“You did great, Sage,” Alex said.
When her smile widened and Alex’s damn dimples showed up again, Jake sliced him a hard look, but Alex just laughed.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jake said grimly, suddenly wishing he’d brought in someone besides his good-looking friend.
The three of them headed back down to the lobby. Red and Will had already left for their respective jobs. Linc waited in the SUV, which was parked in front, and the three climbed inside.
They were quiet on the drive back to the office, silently preparing themselves for the scene they would be facing when they got there.
“What’s the time frame for the shopping trip on Thursday?” Alex asked.
“The mall opens at ten,” Jake said. “We’ll pick up A’lia and her escorts a little before then. That evening, we’ll take the sheik and his party to the IMAX. I’ve got a private showing arranged.”
Alex nodded. The Escalade reached Louisiana Street and pulled into the executive lot. Unfortunately, the group in back of the building had swelled to the size of the group out front.
“Fuck,” Jake whispered, too low for Sage to hear, and thought that pretty well summed things up.
* * *
Sage hurried along behind Jake as he forged a path through the media toward the back door. Alex followed close behind her, fending off the hordes that tried to get too close.
“Ms. Dumont!” a reporter shouted, shoving a microphone in her face. “What do you have to say about what’s going on here?”
“No comment,” she muttered, as Jake shouldered the man aside.
“The students are here to show their support for democracy in the Middle East,” shouted a female reporter wearing a KTRK TV badge. “Are you sympathetic to their cause?”
“No comment.” Sage kept moving, Jake clearing the way, Alex backing him up.
“Ms. Dumont!” The first reporter caught up with her again and shoved the mic back into her face. “Some of these people are protesting the business you’re doing with a country they feel is oppressive. How do you feel about Marine Drilling spending American money in the Middle East?”
Jake grabbed the device out of the newsman’s hands, nearly knocking him off his feet. “The lady told you she has no comment.” Then he shoved the mic at him, so hard the man jerked backward. Tentatively, the reporter reached out and took hold of it, and they continued toward the door.
Jake stepped inside and hauled Sage in after him. Alex followed, and the security guard closed the door.
“You okay?” Jake asked her.
She nodded, but she was trembling, her mouth dry as cotton. “I hate this.”
“Maybe you should call off the deal and let the Saudis go back home.”
She shook her head, wishing she could do just that. It wasn’t going to happen. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I invited the sheik and his family to Texas. I’m not going to abandon them.”
Approval shone in his face. “I didn’t really figure you would.” Catching hold of her arm, he urged her toward the bank of elevators in the lobby. Through the thick, mirrored-glass walls of the building, she could hear the demonstrators outside, arguing and shouting back and forth.
“Unless you need me,” Alex said, “I’ll see you Thursday.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Jake said, and Alex headed out to his car.
Sage stepped into the elevator and Jake followed. “It’s getting worse instead of better,” she said.
Jake pushed the button to the twelfth floor. “It still may cool down.”
“Or they may start killing each other.”
His mouth quirked. “There’s always that chance.”
Sage stood beside him in the elevator. Even in her high heels, he towered above her. She felt feminine and safe in a way she never had before.
She thought of the sheik’s daughter, A’lia, beautiful and sheltered. Living in a gilded prison. As lovely as she was, there was a sadness in her dark, exotic eyes, something that seemed to reach out to Sage in some way. In the cousin, Zahra, Sage had sensed no underlying disquiet. It made her wonder if she could be wrong, and A’lia was happy.
Whatever the truth, it was none of her business. She was determined to make a multimillion-dollar deal, save a boatload of money for Marine Drilling and prove to her grandfather she was capable of running the company when Michael Curtis retired next year.
She entered her office, accidentally brushing against Jake’s thick chest as he held open the door, and his eyes locked with hers. A jolt of electricity shot through her, making her legs feel weak. It was ridiculous. He probably had the same effect on every woman in the building.
Except she had never seen him look at another woman the way he was looking at her.
Another little curl of heat slipped through her. There was no question Jake wanted her. Every time he glanced at her, it was boldly there in his eyes. And yet she couldn’t accuse him of overstepping the boundary between them.
What she couldn’t understand was this burning desire she felt for him. It had never happened before, not even in her more carefree days in college. She’d had boyfriends. She had even slept with a couple of them. But there was none of the gnawing hunger she felt when she looked at Jake.
It wasn’t like her. She was serious and dedicated. She didn’t lust for a man.
Sage amended that. She had never lusted for a man before. It appalled her to realize how much she desired Jake.
“If you keep looking at me that way, I might break my rule.”
Her face went warm. She knew exactly what he meant. He wanted her, but he wouldn’t touch her unless she was free.
She turned away from him, forced her feet to carry her over to her desk.
“It went well today, I thought,” she said, forcing her mind toward business.
“You did great,” he said, and there was none of the heat she had heard in his voice before. “The sheik is well-educated. Speaks English like a native. The son, as well. Makes everything easier.”
“Khalid and Roshan were both schooled at Oxford.”
He nodded. “I’ll be coaching Red a little more this afternoon. I noticed he has a habit of crossing his ankle over his knee when he sits too long. I’ve warned him it’s a major insult to show a Saudi the bottom of his shoe.”
“Red may not have a university degree, but he’s smart. He’ll remember what you tell him.”
“He seems like a good man to have on your team.”
“He’s a very good man. I considered asking one of the VPs, either Charles Denton or Jonathan Hunter, but they’re both very busy with their own jobs, and extremely competitive. I wasn’t sure how much I could trust them. Red worked for Ian for years before he started working for me. He’s loyal to a fault.”
“That was my take on the guy.”
“So what about Thursday? Looks like the sheik is going to let his daughter go shopping with us. Probably her cousin Zahra will come with her.”
“She’s got to have a male relative along,” Jake said again. “I have a hunch we’ll have a small army going with us to the mall. I called yesterday and made arrangements with Saks and Neiman Marcus. They’re going to provide a private salon.”
Sage grinned up at him. “That’s a good start—considering you’re a man—but not nearly enough. I’ll