Matteo tipped his head in acknowledgement. He had of course heard the stories of the wild-child daughter. There was talk of drugs and men, but no one knew if Alexander had seen her since she'd married against his wishes, and so the story went that she'd been disinherited. This was the first time Matteo had heard mention of a granddaughter, or, for that matter, heard Alexander speak of his family at all; though a portrait of his long dead wife hung in the hallway of his palatial home on the island he owned.
'She married some loser, Parvati, threw herself away on him…to spite me, I think,' the older man brooded darkly. 'I was right. He was a useless waster, but would she listen? No, he left her when she got pregnant. All she had to do was ask and I'd have...' He shook his head, looking tired in the aftermath of emotional outburst. 'No matter, she always was as stubborn and...' His voice trailed away until he sat there, eyes half closed.
Matteo began to wonder if he had fallen asleep. 'Sounds like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.'
To Matteo's relief, the older man opened his eyes and directed a scowl up at Matteo, which slowly faded. The smile that replaced it held a hint of pride. 'Mia was a fiery one. Like her mother to look at but...' His voice trailed away again.
If the likeness in the painting he had seen was accurate, Alexander's wife had been beautiful, though not in the same style as the granddaughter with the glowing amber eyes. Matteo could see no similarity between the two. The portrait was of a beautiful woman with a beautiful face but not a face to haunt a man. Unlike the face of the woman with the golden eyes. She was Alexander's granddaughter…he was still struggling to get his head around that.
Matteo's lack of family had been something they'd had in common, part of their unlikely bond that had grown through the years. Now it turned out that there was family and he was assuming Alexander wanted to be reunited. If the older man had asked his advice, Matteo would have told him it was a bad idea. But Alexander wouldn't ask or listen any more than Matteo would have if someone had told him beforehand that reconnecting with his own past would leave him with memories that would offer no answers and no comfort.
'I suppose I could have made the first move. I was just waiting but she never...' He wiped a hand across his eyes and when it fell away Matteo pretended not to see the moisture on the old man's cheeks.
The truth was, he was finding it uncomfortable to see the man he had always considered self-contained and unsentimental and way past being a victim of his emotions show such vulnerability. But then maybe that was what a reminder of his own mortality did to a man?
'I suppose everyone has regrets.'
'Do you?'
Matteo raised his brows at the question and considered it. "We all make mistakes," he said, thinking of his grandmother staring out of the window with blank eyes on his last visit to the home. 'But never the same one twice.' Twice made you a fool or in love…in his eyes the latter made you the former.
He could not imagine ever allowing his heart, or at least his hormones, to rule his head. Not that he was a monk; sex was healthy and necessary but he never mixed it with sentiment, which had given him a reputation for being heartless, but he could live with that. Living with the same woman for the rest of his life? Less so!
'I regret...but it's too late for that.' Alexander's voice firmed. 'I want to make amends. I intend to leave her everything. Sorry if you thought you were getting it.'
'I don't need your money.'
'You and your damned pride! If you'd let me help you'd have got to the top a lot quicker, or at least with a lot less effort.'
'Where would be the fun in that? And you did help. You gave me an education and your advice.' Matteo spoke lightly but he knew how much he owed to Alexander, and so did the shipping magnate.
'A gift beyond price, wouldn't you say?'
Matteo's lips quivered into an appreciative smile. 'You really are feeling more yourself, but the moral blackmail is unnecessary, Matteo.' He spoke without heat. 'What do you want me to do?'
'Bring her to me.'
The face with the golden eyes floated into his head and Matteo felt some nameless emotion flare inside him at the idea of seeing that face again.
The older man was staring again at the image on the screen.
'Will you?'
Matteo's thickly defined sable brows lifted. 'Bring, as in...?' He shook his head, adding in an attempt to lighten the rather intense atmosphere that couldn't be doing Alexander's heart any good, 'I'm assuming we are not talking kidnap here.'
'It shouldn't come to that.'
'That wasn't actually an offer.'
The older man didn't appear to hear him.
'Does she have a name?' Matteo asked, pretending not to see the moisture the older man wiped from the corners of his eyes.
'Katina.' Alexander's lips tightened. 'Greek only in name, she was born in England. Her history is...'
Matteo was amazed to see a look close to shame wash over the older man's face.
'She has been alone for a long time. She thinks she still is. I intend to make it up to her, but I'm concerned that the shock will...'
'I'm sure she'll cope,' Matteo soothed, repressing the cynical retort on the tip of his tongue. Discovering you were set to become wealthy beyond anyone's wildest dreams was the sort of shock most people recovered from quite quickly.
'It will be a culture shock. She's about to become an heiress and the target of vicious tongues and gold-diggers. She'll need to be protected...'
'From what you say she seems pretty well able to protect herself,' Matteo inserted drily.
'Oh, she's clearly got spirit, but it takes more than spirit. She needs to be taught how things operate,' her grandfather continued. 'And I'm stuck in here, which is why I'm…'
Matteo, who had listened with growing unease at the direction of this, cut in quickly. 'I'd love to help but that sounds pretty much like a full time job to me.'
His mentor gave a deep sigh that made Matteo's teeth clench; the smile that accompanied it was a nice blend of understanding and sadness. 'And you have every right to refuse.' Another sigh. 'You owe me nothing. Please don't run away with the idea I'm calling in a debt. I will discharge myself and…'
Matteo lowered his shoulders. He knew when he was beaten.
'You know, sometimes I forget it was me that saved your life.'
The first lesson you learnt on the streets was to look after number one, the second was walk, or preferably run, away from trouble. Matteo's problem was bullies. He hated them, and seeing those knife wielding thugs surrounding the foolish old guy who was refusing to hand over his wallet had produced a red mist moment that had led him to run towards danger and not away from it.
Matteo believed nothing positive could be achieved by reflecting on the past, but if he had, his objective view would have been that there hadn't been anything remotely brave about his actions. Though stupid had flashed through his head at the first cut that had slipped between his ribs.
He might have saved the older man's life, but Alexander had given him a life and until this point asked for very little in return.
He watched, an expression of wry resignation twisting his lips, as the man's air of weary defeat melted away in a beat of his damaged heart.
The elderly Greek's smile oozed smug satisfaction. 'If you're sure?'
'Don't push it,' Matteo growled out, torn between exasperation that he had been so expertly manipulated and amusement.
'It is important to control the flow of information when the news does leak. I know I can rely on you for that. The media will be all over her like a rash. We must be ready; she must be ready. Go away!'
The loud addition was directed to an unwary nurse who, to give her her due, stood her ground.
'I'll leave him to you. Good luck,' Matteo added as he rose to his feet. 'You can email me the necessary,' he added before the exhausted looking patient could react to his intention. 'Just give me her details and I'll do the rest, and in the meantime you get some rest.'
* * * *
Kat danced around her small office and punched the air in triumph, before controlling the fizz of excitement still bubbling in her veins enough to retrieve the letter that she had tossed in the air after she had read it.
She read it again now, anxious that she hadn't misinterpreted it. That really would be awful. The tension that had slipped into her shoulders fell away as she came to the end.
It really did say what she'd thought, but what puckered her smooth brow into a slight frown was what it didn't say. There was a time she was expected to be there, at the address of the law firm, but no clue as to who was looking forward to meeting her.
She shrugged. Presumably a representative of one of the individuals or businesses known for their philanthropy to whom she had pitched her appeal…or wasted her time with, as some of her less optimistic minded colleagues and volunteers had put it. Fighting against the negativity, she'd pointed out that she wasn't expecting any one person or organisation to step into the breach, but if she could persuade a handful to make some sort of donation it could mean a stay of execution for the refuge once the local authority funding was pulled the coming month.
Who knew? This could be the first of many.
There was a short tap on the door before Sue, with her nose stud, stuck her orange-streaked head around the door. 'Oh, God!' She sighed when she saw Kat's face. 'I know that look.'
'What look?'
The older woman stepped inside the room and, after closing the door, said, 'Your "campaign for a good cause" face.'
Kat blinked. 'Do I have a...?'
'Oh, you sure do, and I love…we all love…that you're a fighter, but there comes a time...' She sighed again, her skinny shoulders lifting before they fell. 'You've got to be a realist, love,' she told Kat earnestly. 'This place...' Her expansive gesture took in the small office with its cardboard-box system of filing…there always seemed to be something better to spend the limited resources on than office furniture. 'It's a lost cause. I've got an interview on Monday. Just giving you the heads up that I'll need the morning off.'
Kat was unable to hide her shock; her face fell. 'You're looking for another job?' If Sue, who was as upbeat as she was hard working, had already given in... Am I the only one who hasn't?
'Too right I am, and I suggest you do too. There's always bills to pay and in my case mouths to feed. I care about this place too, you know, Kat.'