She had a hard time being angry after that.
14
“You have to charm her,” Catelyn said for the hundredth time.
“And how, exactly, do I do that?” Rami paced the suite. Window. Door. Window. “She did not find me very charming the last time we met.”
Catelyn blew out a breath between pursed lips. “Lydia’s the kind of woman who wants you to…prove yourself to her. She wants to know that you know about her business, but in a specific way.”
Rami snorted. “I do know about her business.”
His wife smiled at him, one eyebrow raised. “And I bet you told her all about it.”
“We did discuss various strategies, but—”
“That’s the thing, Rami. In order to charm someone, you need to make them feel important. You need to make them feel smart.”
He narrowed his eyes, pausing in the middle of the suite. “So…I need to act like I don’t know about her business? Wouldn’t that backfire completely?”
“No.” Catelyn cut her eyes back at her computer screen, then turned her attention to him again. “You need to make her feel like she’s the expert. No matter how much you know, make sure she knows better. Ask for her advice. Consult her on the finer points of—” She waved a hand in the air. “Strategy. Future plans. Anything. If there’s one thing Lydia loves more than parties, it’s being flattered—but not in an obvious way. You can’t just kiss her butt and expect her to fall all over you.”
Catelyn sniffled, and the noise silenced all the thoughts in Rami’s brain. “Are you all right?” He hadn’t noticed until this moment, but she sounded a little congested.
“I’m fine,” Catelyn said. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”
He laughed. “Only the most frustrating woman on the planet.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Lydia has her quirks, but so does everyone.” Catelyn gave him a pointed look. “Including you, husband.”
He thrilled at the word on her lips. “Don’t tempt me like that,” he said darkly.
“Why?” Catelyn smiled, the corner of her mouth lifting in a wry grin. “Would I make you late?”
Rami checked his watch. Yes. It would make him late, and this was a meeting with his father’s commerce advisor. Not a man he wanted to irritate, despite outranking him. “Yes. You would.”
Catelyn shooed him away. “Don’t let me distract you.” Her mouth was a perfect, satisfied pout. “I’ve got work to do, too. The things that need doing at Elite Occaisons…” She shook her head. “We might need to hire a fourth person, if I’m going to be—” She pressed her lips shut for a heartbeat. “For the next year.”
Rami’s stomach dropped to his toes at the reminder. In Al-Dashalid, it was easy to pretend that the fantasy was and had always been real. Even the media had joined in the celebration, accepting his whirlwind romance as absolutely natural. It helped that they loved Catelyn—every time they went outside the palace, their picture ended up in the newspapers.
“I know how important your business is to you,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “If you need to hire someone else to make sure it’s running smoothly, you should.”
“I think I might,” Catelyn said. “I’ll have to talk to Daisy and Laura about it.”
“Of course.” He wanted to carry her to bed, but the meeting was in five minutes—as it was, he would only have a few moments to spare. “I’ll see you here after my meeting?”
It was an invitation, and Catelyn knew it. She swiveled toward him in her chair and raised her cheek to be kissed. He let his breath caress the shell of her ear and watched the shiver travel down her back. “I’ll be here,” she said. “Me and this mountain of work.”
She was clicking away by the time he reached the door.
* * *
Catelyn did not have time to come down with a cold.
That was the truth of it—they had to leave Al-Dashalid in a week, and beyond that, there was so much to do for Elite Occasions that she had to grab every spare moment by the throat and wring the productivity out of it.
No matter how crappy she felt.
After Rami left the suite, she waded through another group of emails, firing off responses and trying to ignore the increasing stuffiness in her nose. Her eyes began to burn, and one by one, tissues piled up on the desk next to her. Catelyn stopped between emails to swipe them into the bin beside her desk and went back to work.