Page 4 of Claimed Gem

She wished she could find someone who would do both. Appreciate her as a woman, and as a scholar. But such a man did not seem to exist.

As she headed for the police department, she felt a sense of despair. She believed that once she graduated from college, she would find her place in the world where she would be respected and treated as an equal. Ries had just reminded her that not only was that not likely to happen professionally but the police officer out front had also proven to her that even the legal system was biased against her.

2

Ries Kafatos watchedthe young beauty take off down the sidewalk, slightly perplexed in his inebriated state that she hadn’t wanted to join the party. He’d been collecting women all evening, promising them a night of debauchery the likes they’d never seen before. So far, he’d collected a harem of ten willing women who had agreed to join him on his yacht for a night of drinking, dancing, and other carnal pleasures.

He leaned against the building for a moment, smiling as he imagined the look on Damon’s face when the news of Ries’ latest party hit the papers. He’d made sure to invite a local journalist willing to get the inside scoop. After all, Ries’ playboy antics were for naught if he couldn’t draw attention to himself and irritate his older brother.

Damon was the oldest of the three Kafatos brothers and while Ries knew he meant well, he was an overbearing and controlling perfectionist. Due to the untimely death of their parents, Damon had been forced to take the reins of the family business while he was still in his teens. Nicolai and Ries had been too young to help with the business at the time, leaving Damon to shoulder all of the burdens upon his lanky frame.

Now that the three brothers were all adults, they’d each assumed a role to play. Damon was the controlling dictator, overlord and self-proclaimed ruler of the family. Nicolai played the role of pacifier, constantly trying to smooth things over between the other two brothers. As for Ries, he’d assumed the role of screw up and playboy. His outrageous antics and propensity to draw the media’s attention kept the tension between him and Damon near boiling point. It was a role which kept him from having to handle any responsibilities in the family business.

Playing the role of philanderer wasn’t hard for Ries. His ready charm with an endless supply of money made playing the spoiled, rich boy easy. Irritating Damon was just an added bonus.

“Ries. Man, you out here?” Chris Parker’s voice called from the sidewalk.

“Here.”

“What are you doing outside? You’ve got a bunch of women inside waiting for the party you promised them.” Chris had been Ries’ personal assistant for the last three years and was responsible for keeping Ries from crossing the line too far. Ries appreciated Chris’ frequent saves when he flirted too closely with disaster but always pretended to resent his assistant’s interference.

“Followed a cute little thing out here but she didn’t seem inclined to play.” Ries pushed away from the building and wavered just slightly. He turned and looked down the street where Stephanie had disappeared, a frown appearing on his brow. “Maybe I should go after her? She sounded upset.”

“Maybe she was upset that you were hitting on her?” Chris suggested.

“No. She saw something…”

“You’ve had too much to drink to be out here wandering around on your own. You certainly shouldn’t be chasing after some gal who already turned you down,” Chris told him, coming forward and slipping Ries’ arm over his shoulder. “Let’s get you back inside. There are plenty of beautiful and willing women waiting for you.”

Ries sighed and allowed Chris to turn him back toward the bar’s entrance. “You think I drink too much?”

“I know you drink too much,” Chris replied. “That’s the reason I have a job.”

In truth, his job was not only to monitor Ries’ penchant for drinking to excess but also talk him down from attempting idiotic stunts while drunk. Chris didn’t mind making sure Ries was having a good time – within reason. Ries had a tendency to attempt crazy and daring stunts when he got really drunk. It was Chris’ job to direct Ries’ attention elsewhere.

“You don’t have to worry about me tonight. I invited those two police officers inside.”

“To the yacht?” Chris asked for clarification.

“Sure. They were eyeing the booth and I walked over and introduced myself. I could tell they were a little suspicious because I’m not from here. I promised to only bring good publicity to Stavros.”

Chris stopped Ries and shook his head, “You invited two police officers to the yacht? Ries, what were you thinking?”

“Well, I saw them talking to that beauty who took off.”

“The girl who turned you down?” Chris asked, trying to follow Ries’ train of thought.

“Yes. She was talking to one of the officers, and she seemed kind of upset, but they just blew her off. I thought maybe I could find her around the back and almost collided with her attempting to get there.”

“The woman who was talking to the police? You ran into her?”

“Not quite. Anyway, she didn’t want to party, and she was really upset about something. She was trying to get to the police station.” Ries pressed a hand to his temple and then took a calming breath.

“Didn’t she talk to the officers inside?”

“She did, but for some reason they didn’t or wouldn’t help her. She said something about a crime being committed and then pushed me away and took off.” Ries turned and took a step in the direction Stephanie had gone moments earlier. “She seemed really upset.” Chris’s hand on his arm stopped his forward momentum.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. Let’s go gather up your harem and head for the yacht. Do you still wantto invite those officers? I could go talk to them for you.”