be sidetracked by sexual innuendo or fantasizing.
“For the sake of my family, or at least the ones that still matter to me,” Chloe said with conviction. “But Rhea also reminded me of the hundreds of people employed by Dioletis Industries. I can’t turn my back on all those families without at least asking you to show a little mercy.”
Her expression indicated she had little hope in the success of her request, but that it was important enough to her to try. That was easy to believe. Even in their first meeting, Chloe had evinced concern for the employees of her father’s company. No doubt their welfare had been one of the screws her father had turned five years ago.
And Rhea was using it again now, to great effect.
Ariston was tempted to shake his ex-wife and demand if she didn’t realize she was being used again. However, he had his own plans and they didn’t include pointing out weaknesses he wanted to exploit as well.
“This is about the rumors circulating that I plan to offload my stock in Dioletis Industries.”
The privately held company had gone public the year before in a bid to save it. It might have worked if Ariston hadn’t been working behind the scenes, but as it stood the company wavered precariously on the precipice of bankruptcy. It would take only a simple shove on the right leverage point to push it over, and Ariston held that leverage.
In more ways than one, the most obvious being his chunk of stock that if he unloaded onto the market in one big block would devalue the rest until the company’s viability would be placed in question. At that point, its creditors would have no choice other than to demand bankruptcy proceedings.
Particularly those under Ariston’s financial umbrella. The Spiridakou name was no longer on all of the company’s concerns and that worked well for Ariston in times like these.
“Partly.” She sighed and looked away, a telling response.
Ah, so, as he’d expected and hoped, the Dioletis family wanted more from him than his promise to hold on to his stock.
Finally the script was going according to plan. “Mercy has no place in business. Surely your father taught you that.”
“I don’t share my father’s views and particularly not in that regard.” Chloe glared at him, clearly offended.
He almost smiled. This was turning out to be almost too easy. “If I don’t sell my shares, the company as it stands will only stay afloat another year, maybe two at the most.”
“Samuel mentioned that and Rhea confirmed it.”
At least Rhea had been forthright with Chloe. Perhaps the sister wasn’t using his ex-wife quite as ruthlessly as her father had done.
“What could you possibly expect me to do at this point?” Ariston asked, wondering if she would be as truthful with him as her sister had been with her.
“Expect? Nothing.” She sighed again, looking more defeated than anything else. “But hope? I guess I’m an irrepressible optimist, because I can’t seem to give that commodity up entirely where you are concerned.”
Again with the hope issue. What was it that she’d hoped for from him before and not gotten?
“And what is it you hope?” If she was as unwilling to answer this time as she had been the last, they would be at an impasse. For now.
“I’m not lending investment capital to a man who has no more business sense than to have kept the majority of his liquid assets in our home country’s toppling banking institution,” he said before she had a chance to answer his question.
Eber was a business dinosaur and his once thriving company had no chance with him at the helm in the new world economy, even without a powerful enemy like Ariston.
Chloe waited for their plates to be set before them before saying, “No, I can see that would be a mistake.”
“If you do, you’ve gained business acumen you never had when married to me.” He took a bite of his dinner, hoping it would encourage her to do the same and feeling triumphant when it worked.
The aged steak, seared but not cooked through, was one of the restaurant’s specialty dishes he had always enjoyed. It did not disappoint, but Chloe looked equally pleased with her blackened salmon.
“I do understand some things,” Chloe said after enjoying several thoughtful bites of her dinner. “Like the fact that Spiridakou & Sons Enterprises has weathered the current financial crisis in a way businesses in countries with much more stable economies than Greece have not.”
“Though it