Page 5 of Bred By the Sheikh

Tariq didn’t look away.

“What do you think?”

Every muscle in my back tightened.

Amanda would have answered instantly.

Amanda also had fifteen years more experience than I did and hadn’t spent the last hour trying not to wonder what Tariq Al-Hadid’s beard would feel like against the inside of her thighs.

I looked at the screen, then at him.

“The campaign is beautiful.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“No. It’s the part before the answer.”

His eyes narrowed with interest.

Annoyance would’ve been easier.

I took a breath.

“It proves the property is expensive.”

Silence settled across the table.

I continued before good judgment could tackle me to the floor.

“It shows the suite. The view. The food. The lobby. The car waiting outside. Everything is gorgeous, but the guest is almost missing from it.”

The marketing lead looked toward Tariq.

He kept looking at me.

“What do you mean?”

I turned the notebook around even though he was too far away to read it.

“People don’t travel as blank silhouettes who need marble. They arrive tired. Excited. Nervous. They’ve got children melting down because it’s three in the morning in their home time zone. Someone’s worried about whether her wheelchair can move easily through a restaurant. Someone else is taking his first international trip and has no idea what he’s supposed to do after the driver takes his bag.”

Nobody interrupted.

So I kept going.

“If you want North American guests to understand why Al-Hadid is different from every other luxury hotel they can book, I’d show them what all this luxury actually does for them.”

Tariq’s fingers rested against the table.

“What does it do?”

“It removes friction.”

His attention sharpened.

I leaned forward.

“The guest shouldn’t have to know which door opens automatically, who takes the luggage, whether dinner can be arranged after midnight, how to get a car, who to call if their child gets sick, or whether someone has remembered they requested a room close to the elevator. They should feel like the hotel noticed before they had to ask.”