Page 83 of Hired Husband

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how to make something like that work.”

He frowned as we side-stepped a stall right in the middle of the aisle, mercifully catching sight of Jasmine and Zara up ahead. “What do you mean?”

“Aside from you, Basel is my only connection in this entire country. He’s the only person who even knows my name on a professional level. Everything else I’ve built is back in Chicago, including my reputation, and I haven’t done anything here that’s allowed me to extend my network, so I’m shit out of luck unless Basel gives me a project and his board doesn’t seem likely to let him do that.”

“For now,” Joseph agreed mildly. “We could still do it, though, start our own firm. I know some people who might give us a chance.”

“Might,” I repeated. “Starting over in another country sounds great until you actually have to start over. I don’t want you feeling responsible for me.”

“Okay, but Basel might still come through,” he said after thinking it over for a moment. “I know he’s your only contact here, but as far as contacts go, he’s a damn good one.”

“Yeah.” I raked my fingers through my hair, keeping a close eye on the girls to make sure we were still moving in the right direction. “Look, he brought me here for something and it didn’t work out. I can live with that. No harm, no foul, you know? I can’t live with you throwing your lot in with mine and failing.”

Joseph sighed. “You’re assuming we’d fail.”

“No, I’m just hedging my bets. But listen, I know you’ve got a good thing going with GlobalStar, but you could always come work with me.”

“In Chicago?” His eyes widened. “I’ve never even been there. Talk about having no connections.”

“Over there, I am the connection,” I said. “We could work together at Thayer, designing warehouses and manufacturing facilities.”

“Wow.” He winced. “You really know how to sell the dream.”

I chuckled. “I’ve got to work with what I have, and that’s what I have right now. Or if we were to start our own firm, I have plenty of contacts over there.”

He paused for a beat, slowing his footsteps as he looked over at me. “Are you seriously offering me a job?”

I shrugged. “Why not? It wouldn’t be a bad life and we can always keep our eyes open for the kind of projects we actually want to do.”

It was exactly the kind of future I’d been staring down when Basel had walked into my office that day, safe and predictable. Generally speaking, not my cup my tea, but it was what it was. At least both Joseph and I would be earning a paycheck.

He was quiet for a few steps before he spoke again, his voice softer now. “Does Jasmine know you’re in love with her?”

“Wow, man, that was a hard pivot.” A bark of dry laughter escaped me. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about her. I can’t give her the kind of life she deserves or the lifestyle she’s used to.”

“How can you say that?”

I inclined my chin ahead, to where she’d stopped outside a little restaurant, already deep in conversation with the owner. She laughed at something he said before gesturing toward the river, completely at ease in a world where everyone knew her name—and where she could pay her own way.

“She’s Jasmine Saad, Joseph,” I said finally. “I know how this game works and so do you. Eventually, she’ll make a match with someone who’s good for Basel’s family, and I’m at the bottom of the totem pole.”

“Basel loves you.”

“Sure, but I’m a foreign engineer whose biggest career achievement so far has been getting my P.E. and landing on the cover of ENR. That’s not enough. There’s nothing I can offer him that would even get me a seat at the table when he’s negotiating for Jasmine’s hand.”

“What about Thayer?”

“He’s already merging a part of his business with a part of ours. All he needed was a partnership that would ease White Water Lily’s transition into the American market, so he married Deja off to Colin. It’s done.”

Joseph glanced at me but didn’t say anything else as we reached the girls. The way his jaw had tightened let me know that he didn’t necessarily agree with what I’d said, however.

Zara grabbed his arm as soon as we joined them, pulling him down next to her at the table and informing him that she was taking him shopping when we were finished eating. It didn’t sound optional and Joseph seemed to realize that too.

Lunch was fantastic, and afterward, Joseph dutifully rose when Zara grabbed her bag. By some unspoken agreement, they disappeared and we stayed behind instead of following, exchanging amused glances before I leaned back in my chair. “I suppose it’s just us, then.”

She smiled. “I can’t say I mind that.”

“Neither do I.” I looked around the restaurant she’d chosen, ceiling fans turning lazily overhead while the scent of grilled meat and spices wafted through the air.