He made them sit on the terrace that overlooked the harbor and eat breakfast, sure they couldn’t have had anything substantial before their early disembarkation. He was right, but not because breakfast wasn’t available.
Chloe and Ariston had indeed gone swimming in the pool after hours and then he’d taken her back to their suite and made love to her until the wee hours of the morning. For the first time ever that Chloe knew about, Ariston had slept through his usual waking hour.
He and Chloe had barely woken in time to disembark the ship on schedule. Not that the staff wouldn’t have made exceptions for the owner of the cruise line, but Ariston wasn’t that kind of boss. He might be a billionaire tycoon and arrogant as all get-out, but he was a decent man.
And Chloe just loved him to death.
“What has you smiling?” Takis asked with his own grin.
She slid a glance at Ariston, who seemed preoccupied with the view, and just shook her head. “Nothing in particular. I’m just happy.”
That had Ariston looking at her, his own expression softened.
Chloe told Takis about the gallery then, gushing over how wonderful a gift it was.
“I was surprised to hear you had decided to open a business rather than go back to school,” Takis observed.
“It just worked out that way.”
“Why? Surely with your divorce settlement …” Takis gave his grandson a look of definite censure. “You could have gone back to school and gotten your degree in fine arts.”
“I thought about it, but I realized I had no desire to go back to that world. I’d changed too much, I think. And while I truly love art, I don’t have the passion as an artist to pursue that career. Nor do I have the talent,” she admitted with self-deprecating honesty.
Both Ariston and Takis made noises as if to disagree and she smiled, but shook her head. “Don’t. You two hung my paintings because I was family, not because of their artistic merit.”
And it had shocked her to discover the watercolors she’d done for the breakfast room still hanging in the house in New York.
“That is not true,” Takis said staunchly.
Ariston gave her a look probably meant to intimidate. “Even for family, I would not hang dreck on my walls.”
She just smiled. “I didn’t say they were dreck, just that I don’t have the kind of brilliant talent it takes to be an artist of note. And I don’t mind.” She really, really didn’t. “Accepting that I didn’t mind is when I realized that I’d make a lousy artist. It’s a career that takes deep and abiding passion. Mine was tied up elsewhere.”
“Helping others pursue their dreams of sharing their art with the world,” Ariston guessed.
He was half-right, so she nodded. “Yes. I’m not even sure now that I didn’t attend art school in great part just to get as far away from business as I could. As it turned out, I really enjoyed running my art supply store and gallery.”
It was her turn to look out over the harbor, the Colossus looking like a tiny white speck in the distance. “Providing the means and encouragement for budding artists to pursue their passion and established ones to display it for the world turned out to be more fulfilling than I would have thought possible. I didn’t even mind doing the paperwork.”
“That is a very laudable reason to run a business.” No looks of reproof from Takis toward her.
“Thank you.” She grimaced. “It’s ironic that I ended up exactly where I’d been so determined not to though.”
“Maybe not so much. You refused to be part of Dioletis Industries and that’s what was of real importance to you,” Takis suggested.
Ariston frowned and admitted, “I had thought you would take the divorce settlement and pour it back into the company.”
“I’m sure my father would have been happier if I had.” But Ariston knew now that would not have happened.
Ever.
“Perhaps. Perhaps he has learned his lesson.” Takis’s eyes glowed with a certain satisfaction.
Ariston glared at his grandfather. “You did not tell me you intended anything against Eber’s company.”
“I’m not a doddering old man. Just because I relinquished control of the company to you does not mean I need you approving my actions.”
“I did not say it did.” Affront radiated from Ariston.
Takis looked quite pleased with himself. “I may not run our company any longer, but I still have connections.”
“I know you do.” Now Ariston was sounding as if he wished he’d left the topic alone.
“Besides, it is not as if you did not have your own plans in that regard.”