Page 36 of Modern Romance December 2025 1-4

‘Just go with her,’ Draco cut in, a mingling of amusement and resignation in his gruff tone. ‘At least this way we can be reasonably certain she’ll be back in time for the meal.’

Draco had been played. Outwitted. Outsmarted. And all by the woman he’d once believed to be a vacuous airhead.

On the plus side, without Athena’s distracting presence, he got through more work in three hours than he had in the last three and a half days…but then his attention wandered back to her and he reached for the AGM agenda she’d proofread and set on his desk for him to look through before sashaying off to go shopping on work time.

One glance told him she could add eagle-eyed to her list of attributes. She didn’t miss anything. And then he reached the third page and his stomach lurched. She’d encircled the name Cora and placed a sticky note above it with an arrow pointing to it. On the sticky note, she’d written in elegant writing:

I guessed you’d planned something like this. Cora Shipping is perfect. Your mother will love it and Rebecca and my father will hate it. I promise to do my best to keep my mouth shut until the big reveal x

He rubbed his eyes before reading the note a third time, searching for any hidden meaning in her words.

Had he ordered she proofread this document subconsciously knowing she would see it and so could be prepared for the fallout that was bound to happen because of it? And there would be a fallout. The change of name was going to be revealed at the party he was throwing to celebrate his purchase of the company. The whole Tsaliki family, the entire shipping world, international business media and most of Greek society would be there, Georgios Tsaliki’s friends and peers, all there to witness the great Tsaliki name vanish into the annals of history, replaced by the name of the woman they’d left destitute out of spite. They would be forced to smile and act as if they didn’t care when Draco knew they would be spitting with fury and injured pride.

He only realised how quiet the place had become when Athena bounded back in half an hour before they were due to leave the office. ‘Sorry we took so long,’ she said brightly, ‘but I managed to get us into a salon for a cut and dry.’

Her hair did indeed look a bit bouncier than normal but nothing particularly noticeable, but then he caught sight of Grace hovering behind her, red-faced with embarrassment, and he understood in an instant what Athena had done.

The Grace who’d left the office with Athena was a thirty-five-year-old woman who looked a good decade older. She’d returned looking a decade younger.

‘You put it on the card?’ he said, not missing a beat.

‘Of course!’

‘And you both found an outfit for the evening?’

‘Yes, and you’ll be delighted to know Grace only let me buy one outfit and only gave it her stamp of approval when she was satisfied my knickers weren’t showing.’

As if the moment couldn’t get more surreal, Grace giggled. Grace, who barely ever raised a smile, giggled like a schoolgirl.

Shaking his head, he looked at his watch. ‘Right, ladies, let’s call it a day.’

As they left the building and Draco and Athena were heading to their car, he turned back to his right-hand woman. ‘Your hair looks great, by the way.’

Grace went pink with happiness.

Alone in the car, he reached for Athena’s hand. ‘That was all for Grace, wasn’t it.’

He loved that she didn’t pretend not to understand. ‘Not entirely. I haven’t been shopping since you sent me off to buyappropriate work attire.’

He flashed a grin. ‘You’re learning the art of subtlety.’

‘Only with people who deserve it. Grace is friendly to me now.’

‘Only because you’re being friendly to her.’

‘But that’s only because you basically ordered me to.’

‘I didn’t order you to take her shopping and give her a makeover.’

‘She needed it. You work her too hard—she never has the time to pamper herself or just generally look after herself. She lives on caffeine, junk food and nervous exhaustion.’

‘She’s my best employee and I pay her an excellent salary.’

‘Which is great but she doesn’t have the time to spend it. She’s always in the office before us and is still there when you take me home, and yes, I know you continue working when you go home but it’s your company. Grace is an employee and at the rate she’s going, she’s going to burn out.’

He didn’t point out that he’d done minimal work in the evenings while they’d been in California. ‘You’ve given this a lot of thought.’

‘Not really. It just seems obvious.’