A few hours later

Vrettos Bar

Athens, Greece

“Where are you?”

“At the oldest bar in Athens, getting myself drunk until all this crazy bullshit disappears,” Nikos replied dryly. He perched atop one of the stools in the crowded bar while nursing a glass of brandy in his hands.

“A drink sounds nice. Mind if I come over?” his college friend Antonio Velez asked.

“Go ahead,” Nikos replied and then gave his friend the address of the bar.

“Great. I am ten minutes away, my friend. Be right there.”

Nikos ended the call and glanced one more time at the name of his friend.

Antonio Velez was one of the richest men in Spain. At a young age, he inherited and led his family’s business. In all those years, their business of exporting the best seafood in the entire world flourished. While Nikos ventured into the hotelier business, Antonio ventured into the food industry. Right now, all of Nikos’ hotels housed Antonio’s restaurants making a more profitable trade for both of them.

“Hi there! You look as if you could use some company tonight.” A blonde sidled into the recently abandoned stool beside him and slanted him a seductive look. She also leaned forward and bared her lovely breasts to his gaze.

Before Nikos could reply, she spoke again.

“You seem familiar...I think I have seen you somewhere,” the blonde whispered.

Nikos inclined his head to the side and waited for her to recognize him.

“You’re Nikos Demakis!” the blonde exclaimed and then clapped her hands together.

Her eyes lit up and Nikos could almost see the dollar signs flashing in them. All his life, women looked at him as though he was a walking bank account. They craved the things he could give them rather than the depth of a relationship, which was alright with him since he didn’t want to form any attachments.

Yet why did this bother him now all of a sudden?

“So how about a drink at my place?” the blonde moved closer to him until her breasts were pressed to his arm.

“Hmm...some other time, maybe? I am meeting a friend here tonight.”

The blonde pouted. “I could do things to you that no one has ever done before,” she whispered.

Nikos almost snorted. He doubted that this blonde could do anything he hadn’t experienced yet. At his age of twenty-four years, he had dated the most beautiful actresses, models who wrapped their long legs around him, ballerinas who were so flexible that they could take up the most outrageous positions, and many more.

“Sorry, sweetie. Not really in the mood right now,” Nikos answered and took another swig of his drink. The blonde pouted yet again and left the stool to search for another rich man she could dig her claws into.

“Ever the ladies man,” a deep voice drawled beside him.

Nikos chuckled and hugged his friend as he sat down on the stool that the blonde has just vacated.

“One brandy for my friend here, please,” Nikos told the bartender.

When Antonio’s drink arrived, he raised it in front of Nikos. “So what are we drinking to?”

“The end of Demakis International,” Nikos replied with a groan.

Antonio raised an eyebrow and waited for his friend to continue speaking. When Nikos did not, Antonio sighed and then downed his brandy in one gulp.

“So the old man Andrade has finally succeeded, has he?”

“Apparently,” Nikos replied.

“Hmm... I can sense that there is something more to this story,” Antonio prodded.

“Costas Andrade told my grandfather that he is willing to offer a merger for Demakis and Andrade Shipping.”

“No! Tell me I didn’t just hear you mention a merger!” Antonio exclaimed.

“I just did.”

“And what are the terms for this? Your grandfather’s soul?” Antonio chuckled.

“Funny. I just said the same thing. No. No souls involved. Well, actually, there is one soul dragged into all of this - mine.”

“How so?”

“In exchange for the merger, I have to marry Cassia Andrade.”

Nikos expected his friend to utter a string of curses, or to spit his drink or smash it onto the marble countertop after his announcement.

What he did not expect was for Antonio to say “Ahh...” like it was a very trivial thing and something that made perfect sense.

Nikos frowned and poured himself another measure of brandy.

“I can sense that you expected a different reaction from me,” Antonio said.

“Well, of course! I just told you that my grandfather wants me to marry the Andrade girl! I mean, have you seen her? Do you know her?”

Antonio raised another eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, I do. I know she is not accepted into the social circle because of her social awkwardness and her appearance. Which reminds me, where has Costas been hiding his granddaughter all these years? It’s only now that I’ve heard of an Andrade heiress.”

“Maybe she was raised in another country,” Nikos snorted

“Maybe. What I can say is she is a sweet girl. She is like a breath of fresh air from all the women who wanted to have a look at your bank account before they would pay you any notice.”

Nikos downed another drink when he realized that his friend was correct. There was truly something about Cassia Andrade that was different. She was not like the shallow girls who spent their life partying. There was meekness in her posture but there was intelligence in her gaze. Beneath all that, he could sense a strong spirit which was being overshadowed by her insecurities.

“Hell. I do not care,” Nikos spat and gulped another drink. The bar started to spin and his head started to throb but he did not want to stop now. Besides, getting drunk tonight was the plan.

“What is truly so wrong about marrying her? She may not be as beautiful as the others but at least she’s different.”

“I don’t want her. I want the ability to choose my bride for myself. If I had the choice, I won’t be choosing for another ten or fifteen years! Most certainly not someone like her! I love my life too much! And I would not give it up for a wife that I did not even pick! I can’t be forced to settle down right now!” Nikos exclaimed.

“I understand. But if this is the only way to save your family business...one that your ancestors worked so hard for! Is that not a small sacrifice to pay for your grandfather who raised you when your parents left?”

As usual, Antonio was right.

Nikos did not speak for a long while and proceeded to run his fingers through his hair.

“I do not know what to do,” he finally admitted.

“Drink on it tonight and then think about it in the morning. I think that is best for everyone. Do not make hasty decisions, my friend, especially if there is a lot that depends on that one decision.”

“And that is another fact I hate. I hate how the fate of Demakis International is on my shoulders. I hate how I am being forced into these circumstances.”

Antonio placed his palm on Nikos’ shoulder and squeezed. Then, he grabbed the bottle of brandy and poured them both another round.

“For now, let’s drink to that.” Nikos clinked his glass with his friend and they both downed their drinks in one gulp.

Suddenly, their drinking spree was interrupted when Nikos’ cell phone rang. He quickly retrieved it from his pocket and glared at it as if it offended him so. However, his irritation was replaced by fear when he saw that it was his grandfather’s personal assistant that was calling him.

“Nikos Demakis speaking.”

“Mr. Demakis! Thank you so much for answering!” the personal assistant who had been with his grandfather for over twenty years now and had been like a mother to Nikos sounded very frantic. Dread filled Nikos’ gut as he heard her.

“What happened?” he growled.

“Your grandfather suffered a heart attack! We are currently in the hospital right now. I found him passed out on the floor a while ago right after he talked to Costas Andrade and called the merger off. Do not worry too much. Everything’s been taken care of and doctors told me that he is stable right now.”

He used his shoulder to hold his phone to his ear while he retrieved his wallet and placed a wad of notes under his empty glass. Antonio sensed the urgency and grabbed the jacket he draped over the back of his chair.

“Has he woken up?” he asked.

“Not yet, Mr. Demakis. But the doctors say that he will be fine. They just advised us not to stress him out too much or he may have another heart attack,” Maria told him.

Nikos clenched his jaw as he walked to his car.

“I will be there in about thirty minutes,” he told Maria then ended the call. He explained the situation to Antonio as he walked back to his car.

He pulled out his keys but Antonio grabbed it from him. “You’re drunk, Nikos. I’m not. I’ll drive.”

“This is all my fault,” he groaned.

“What makes you say that?” his friend asked.

“He wouldn’t be in this condition if I wasn’t selfish enough to put my own needs before the company’s. If my grandfather never recovers from this, I will never forgive myself...”

Nikos took a deep breath. “...Even if he recovers, I will never forgive Andrade.”

While Antonio drove to the hospital, Nikos came to a solid conclusion...

For his grandfather, he could do this.

He could marry the Andrade girl and settle down so that they would have their company back. Then, he would work hard to rebuild Demakis International and repay Costas for every cent his family owed. It was time to stop being selfish and own up to his responsibilities.

If that responsibility was to throw away his lavish playboy lifestyle in return for a lifetime of hard work and a bride he did not want, then so be it.