Page 38 of Her Loving Hero

“But what’s in it for me?” the American asked loudly. “I need some guarantees that my company will make money.”

Wyatt looked over his shoulder at Carly. She was clearly in over her head. Emily would be able to smooth things out in an instant. These clients expected her to not just act as an interpreter, but to advise the dumbass, and it was beyond an eighteen-year-old girl’s capabilities.

“Mr. Weatherly,” Carly started.

Wyatt turned and smiled at the group. “Did I hear your name is Weatherly? Are you with the American excavation company?” Wyatt cut in.

“Who are you? This is a private conversation,” Weatherly said rudely. The three men that Carly was interpreting for looked at Wyatt curiously.

“My name is Scott Lyle, I work for Forrester Consulting. The owner of my company was hoping you might be here, Mr. Weatherly. He’s heard a lot of good things about your company,” Wyatt lied.

Wyatt prayed that this Forrester company was as big a name as Kane had said it was.

“Forrester?” One of the men beside Carly asked. “We’ve heard of Forrester. We did not know that anybody from your organization would be here,” he said in perfect English. Weatherly did a double take.

“My boss, Duke Forrester is downstairs. If you want, we can all go downstairs and meet with him.”

“No need, I’ll send one of my men to bring him upstairs. Downstairs there is live music,” the same man said with distaste. “It is difficult to talk.” He looked over at George and Helene. “Let us go over to the seating area at the bow of the boat. Over there, we’ll be able to talk privately.”

“Who’s this?” Wyatt nodded toward Carly.

“Miss Hoag is the daughter of the Oman American Ambassador. She has kindly agreed to act as our translator for the evening.”

“Is she really necessary?” Wyatt asked.

Carly’s eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked at him. She even had Emily’s pissed off expression.

“In case there are nuances in the conversation that get away from us, I find it is best to always have an interpreter on hand. By the way, my name is Faheem Shanfari, and this is my brother Amer. I would also like to introduce you to our esteemed business partner from Yemen, Faisal Harthy.”

Wyatt followed him as they moved to the front of the mega-yacht. He saw how the people who had been sitting in the chairs and couches were quickly ushered out, and the coffee tables were swept clean. By the time they got there it was as if it had been always waiting just for them.

“And what is it you do here?” Wyatt asked Faheem as they all sat down.

“Our conglomerate is looking to overcome the tensions in Yemen and ensure that the oil production continues. PFG is the only company that has continued to show rising profits through Yemen’s problems. It is due to strong leadership, and we hope to align ourselves with some Western companies.”

“I’m the top of their list to do business with,” Weatherly boasted.

“You were,” Kane said as he appeared beside Wyatt. The two Omani gentleman and one Yemeni stood back up and smiled. Introductions were once again made and Kane handed his business card out to everyone while Weatherly looked ready to pop.

“What do you mean, ‘were’?” Weatherly demanded. “I’m the best bet for these bastards. Who the hell are you coming in on a private conversation waving you dick around?”

Wyatt saw Carly’s eyes go wide as saucers.

“There’s no need for that type of language,” Amer said with distaste.

“I want to know what the hell he’s talking about,” Weatherly sputtered. “You just walked up and broke into our conversation. You don’t know what we’re talking about.”

“You said that you’re at the top of the list for PFG to do business with. Forrester represents many American companies that would like to do business with PFG, so expect some competition,” Kane said easily.

Shit, Kane was good at this, and he sure as hell knew how to turn this asshole’s crank.

“Of course, I’ve heard of Forrester, but I haven’t heard of you Duke,” Faheem said as he examined the card that Kane had given him.

“I have so many cousins, it’s tough to keep track. Last I remember, Gramps made me Vice President I think.”

Everybody but Weatherly laughed at Kane’s joke.

Wyatt interjected, “I told Bob Weatherly here, that we were interested in doing some business with him.”