His body tightened at the very idea.
He slipped his finger beneath the flap of the envelope carelessly, and dropped the papers onto his desk.
The report was about twenty pages long.
And it contained the information he had dreaded.
Sophie Henderson, formerly employed by a Sir Edwin Thomas of Sydney, Australia, had been, according to various sources, involved in an affair with her married employer. The wife had fired her as soon as she found out. The words in front of his eyes were black and white.
His fingers were unsteady as he siphoned through the papers until he found a photograph of the man in question. Balding, overweight, with a personal fortune in the tens of millions, it was not difficult to see what the appeal had been.
So, Sophie had form for hitting on her wealthy employers, did she?
Was it money she sought? Or was she one of those women who simply liked to torment other women? To snag other women’s husbands for personal satisfaction?
He cast the papers aside with a groan and leaned back in his chair. What had he expected? He’d come here fully believing her capable of such behaviour. And now? Proof of yet another affair shouldn’t have shocked him. And yet it did.
Chapter 4
10 August, 06.11 am
From: Ava
To: Sophie, Olivia
Good Lord, Sophie. Marriage?
To this guy??
10 August, 06.12 am
From: Olivia
To: Sophie, Ava
It’s not ‘this guy’, Aves, she loves him. He loves her. Does the fact it’s all happened really quickly make it less likely to be good for her?
10 August, 06.13 am
From: Ava
To: Sophie, Olivia
YES!!!!!
Sophie read the emphatic reply with a smile on her lips; it was a smile that had been in place since agreeing to marry him.
Alessandros Petrides.
All night, she’d smiled into her pillow and dreamed of her future. A future with this Greek god of a man by her side, and one day perhaps, bonny little children playing at her feet.
10 August, 06.15 am
From: Sophie
To: Ava, Olivia
I love him. I know it must seem crazy impulsive, but I really love him. I’m not going to love him more or less or differently if we wait six months, nor if we wait a year. I love him. It’s that simple. I don’t have any doubts about marrying him. Please be happy for me. X