Free Sheikh's Hired Mistress by Sophia Lynn, Ella Brooke Page B

always trying to gouge you. They don’t usually get quite so…explosive. I think in the end, you’ll like the effect of those lamps. They’re a little different in style than the ones I usually see, and once we have them mounted, it’ll have a good effect.”
    “I should take you to the capital with me,” Aziz said in a teasing tone. “You have a more cut-throat attitude toward business than many of my CEOs.”
    “I’m not entirely sure what a CEO does, or how it’s different from a CFO, COO, COW…”
    Aziz chuckled.
    “Fly me in to argue with people,” Laine said. “I can get a deal, but I’m not that interested in running a business and all the tedious nonsense that goes with that end of it.”
    He looked terribly pleased with her. “My tiger likes to fight !”
    Laine nodded. It was true, though sometimes she found herself getting into arguments before she’d considered the consequences of her temper. She reached for Aziz’s hand, intending to thank him for stepping in for her. When he pulled away from her and put a few steps distance in between them, she looked up at him startled.
    “Did I do something wrong?”
    “We are in public,” Aziz admonished. He sped up and walked in front of her now.
    Laine hesitated for a moment, wondering what the difference was between holding hands here and the things they had done together in New York.

Chapter Nine
    Laine walked through the long hallways of the palace. Her shoulders felt lighter this morning. The new materials were coming in, she’d contracted out work for the creation of the grand hall’s lamps, and she felt confident that while all of the work wouldn’t be done by the time she left, renovations would be well underway. She was still deciding on some critical details, but the work crew she’d hired had begun on several of the rooms that, while not currently being used, Aziz would want available soon for business.
    With a large mug of a sweet, spiced coffee that Hadiya had turned her onto, Laine made her way to Aziz’s office. Then she paused at the sound of shouting. Both voices were male, and both sounded very angry.
    “You bring dishonor to our entire family when you act this way!” barked an unfamiliar voice.
    “You have nothing to say about how I act!” Aziz said.
    “She makes you act a fool!” the unknown man continued. “Dancing! Swimming in fountains! Getting into fights! Your behavior reflects on all of us , you know!”
    “It was hardly a fight,” Aziz scoffed. “A small disagreement.”
    “Everyone sees your actions. Everyone sees you with this…” He made a disgusted noise. “American woman.”
    “You only admit to my being head of this family when it pleases you!” Aziz challenged. “Who has consulted with the parliament? Who has used our investments to keep our family fortune from dwindling? You live off of my scraps, brother!”
    Laine’s eyes bulged. His brother Amin!
    “Arrogant, blasphemous—” Amin snarled.
    “Father gave the reins to me for a reason,” Aziz shot back. “Go back to Manama with your family!”
    “Your good works do not excuse the dallying you do—playing the clown for these low, foreign women!”
    Laine could hear something shatter forcefully against the wall. She touched her lips and wondered if she should go back to Hadiya. This was a family conversation, after all—
    “You will not speak ill of her!” Aziz roared.
    Laine jumped, almost spilling her coffee. She’d never heard him sound like that. Yes, he’d confronted those who denied his wishes before, but he’d never truly sounded more than idly indignant.
    “And what of this one?” Amin continued. “Why should I consider her of any value? A Western woman of no importance, no status—”
    “I warn you, Amin!”
    “And no faith. What are you doing with her? More fun, another plaything.”
    Laine swallowed at a lump in her throat.
    “You cannot even marry her,” Amin said cruelly. “You can only pollute her