Samir Watr-il-Dharah stood on the balcony of the second floor, leaning over the railing and gazing out over the perfectly mowed garden with both hands shoved deep into his pockets. He listened through a pair of blue tooth earpieces to the person on the other end of the line and he smiled a little.
"I wouldn't want to stress you so much, Mr Hung." He began to pace. "You only entered the country yesterday."
As much as Samir wanted to get this project finalized and kicked off soonest, he really didn't want to put others in a position where they felt pressured. The pressure was not exactly good for business, the pressure made it easy to make mistakes and he didn't want any mistakes with this project.
"If you are fully rested then it is no problem, where is your hotel? I will come to meet you at the restaurant there so it will be easier for you and we can talk."
If he could wrap this up within the week, it would get the burden off him for a while. The funding Mr Hung would be providing would cover the cost and more, the partnership was a must and he wanted to, as much as he could, make Mr Hung feel comfortable. Samir sighed, he would only stress himself for a little while. Just a little while more.
"Mr Jang would not be joining us. You see, he is not in the country and might not come to Saudi until maybe next month or the month after."
Both Mr Jang and Mr Hung were important contributors to this project. Sometimes the responsibility scared him but looking back to how far he had come and his confidence would return. He could do this. He would do this flawlessly.
"I could arrange a meeting to introduce the two of you as you would also be partners for the duration of this project but that would either be in France where he is currently or whenever he would return to Saudi."
Samir found it quite odd that the two business tycoons had never met before although they knew who the other was, they had never met, never done business together. But then the business world was extremely large and diverse, it shouldn't be a surprise.
"I will be coming there now. Give me an hour." He listened. "Thank you Mr. Hung."
He breathed in deeply, taking in as much air as his lungs could allow and smiled to himself. He felt victorious, felt satisfied and his smile developed into a chuckle as he thought of Megan, his long time American lover, Megan Walker. He didn't know why he was thinking of her right now but he liked the thought. Seeing her in the Sheikh's home had come as a shock to him and moreover, he had been told that she was a guest.
How long had it been since the last time he saw her?
Two years?
Three?
Still, she looked as beautiful as he had always remembered her to be. She had haunted his dreams ever since he left her and he could not get her off his mind that easily so he had buried himself in work. He knew he had left her heartbroken and without much of an explanation, his father had been critically ill then and it was of utmost importance for him to be present and to fulfil his father's last wishes, to perform the last rites and also to take over the business.
She wouldn't have understood then if he had told her, she would have wanted to return with him but things didn't just work out that way in this part of the world, you don't just show up back home with a girl whom you weren't sure of settling down with.
Yes, he hadn't been sure then, they were both still young and he just felt to catch some cruise and have some fun before returning back to Saudi Arabia, to the bride his father would have chosen for him, but his father hadn't chosen a bride for him before his demise, meaning he was free to make his own choice. He really didn't think much about marriage because his mind was on the business.
And maybe it was a good thing he had kept his full attention on the business because since he took over his father's position, he had gained in the short time he had been in power, much more than his father had in his time. The board of directors and his international clients had all been impressed, his hard work earned him a good reputation which in turn brought to his doorsteps more profitable and international contracts.
In his years in the field of work, Samir had come across many different women, women of power and of class but none seemed to be able to catch his attention and those who did were not able to hold it long enough. He would eventually get bored of them and just dropped them. They were all complicated in a way and none of the women was simple. Simple like Megan.
Now again, after what had seemed like ages, he had seen her in the Sheikh's home and the feeling had ignited in his heart once more. This time he was sure he wanted to settle with her, she was here now and he could, but why was she here? For how long had she been in Saudi? And how did she end up as a guest of the Sheikh? He would have to find out.
He walked back to relax on the couch, pouring himself a drink and enjoying the scenery through the glass walls that lined the left part of the room, giving him a pretty view of the pool, its architectural structure gave it a jungle twist with the planted trees surrounding and the colourful stones placed decoratively around it.
He smiled at Megan imaginatively sitting there, with both legs in the water swinging and she singing, the thought liberated him. She would make an excellent wife, he knew that and her adjusting to life in Saudi would not be a challenge to her, it wouldn't be difficult because she had had to adjust severally when she travelled to different countries. He remembered she had spent almost two months when she had gone to South Africa so spending the rest of her life with him in Saudi Arabia should be easier. He would make it easier.
He knew he had to see her again and this time he would take the initiative to talk to her, maybe if he was lucky she wouldn't be cooked up in the room today. He wondered if she still felt anything for him, he wouldn't blame her if she didn't anymore but who says old flames can't be rekindled. He stood up without having touched his glass, he would be seeing the Sheikh today. He picked his phone to call Mr Hung, he would have to delay their meeting a little bit, maybe by an hour or two.
He picked up the car keys and raced downstairs, colliding with his brother in his hurry.
"Samir, you are in quite a hurry. Where are you off to?"
"Ah, yes. There is a place I have to be at urgently. I will see you later then." He made to continue but his brother stopped him.
"Wait Samir, about the project, have you spoken to Mr Hung. We have only this week."
"About that. Yes in fact I have not quite long ago, we have settled for a meeting."
"And..." He gestured with his hand for his brother to continue.
"It's in two hours."
"Two hours? So that's not where you are off to right now?"
"No, I said I have somewhere else I have to be at. It is pretty urgent." Somehow he felt like he would tell his brother where exactly he was going to. "I'm going to see Sheikh Khalid."
"Then I should come with you."
"No." Samir knew he wasn't going there for business. In fact, right now he had not come up with any excuse for going to the Sheikh's place. He would think up an excuse on the way there. "I am not going there on business-related issues. It's quite personal."
"Hmmm...ok?"
"I'll text you the address of Mr Hung's hotel. In two hours you should be there to keep him company and start off the meeting in case I am running late." He paused and thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen when he would face Megan at the Sheikh's place. "I might actually not be able to make it in time so I'll need you there with him."
"I can do that. I'll go get ready then."
Samir nodded and left him, racing to where the cars were parked and got into one. Today he would be seeing Megan again after a long time. He couldn't stop the excitement that bubbled in him.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
