Nikolaos

I sat again at my desk and sighed.

I most likely shouldn’t have advised the Secretary-Basic off like that. It hadn’t been one among my most interesting moments.

As a direct results of that assembly, there had been sudden, unexplained delays in getting approvals for brand new initiatives, a considerable amount of extremely uncommon scrutiny of our monetary transactions, and a marked improve in regulatory audits—all of which could possibly be traced again to the affect of the Ministry.

I felt a twinge of remorse for the way the assembly had unfolded. My response, although justified in protection of Maci, was impulsive—a deviation from the calculated and disciplined strategy that had at all times guided my actions. This wasn’t the primary time both. Blowing up the Stefanidis’ ships, although a strategic transfer, was a daring play that invited scrutiny and threat at a a lot greater stage than I allowed usually, after which there was the incident with Alexios Demetriou on the charity ball…

I’d paid off his father, and together with his settlement, we’d pushed it underneath the rug.

I had at all times prided myself on being a disciplined man, one who weighed each resolution with precision and foresight. However ever since Maci got here into my life, I discovered this self-discipline slipping. It was as if her presence had woke up a distinct facet of me, one which acted on emotion relatively than chilly logic.

I didn’t prefer it.

“What’s occurred to you, Nikolaos?” I muttered to myself, feeling the load of my very own query. Maci had turn out to be my weak point, a chink in my armor that others might exploit. I had let my guard down, permitting private emotions to affect my selections in a realm the place such feelings could possibly be pricey.

There was a knock on the door.

“Are available,” I referred to as out.

Andreas walked in and took a seat reverse me as I let loose a heavy breath. I had already advised him in regards to the consequence of the assembly days in the past and he hadn’t been joyful about it both, which actually was a good response after I thought-about it.

“We have to speak about just a few issues, boss,” he started.

“Go forward,” I sighed. I knew that it most likely wasn’t excellent news, particularly by the look on his face.

“We’ve hit just a few snags in getting the brand new delivery licenses,” he defined, his frustration evident. “The method, which was once easy, has turn out to be unnecessarily sophisticated. The paperwork has doubled, and there are fixed requests for added documentation, a few of which appears irrelevant to the precise licensing necessities. It’s as if each step ahead is met with a brand new hurdle.”

“Is that each one?” I pressed, my heavy sigh echoing all through the room.

“There’s additionally the problem of our common tax audits, which was once routine and predictable. Now, they’ve changed into one thing far more invasive. It’s like they’re digging for one thing, scrutinizing each transaction, each document, far past the standard scope. It’s turn out to be an inquisition relatively than an audit. This stage of scrutiny is unprecedented,” he continued.

With a heavy sigh, I pressed my hand to my brow in frustration.

“It’s retaliation, Niko. You already know why.” Andreas supplied, lifting his eyebrows in a little bit of chiding means. He was the one individual on the planet that might get away with that, particularly when he was proper. Even so, a sliver of annoyance raced by way of me, and I swallowed it down. He was merely the messenger, and this was 100 fucking % my fault.

“We have to strategize. Push again towards these bureaucratic video games with out escalating issues additional,” I replied with a curt nod, my fingers clasped collectively on the desk.

“Pay attention Niko… We have to speak about Maci,” he replied quietly.

“What about her?” I mentioned rapidly, instantly feeling myself go on the defensive.

“If she’s the rationale you’re this fired up, why not simply go all in? Marry her. Flip everyone the hen and present them she’s greater than what they paint her to be. Who cares what they assume? You’re Nikolaos Kaligaris. Put your fucking dick on the desk and present them who you might be. Make her your fucking spouse.”

His suggestion caught me off guard.

Why couldn’t I marry her?

The extra I thought-about it, the extra it made sense. Marrying her wouldn’t simply be about defending her or making an announcement. It will be about accepting that she was as a lot part of my world as I used to be, and that collectively, we have been stronger.

It didn’t simply make sense, it felt proper.

Like all the things had all of the sudden simply fallen into place and I knew why.

As a result of not solely did I really like her, however she additionally deserved it.

“, Andreas, you may be onto one thing,” I mentioned, a brand new sense of readability rising.

Supply: www.seynovel.com