Page 136 of Bred By the Sheikh

“Then I’d keep full service running through midnight and scale it down afterward based on actual demand instead of the original schedule. Don’t move any of the entertainment in there, either.”

“We weren’t planning to.”

“Perfect. If people found the quiet room because they want quiet, let it stay quiet.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks, Elias. Enjoy the rest of the evening.”

“You too. Happy New Year.”

I ended the call.

Tariq was waiting beside me.

He held out his hand.

“Are you ready to go downstairs?”

I put mine in it.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

The hotel barely resembled the place where I’d given my first presentation months earlier.

The Al-Hadid Grand wasn’t doing restrained tonight.

Light swept across the enormous lobby in shifting patterns. Music carried from the main celebration spaces, while people drifted between restaurants, lounges, terraces, and the ballroom instead of collecting in one formal room. Staff passed with champagne, sparkling water, and trays of food. Somewhere above us, another premature firework burst beyond the glass.

Nobody was sitting politely waiting for a speech.

For that alone, I was grateful.

I’d already survived one major gala in this hotel.

I didn’t need a sequel.

Tariq and I made it halfway across the lobby before someone stopped him.

Then someone called my name.

“Chrissy.”

A woman from the brand team approached with two colleagues I recognized from a London project.

“We tried the revised family-arrival sequence this month,” she said. “The guest response is already stronger.”

“You moved quickly.”

“We had the assets ready.”

One of the London team members said, “You’re going to have opinions about what we did with the check-in language.”

“I’m sure I will. Send it to me next week.”

“Not tonight?”

“Absolutely not tonight. I’m officially refusing to open another deck before January.”