And so the Irish inquisition begins.
‘That was a misunderstanding, my fault. I’m a lawyer, but I mainly oversee some of the interests of the corporation, a family concern.’
‘Sounds a bit cloak and dagger. What is it you actually do, day-to-day, like? You’re not one of these guys who sit in Starbucks all day, reading a newspaper and pretending to talk to their broker when really they’re on the phone to their ma?’
‘Niamh,’ I warn, but Kai smiles, not rising to the bait.
‘It’s a valid question. I’m actually Vice President of KMS Group. More specifically I’m responsible for the construction and manufacturing sides of the business. And as for sitting in coffee shops, no need. I have my own machine.’ He smiles widely. I also happen to know he has someone to work that machine for him, but I don’t mention it to Niamh.
‘So, what have you to do with the school Kate works at?’ she continues, fixing him with a gimlet stare.
‘Truthfully? Very little. The school is my mother’s concern. It’s largely a philanthropic exercise as far as the group is concerned.’
‘But it’s a private school.’
‘It is fee paying, yes, but a high percentage of the pupils have assisted funding. There are also a number of scholarships offered that go through to university level, for both universities in the UAE and overseas.’
‘Really?’ she asks sceptically.
‘Yes, my mother is quite passionate about education, particularly the education of girls, and as a former teacher herself, she works with the administration very closely. It’s her baby, so to speak. I just lend a hand when needed.’
Our drinks arrive and the waiter hands us each a menu.
‘So, you’re a whiskey drinker?’ Kai asks, suppressing a smile.
‘What whiskey will not cure, there’s no cure for,’ she says with more than a touch of theatre, dipping her head to study the liquid inside her glass. I’ve heard her repeat this Irish proverb before, usually when drowning her sorrows with the stuff. When she’s in a maudlin frame of mind, I refuse to try and keep up ‘cos although she has the constitution of an ox, whiskey is Niamh’s kryptonite.
‘Sláinte.’ She raises her gaze from the depths of her glass and holds it aloft in toast.
‘Health to men,’ Kai replies, raising his own glass.
Sounds a bit sexist to me, especially as he smiles widely, using his full on toe-curling smile. Meanwhile, Niamh sits silent, like she’s been stunned.
Hello, anxiety; what the eff has he said?
‘And may women live forever.’ Niamh’s words are murmured slowly, almost as though she hasn’t quite grasped what’s going on. ‘Where’d you learn that?’ she asks.
‘Dublin. I studied for a while at Trinity. I was going to try the Gaelic version, but my pronunciation is a bit off.’
‘Would ya’ get out of the garden!’ she exclaims. ‘My God, what asmall world!I’mfrom Dublin. Where’d you stay?’
Kai has lived and studied in Dublin? I’m momentarily put out that I don’t know this, but why would I? I’m sure there’s heaps about him I’ve yet to learn. That aside, he’s hit jackpot and I’m pretty certain he knows it. He’s cracked the thorny shell that is Niamh, therein laying a seam rich with shared experiences to be mined, familiar places and characters to compare. I almost breathe a sigh of relief. So long as he doesn’t tell her Gaelic football is for pussies, I think we’re all going to get along just fine.
Sitting back, I take a long sip of my martini, then scoop out the olive bobbing like a suicidal fly.
Kai and Niamh go on to discuss various areas of Dublin, the Temple Bar pubs they’ve fallen out of, and the high jinx of student life. More drinks arrive and I’m quite happy to sit and watch, interjecting occasionally, as the two relax into sharing stories and their mutual loathing ofthe black stuffwhich is Guinness, I think.
We’re chatting over a third round of drinks as Rashid approaches the table. I still haven’t gotten used to the sudden appearances of this dark, taciturn man or fathomed the exact nature of his job.Sometime chauffeur, sometime waiter, sometime coffee facilitator?He comes to stand at Kai’s side.
‘Ah, yes. Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.’ Kai stands and holds his hand out to Niamh. ‘I really enjoyed my wander down memory lane. It’s been great to reminisce.’ Standing, she pulls him into her arms, beaming. It’s quite a sight; I don’t think he knows how honoured he is. Niamh’s affections aren’t easily won.
‘It was great to meet you properly, Kai. You go on. I’ll take good care of Kate. I might even get a dance or two out of her later.’
His response is a tight smile, though I know he doesn’t have issues with dancing himself. Someone as gifted in the bedroom as he is knowsallthe moves.
‘Kate?’ he questions, pulling me out of my dirty thoughts. ‘Walk me out?’
We walk to the exit hand in hand, following a silent Rashid. With the door in view, Kai slips his fingers around my wrist and beckons me into an adjoining dark corridor, pulling me against him. He kisses the juncture of my neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply.
