Playing by the Greek's Rules

‘You know what you need? Rebound sex. Sex for the fun of it, without all the emotional crap that goes with relationships.’

‘I’ve never had rebound sex. I’d fall in love.’

‘So pick someone you couldn’t possibly fall in love with in a million years. Someone with exceptional bedroom skills, but nothing else to commend him. Then you can’t possibly be at risk.’ She broke off as Spyros, one of the Greek archaeologists from the local university, strolled across to them. ‘Go away, Spy, this is girl talk.’

‘Why do you think I’m joining you? It’s got to be more interesting than the conversation I just left.’ He handed Lily a can of chilled Diet Coke. ‘He’s a waste of space, theé mou.’ His voice was gentle and she coloured, touched by his kindness.

‘I know, I know.’ She lifted the weight of her hair from her neck, wishing she’d worn it up. ‘I’ll get over it.’

Spy dropped to his haunches next to her. ‘Want me to help you get over him? I heard something about rebound sex. I’m here for you.’

‘No thanks. You’re a terrible flirt. I don’t trust you.’

‘Hey, this is about sex. You don’t need to trust me.’ He winked at her. ‘What you need is a real man. A Greek man who knows how to make you feel like a woman.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I know the joke. You’re going to hand me your laundry and tell me to wash it. This is why you’re not going to be my rebound guy. I am not washing your socks.’ But Lily was laughing as she snapped the top of the can. Maybe she didn’t have a family, but she had good friends. ‘You’re forgetting that when I’m not cleaning the villas of the rich or hanging out here contributing nothing to my college fund, I work for the ultimate in Greek manhood.’

‘Ah yes.’ Spyros smiled. ‘Nik Zervakis. Head of the mighty ZervaCo. Man of men. Every woman’s fantasy.’

‘Not mine. He doesn’t tick a single box on my list.’

Spy raised his eyebrows and Brittany shook her head. ‘You don’t want to know. Go on, Lily, dish the dirt on Zervakis. I want to know everything from his bank balance to how he got that incredible six pack I saw in those sneaky photos of him taken in that actress’s swimming pool.’

‘I don’t know much about him, except that he’s super brilliant and expects everyone around him to be super brilliant, too, which makes him pretty intimidating. Fortunately he spends most of his time in San Francisco or New York so he isn’t around much. I’ve been doing this internship for two months and in that time two personal assistants have left. It’s a good job he has a big human resources department because I can tell you he gets through a lot of human resources in the average working week. And don’t even start me on the girlfriends. I need a spreadsheet to keep it straight in my head.’

‘What happened to the personal assistants?’

‘Both of them resigned because of the pressure. The workload is inhuman and he isn’t easy to work for. He has this way of looking at you that makes you wish you could teleport. But he is very attractive. He isn’t my type so I didn’t pay much attention, but the women talk about him all the time.’

‘I still don’t understand why you’re working there.’

‘I’m trying different things. My research grant ends this month and I don’t know if I want to carry on doing this. I’m exploring other options. Museum work doesn’t pay much and anyway, I don’t want to live in a big city. I could never teach—’ She shrugged, depressed by the options. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘You’re an expert in ceramics and you’ve made some beautiful pots.’

‘That’s a hobby.’

‘You’re creative and artistic. You should do something with that.’

‘It isn’t practical to think I can make a living that way and dreaming doesn’t pay the bills.’ She finished her drink. ‘Sometimes I wish I’d read law, not archaeology, except that I don’t think I’m cut out for office work. I’m not good with technology. I broke the photocopier last week and the coffee machine hates me, but apparently having ZervaCo on your résumé makes prospective employers sit up. It shows you have staying power. If you can work there and not be intimidated, you’re obviously robust. And before you tell me that an educated woman shouldn’t allow herself to be intimidated by a guy, try meeting him.’

Spyros rose to his feet. ‘Plenty of people would be intimidated by Nik Zervakis. There are some who say his name along with the gods.’

Brittany pushed her water bottle back into her backpack. ‘Those would be the people whose salary he pays, or the women he sleeps with.’

Lily took off her hat and fanned herself. ‘His security team is briefed to keep them away from him. We are not allowed to put any calls through to him unless the name is on an approved list and that list changes pretty much every week. I have terrible trouble keeping up.’

‘So his protection squad is there to protect him from women?’ Brittany looked fascinated. ‘Unreal.’

‘I admire him. They say his emotions have never played a part in anything he does, business or pleasure. He is the opposite of everything I am. No one has ever dumped him or made him feel less of a person and he always knows what to say in any situation.’ She glanced once across the heat-baked ruins of the archaeological site towards the man who had lied so glibly. Thinking of all the things she could have said and hadn’t plunged her into another fit of gloom. ‘I’m going to try and be more like Nik Zervakis.’

Brittany laughed. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

‘No, I’m not kidding. He is like an ice machine. I want to be like that. How about you? Have either of you ever been in love?’

‘No!’ Spy looked alarmed, but Brittany didn’t answer. Instead she stared sightlessly across the plateau to the ocean.

‘Brittany?’ Lily prompted her. ‘Have you been in love?’

‘Not sure.’ Her friend’s voice was husky. ‘Maybe.’

‘Wow. Ball-breaking Brittany, in love?’ Spy raised his eyebrows. ‘Did you literally fire an arrow through his heart?’ He spread his hands as Lily glared at him. ‘What? She’s a Bronze Age weapons expert and a terrifyingly good archer. It’s a logical suggestion.’

Lily ignored him. ‘What makes you think you might have been in love? What were the clues?’

‘I married him.’

Spyros doubled up with soundless laughter and Lily stared.

‘You—? Okay. Well that’s a fairly big clue right there.’

‘It was a mistake.’ Brittany tugged the trowel out of the ground. ‘When I make mistakes I make sure they’re big. I guess you could call it a whirlwind romance.’

‘That sounds more like a hurricane than a whirlwind. How long did it last?’

Brittany stood up and brushed dust off her legs. ‘Ten days. Spy, if you don’t wipe that smile off your face I’m going to kick you into this trench and cover your corpse with a thick layer of dirt and shards of pottery.’

‘You mean ten years,’ Lily said and Brittany shook her head.

‘No. I mean days. We made it through the honeymoon without killing each other.’

Lily felt her mouth drop open and closed it again quickly. ‘What happened?’

‘I let my emotions get in the way of making sane decisions.’ Brittany gave a faint smile. ‘I haven’t fallen in love since.’

‘Because you learned how not to do it. You didn’t go and make the same mistake again and again. Give me some tips.’

‘I can’t. Avoiding emotional entanglement came naturally after I met Zach.’

‘Sexy name.’

‘Sexy guy.’ She shaded her eyes from the sun. ‘Sexy rat bastard guy.’

‘Another one,’ Lily said gloomily. ‘But you were young and everyone is allowed to make mistakes when they’re young. Not only do I not have that excuse, but I’m a habitual offender. I should be locked up until I’m safe to be rehabilitated. I need to be taken back to the store and reprogrammed.’

‘You do not need to be reprogrammed.’ Brittany stuffed her trowel into the front of her backpack. ‘You’re warm, friendly and lovable. That’s what guys like about you.’

‘That and the fact it takes one glance to know you’d look great naked,’ Spy said affably.