Sarah Randall - His Irresistible Darling

“Hmm, well it’s interesting. It’s a good deal and certainly worth going ahead with. His company is financially stable and there’s no evidence of him cooking the books. The fact he’s a local contractor is good for our public relations and local employment, but it’s certainly nothing on the scale of the Dubai government deal. When the ink is dry on that contract your company is going to be recognised as the world’s leading naval shipbuilding company. We’re going to go global. Although I think we should be prepared for the backlash from the Dubai builders. They aren’t going to take it lying down, Jumal. They thought they had that contract in the bag and they’re used to getting their own way. We should expect a backlash.”

“Let them come at me. It’s not like we haven’t dealt with it before. As for going global—” he shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly “—something for my father to finally be proud of, but I want to ensure that we keep up the investment here, in Dubain. Build on what we’ve already started. That’s my priority now,” he stated, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice, knowing that Malik knew exactly what his father was like.

As childhood friends, Jumal had spent as much time at his friend’s home as his own and he was warmly welcomed. During their early teenage years Jumal’s home life was never openly discussed between the friends. Malik just seemed to know that his friend needed somewhere to have some downtime away from the pressures of an impossibly pushy father with aspirations for his son, which were demanded and never merely suggested. Since returning to Dubain after completing his Oxford University education, Jumal and Malik had re-formed their close bond and Jumal knew he was lucky to have such a confidant as both friend and trusted advisor. In his line of work, his enemies were never far away and the people he could rely on were few.

Feeling somewhat melancholy about his past, he cleared the lump in his throat before continuing. “By the way, Faridah called earlier. She’s received the first draft of the contract and has been working on it over the last few days, ironing out some of the usual discrepancies, so it’s moving along nicely. She’s going to come by and drop it in shortly,” he explained to Malik, gently rocking his chair from side to side.

“Only you would end up with a fiancée who is also a company lawyer.” Malik winked at him. “Some guys have all the luck,” he teased, rising from his chair. “We still on for a workout tomorrow night before hitting the hammam?”

“Sure,” Jumal replied, only partly listening.

“Okay good. I’ll bring down the due diligence report on Ansari when it’s typed up. Let me know how you get on,” Malik called as he walked out the door. Or at least that’s what Jumal thought he’d said…

Wait, why didn’t he just email it over?

Jumal hadn’t been listening, his mind once again focused on a certain long-haired brunette who had perfected the art of driving him crazy. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the mahogany desk, dropping his head back into his hands, his thoughts once again drifting back to their first meeting.

***

“Aaagghhhh. I swear that man is soooo frustrating,” Pip complained as she dropped her pad back onto her desk and slumped dramatically in her chair. She pulled off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose, a habit she’d developed over the last couple of months working at JAA Enterprises. Well, it was better than taking up smoking.

“I never know from one day to the next what the hell he expects from me,” she said, now holding out her palms. “One minute he criticises me for not using my initiative and then he berates me when I do. There is just no winning with him. How the hell Greta put up with him all those years I’ll never know. The woman must have been a bloody saint…or had a secret stash of chocolate and red wine in her drawer.” She paused for a breath. “And I swear if he treats me like a high school kid on work experience one more bloody time I’ll…agghhhhh!”

Her tirade over, she slumped forward and folded her arms on the desk, dropping her chin onto her forearms.

“Well maybe if you—”

“Nah-ah, don’t even say it. I know, I know I make it worse for myself but I can’t help it with him. He drives me crazy.”

She knew she could occasionally act out and overreact. What was it all those child gurus and experts said about kids acting up for their carers? Wasn’t it something about being naughty to get their attention?! She could relate.

Melina looked up from her work. “It’s strange,” she mused, shaking her head. “He’s not usually so cranky. You just seem to bring that out of him too. It’s your special talent!”

She raised her head slightly. “You’re not helping,” she said, deadpan, before dropping it back down with a thud. “Ouch.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Take a deep breath and then come join me for a smoothie in the plaza, my treat, and I’ll fill you in on some of my plans for your birthday party,” she promised, clapping her hands together excitedly. “It’s gonna be amazing,” she added in a sing-song voice.

Pip sat back up and smiled at her passionate new friend. A break away from the office was just what she needed to calm down and the plaza was one of her favourite places in the bustling city. It was located in the centre of the myriad tall, glass skyscrapers of all different shapes and sizes, some of which were on the edge of avant-garde even for her taste. The tables and chairs had plenty of shade provided by palm trees and funky triangular shade sails in bright colours draped over the intimate seating areas from huge white pillars, with an eclectic mix of permanent stores selling the more internationally favoured food and street vendors selling local fare such as fatayer , which was a bit like a meat pie.

Her personal favourite was when she and Melina would get a traditional communal plate of pitta bread, barbequed lamb skewers, hummus and chickpeas, which you could eat using your fingers. It wasn’t frowned upon like back home! The smells were always mouth-watering, but she only allowed herself to indulge once a week and stuck to her packed lunches most of the time. The young children from the office crèches enjoyed having playtime in the cooling water fountains, and Pippa loved hearing their excited screams of delight as they ran around through the jets. She would happily spend her whole lunch break there just soaking up the relaxed atmosphere.

“A nice meal out with everyone would be lovely, really. You don’t need to go to any trouble.”

“Nonsense, you only turn twenty-one once and we’re not just going to let it slip by uncelebrated, especially as I know how much you miss your family.”

“I do,” she confirmed with a sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. “Matt has Ana and Harry wrapped in cotton wool and there’s no way he’ll let them fly out here. Ah, you should have seen Harry when I spoke to them yesterday on Skype. He’s so cute and has the most amazing mop of red hair. Ana had to struggle to stop George from trying to lick his face all the time. My nephew is gonna be a little heartbreaker.” She couldn’t help but smile when she thought of her tiny nephew.

Melina screwed up her face before asking, “Who’s George and why is he licking Harry’s face?”

“Oh sorry, he’s our Labrador. Part of the Darling family, and he’s eager to protect the newest member of his pack.”

“Ah right. But your friend, er, James was it? He’s still coming out here, right?” Melina practically demanded.

Pip chuckled. “Yeah, bless him. He’s got some holidays coming up and hasn’t travelled around this part of the world so I invited him over for a few days.”