t believe she was coming to a place where she’d never been before and would be working. No doubt her ancestors experienced the same feelings when they arrived in the US, ready to embark on a new life.
How easy her life was by comparison! Instead of reaching the US by ship, she was on an airliner. Instead of having to undergo a holding time for immigrants, she’d been given safe passage right through to the Athens airport where she’d be taken care of. A job was waiting for her. So was the man who’d made all this possible. He was so wonderful she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have met him.
Kyrie Giannopoulos and his family were responsible for everything that had happened to her since she’d been admitted to the Giannopoulos Center in Astoria a year ago. Somehow he’d made it possible for her to work for his foundation. He’d said he’d be waiting for her when her plane landed.