Not in the slightest bit discomforted by her blatant declaration of their relationship, Zander merely smiled and Kouropoulos joined in.
‘This island is made for romance, Lauranne.’
Confused by Zander’s lack of reaction, Lauranne fumed over the rest of her drink. Was he using her to make Marina jealous? Or was he using Marina to make her jealous? Deciding that whatever his game was, she wasn’t playing it, she drained her drink and helped herself to another one, aware that Zander was watching her with a slight frown in his eyes.
Good, she thought crossly. If you think I’m going to play your little game, then you picked the wrong person.
She made small talk over drinks, ready to kill as she observed Zander and Marina locked in conversation the whole time.
‘They have much to talk about,’ Kouropoulos said gently, topping up her glass again. ‘Marina worked in his organisation, remember? What was your role in the company?’
‘Mug,’ Lauranne said clearly, her chin lifting as she fastened her blue gaze on Zander, who broke off his conversation and cast her a look of such ice-cold warning that she caught her breath.
Don’t ruin this deal, his gaze said, and she flashed her eyes at him, the message clear.
Then don’t mess with me.
If they’d had swords there would have been corpses lying on the terrace, but fortunately their only weapons were their eyes and they used them to the death.
‘Lauranne was in a very junior position,’ Zander said smoothly, his eyes still locked on her face as he telegraphed a clear warning. ‘But she always showed potential.’
Marina frowned slightly at that, but Lauranne ignored her, reaching for her wine in the hope of numbing some of the fevered emotions surging around her body.
By the time they eventually sat down for dinner, her stomach was churning and anger was turning to misery.
How could she have been such a gullible fool?
Zander wasn’t capable of committing to one woman, even when the sex was as exciting as it was between them.
Catching his narrowed glance, she remembered belatedly that she was supposed to look loving.
Well, tough, she thought miserably.
So far the only person who was looking loving was Marina, and she couldn’t keep her hands off Zander.
Lauranne watched sickly, transported back five years.
She picked at her food, barely aware of the conversation around her until she heard Marina laugh.
‘You men are not to discuss business at the dinner table,’ she admonished gaily. ‘Save it for tomorrow.’
Kouropoulos sipped his coffee and looked at Lauranne. ‘Talking of business, you’ve done very well for yourself since you left Volakis Industries. I’ve seen some of the work you’ve done. Amazing.’
If Kouropoulos was aware of the extremely unsavoury details of her employment with Zander’s company, then he was keeping it well hidden.
‘Thank you.’ Lauranne managed a polite smile. He seemed like a nice man. His only fault appeared to be his choice of employees.
‘It’s amazing how people grow and develop,’ Marina said smoothly, the cold look in her eyes at odds with the fixed smile on her face. ‘All those mistakes you made five years ago when you first worked for me must have paid off.’
Ignoring the sudden frown on Zander’s face, Lauranne lifted her chin and looked Marina directly in the eye. ‘The only mistake I made was falling in love with Zander.’
It was the first time she’d said those words out loud, but she knew that Zander wouldn’t believe her anyway. He’d think that she was just acting her part.
Kouropoulos gave her a searching look. ‘If you were so in love, how come your marriage lasted such a short time?’
The directness of his question threw her and she couldn’t prevent her eyes sliding back to Marina.
In the end it was Zander who answered. ‘We had some differences,’ he said smoothly, reaching for his wineglass and lifting it towards her in a silent toast, ‘but we’ve resolved them.’