Their Virgin Concubine(14)
“The police will come?” He sounded horrified.
“Yeah, they’re kind of regulars around here. It gets a little wild sometimes. The good news is, it’s close to the train stop.”
“You had to take the train home from work? You did not have an escort?”
She laughed. Things must be very different there. “I take the train home every day, Tal.”
“I was given to understand you went to lunch with the al Mussad brothers so they could listen to your proposal.”
She sighed, her heart fluttering a bit. They’d discussed the proposal a bit, but mostly she’d let them feed her and stared while they talked about how beautiful their country was. Piper winced. Tal was probably calling to tell her how little she’d done to help their cause. “Yes. Well, I don’t know how interested they were in numbers.”
“They took you to lunch but did not escort you home? And you live in a dangerous neighborhood?” His growl sounded more than a bit frustrated. “I apologize for my countrymen, Piper. I assumed they were gentlemen.”
“Oh, they were wonderful. Truly.” She’d had the best time with them. She just hadn’t exactly been as focused on business as she should have been. “I had to go back to work. I had so much to do.”
Tal was silent for a moment, and she could almost feel his displeasure over the line. She wondered what the cultural standards were for business lunches in Bezakistan. Perhaps they were more stringent than here? Either way, Rafe and Kade were royal. She was surprised they’d made time to hear about her project at all. She’d never expected them to escort her anywhere.
“Really. They were very polite,” she assured.
“I would hope so.” He took a long breath. “I have already heard that they were very impressed with you, Piper. They’re interested in taking the project to the government board.”
“Oh, wow. Really? That’s great news!”
The government board was a select group of Bezakistani intellectuals and politicians, headed by Sheikh al Mussad himself. The man was known to be very intelligent and very private. She’d read his numerous papers on the business of energy. The man had an absolutely fascinating mind. And she’d had lunch with his brothers. She was far from her little hick town now.
The good news was, all she had to do was put together the numbers in a logical presentation. Tal would present it to the sheikh. There were risks involved, yes, but if al Mussad and the rest of the government board were listening, this should be a slam dunk.
“So what do you need from me? I just finished my latest round of projections, and they’re really good. I’ll e-mail them to you in a minute. Anything else I can send?”
There was a slight pause before Tal’s voice came across the line, low and more intimate than before. “You. Come here and bring those projections to me.”
Was he crazy? “Uhm, I think you need a geography refresher, Tal. Dallas. Bezakistan. It’s thousands of miles apart, not a walk down the hall.”
He chuckled a little. “Piper, come to my country. I’ve been asked to extend an official invitation. The al Mussad family would be thrilled if you would stay at the palace and grace us with your intelligent counsel.”
She sat for a minute, his words sinking in. They wanted her to get on a plane and fly halfway across the world to meet with a billionaire sheikh in a fabulous palace? Her shoes were secondhand. She’d never been on a plane. She couldn’t just go to a different country. She needed gateway travel first. Like Manhattan. Nope. Too big. Chicago. Yes, that was more her speed. When she knew she could handle the Windy City, she would think about the Big Apple.
But she couldn’t go to Bezakistan. Could she?
“I have so much to do here. How about a video conference? I’ll be available whenever you want.”
“They prefer to do business with a hand they can shake. I’ve already discussed this with Gavin James. He has agreed to transfer you here for the time being.”
“Transferred? As in out of the country?” The idea was so foreign, she didn’t know how to make heads or tails of it. “For how long?”
He hesitated. “At least a month, but I suspect it may be longer.”
“But…I have an apartment here.”
“You will have a place to live in Bezakistan. The al Mussad family allowed me some input, and I promise your residence will be to your liking. It is very near mine, so we will have plenty of time to discuss the project. I have made all of the arrangements. You need only say yes.”
Her head was racing a million miles an hour. Tal made it sound so simple, but… “I have a lease. Then there’s my furniture and belongings. I can’t just leave it all.”