The Prince's Passion

Chapter Five

Chapter 5

“That’s the tenth time his office has called, angel, and it’s not even lunchtime! By all means don’t talk to him but can we at least get a temp in to deal with the relentless phone calls?” Richard asked as his eyebrows rose in exasperation.  “And the flowers are giving the whole department hay fever – we’re begging you, call him off!” he slumped over her desk dramatically.

“Is there a problem, Richard?  I believe my instructions were quite explicit” Amber did not raise her head from the press release she was editing. “I do not wish to speak to him. I do not wish to see him. I do not want anything from him.  I told you to throw the flowers away or send them to the local hospital or take them home – I don’t care.” she finally raised her blue eyes to bestow a freezing look at her assistant.

“If you can’t bring yourself to even utter his name, babe, you must have it bad” Richard’s mocking glance softened as he took in Amber’s drawn face. “The ice queen act doesn’t fool me, I know you’re hurting Amber.  Wouldn’t it help to talk about it? As one Queen to another?” he asked with a grin as he watched the beautiful woman in front of him fight back the tears that were welling in her blue eyes.

 Attempting a watery smile, Amber shook her head, not trusting herself to speak, it was still too raw, too humiliating. She had spent the last week avoiding everyone – her friends, family even her co-workers – a normally happy, well adjusted person, she herself could not believe the change his deception had wrought in her.  On Sunday the calls had started so Amber had turned off her mobile letting all calls go to voice mail. On Monday the flower deliveries had begun to arrive at her office accompanied by a card with a single word scrawled on it, Tarek.  Even his handwriting screamed thousands of years of arrogance distilled into the slashing black ink. Amber had expected sheaves of red roses or some other Sheikh of Arabia cliché but he was cleverer than that. The small posies of fragrant sweet peas in violently expensive miniature silver vases, cream pottery jugs full of blowsy pink peonies and majestic white hydrangeas in hand blown glass bowls had charmed her subconscious while her head rejected them as a sop to his conscience.

“Tell you what,” said Richard reluctant to leave her until he had at least seen her crack a proper smile. “Why don’t you come out with me and Luigi tonight?” Richard’s boyfriend was a very good looking dancer in a west end show. “Some pasta, some wine and then on to this fabulous club off St James – v exclusive, you’d love it…You know what they say? Best way to get over a man is to get under another!” he cajoled with a wicked look in his eye.

Amber’s shocked laughter broke through her misery; she hadn’t even got under Tarek so how was she supposed to get over him?  “You’re outrageous! But no…I’d just spoil your evening Richard.” Pulling herself together, all business, she asked him “Now what’s on for the rest of Friday?”

Accepting the shift in mood, Richard consulted the open diary in his hand. “Now what do we have here?  Oh yes, a meeting with the Head of Trading about the press release regarding his replacement at two, although how he thinks we’re going to spin a sexual harassment suit and a stay in the funny farm, I don’t know? Ah yes and a last minute meeting, an associate of the Chairman’s who is looking to bring his existing PR/Media Relations team in-house at five.”

Amber nodded as if to dismiss him and then said softly “Thank you…I don’t know what I would have done without you this week” her smile wistful in her lovely face.

“Don’t mention it sweetheart and think about my invite for tonight, hmm?” Richard walked out thinking, Prince or no Prince, Tarek Al Rashid needed to be taught a lesson for hurting his friend.

At precisely two minutes to five, Amber assembled the papers needed for her presentation to the head of ARI – an international conglomerate with its fingers in many pies including oil, gas and mineral extraction. Falling oil prices in the eighties had led to them diversifying into the service industry by buying up the Lagaridi Group - a chain of luxury boutique hotels in far flung exotic locations around the world.  Their first eco-hotel in the Middle East was going to be a massive success and as a result they had several new sites in the pipeline.  Up till now their PR had been handled by a top firm out of New York but there were rumblings that their Board was keen to bring all operations in house.  Sir Jonathan Oldfield, Amber’s boss and Chairman of Oldfield & Co, private bankers to the aristocracy and new social rich was a good friend of their CEO and had asked Amber to advise them to ensure a smooth transition from their former firm to the new department.