Page 94 of Bred By the Sheikh

The discussion lasted another forty minutes.

People challenged details.

Amanda answered some.

I answered others.

Tariq questioned the portfolio application, and I explained how the same idea could translate without making London, Cairo, Monaco, New York, and Dubai look interchangeable.

The strategy survived every question.

By the time the meeting ended, the revised direction had been approved for final development.

I sat down and realized my palms were damp.

Amanda closed her notebook.

“Well done.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding.

“That sounded almost enthusiastic.”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Across the table, Tariq was speaking with two executives.

He didn’t come to congratulate me.

He didn’t turn my successful presentation into a private moment in front of everyone.

I loved him a little for that.

The thought arrived so cleanly that I almost dropped my pen.

I dropped my eyes to the tabletop.

I was absolutely not dealing with that in a meeting room.

Amanda touched my arm.

“Come with me.”

I followed her into the corridor.

She waited until the door shut behind us.

“You were excellent in there.”

I blinked.

Amanda was apparently determined to ruin my entire understanding of her praise economy.

“Thank you.”

“I knew you could handle the research. I knew you knew the account. I didn’t know you could take this much ambiguity, shape the strategy, and defend it at this level.”