Page 14 of Secret Revenge

Spontaneity is really not my thing! What was I thinking? Last night had thrown me off -schedule, and worse, off-kilter.

I jumped out of the shower and got dressed in a hurry, taking the few things I needed from the penthouse with me on my way to the car. I wasn’t one to speed when driving, but I had to this time since I was already late. I didn’t want them to get there and think they’d become a second priority in my life.

I made it just in time. I was only just arriving at our private air strip when I saw Alexi and Leo coming down the stairs of their newly landed jet. I parked in front of them and got out of the car.

“Travis!” Alexi was all smiles. The twins were identical in every way, tall, dark, and rugged with strong jawlines. Both wore roguish grins, and they had recently transitioned into marriedlife, settling down after their adventurous youth.. Marriage, admittedly, seemed to have been good for them.

“Alexi, Leo, welcome to my city!” We exchanged brief hugs that were more shoulder bumps and arm pats.

“How was your flight?” I asked as I headed back to the car, the twins behind me. Their crew would handle their luggage and send it to the villa later.

“Mísisa, I hated it.” Leo responded in Greek.

I smiled at the familiar language. I was part Greek on my mother’s side, and she taught me and my brothers the language when we were young because she wanted to share her heritage. It had been so long since mom lived with us, though, and I’d had no reason to speak it in her absence. It was so heartwarming to hear it spoken that even Leo’s irritated tone sounded warm to my ears.

Alexi chuckled as he took the passenger seat beside me and shut the door. Leo took the back seat. As soon as he was in the car, he leaned his head back.

“Fysiká kai to misoúses, Of course you hated it!” Alexi said to his brother before turning to me and jerking his thumb towards Leo.

“Don’t mind that one, he is more testy than usual because he did not sleep at all for the past 48 hours. He was following a race and wouldn’t even take a break on the plane.”

“Aah.” I did not even pretend to understand Leo’s plight.

Alexi and I chatted in hushed tones while I drove to the villa, giving Leo some time to rest his head. Alexi and I flowed easily. Much like me, Alexi was more active in the business and handled most of the dealings within his family too. So, we had a lot more to talk about. Although admittedly, there was one subject I trouble broaching with Alexi−his new family.

I was still getting used to the fact that he’d fallen head over heels for a woman and seeing the way his eyes lit up when hespoke about her could be painful. It reminded me of how broken my parents’ marriage had been, of the hopes of marital bliss I had abandoned in my youth. When he spoke about Aimee, I tried not to think about Barbara.

“Do you still like paintings?” I asked him to keep the subject away from Aimee as we had drifted into a conversation about our hobbies.

“Oh, indeed! In fact, there is a piece I have been eyeing recently. Hopefully I’m able to add it to my collection,” he said. “What about you? Are you still obsessed with your pet projects?”

My brows furrowed of their own accord. “Don’t call them that… you know I hate that.”

“I heard about the decision you made. The ten percent foundation thing? That had you written all over it,” Alexi smiled, his dark eyes sparkling with warmth.

“Brendan and Jackson agreed to it too,” I said with my eyes on the road. “Although I’ll admit it was my idea.”

Alexi laughed. “Sígoura den állaxes poté. You haven’t changed a bit. Your father must be rolling in his grave right now.”

My eyes darkened slightly. “Let him roll.”

I liked helping as much as I could. I had always been like that ever since I was a child. An injured bird, a stray cat, a hungry dog… it didn’t matter. I always wanted to help. I wanted to help people too. People who needed it. My father had viewed this as a weakness and called my disposition towards helping ‘pet projects’.

He insisted that, at heart, I was like him and would ultimately make the same choices he had as I grew older. He was convinced that no one could really care about anything more than money or power. He could not imagine anyone truly being different from himself, deep down.

“Well… how is the foundation going? The opinion online isn’t looking very good,” Alexi said carefully.

I looked at him. “You’ve been doing your research.”

My cousin shrugged. “Your business is my business,” he said simply.

I sighed. “Public opinion is terrible. Someone keeps fanning the flames of doubt towards us. We’re setting up a team to begin working on that, but we’ve had trouble even recruiting writers for it.” As I said it, Emily Skye came to mind again, but I shrugged off the memory.

“Your father’s legacy leaves a lot of rehabilitation for your family’s image,” Alexi said. “Give it time. You’ve only been at the helm for a year.”

“How much longer before we can start making the world a better place?” I wondered. Would a decade be enough to wipe out the damage from my father’s crimes? A century?

Alexi leaned his seat back slightly and shut his eyes, signaling that our conversation was over. “It’s been a long flight and I’m jet lagged. Wake me up when we’re almost at the villa. I wonder if Brendan and Jackson are there yet.”