Of course, she must visit Emir’s homeland as he had suggested. If the deal went through it would be wrong to accept the consortium’s investment without wanting to know as much as she possibly could about the benefits the diamonds would bring to both countries. Perhaps there could be reciprocal cultural and educational opportunities—anything was possible. She longed to get stuck into it—to get out of the office and meet people at last. Her mind was blazing with ideas. No dream seemed too far-fetched.
* * *
Showering down after his unique encounter with Britt, Sharif’s thoughts were arranged in several compartments. The first was all to do with Britt the businesswoman. She was meticulous and had held the company together when many would have failed. Her attention to detail was second to none—as he had learned when it had taken him several hours, rather than the usual five minutes, to pore over her first agenda and find a hole. She was clear-headed and quick-thinking in her business life—
And an emotional mess when it came to anything else.
Her life was tied up in duty, but she wanted it all. He guessed she heard the clock ticking, but she didn’t know how to escape from her work long enough to find the fulfilment she craved—the satisfaction of raising her own family and extending her sphere of influence in the workplace too. She did everything she could to support her sisters while they studied and campaigned for this and that, but they didn’t seem to stop and think that Britt deserved some fulfilment too.
And neither should he, he reminded himself. He had one duty, one goal, and one responsibility, which was to the men who had come in with him on this deal. Business always came first, because business fed improvements in Kareshi, and only then could he afford to pause to wonder if there was anything missing from his life—
Britt?
Any man would be missing a woman like Britt in his life. She was exceptional. She was an intriguing mix of control and abandonment, and it seemed to him that the only time Britt let go was during sex, which made cutting the best deal possible a challenging prospect, but not impossible.
Business, always business, he thought, towelling down. He liked that Britt was part of that business. He had always loved a challenge and Britt was a challenge. Securing the towel around his waist, he picked up his razor to engage in the one battle he usually lost. His beard grew faster than he could shave it off, but at least the ritual soothed him and gave him time to think.
Shaking his head as if that could shake thoughts of Britt out of it, he rinsed his face and raked his thick, unruly hair into some semblance of order. The deal was a tantalising prospect and he would bring it in. Between them he and his friends had the means and the skill and the outlets necessary to transform dull, uncut diamonds into sparkling gems that would shimmer with fire as they shivered against a woman’s skin. Britt believed she held all the cards, and could cut the better deal, but he held the joker.
Stepping into jeans, he tugged on a plain back top, and fastened his belt before reaching for the phone. Some decisions were harder to take than others, and this was harder than most. Britt had all the instincts of a man inside the body of a woman, but she had a woman’s emotions, which held her back when it came to clear thinking in a deal like this where family was involved. He wished he could protect her from the fall-out from this call, but his duty was clear. This wasn’t for him alone, but for the consortium, and for Kareshi. In the absence of her brother, Britt led her tribe as he did, making her a worthy adversary. He just had to hope she could handle this new twist in the plot as competently as she had coped with other obstacles life had thrown at her.
He drummed his fingers impatiently as he waited for the call to connect. Three rings later the call was answered. He hesitated, which was definitely a first for him, but the die had been cast on the day he had sat down to research the share structure of Skavanga Mining and had discovered that the major shareholder was not in fact the three sisters, but their missing brother, Tyr Skavanga. More complicated still was that, for reasons of his own, Tyr didn’t want his sisters to know where he was. Having given his word, Emir would have to keep that from Britt even though Tyr’s long-distance involvement in the deal would swing the balance firmly in the consortium’s favour.
‘Hello, Tyr,’ he said, settling down into what he knew would be a long call.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HE WAS PACKING? Emir was packing? She had come downstairs after her shower expecting to find him basking in front of a roaring fire—which he would have banked up, perhaps with a drink in hand and one waiting for her on the table. She had anticipated more getting-to-know-you time. That was what couples did when they’d grown closer after sex...