“It’s just Linc, and same here, Ms. Dumont.”
“Since you’re a friend of Jake’s, let’s just make it Sage.”
He grinned and turned back to the wheel, started moving the heavy vehicle forward. Jake glanced at Sage, a little surprised at how accessible she seemed to be. She might be a Dumont, but she treated people as her equal. Another point in her favor.
They reached the office in record time. As they had planned, Linc pulled the Escalade into the executive lot. Jake made a call to the security guard at the back door, and they entered the building that way.
It wasn’t until Sage’s friend, the little redhead he had seen in her office before, arrived at noon that the problems began.
* * *
Sage was sitting behind her desk, the phone pressed against her ear, when the door swung open and Rina walked in. They were planning to go to lunch. Since there hadn’t been any problems over the weekend, and no trouble when she’d come to work that morning, Sage figured she’d be able to get away for a couple hours—without her overbearing bodyguard.
He’d surprised her with an apology for his behavior last night—which had been her fault as much as his.
She wished she could have stayed mad at him, convinced herself he was just another arrogant male. But he had spoiled that by actually behaving like a human being.
She blocked him from her mind as Rina rushed toward her across the office, her face flushed, her blue eyes wide.
“Oh, my God, Sage, have you seen what’s going on outside?”
Sage stood up behind her desk. “No. What is?” Her door swung open just then, at the same instant her intercom buzzed.
“We’ve got a problem,” Jake said, striding in as if he owned the place.
Will raced in behind him. “Sage, the police are downstairs.”
Sage shot Jake a glance. “What’s going on, Jake?”
He tipped his head toward the big floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall of her spacious office. “Take a look.”
Will backed out of the room and closed the door.
“Jake, this is my friend Rina Eckhart,” she said. “Rina, meet Jake Cantrell.”
Rina gave Jake a head-to-toe once-over, which took a while, since she was so petite and he was so big. “Nice to meet you, Jake.”
He smiled. “You, too, Rina.”
Sage went over to the window and looked out past the wide steps at the front. A familiar sight greeted her—only now the protest was three times bigger.
“I guess the students are back.”
“They’re back, all right,” Jake said, walking up beside her. “Along with two other factions. Besides the students, there’s a pro-American bunch thanking God for keeping our troops safe in the Middle East, protesting sharia law, advocating for women’s rights and anything else that comes to mind. Another group is demonstrating against Israel and pushing for a Palestinian state.”
Sage turned to look at him, felt that same little kick she always experienced when he was near. “I can’t believe this. All we’re doing is trying to buy a used drilling platform and a shipment of pipe.”
“Believe it. There’s plenty of friction out there. The cops have arrived to try to keep things under control. It remains to be seen how much good it will do.”
“Don’t these people have to get permits for this kind of thing?”
“I talked to the police. The main group has done the necessary paperwork. Aside from that, there’s a thing called freedom of speech.”
Worry knotted her stomach. “The Saudis are due at the airport tomorrow afternoon. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to handle it,” Jake said firmly. “Linc’s got a fleet lined up to meet the plane and take them to the hotel. They’ll have their own security while they’re there, and we’ll put a couple of people on it, too. The sheik and his family will be at the hotel the rest of that day and Wednesday. The ranch won’t be ready till the weekend. That leaves only Thursday and Friday to worry about.”
“On Friday they’d like to attend prayers at the local mosque. That’s the Da’wah Center. It’s right downtown.”
“Good. We’ll have them taken them there and picked up, return them to the hotel. That leaves only Thursday.”
Sage worried her bottom lip. She looked up at him. “I wonder if they’ve ever been to an IMAX.”
Jake flashed her one of his devastating grins. “Probably ten of them in Saudi Arabia, but it’s still a good idea. Anything that’ll keep them away from the office.”
“The daughter wants to go shopping,” she said, her mind beginning to work.
“I imagine you can handle that.”
“Are you kidding?” Sage smiled, Jake’s confidence easing her nerves. “The Galleria is my home away from home.”
“She’ll have to be accompanied by a male family member. There may be more than one, and they’re sure to have bodyguards. I’ll get one of the other guys at my office to go along. Alex Justice is an ex-navy pilot. He’s capable and he knows the drill.”
Sage turned to Rina. “Maybe you could come with us. With two other women in the group, A’lia won’t stand out so much.”
Jake’s gaze flicked to the redhead. “Good idea. Can you make it?”
Rina grinned. She was always up for an adventure. “I’d love to come along. I’m a shop-till-you-drop kinda’ gal, and I’ve never met a Saudi princess.”
“All right, then. We keep them busy and away from the office. With nothing going on here, there’s a good chance things will start cooling down. By Monday of the following week, you’ll have done enough small talk to satisfy their customs and earn their trust. If the protests are over, you can bring them into the office and start negotiations.”
Sage shoved back her hair, lifting it away from her face. “You make it sound easy.”
“It could be. With any luck, it’ll all work out the way we plan.” But his smile couldn’t hide the unease in those sexy blue eyes. She knew it was the same worry she was feeling.
She looked over at her friend, determined to carry on as normally as possible. “You ready, Rina?”
“Sounds like Jake has everything under control, so yeah, let’s go.”
Sage turned to him. “We’re going to Gravitas for lunch. Rina’s car is in the lot. We’ll go out the back way so no one will see us. You and I can talk some more when I get back.”
Jake just smiled. “I’ll tell Linc we’ll be needing the limo.”
She didn’t argue. She didn’t care who drove them; she just wanted out of there. “All right.” Sage started for the door, but Jake’s long strides got him there before she did. He pulled it open, stepped back for them to walk out, then followed on their heels.
Sage stopped and turned. “Please don’t tell me you’re going with us.”
“All right, I won’t.”
But deep down, she had known he would demand to accompany them. With the protests going on out front, it was his job.
He pushed the button on the elevator, and when it arrived, followed them inside.
She gave it one last try. “Jake, please…”
“I won’t sit at your table. In fact, you’ll hardly know I’m there. That’s the way it works, Sage. This