“I hope you’ll sleep comfortably, Sheikh Khaled.”
“I hope so too, Ms. McInnes.” He winked.
She took a step back, and smiled uncertainly. “Well, good night.”
“Good night.” He nodded in a mockery of a formal bow. Lounging against the doorpost, he was the very image of temptation. She needed to leave. Fast. Before she did anything foolish.
…
For three days she managed to avoid spending time alone with him. Khaled and his bodyguards spent their days on the safety course, and Olivia was safely tucked away in her office at MCI Oil. Her father invited other members of the MCI board to meet the sheikh each evening, and it was easy enough to ensure that she disappeared to her room while the men were lingered over their whisky and cigars late into the night.
Today, however, Khaled had insisted she accompany him on his tour of the rig. So now they were seated beside each other in the confined space of the helicopter, his thigh pressing firmly against hers. Behind them his two bodyguards were no more than two feet away, and the same distance in front of them sat the pilot. Such a cramped space, full of other people, ought not to feel intimate, yet it did. Every time the sheikh shifted, she felt it. Whenever he craned forward to see out of the window, his arm brushed against her breast. She was near enough to detect the scent of his aftershave, subtly spicy, and utterly intoxicating.
Olivia rearranged the folders on her lap and took out a memo to study. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed a mocking grin on his face. He knew exactly how he affected her. She ignored him, because no matter how sexy she found Sheikh Khaled Saqat, she was here to do business with him. That was all.
Ten minutes later, the helicopter landed and Olivia practically jumped out, grateful for the salty sea air that held no hint of exotic spices or masculine sensuality. Khaled followed at a more leisurely pace.
The installation manager was waiting for them on deck. He greeted Olivia as always with a brief nod and a comment on the weather.
“Sharp day, Ms. McInnes.”
“It is that, Robbie. This is Sheikh Khaled ibn Saqat al Mayim. He would like to see everything. Sheikh Khaled, this is Robbie Grant. He’s in charge of the rig. Robbie, can we get inside? The sheikh isn’t accustomed to our cold winds.”
“I’ve been to colder places than this,” Khaled said as they climbed downstairs into the cabin.
“It’s not a competition. If you’re cold, you say so.”
Robbie was grinning at her. “That’s right, lassie, you tell him what’s what out here.”
“I’m sorry,” she said to Khaled. “I didn’t mean to sound bossy.”
“You didn’t. You sounded like a mother telling off her child.”
“That bad?”
He shook his head. “I thought it was sweet of you to care.”
How did he always make her feel there was an undercurrent to their conversations that she wasn’t in control of? She couldn’t cope with a whole day of it.
“Yes, well, Robbie will show you whatever you want to see, Sheikh Khaled.”
He shook his head slowly at her. “You worked on this rig, didn’t you?”
“For a few months, yes.”
“Then you can show me, if that’s all right with Mr. Grant.”
Robbie held out his hands. “Of course. The lassie knows the rig as well as any of the men.”
“Well, then.” There was challenge in his eyes.
“Fine.” What the client wanted, the client got. “Is there anything you’d like to ask Robbie first?”
The sheikh directed one of his most charming smiles at the manager. “Do you enjoy working here?”
Robbie made a very Scottish noise of disgust, an earthy sound rolling from the back of his throat.
Olivia laughed, despite her annoyance. “You can tell him how much you hate it, Robbie. I won’t listen.”
“No one enjoys working on the rigs, sir.”
“So why do you do it?”
A slow humor grew in Robbie’s expression. “It has what you might call fringe benefits.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Six weeks away from the wife.”
“You’re married?” Khaled looked surprised.
“Aye, I am that.”
“Doesn’t your wife mind you working on the rig?”
He shrugged. “There are benefits for her, too.”
“He means the money,” Olivia said. “Rig work pays well.”
“She has time to spend it while I come here to earn it.”
“Ah, I see. Tell me about the work itself, though. Why don’t you enjoy it?”
Olivia stuck her hands on her hips, and grinned at Robbie.
“Oh, you’re a coorse wee lassie.” But he turned to Khaled and shrugged. “I get seasick.”
He laughed. “Seasick? On a rig?”
“Aye.” Robbie was red and embarrassed. “I thought you were here to show the sheikh the rig, not drag out all my secrets,” he said to Olivia.
“I know worse secrets than that.”
“And I don’t need to know any of them,” Khaled said. “Perhaps we should begin the tour?”