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AT THE GREEK TYCOON¶S BIDDINGCATHY WILLIAMSHARLEQUIN PRESENTS 2551
AT THE GREEK TYCOON¶S BIDDINGCATHY WILLIAMS
CHAPTER ONETheo was in the middle of reading a financial report when heheard the crash. The sound catapulted through the empty corridorsof the office with ear-splitting intensity. Any other person wouldhave reacted in shock, and probably fear. After all, it was late, andeven with security guards there was no building in London thatcould be termed fully safe from someone determined to break andenter. Not Theo Miquel. Without bothering to arm himself with the prerequisite heavy object, dark brows knitted into an impatientfrown at being interrupted, he strode out of his plush designer office, activating the switch that flooded the darkness outside with brilliant fluorescent light.Theo Miquel was not a man to run scared of anything, leastof all a would-be intruder who was clumsy enough to signal hisarrival by crashing into something.It didn¶t take long for him to pinpoint the origin of theinterruption, for sprawled in the corridor was a trolley, the contentsof which were scattered across the marble-tiled floor. Cleaningfluids, broom, mop²and a bucket of water which was slowlyspreading along the tiles towards the carpeted offices on either side.As his eyes took in the chaotic sight he heard the clamour of feet pounding up the stairs, and then the security guard was there,out of breath and bristling with apologies. They converged at thescene of the crime at roughly the same time, although it was Theowho was the first to kneel next to the inert body of the girl who hadcollapsed on the floor.µSo sorry, sir,¶ Sid stammered, watching as Theo felt for a pulse. µI came as fast as I could²as soon as I heard the noise. I cantake over from here, sir.¶µGet this stuff cleared away.¶µOf course, sir. I¶m very sorry«She looked a little pale
 
AT THE GREEK TYCOON¶S BIDDINGCATHY WILLIAMSHARLEQUIN PRESENTS 2551
when she came in this evening, but I had no idea«¶µStop babbling and tidy this mess up,¶ Theo commandedsharply.He barely registered the flustered guard squeezing dry themop and soaking up the spilt water before it could intrude into theexpensive offices and wreak yet more havoc.At least the girl hadn¶t been inconsiderate enough to die onhis premises. There was a pulse, and she might be as pale as hell but she was breathing. She had fainted²probably pregnant. Asymptom of the times. Controlling his irritation, he scooped her up,oblivious to the frantic worry pasted on the security guard¶s face.He was dimly aware that his employees, whatever their rank,treated him with a certain amount of subservience. He wasunaware that this subservience teetered precariously on the brink of downright fear, so he was vastly exasperated when he glancedacross to find Sid virtually wringing his hands.µI can take care of her, sir«No need for you to getinvolved«Not a problem«¶µJust make sure this place is cleaned up and then you canreturn to duty. If I need you, I¶ll call.¶This was an interruption he could well have done without. Itwas Friday. It was after nine in the night and there was still half areport to get through if he was to e-mail the corrected copy to hiscounterpart on the other side of the world before their high-levelmeeting the following Monday.He kicked open the door to his office and deposited the nowstirring body on the long burgundy sofa which occupied one entirewall of the large room. He had not had a hand in designing thedécor of his office. If he had, he would probably have chosen the barest of furnishings²after all, an office was a place to work andnot a cosy sitting room in which to luxuriate²but he had foundover the years, and to his surprise, that the grand, heavy opulenceof the room was strangely conducive to concentration. The oak- panelled walls would have been more at home in a gentleman¶sclub, but there was still something warm about them, filled as they
 
AT THE GREEK TYCOON¶S BIDDINGCATHY WILLIAMSHARLEQUIN PRESENTS 2551
were with books on finance, economics and naturally the accountsof the vast shipping empire that was the very basis of his hugeinherited wealth. His desk, fashioned in a time before computers,lacked the convenient set-up to accommodate modems and faxmachines and all the various appendages of twenty-first-centuryliving, but it was pleasing to look at and did its job. The windowswere floor to ceiling, and lacked the smoked glass effect of thetaller, more modern offices all around, but they were charming. Inthe crazy rush of the city his offices, housed in a grand Victorianhouse, were a touch of old-world sanity.It was more than he was currently feeling as he stared downat the girl, whose eyelids were beginning to flutter asconsciousness crawled back.She was solidly built beneath the blue and white stripedoveralls which covered a choice of clothing Theo would havefound offensive on any woman. A thick cardigan of someindiscriminate brown colour and jeans that were frayed at thehems, their only merit being that they partially concealed heavy-duty shoes that would have been more suitable for a man workingon a building site than a woman.He waited, standing over her, arms folded, his bodylanguage informing her in no uncertain terms that, while he mighthave rescued her, he wasn¶t about to allow the act of charity tooverstay its limited welcome.And while he waited, impatience mounting, his eyes rovedover her face, taking in the short, straight nose, the wide mouth,and eyebrows that were surprisingly defined and at odds with the pale curly hair that had escaped its restraints.As her eyes fluttered open he could only assume that he had been taken by surprise, because for a few seconds a confusingsurge of awareness rushed through him. She had amazing eyes.The purest and deepest of blues. Then she blinked, disoriented, andthe moment was lost as reality took over. The reality of his work  being interrupted when time was not on his side.µIt would appear that you fainted,¶ Theo informed her as she
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