Zaid sat back down at his seat in the middle of the table. Alacabak to his right, the waterfront and the view of the financial district at their backs. Across from him sat a beautiful woman with dark hair who had introduced herself as the head of the tour party, Candace. Since her arrival, he had noticed her obvious attempts to get close to him and if Rebecca had not suddenly shown back up in his life, he might have been tempted. Part of him wished that Rebecca was paying more attention but she had intentionally placed herself as far from him as possible, which displeased him.
“The Waterfront Palace is one of the few restaurants in Sharjah allowed to serve alcohol,” he explained to the party. “As you understand, our liquor laws differ significantly from yours at home. We do ask that you refrain from consuming alcohol in public, except where appropriate.”
He hoped his explanation didn’t discourage anyone from enjoying the fine selection of wine provided by the Waterfront.
“While I do hope you’ll enjoy a selection from the wine menu, there are also non-alcoholic beverages available. Once they have your drink orders, they will ask which selection you would prefer for your main course.” And with a nod from the Sheikh, the wait staff descended upon the table to get everyone’s orders.
He heard a few of the delegates order wine, and he watched their faces change when confronted with the main course options.
“Ro-be-yann nashif is jumbo prawns, fried and served over rice and vegetables. It is a local favorite. Ruz bukhari is chicken and spiced rice with a tomato sauce. It is also a local favorite, especially among tourists. If it helps, this region is known for its prawns,” Zaid explained to his guests. His sister-in-law, Melanie, had helped him choose the menu for the lunch, going with dishes that had simple flavors that eased foreigners into the food culture of the United Arab Emirates.
After the orders were placed and wine came out, Candace took a sip of her wine and leveled her enticing gray eyes on Zaid. Her dark waves rushed down around her face like water shimmering in the moonlight. “What is that across the water from us?” she asked him. Her voice dripped with suggestion, as if she wanted to talk about anything other than the sights and sounds of Sharjah.
“That is the financial district,” he told her in a proud tone. “As you can see from the towering modern skyscrapers, a lot of money passes through Sharjah.”
“You must be very proud of the success of the Emirate,” she told him, as other guests turned to look at the skyline across the water.
“I am. We are,” he corrected himself. “Our people have been able to climb out of poverty through our business and banking connections throughout the rest of the world. Just a couple of decades ago, this place looked like one of the poor market towns you see in so many American movies. It has since grown to be one of the cultural and financial hubs of the UAE.”
Her eyes sparkled as she hung on every word he said. “You’re going to personally see to it that we visit these places where you have focused your energies, correct?”
“Absolutely,” Zaid smirked. “I’ll make it a personal priority to ensure you get the best treatment on this tour.”
As the food was delivered, and Candace became distracted by the succulent shrimp placed in front of her, Zaid’s eyes drifted to where Rebecca was seated. He certainly appreciated Candace’s flirtatious attention, but he was much more interested in the beautiful redhead seated at the end of the table.
Rebecca was laughing over a glass of iced tea with another delegate who was enjoying his glass of wine. The way she smiled at him, the way she laughed and cocked her head with those attentive eyes; those were supposed to be his. He was shocked by the jealousy that suddenly welled up inside him. It threatened to turn to anger as he watched their exchange, unable to hear what was so funny or interesting over the conversations around him.
He turned his attention back to the alluring Candace sitting across from him. If he had been anything like his brothers, he would have seduced her, bringing her some place more private to have his way with her tight little American body. She wouldn’t have declined his advances. She was practically throwing herself at him.
When their eyes met again, she grinned and ran one of her petite feet up his leg, underneath his gown. She grabbed a piece of shrimp with her fingers and took a slow, tempting bite out of it. He watched the way her lips wrapped around the food as she bit into it. He surprised himself when the only thing he felt was amusement at her blatant attempts at seduction.
She put the shrimp down and licked her fingers clean slowly. Her apparent desire for him was incredibly typical. He was a member of royalty, and he took great care to maintain his physique. It was fairly common for women, especially foreign women, to display an undue sense of attraction towards him. He wasn’t above using that attraction for his own personal gain, but poor Candace was falling over herself for him while the person he really wanted sat at the end of the table, engulfed in an incredibly interesting conversation with another man.
Zaid’s jealousy fueled his desire to flirt with the raven-haired beauty sitting across from him, if only to catch Rebecca’s attention.
“So, what do you think of Sharjah so far, Ms. Candace?” he asked, knowing he was toying with her by opening a door he had no intention of walking through.
“I haven’t seen much yet, but I like what I see,” she answered with a wink, looking him up and down. “It is a beautiful region. I especially love the way the modern world blends with the ancient world here.”
He ignored the way her words dripped with seduction and innuendo. It seemed to him that the blending of the old and the new versions of Sharjah was the first thing any Westerner noticed when they visited the Emirate. It was a source of pride to know they’d done so well that both aspects were still unique despite co-existing.
“I want to see it all,” she said with a suggestive look in her eyes. She reached across the table and st
roked his hand. “Maybe the Sheikh wouldn’t mind taking me on a private tour sometime,” she suggested.
Even as Zaid grinned, he found himself glancing toward Rebecca, hoping no one else was listening to their conversation. Alacabak was discussing investments and banking with another delegate. Everyone appeared engrossed in their respective conversations and weren’t listening.
“I might be able to work something out for you,” he told her at last. Why wasn’t he having this conversation with Rebecca instead? He wished he’d known she was coming. He could have adjusted the seating accordingly so that the envoy and lead representative both sat across from him. Of course, with Rebecca being the envoy, the lead representative would have found herself seated across from the Chief Advisor instead of the Sheikh.
Zaid amused himself with the thought of sticking Alacabak with a star-struck foreigner.
“How are the prawns?” Zaid asked her in an effort to keep the conversation going and keep himself distracted from Rebecca’s conversation.
“Divine,” she said with enraptured delight. “Possibly the best shrimp I’ve ever had,” she added.
“Is that right?” Zaid asked with a smirk, sipping his coffee.
“Yes, indeed,” she agreed. “So, what’s our next stop after this?”