Blackmailed For Vengeance (2 page)

Reaching into his pocket he had
pulled out a letter which she had taken from him, her fingers a
little shaky

Reading the words she had
smiled sadly

“This isn’t a suicide note” she
said, looking up at the man before her whose face was now dark with
anger

“I’m so glad you find it funny”
he said grabbing the small note from her hand before reading it
aloud

“Dearest Lee, I have never felt
this way before. I am in love and it is breaking my heart. I think
that it would be best for everybody if I just ended it.”

Looking back at her, he had
moved even closer, surprising Lee at the instant tingle of
awareness which flooded her whole body at his closeness.

“I am glad that you find the
fact that my friend was so in love with you that he decided to kill
himself so amusing” he had bit out, his voice tight and angry

Lee had shaken her head
suddenly annoyed at the absurdity of his accusations

“That isn’t what the letter is
all about” she had said realising that he was serious as her
wonderful eyes had stared back at him

“Then perhaps you could
enlighten me” he replied his tone low as his eyes flashed
dangerously

Biting her lip Lee had looked
up at Yanis Demitri, the explanation on the tip of her tongue,
before with a small sigh she had shaken her head

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. It’s
up to Jim to tell you….I promised him I wouldn’t tell anybody” she
said a determined expression crossing her face as her chin had
risen slightly.

He had given a contemptuous
half laugh, his eyes racking her face with disdain before stepping
away from her, his voice now controlled

“You are a liar Miss Andrews,
and now my friend is fighting for his life. I will make you sorry
that you have done what you have to him” he said before moving back
to the door and pulling it open, looking once more at the young
woman before him

“Very sorry indeed. Women like
you are dangerous to men like my friend” he had bit out before
leaving, slamming her door hard behind him.

As the noise died away Lee
realised that she was shaking at what had just happened. She stared
at the now empty spot he had stood, not believing that they were
now treating Jim’s accident as a suicide bid, even more shocked by
her first encounter with Yanis Demitri, Jims best friend since they
had grown up together in Greece.

Jim had spoken of Yanis often
with such affection, recounting how he had pulled himself from his
humble beginnings to now be the CEO of one of the largest shipping
companies in the world. He would describe how his friend led a play
boy jet set life style, with some of the most beautiful women in
the world as his mistresses. Yet he had always been so proud that
Yanis had never been so busy as to not regularly make time to meet
up with him, and Lee could tell that Jim had been completely in awe
of him, often describing how women would fall at his feet, and only
now, after meeting him did she fully believe this, understanding
the devastating effect he could have on any woman, the effect he
was even now having on her.

However, with a frown she had
remembered how he had looked at her as though he could have killed
her, hardly able to control the anger he had felt, believing that
she could have treated his friend so badly, and despite her
attempts to explain, she knew that he had not believed her. With a
sigh she had briefly thought how stupid he would feel when Jim did
wake up. With a small frown which puckered her lovely brow she had
thought, if he wakes up, knowing that at that point she would have
to tell what she knew because she couldn’t have his death marked
down as suicide. Lee had sighed wearily once again as her whole
body had again felt so tired, as she moved back to the bathroom and
the relaxing hot bath which awaited her.

That night Lee had slept badly.
Images of Yanis Demitri glaring down on her from Jim’s grave
haunting her as she had woken up with sweat dripping down her back,
tears running down her face as his stone had lain beside another
set of graves.

The next few days passed
quickly with Lee maintaining her routine. Her work had become so
frantic over the last few days of the charities campaign, often
resulting in her having to put in many extra hours, after which she
would visit Mrs Green before going to see Jim whose condition
remained the same. She had been relieved not to have bumped into
Yanis Demitri again, having no desire to meet with his arrogant
contemptuous look, which she had not been able to forget,
remembering how those wonderful dark eyes had glared at her, each
time making her shiver with an awareness she could not fully
understand.

On the third day she had
received a phone call from the manager of the small accountancy
company her brother worked for. He had asked that she come down to
see him as a matter of urgency and with real concern she had soon
found herself in the reception of her brothers company.
Distractedly she had nervously looked around the small waiting
area, with its bland grey walls and periodicals littering the small
coffee tables positioned around the uncomfortable chairs. Frowning,
Lee had been worried. After the death of her parents it had been
she who had brought up Peter, her young brother, and like any
mother she was concerned as to what would be so important that she
would need to be called down to meet with his employer

After several minutes she had
been asked to enter the room at the end of the corridor, and with a
nervous glance at the smiling receptionist she had moved into the
room as directed. However, seeing the handsome figure of Yanis
Demitri behind the desk, she had gasped in surprise

“What is going on” she asked
her eyes looking around the room

“You’re not Peter’s employer”
she bit out looking angrily at the man before her

“Sit down Miss Andrews” he said
calmly as she had sank down into the seat opposite him

“And actually yes I am…I now
own this company… as well as many others” he had said his eyes
following her every move carefully

“What do you want Mr Demitri”
Lee said attempting to hold in the anger which bubbled just below
the surface of her cool exterior.

“I don’t appreciate your
pulling me out of my work with some made up story about my brother;
I was told that something serious had happened to him” She had said
icily, glaring coldly at the man opposite her.

Yanis Demitri held her look,
his just as cold

“Oh believe me Miss Andrews as
much as I appreciate how put out you are, I am not in the habit of
wasting my own time, and with regard to your brother” he had sat
back deeply into his chair his lips curving into an unpleasant
smile

“It’s not so much about what
has happened to your brother, more like what is about to happen to
your brother”

Lee looked at the man before
her, a feeling of panic rising within her

“What do you mean” she asked
quietly

“I mean that your brother has
been signing cheques which he shouldn’t have been signing.”

Lee’s eyes narrowed

“That’s a damn lie.. my brother
isn’t a thief” she said with conviction

Yanis’s smile deepened like a
cat playing with a mouse

“Granted Miss Andrews, your
brother may not have realised what he was signing, but never the
less his name is on the cheques”

Lee could feel her mouth drying
as she stared in horror at the man before her

“You set him up” she said in
shock

“But why?”

Yanis leant forward his eyes
angry daggers as he spat venomously at her

“You know fine well why, I told
you that I would make you pay”

Lee looked at him with
disbelief on her face

“But I told you already.. it
isn’t a suicide note…Jim and I are only friends… that is all we
have ever been.”

“I am sure that you can fool
your boyfriends with that little miss innocent routine of yours
Miss Andrews” he said “but I read the note and I am no fool”

“Well if you really believe
that Jim would try to kill himself then you are either a fool or
you don’t know him as well as you think you do” she had retorted
back just as angrily

For a few seconds the two of
them glared at each other Lee realising that she was breathing more
raggedly as the emotions rose within her. Finally he had sat back
in his chair once more in full control of himself as he looked at
her with calculating eyes, seeing how flushed she was as her eyes
had shone so brightly, a magnificent green colour with the anger in
them.

“I spent a lot of time finding
out about you Lee” he said softly using her name for the first
time.

“Your mother and father were
killed six years ago in a car accident when you were only 18” he
said his head raised looking upwards at some invisible spot on the
ceiling, his tone almost bored, as he recounted her life story to
her

“You brought up your younger
brother who was only 15 at the time and who took the deaths of his
parents very hard….getting into some trouble with the police when
he was 16”

“That was a one off thing, and
he has never been in trouble since” Lee had said jumping
immediately to her brother’s defence.

Still not looking at her she
saw the smile return to his face, not reaching his eyes which
seemed to be focussed so intently on the ceiling

“Ah, yes… but when this comes
to light.. who do you think the police are going to believe” he
said, finally lowering his eyes to look at her with a triumphant
smile on his face

“An ex-teenage delinquent or
the CEO of one of the largest shipping companies in the world”

Lee bit her lip knowing the
answer as well as he did.

“What is it you want” she asked
softly, feeling the tightness within her stomach as she waited for
him to drop the bombshell he had obviously planned so hard to set
up

“What makes you think I want
anything” he replied his tone once more playing with her.

“Because” she said slowly, her
dislike for the man before her showing so clearly on her face

“If you didn’t want anything
then I wouldn’t be here, and my brother would be sitting in a jail
cell” she said

Yanis had given a small throaty
chuckle

“You’re a very bright young
woman Lee” he said softly “And yes, I do have a proposition for
you….The cheques need never come to light if you do exactly what I
tell you to do”

Lee sat silently her face
grave

“Go on” she said

“I was wondering how I could
make you suffer the way you made Jim suffer and then I realised
that the only thing your type of women ever wants is money…so I am
going to make sure that you have the life style you have always
dreamed of, with access to as much money as you can spend”

Lee frowned, her face showing
not only confusion but grim determination “Firstly Mr Demitri…You
don’t know anything about me..” she began

“Oh I have met enough gold
diggers in my time Lee to recognise one when I see it… so what
happened did you find out that although Jim’s father owns a chain
of restaurants he wasn’t really ever going to have enough for you
to live the life you wanted”

Lee held back the retort which
sprang to her lips, instead continuing in the same controlled
tone

“Secondly how would that teach
me a lesson?”

Yanis’s lips had curled as he
smiled again, an unpleasant smile which made her shiver
slightly

“I’m glad you asked….Then I
will take it all from you and return you back to your old boring
life and you will once again have nothing…only the memory of what
it was like…and the desire to get it back… maybe then you will see
what it’s like to play with peoples emotions, because a woman like
you Lee will never have any more than this glimpse of the good
life”

Lee had held his gaze, refusing
to rise to the bait in his words “And for how long will I have to
endure your privileged lifestyle” she had asked, her voice as
contemptuous as his, as she had emphasised the word Your, seeing
how his eyes had flashed angrily

“Well, you will never know…one
day you will just be asked to leave in the clothes you first
arrived in.. I will of course have them dry cleaned” he had added
with a touch of disdain

“How very thoughtful of you”
she had replied, her voice clipped and as cold as his before giving
a short laugh devoid of any humour

“Wow is that your big plan Mr
Demitri..” she had flicked her eyes over him, seeing how his face
grew darker at the obvious sarcasm in her tone “so how will this
all work?”

He had looked at her with eyes
narrowed

“You are going to move in with
me as my fiancée” he said, finally gratified at the sudden look of
shock which filled her face

“You are blackmailing me to
sleep with you” she cried in horror, her eyes staring at him

He had frowned angrily

“I didn’t say anything about
you sharing my bed” he replied “I have never had to force a woman
to sleep with me, and I certainly don’t intend to start with you”
he said with complete contempt in his voice “Please don’t flatter
yourself”

Lee had closed her mouth
tightly at his rejection of her and sat glaring at him, before
finally saying in a softer voice

“You are making a terrible
mistake Mr Demitri. As I have told you all along that letter is
about something completely different. It has nothing to do with any
suicide attempt…why can’t you understand that Jim simply had an
accident, a terrible tragic accident”

“OK, Lee” he said with the
softness of a crouching tiger “then enlighten me. If it is really
something else then tell me what that letter refers to”

Lee opened her mouth wanting
desperately to tell him what she knew, to save herself from his
plans, but had just as quickly closed her soft lips again sighing
as she had known that she couldn’t betray the trust which Jim had
given her, swearing her to secrecy. When everything had gone so
wrong in her life, it had been Jim who had been there for her and
who had helped her with his emotional support. If she told the man
before her what she knew, then she would be betraying that trust
and he would never forgive her and Lee knew that there was no way
she could break her promise to Jim.