Chapter 2
Taking a deep breath, Ciara waited, her heart pounding against her ribs. She felt nauseous and desperately wanted to run away. Instead, she pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and took another deep breath.
“…Princess Ciara al Qadar of Ditra!” the speaker announced.
Carefully, Ciara walked out onto the stage, then to the podium, gazing out at the audience but not allowing herself to focus on the individuals. She set the papers with her speech onto the podium, took a deep breath, then forced her features into a calm expression. “Thank you so much for the warm welcome,” she began, moving her gaze over the crowd in order to include everyone in the greeting. She nodded again as the applause slowed and everyone resumed their seats.
Turning, she looked to the left and…darn it! He was here! Of all the people that she truly wanted to avoid, Falk was here and he looked…amazing! The dark suit molded to his powerful muscles. His dark hair and dark gaze drew her eyes like loadstones!
Betrothed, she mentally chided herself. She was betrothed to Zayed!
Falk shifted in his seat, lifting one dark eyebrow, as if waiting for her to begin.
Heart now pounding for an entirely different reason, she pulled her eyes away from Falk and looked out at the audience. And that’s when it hit her! Her worst fear! Standing in front of an audience and her speech had evaporated from her mind.
What was she going to say? What was her speech about again?
The silence in the packed ballroom was nearly deafening.
Glancing down, she nearly wept with relief when she found her notes on the podium. She’d have to give Jessy, her personal assistant, a big, whopping bonus! Briefly, she lifted her hand and touched the pages. Jessy had even printed out her speech in extra-large print so she could read them easily.
Clearing her throat, Ciara skimmed over the first few words and, with overwhelming relief, remembered what she was here to discuss.
Looking up again, she felt her shoulders relax and her mind clear. “The world economic trends this year are surprisingly different from the previous years,” she began. Ciara glanced over her shoulder and nodded with approval as the first slide popped up on the enormous screen behind her. “The first thing one might notice is that…” she continued explaining the trends she’d observed through the data she’d gathered as well as the information she’d gleaned from various global news reports.
Ciara studiously ignored the man sitting to her left for the duration of her speech. She refused to look at him, knowing that her temper would flare up and she’d lose track of her speech again.
“In conclusion,” she continued, “tempers of the working and middle class citizens are rising. The instances of violence are increasing as the buying power of the average worker decreases. This trend gives rise to leaders who offer what appear to be a simple solution, but in reality, is merely enabling corporate greed to thrive.” She glanced at Falk this time, glaring at him accusingly.
When she watched him smile obnoxiously back at her, she wanted to jump off the stage and punch him in the nose. More violence. She sighed and looked away, focusing on the back of the large auditorium. “A perfect example of politicians being blind to the problem is the United States House of Representatives, who recently gave themselves an almost five percent pay raise, citing increased cost of living, while the federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since the year two thousand and nine. The British have seen a slew of protesters filling the streets, angry about the lack of funding for workers. And if you visit Paris, the protests are silent, but pungent, as trash piles up because the workers refuse to collect the garbage due to poor wages and dangerous working conditions.”
Ciara continued, referencing the rise in dangerous nationalism across the world and the increased power of oppressive authoritarian leaders.
“At the same time, the number of billionaires in the world increases every year. The average worker feels cheated and powerless. This kind of economic inequity will increase.” She clicked the remote and a new image came onto the screen. And so it went.
When she finished, the room exploded in applause. Ciara smiled and nodded to the accolades, then moved off the stage, offering a final wave of thanks to the audience. She nearly stumbled when her eyes moved to Falk. He wasn’t clapping, but she could see the admiration in his eyes.
Why was his silent expression so much more powerful than the crowd’s applause?
With a grunt of frustration, she continued towards the left wing of the stage, relieved to be out of the audience’s sight.
“Wonderful speech,” the organizer gushed, shaking Ciara’s hands with enthusiasm. “Absolutely on point and you explained your data in clear ways that everyone can understand. Thank you!”
Ciara smiled and spoke to the man for several more minutes. Finally, she was able to break away.
Jessy moved in beside her even as her bodyguards surrounded her. “We have a problem,” Jessy whispered as they moved quickly out of the auditorium.
“What’s that?” Ciara whispered back, smiling and nodding to the others attendees that were lingering outside of the space.
“Well…the city is small, Your Highness, and the new hotel that I booked for us is a thirty minute drive away.”
“That’s perfect,” Ciara replied. “What’s the…?” she froze as her eyes landed on a window.
All she could see was a wall of white.