Chapter 1
Mandy blinked at the man behind the counter. “I’m sorry?” she whispered, praying that she wasn’t drooling. Not that she’d be able to tell if saliva was dripping over her lower lip. After enduring a root canal earlier that afternoon and the associated numbness, she couldn’t feel anything, much less determine if she was drooling.
“Your driver’s license,” the cashier repeated without sympathy. “It’s expired.”
Mandy took the license and stared at the tiny numbers and letters. Sure enough, her driver’s license had expired three months ago. “Impossible!” she whispered.
“I can’t sell you this wine without a valid driver’s license,” he said, still maintaining that bland, bored, “I can’t believe I have to deal with this” expression on his acne-prone features.
“Right,” Mandy muttered, stuffing the useless driver’s license back into her purse. She didn’t bother to put it into her wallet since it was no longer valid. Unfortunately, that meant that her fingers had to shove aside her most recent car inspection notice. Her car had failed the state’s safety inspection. She needed new tires and a new headlight. How could only one headlight die on a car? The nearly bald tires…yeah, she understood that. The car was almost eight years old and had over one hundred thousand miles on it. The tires…had she ever replaced them? Obviously not. But the one broken headlight…that was a mystery.
“What happened to your face?” the zit-faced cashier asked as he swiped the extra-large bag of potato chips over the store scanner.
“My face?” she gasped as her hand flew to her cheek. The numbing of her tooth for the dental surgery had momentarily numbed the aching wound that had reddened her cheek.
He scanned a tub of sour cream and onion dip, dumping it into the fabric bag. “Yeah, the scrape looks fresh.”
Damn her clumsiness! With everything else that had gone wrong today, Mandy had forgotten about the scrape across her cheek. “I…uh…fell into a fence,” she admitted. That was the truth, but Mandy didn’t add that, in addition to the fifteen hundred dollars for a root canal, possibly another one thousand dollars for new tires, she also had the joyous – insert sarcasm here – opportunity of hiring someone to replace the fence in her backyard since she’d literally fallen on it yesterday while trying to rip out some stubborn weeds. Thankfully, she’d landed butt-first so her derriere had received the bulk of the damage. No pun intended.
He callously dumped the cheddar “cheese” dip into the fabric bag, then added the container of jalapeno cheddar cheese dip and the French onion dip on top of the chips. Since the potato chip bag was filled with air to protect the chips, Mandy wasn’t overly concerned. Still, he could have shown a bit more reverence for potato chips. They were food of the gods, right? Or was he unaware of the new-found status of potato chips?
Idiot!
When he dropped the carton of cherry vanilla ice cream and bag of Hershey kisses into the bag, Mandy pulled out her credit card. While sliding it into the credit card machine, Mandy held her breath, praying that her card wouldn’t be declined. It wasn’t that she thought it would be rejected. She had plenty of credit left on her card and she paid the total balance every month. However, it felt as if fate was conspiring against her.
Thankfully, the machine accepted her card and the blessed words, “Approved” flashed onto the small screen. Mandy released her breath and pulled her card out, stuffing it back into her wallet.
“Have a nice day!” the cashier replied as he handed over her fabric grocery bag full of decadence and “recovery”.
“Thanks,” she automatically replied, then took the bag, hugging it to her chest as she walked out of the grocery store. “What’s the next horrible thing that’s going to hit me?” she muttered, heading to her car.
Ten minutes later, Mandy pulled into the driveaway of her tiny house and sighed with happiness. “Home!” she muttered, grabbing her purse and her groceries. She should probably eat something healthy before she dove into the bag of chips and dip, but at the moment, she didn’t have the mental strength for anything other than gobbling up the chips and dip while binge watching “Lawful Arrest,” the crime drama series that she’d already watched at least twenty times. She’d seen each episode so often, she could almost quote the dialogue right along with the characters.
Mandy had just shoved her key into the lock when she felt, rather than heard, someone pull into her driveway.
Turning, her jaw dropped as she watched the beautiful, sleek limousine come to a smooth, silent stop behind her tiny, non-descript sedan.
“Great!” she muttered. “This is the perfect ending to an absolutely miserable day!”
Mandy’s heart pounded against her ribcage as she watched Sheik Zahir bin Aristi, ruler of one of the wealthiest countries in the world, unfold his powerful, startlingly handsome body from the limousine. Sidrina was powerful and rich and the man walking towards her was…awesome! At well over six feet in height, not to mention a lithe body packed with muscles, Mandy couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away. She’d seen him a few times before now, and she’d had the same awestruck reaction to him every time.
And she hated him for it!
Mandy didn’t want to react this way to a man that was so entirely out of her league. The guy was engaged to a gloriously beautiful woman who had bragged about her upcoming…uh…wealth…all over the internet just a few days ago.
Not to mention Sheik Zahir bin Aristi was powerful, wealthy, and…above all…royal. Mandy had learned very early on in life that boys…or men like Sheik bin Aristi…didn’t fall for women like her. They went after the tall, beautiful, sophisticated women such as this man’s fiancée.
Mandy was an accountant who had just started her own business. Her accounting firm was making a profit, but she pushed all of those profits back into building up her company. So things were tight. Painfully tight.
This man probably never worried about the future. He had plenty of minions to worry for him!
Shifting the bag nervously in her hands, Mandy stared at the man walking towards her, thinking how nice it would be to have minions. At the moment, she wanted someone who could get her a bottle of wine! Was that asking too much?
Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen, she thought as she hugged her bag of groceries closer to her chest.
“Your Highness,” she greeted the man, refusing to curtsy. She wasn’t one of his subjects and she wouldn’t bow down to anyone! Least of all a man who could probably crush her little house with one of his closets.
Okay, that was really weird imagery, but…well, it was the point! Reality didn’t matter when she was trying to make a point, even if that point was merely in her own mind.
“Good evening, Ms. Sullivan. How are you today?” he asked, lifting her hand to his lips.
It would be bad to pull her hand away, she told herself firmly as she braced herself for the impact of his lips against her skin. Holding her breath, she watched as his mouth descended. That’s when she looked into his dark eyes, startled to discover that he was staring right back at her.
Tensing, she curled the fingers of her other hand into a fist, fighting not to react.
However, she was unprepared for the searing sensation that coursed through her when he touched her. It felt like he had electricity flowing through his veins. It couldnt be mere blood, for there were other men who had touched her, even kissed her hand, yet none of them had elicited such an intense and electrifying response.
“What are you doing here in Philadelphia?” she asked, trying to be polite. But it was hard when he continued to hold her cold, trembling fingers in his enormous paw of a hand.
Okay, his hand wasn’t oddly huge. In fact, his fingers were long and lean. She’d often imagined his fingers against her body, making her cry out with…?
Nothing! Mandy didn’t want to cry out or mumble around this man. She was immune to his charms!
Wasn’t she?
Yes! Mandy stiffened and yanked her fingers away, reminding herself that she could never give in to the charms of a powerful man. Mandy knew the personal wounds that powerful leaders unfeelingly inflicted on average people.
Hardening her heart, she wrapped her arms more firmly around her grocery bag, no longer concerned about crushing her secret stash of forbidden treats.
“I apologize for arriving on your doorstep without any notice. However, I have need of your services.”
Services? Was he…? Did he think she was…?!
Her eyes narrowed up and she stepped backwards. “I’m an accountant, Your Highness,” she snapped, instantly picturing him making love to her. And because that image was too…enticing, her voice came out a bit sharper than she’d anticipated. “Those are the only services that I offer.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Exactly.” There was a slight curling of his lips as he stared at her. “What services were you thinking I needed?”
Mandy’s lips pressed together but she didn’t answer him. “Would you like to come inside?”
“I would be honored,” he replied, his voice deep while his dark eyes laughed at her.
She ignored his amusement as well as the heat burning in her cheeks. Glancing around him, she spotted several men in dark suits and strange bulges under their coats. “Do they need to search my house first?” She looked up at him. “I highly doubt there are any assassins inside, but maybe they should check first.”
He chuckled without a backward glance at his bodyguards. “I think it’s safe enough.”
Still, she hesitated. Not because she thought there was anything dangerous in her house. But because she considered HIM to be dangerous. To her!
Knowing that she didn’t have an alternative since her new company depended on referrals to stay in business, Mandy nodded and fumbled with her tote bag, looking for her housekeys. “Fine. But if anyone jumps out of a closet and attacks, then I’m not going to be responsible for kicking their butts!”
While Zahir chuckled at her warning, Mandy turned to unlock her front door. Pushing the door open, Mandy headed straight to her kitchen. Without hesitation, she stuffed the bag of faux-groceries into the pantry, then pressed it closed, praying that he didn’t ask her what she’d bought at the store.
Those dark, penetrating eyes glanced at the now-closed door, then into her hazel eyes, one dark eyebrow lifting in inquiry. “You don’t need to put any of those groceries into the fridge?”
Mandy’s mind immediately thought about the precious cherry vanilla ice cream. But one look at those dark eyes and she quickly shook her head. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to dive into that bag of embarrassing wanna-be food to extract her ice cream. She’d just let it melt and…hey, even melted ice cream was delicious. After a root canal, a failed car inspection, and discovering that her driver’s license needed to be renewed – a task that would most likely take more than half a day standing in line at the department of motor vehicles – she wasn’t in the mood for yet another humiliation.
“What can I do for you, Your Highness?” she asked.
He leaned against the counter, his arms crossing over his chest. The movement only brought her attention to the straining material. His muscles bulged underneath the suit jacket and…why was the man wearing a suit on a Saturday? In her world, Saturdays were spent in leggings and sweatshirts. Hence, her less than flattering ensemble at the moment. Somehow, she resisted the urge to smooth her hand over her hair, even though the odds were that there were defiant locks sticking out in odd directions.
“I need your professional assistance,” he began.
Mandy’s head tilted in confusion. “You don’t have accountants on your staff?”
“Yes,” he replied quickly. “Of course, I have a whole department of accountants.” He sighed and she realized he wasn’t completely comfortable with the conversation. For some reason, that gave her a small pang. “The job I have in mind needs more of a forensic accounting service. And I’d like to keep this personal and separate from state business.”
Mandy’s wariness dissipated. This project sounded intriguing. Mandy straightened up and looked at him curiously. “Okay. I love digging into numbers and finding the secrets that people are trying to hide.” It was one of her favorite things to do, in fact. “Who do you need me to dig into? And what secrets do you think they might be hiding?”
“I don’t know who yet, and I have no idea what kinds of secrets they might be hiding.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “There are actually two situations I need help with, although one is more of a front for the other.” He stood up and looked out through the small window over Mandy’s kitchen sink. There was a long silence, then he turned around and blurted, “I have ended my engagement.”
That was startling news. Mandy ignored the spurt of joy that was her first reaction. But she quickly remembered that his breakup shouldn’t be cause for celebration. At least, not her celebration.
Pasting on a concerned expression, Mandy said, “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. Ms. Nasiri is a lovely and talented woman. I thought the two of you would…”
She stopped because she didn’t know the other woman. Hell, she didn’t even know this man. So how could she possibly have an opinion on their relationship? Trying to come up with a benign response, she said, “Well, the two of you made a beautiful couple.”
He turned back, his mouth twisted into a derisive twist. “Yes, well, that’s probably true. But with new information discovered about my previous fiancée, I suspect that whatever offspring we created would have been spoiled brats.” He sighed and fisted his hands on the countertop of her tiny kitchen. “I need to find a new wife and I need you to help me.”
She almost laughed at the absurdity of his request. “You need me to help you find a new fiancée?”
“Sort of,” he replied, then shook his head. “No. I mean, yes,” he huffed with exasperation. Dropping his chin to his chest, he paused briefly. When he looked up at her again, he seemed to be back in control. “Yes, I need your skills to sift through the financial backgrounds of various candidates,” he explained. “However, that will just be the story I tell the rest of the world.”
Mandy’s mind worked quickly, but she was still confused. “If that’s the story you’ll tell the rest of the world, what’s the real issue you need me to investigate?”
A muscle flexed on his jaw and Mandy stared at it with fascination while she waited. Over the past two years she’d been in business, Mandy knew that, sometimes, a client needed to work through their own mental machinations before they admitted the real problem.
“Someone inside my government is embezzling money. I don’t know who, and I think that someone on my security detail is in on the scheme.”
Mandy stared up at the man, intrigued. “What evidence do you have for this concern?”
Zahir shook his head. “I overheard someone in a hallway talking about moving a large amount of money to a personal account. The conversation sounded suspicious, but before I could get around the group of people in my way, the individuals were gone.” He paced, visibly frustrated. “I need to know who is stealing from my country.” He turned, his eyes burning into hers. “And I need you to find out who it is, but in secret. I’ll bring you to Sidrina under the guise of investigating potential candidates to be my wife.”
“Okay, well,” she started off, her mind working through the issues. “That seems like a very…intriguing investigation.” Mandy was careful. “I can definitely investigate for you. I can start searching for signs of embezzlement, and also look into any woman that you are considering for marriage. If you send me the names of those you are contemplating, I can dig into their financial histories.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, that’s all I can learn. I don’t have any expertise in other behaviors. So if the potential candidate was arrested, or didn’t graduate from the college or university she claimed to have, I don’t have the tools to find that out.”
He waved that aside. “My security team will do a deep dive into any candidate’s activities.” He sighed heavily and looked into her eyes. “Besides, it’s actually the embezzler that you’ll be searching for.” He waited a heartbeat before continuing. “I spoke to Clarissa about your expertise. She said that you are the best. If you start sifting through all of the financial backgrounds of the employees that work closely with me, I’m confident that you will find the culprit. There are a few security officers that I still trust. They’ll work closely with you as well, but your expertise is in forensic accounting. Plus, you would be able to look through all of the accounts under the guise of candidate research, correct?”
Mandy nodded slowly, thinking through the challenges of a dual investigation. “Yes, I am very good at uncovering the financial details that someone doesn’t want found.”
“And you will discover whether the female candidates I am evaluating are seeking a husband solely for financial security?”
Ah! A clue about this odd request! “Your fiancée was hoping for a financial bonus during your marriage?”
He nodded. “I’m a very generous man, Ms. Sullivan. The woman I marry will be well cared for. However, I do not want someone who will brag about her financial boon when she comes to my bed.”
Mandy couldn’t hide her cringe at those words. “You have mistresses who do that, eh?” she teased.
He didn’t laugh and Mandy’s smile quickly faded. “My apologies, that was unprofessional of me.”
“You’re correct,” he replied. “My mistresses were well compensated for their time.”
Mandy cringed. That sounded so…transactional. “Right. Well!” She rubbed her hands down the outside of her thighs. “Why don’t you get me the names of the women you are considering? Is there any way you can also get me a list of names of anyone that you suspect of embezzlement? I have ways of getting those lists as well, but it would be faster if you were able to sneak the names to me.” She looked at him carefully. “However…about your wedding. Are you sure that you don’t want to take some time to get over your broken engagement? Maybe…do some healing before you dive into another relationship?”
He sliced an impatient hand through the air. “I don’t have the time nor the need for healing,” he replied flatly. “Finding a new wife will give me the cover I need to find the traitor in my government.” He frowned at her for a long moment. “So do you agree to my terms?” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I will pay you handsomely for your expertise.” He named a number that made her gasp. “Do you agree?”
“Of course!” she replied quickly, barely taking the time to contemplate such a project. It sounded fascinating and…well, if her heart ached a little at the unflinching manner in which he was going about finding a new fiancée, she would just have to ignore those sensations. His love life wasn’t any of her business.
Correction. Doing financial background checks on the various women he might marry would make his future fiancée exactly her business. But not in…well…not in a personal way. This would be just another job. Another client.
Shifting slightly, reminding herself to be professional, Mandy began thinking through the possible issues of such a challenging project.
The first problem was the rate. She couldn’t accept such a large payment for a job that she could accomplish for a fraction of that amount. “Your Highness, you don’t have to pay me that much money. I have an hourly rate and I guarantee that it will be less than the number you just quoted. Even if I’m working full time for you, it won’t cost that much.”
He shook his head slightly, but his intense eyes never wavered. “I’ll need you to be in Sidrina for this project, Ms. Sullivan.”
She gasped and stepped back, shocked by his assertion. “Why?”
“In order for this ruse to work, and for you to be able to hack into the palace security system, you will need to be inside the palace. Also, I’m hiring a professional matchmaker. I wasn’t kidding about finding a new fiancée. I truly need to get married and that has to happen soon.” She noticed his jaw clench briefly, revealing that he wasn’t as complacent about the issue as he sounded. “She will be at the palace as well. In order to appear as if you’re simply providing financial background for my potential spouse, you’ll also need to sit in on the interviews, speak with the women personally, and ask them for information that might not be readily available during a regular investigation. And that aspect of the job isn’t a ruse. My security team did a deep background check on Nisiri. The data didn’t reveal her avaricious nature.” He paused for a moment, that muscle in his jawline flexing again. “I spoke to Levi Harris, Clarissa’s husband. He said that you have a process that could filter through the data to find more than just the facts.”
She felt a rush of gratitude for Levi and Clarissa for vouching for her. Making a mental note to send Levi a bottle of his favorite scotch and chocolates to Clarissa, she pulled her focus back to her current predicament. “It’s true that I have a few tricks that allow me to evaluate some aspects of a candidate’s personality against the background of their financial data, but I don’t need to be in Sidrina to do that. If you want me to sit in on the candidate interviews, I could just–”
“You’re going to suggest that you attend via video conference?” he interjected.
Mandy saw the twitch of his lips and bristled. “Well, yes. That seems like a much more efficient use of my time.”
“Don’t you use body language and voice intonation to determine if someone is lying?”
“Well, yes, but–”
“And you think you could effectively evaluate each candidate from a video call? And you would be able to spontaneously speak to various members of my staff, ask them surreptitious questions, gauge their reactions, and delve into their financial backgrounds based on the non-verbal feedback…you can do all of that from a video call?”
Darn it! He was right.
Straightening her shoulders, she jerked her head. “You have a valid point.”
However, did she really need to fly to Sidrina? Was he asking her to be around him while he chooses his next bride? Her whole body ached at the prospect.
“You have some concerns,” he observed and Mandy took another breath, the tension in her shoulders lessening slightly. But then he said, “I’ll double your salary.”
Mandy gasped. “Double?” she hissed, shocked that he would pay her so much money for a couple of days’ work. “No, that’s just…that’s insane!”
“Fine, I’ll triple it.”
He said the words as if money didn’t mean anything to him. And yet, the only reason he was here was because a woman saw him as a bank. Correction, that was the reason he’d broken off his engagement. He was here because there was a traitor on his staff. “Your Highness, stop! Money isn’t the issue here.”
Something in his demeanor changed. He looked…cynical? Mandy struggled to keep up with his rapid and barely distinguishable changes in mood.
“Then what is the issue?” he demanded. “Explain the obstacle that is hindering your ability to assist me and I will do whatever it takes to make that issue disappear. Is it another client? You can work on your other clients’ projects while you are in Sindrina.”
Mandy huffed a bit, then fisted her hands onto her hips. “The issue isn’t money,” she explained with exasperation. Then she tilted her head slightly. “Or maybe it is.”
“Explain?”
Mandy’s head reared back, glowering at him now. “How about ‘Explain, please,’ instead of pretending like you have some sort of monumental power over me while you’re standing in my home?” She tried to ignore the triggered memories, but flashes from the past were persistent.
There was a moment of stunned silence. Mandy was proud that she’d actually said the words out loud! But then the jerk laughed. The sound…it was a little rusty, as if he hadn’t laughed in a long time. She ignored the warmth that seeped into her at the sound of his deep, rough laughter.
Bristling, she crossed her arms over her chest. His amusement and the way he was throwing money around brought back painful memories. “I’m not sure that I understand your amusement, Your Highness. Care to explain the joke?”
He chuckled, but made a visible effort to suppress his amusement. “I apologize, Ms. Sullivan. I just…”
“And please stop calling me Ms. Sullivan,” she huffed, still glaring at him. “You probably need a formal title to remind everyone of their inferior place in your world, but I don’t. Everyone on my staff calls me Mandy.” Her chin jutted upwards. “You can do the same.”
Obviously, he wasn’t offended since the jerk merely grinned again, but the look in his eyes warned her that his amusement was different now. How it was different, she hadn’t a clue. Unfortunately, this man just…confused and irritated her!
“I am honored to be given permission to use your first name, Mandy,” he replied, but this time, his tone was lower. Huskier.
His voice, as well as the intimate way he spoke, sent shivers of awareness down her spine.
“Right,” she snapped, then crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a nod. “So, what do you want?”
Zahir stared down at her, his body on fire. Never in his life had he been so aware of a woman’s fury, and that anger turned him on. He didn’t understand why. Normally, he preferred his mistresses to be sweet. So, what was it about Mandy Sullivan’s temper that inflamed him?
“I want your financial expertise,” he finally replied, belatedly realizing that she was still waiting for an answer.
“I’ve already agreed to help you.”
“And you’ll come to Sidrina?” he continued, needing to hear her response.
She shrugged and his eyes dropped to her breasts. They were enveloped by an oversized sweatshirt, but nothing could hide this woman’s curves. She was incredibly feminine in every way. Including the anger in her hazel eyes at the moment.
His eyes narrowed on her lovely features. There was something…hidden. Yes, that was it. Ms. Mandy Sullivan was hiding something! After Nisiri’s very public betrayal, Zahir was determined to understand Mandy on a deeper, more personal, level.
“I sense that there is something more,” he commented, tilting his head slightly as he watched her. “Something that you don’t want me to know about.”
Her eyebrows rose, but she hid it quickly, smoothing her expression to neutral. “I’ve agreed to help you. That should be enough.”
His body tightened even further. A challenge!
“And yet, I suspect you have other concerns. Am I right?”
She huffed a moment and Zahir wanted to pull her into his arms. Would she huff like that when he made love to her? He couldn’t wait to find out!
“Here’s the issue, Zahir,” she replied, distracting him from his fantasies. “I know about men like you. Powerful men are one of the reasons I’m so good at my job.” She paused, staring up at him as if willing him to understand. “It’s one of the reasons I take my work so seriously.”
“You have…concerns?”
She shook her head. “No. No concerns. Just a warning.” She shifted her feet. “My family has had to deal with wealthy, powerful men who think that the rules don’t apply to them. Men who like to throw their power around, who hurt the working class people.”
She spoke with intense anger and resentment. He was surprised by how much her emotions affected him. Perhaps it was simply because most people hid their emotions from him. Diplomacy was his world and the people in his sphere knew how to manipulate through words and manners. Mandy was…open and honest. This was startlingly appealing.
Zahir wanted to move closer, but kept back, his desire to understand her overriding his growing need to touch her.
“Are you referring to yourself?” he prompted. But the look in her eyes told him that her reaction wasn’t based off something that had happened to her personally. He eyed her carefully. “Or to something that happened to your parents, maybe?”
She stepped closer, literally shaking with rage now. “Don’t you dare talk about my family!”
To her family then. Zahir moved closer, intrigued and concerned despite her anger. “What happened, Mandy?” he asked, his tone softening. Gone was the sexual awareness. In its place was a simmering anger on her behalf and a shockingly strong need to protect her.
She looked surprised by his anger for a moment, then her features hardened. “None of your business!” she whispered.
“Was it your father?” he guessed. “Did someone hurt your father?”
Her face closed down, every part of her body was carefully neutral now. “My family is fine, Zahir. Just drop it.”
He considered his options and came to a quick decision. “I will drop it for the moment, since you have agreed to help me with my problem.” He didn’t state that he was going to help her with whatever had hurt her. For some reason, he had a driving need to crush the person who had hurt Mandy.
“Thank you,” she replied stiffly, but her shoulders were still rigid with tension.
He grinned, then suppressed his amusement yet again. “I will discover your secrets, my dear,” he replied, then lifted his hand, brushing his finger lightly over her cheek. He was prepared for her to pull away, so he was surprised when she didn’t. In fact, the anger suddenly dissipated and a look of stunned shock washed over her. Belatedly, she pulled away, but that hesitation was…intriguing.
“You’ve helped Clarissa, Levi, Sean, and Matteo.” He looked at her curiously. “What is it about me that represents something from your past that has hurt you so deeply?”
She shook her head, then pushed her hair off her shoulders with both hands and moved away from him. “My friends are good, caring people who have worked hard to create businesses that treat everyone fairly, especially their employees.”
“Ah! So that’s it! Do you think my practices are corrupt?”
She stiffened, then jerked her head with agreement. “Power corrupts, Zahir.”
“And absolute power corrupts absolutely, eh?” Now he understood. “You think that I abuse my power as ruler of Sidrina.” It wasn’t a question. “Then I propose another aspect to our contract.”
“I don’t think–”
“Before you reply, hear me out.” He moved to the doorway and laid a hand on the knob. “I’m hiring you for two separate projects. The first one, you will help me ferret out any financial problems with the candidates for marriage.”
“Of course. And I will find the traitor hiding in your administration. We’ve already discussed this.” He could see in her eyes that she wanted to reject both contracts. But she was too professional. Mandy understood the boost to her agency’s reputation once she’d completed this mission.
“Exactly.” He pulled the door open. “Someone in your past hurt you, either through a government abuse of power or caused by corporate greed.” He narrowed his eyes, then added, “Possibly both.” He stepped into the doorway, half in-half out. “Think about my contract in a different way. This is your opportunity to save someone from whatever happened to you and your family in the past.”
And with that, he left, pulling the door closed behind him.
Mandy stared at the door, shocked by his challenge. Was he right? Was his spin on the contract really that deep? Did he truly want her to dig into the various governmental agencies and figure out who was abusing their power for personal gain?
The challenge intrigued her.
No, that was too tame of a word. She was…inspired! Yes, she badly wanted to accept his dare. Because as surely as she was standing here breathing oxygen, she knew she’d find corruption and abuse of power within his government. Humans were inherently greedy. The need to survive, to accumulate resources in order to ensure one’s survival, was built into the human DNA. It was the reason so many people considered police officers and fire fighters to be so alluring. Their skills didn’t ensure the survival of their off-spring. But those skills offered a better chance of survival. It was the same with men, or women, who were wealthy. Wealth and power provided a better chance for the survival of offspring.
Some could ignore their greed and work towards the common good. But others were evil and would hurt as many people as possible in their efforts to gain power and resources, either through money or other means.
Her childhood had been tragically altered because of one man’s greed. It was the main reason she loved forensic accounting so much. It gave her an outlet for her revenge against the greedy corporate heads that wanted to hide their criminal behavior behind creative accounting practices.
Needing some fresh air as well as a different perspective, Mandy grabbed her purse, then rushed out of her house and dove into her car. Fifteen minutes later, she pulled up outside of her mother’s house.
“Honey!” Jenny Sullivan exclaimed as soon as Mandy stepped through the door to their old house. “I wasn’t expecting you until Sunday!” Immediately, Mandy’s mother wrapped her up in a warm hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!”
“It’s great to see you too, Mom,” she whispered, hugging her mother tightly.
Pulling back, she tried to hide the angst in her features. “I need some advice.”
Jenny immediately nodded. “I’ll make some tea and you can tell me all about it,” she said. “Everything okay with your business?”
“Work is booming, Mom,” she admitted. “Because of Clarissa, I have more clients than I can handle.”
Jenny laughed, shaking her head as they walked side by side into the kitchen. “Darling, Clarissa was the impetus of your success. But if you were a bad accountant, then the clients wouldn’t still be coming to you for financial help.”
She was right, but Mandy still needed to give her friend credit for trusting her to fix her accounting issues after she’d learned of her inheritance and the unscrupulous men who were trying to steal it from her.
Mandy sat down at the kitchen table, pressing her upraised hands to her face for a moment. “It was just a fluke that I was in the initial meeting with Clarissa when her old accountants were trying to swindle her.” Her hands flopped onto the table as she sighed.
Jenny put the kettle onto the stove and flipped the switch to heat the water. “It was luck that you were in that meeting, but it was hard work that got you to where you are today.” She took two cups down from the top shelf of a cabinet. These were the real porcelain cups, the ones that were only used when company came.
“Why are you bringing down the good cups?” Mandy asked, pulling open the freezer and, bingo! She grabbed the bag of cookies that her mother always had in the freezer. Bless her heart, Jenny Sullivan loved baking and always had sweets ready for when a visitor stopped by.
Her mother smiled at her over her shoulder as she said, “Because I think that this conversation deserves the good tea cups.”
Mandy might have laughed, but she wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or relieved. Instead, she looked down at her fingers, lacing them together.
“What’s on your mind?” her mother asked as she adjusted the heat under the kettle.
Mandy felt a sense of warmth and rightness settle over her as she watched her mother bustle about the kitchen. She pulled out cream and honey and set them on the table, then grabbed a peanut butter cookie to nibble on as she picked up the box that contained her herbal tea collection. “Okay, talk!” she ordered when she finally settled down in the chair on the opposite side of the cheaply made, wooden table.
Mandy looked around and noticed the inexpensive features of the tiny kitchen. “Everything in this house feels right and comfortable,” she observed, admiring the flowered, ruffled curtains guarding the window over the kitchen sink and Mandy knew that most home builders did that – put a window over the sink. Ostensibly so that one could look out at the backyard while scrubbing dishes.
“Everything in this house feels familiar,” her mother countered. “That’s different from feeling comfortable.”
“I suppose so,” Mandy replied, then added some honey to her blackberry tea. “I’ve been offered a contract by a very powerful man,” she finally admitted. “In fact, we were discussing it right before I came over.”
Her mother poured cream into her Earl Grey tea. “And you don’t want to take the contract because this man is powerful.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact. Jenny knew her daughter extremely well.
“Exactly.” She sighed and gazed down at the pretty, porcelain cup. “However, the contract he’s asked me to work is…intriguing. And challenging. It would be more of the forensic accounting that I love doing.”
“And that would get you out of the daily grind of the normal accounting that you do for your other clients, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t mind doing that kind of work.”
“Yes, you do,” Jenny laughed. “You hate that kind of accounting.” She laid a hand over Mandy’s. “Admit it, dear, you’re an investigator at heart. You love numbers because they are safe and familiar. It’s the same reason you are so comfortable coming here. Everything is safe and normal and there aren’t any surprises.” She smile gently. “You hate being taken by surprise, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons you enjoy forensic accounting more than, say, tax accounting or bookkeeping. You enjoy discovering other people’s secrets.”
Mandy smiled as well, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right.” She inhaled deeply, and then let the air out of her lungs slowly. “This contract…it’s with the Sidrina government.” She lifted her eyes, looking at her mother. “The head of that government hired me to do two things.”
“And they are?” her mother prompted, not surprised by the powerful government’s name.
“I would be investigating the women that the Sheik of Sidrina is considering for his next fiancée.”
Her mother chuckled. “That woman! I saw the video of her. What a mess! Why would he consider such a gold digger?”
Mandy’s fingers tightened around her cup and she looked down into the purple tea. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. However, Sheik bin Aristi wants to find a new fiancée and he’s asked me to discover any secrets that this new batch of candidates might be hiding. He doesn’t want to propose to another woman who has mercenary intentions.”
Jenny nodded her agreement. “Smart man. If anyone can discover a person’s financial secrets, it’s you. You’re not just a pretty face!” she teased.
Mandy laughed, as her mother had expected. “Dad used to say that to me all the time.” She looked up at her mother. “Why didn’t you ever remarry after he passed away?”
Jenny’s eyes turned dreamy. “Your father was the love of my life!” she sighed. “He was so amazing, sweet, and kind. We both worked full time, so he never expected me to maintain the house as well.” She smiled, looking dreamily off to the side. “If I cooked, he did the dishes. If I vacuumed the family room, he cleaned the bathroom.” She turned to her daughter with a sweet smile. Shaking her head, she continued, “He used to make me laugh. He’d come home from work and pull me into his arms, just because he needed me.” Her eyes filled with tears and she bowed her head, looking into her tea. “That kind of man is hard to find.”
Mandy nodded her agreement. “Yeah, Dad was pretty amazing.” She lifted her eyes, looking into her mother’s gentle gaze. “Sheik Bin Aristi also asked me to investigate the government agencies to find any evidence of financial wrongdoing.”
Jenny immediately perked up, smiling with delight. “Well, that’s exactly what you love doing! So, why are you hesitating?”
“Because I don’t…I can’t trust him.”
There was a short silence, then her mother said, “Because he’s someone high up in the Sidrina government?”
Mandy toyed with the teacup, turning it slightly on the matching saucer. “He’s not just high up in the government, Mom. He’s…the top of the government. Sheik bin Aristi, himself, asked me to do the investigating.”
Jenny nodded and leaned forward. “That just proves that your reputation is sound!” She gave her daughter a startled laugh. “Your friend Clarissa has some well-placed friends!”
Mandy smiled, but the expression quickly dissipated as her worry returned. “Yeah, Clarissa really jump started my career.”
Her mother’s excitement faded. “But you don’t want to help this sheik? Because of what happened to your father?”
Mandy nodded, trembling with the anger at the memories. “I don’t trust him. I don’t think I could ever trust someone so rich and powerful, Mom.”
There was a long silence as both women thought about the past. Then her mother said, “Mandy, honey, your father’s accident was-”
“It wasn’t an accident,” she interrupted. “Dad was murdered because he started asking questions. He was getting too close to the truth.”
Jenny nodded. “Yeah, we know that, but we weren’t ever able to prove it. Regency Construction was a corrupt company. And your father’s death was…awful.” She paused for a moment, the pain washing over them. “However, it sounds like this sheik might truly want to ferret out the truth. You said that you’d be investigating the agencies within his government?”
“Yeah.” Mandy lifted her eyes again. “He suspects that there is a traitor among his staff members and, possibly, within his security team. But I don’t know if that’s just a smoke screen.” She rubbed her forehead. “Maybe I’m not right for this job. I worked for Ian and thought that he was a good guy, until I heard him trying to swindle Clarissa out of her inheritance.”
Jenny leaned closer, gripping Mandy’s arm. “But you did figure it out, dear. You found the proof and saved Clarissa from being robbed of her inheritance. Plus Ian Montrose, along with his corrupt friends, are in prison for embezzlement and corruption as well as that business about hiring someone to kill off your friend. That’s because of you, my dear. You looked into your former accounting firm’s activities and figured it out.” She squeezed Mandy’s arm again. “Do it for the people of Sidrina. Do it for this man who is looking for a wife he can trust.”
Mandy snorted in disgust. “The video just came out last week and the guy is already looking for a new wife.” Her mouth twisted into a grimace. “Well, a new fiancée. I don’t know if he’ll follow through and actually marry the woman. Maybe he’s the type of man who just likes the idea of an engagement and all of the benefits without any of the responsibilities.”
Jenny chuckled. “And maybe he’s a good person who has a solid moral compass. Maybe he’s someone who genuinely wants to discover corruption within his government.” She pulled her hand away and selected another cookie. “There are good people who are also powerful.”
Mandy sighed, her shoulders slumping with disbelief. “I haven’t met any.”
Jenny laughed. “You haven’t been looking. You’ve only seen the muddy side of the corporate world. It would do you some good to investigate on behalf of someone who is honest and trustworthy.”
“I doubt that the Sheik of Sidrina is one of those men.”
“Fine,” Jenny replied and broke the cookie in half. “Then do the job, investigate the candidates’ histories and the staff members’ financials and get paid. If the man is corrupt, then he’ll ignore your findings and you can be on your merry way with a big, fat check in your bank account. If he’s a good person, then you’ve helped him weed out the bad characters, and you still come home with a big, fat check in your bank account. Either way, it’s a win for you.”
Mandy bit her lower lip, not sure if she wanted to admit to her mother the way she’d reacted to Zahir’s presence. In the end, she kept silent. That just wasn’t something that her mother, who had been single ever since her father had been killed in a construction accident, would understand.
In fact, Mandy didn’t understand her feelings either. Mandy’s dating life had been filled with boyfriends who were…blah. A couple had been genuinely nice guys, but none had stirred this…overwhelming reaction within her. They’d just been nice guys who had been nice to talk with.
Okay, they’d been friends and she’d occasionally had sex with them because she’d felt it was expected. Not that the sex had ever been great. But nor had it been horrible. Sex just wasn’t something that excited her much. It was just…fine.
Pulling herself back to the present, she nodded her head firmly. “You’re right. I’ll do it. The man in charge might not be good and honest, but if I can find him enough evidence, then I might make a difference there. Otherwise, I’ll leave the country and come home to my normal work. Nothing will change and I can just move on, right?”
“Exactly,” Jenny replied with an affirmative nod.
Perking up, Mandy smiled. “It will be an interesting challenge to manage the office from Sidrina,” she said, then finally took a sip of her tea.
Jenny was just about to bite into the peanut butter cookie but froze. The cookie was lowered back to the saucer and her mother asked, “Excuse me?”
Mandy plucked the cookie out of her mother’s fingers, ignoring the other half of the cookie sitting on the tea cup’s saucer. “Oh, didn’t I mention that I’d be working in Sidrina during this contract?”
Her mother’s jaw dropped and she stared at Mandy for a long moment. Then she shook her head. “Fine. But you’re going to call me every day. And you’re going to send me lots of pictures.” She narrowed her eyes. “If I find out that you’re not getting out and taking some time off, you’re not getting any fudge for Christmas this year.”
Mandy laughed, then leaned in and hugged her mother. “I love you, Mom!” she said with feeling and squeezed her shoulders. “You’re wonderful!”