The Sheik’s Embrace (The Billionaire’s Club #12)

Chapter 24

“How about a game of pool?” Riaz suggested, his eyes sparkling with eagerness for the competition.

Zayed looked at the man, a slow, brutal smile forming. “I think that would be an excellent idea!” he replied, and even reached out to slap the man on the shoulder. He looked around for Tara, but didn’t see her. “Where’s Tara?” he asked one of his guards.

“She’s in her office, Your Highness. She mentioned something about updating a database.”

Zayed’s mouth thinned, but he turned to face his opponent. “We’ll dine with Tara tonight.”

The other man nodded. “And the cute waitress?” he offered. “What’s her name?”

They’d already turned to walk towards the billiards room but Zayed paused to look at Riaz. “Waitress? Which…?” He thought back, a cute, too-slender woman with dark, curly hair. “The one from breakfast this morning?”

“That’s the one.” They resumed their walk. “I found her intriguing.” He looked at Zayed. “She seemed different from the other staff members. Where is she from? Do you know?”

Zayed’s instincts were on high alert. The fact that they both had noticed the woman sounded alarm bells in his head. Once again, he stopped and looked at one of his guards. “Find the woman who was serving coffee this morning. I’d like to speak with her.”

The guard immediately conveyed the information through his microphone and everyone resumed walking.

“What about her caught your attention?” he asked of Riaz. Zayed wasn’t ready to think of Riaz as a friend. Not yet. But the man was very different from what he’d expected. The man had risen to power six years ago and had been a thorn in Pitra’s side ever since. Perhaps that irritation was mostly because the previous ruler, Riaz’s stepfather, hadn’t been an effective ruler. Riaz had sharpened the political climate, which had created a diplomatic distance between the countries.

That had been the wrong approach. Or maybe not. Perhaps their bitter irritation with each other over the past few years was needed for Bidar’s ruler to bring his country to a place where negotiations made sense.

However, now that Riaz had mentioned her, the woman in the breakfast room bothered him. But he wasn’t sure why.