CHAPTER 1
CALVIN
“Are you waiting for the perfect candidate to pop out of that map?” Ollie, my head assistant, raises his eyebrow.
Usually, I would laugh or throw a joke back at him, but I’m not in the mood. It’s been weeks of searching for the perfect archaeologist—at this point, any archaeologist—to head up the excavation team in Jumayah, and I’m no closer to finding someone than I was three weeks ago.
Maybe I’m evenfurtheraway.
Standing from where I’ve been hunched over the map of the Jumayan desert, I roll my neck, trying to work out the kinks that seem to be always there. “It doesn’t make sense. This project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to take it?”
Ollie gives me what’s almost a sympathetic look. “Calvin, I mean this with the utmost of kindness… It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity foryou.”
“And any archaeologist who has a passion for the Middle East,” I point out.
“But they’re all busy.” He sighs and plops onto my office’s couch, scrolling away on his tablet. “I’ve asked everyone who has the expertise to head the project.”
“And they’ve all gotten back to you?”
“Nearly everyone.” He adjusts his glasses. “There’s a Georgia Halford.”
“Georgia Halford?” I’ve never heard the name, but I’m not that surprised. It’s only recently that I’ve jumped into the world of ancient sites. Everything else I’ve done in work involves stocks, real estate, chain businesses. Buying the site that’s purported to have housed an ancient temple was an impulsive act. When the opportunity came up, it felt like a sign from my grandmother, three years in the grave and born in Jumayah.
Or maybe it was just me being delusional. Either way, I purchased the plot—and not for a price to sneeze at. Now there’s only one thing to do: get together an excavation. Discover what’s really there.
“Mm-hmm.” Ollie nods, pulling something up on his tablet. “She’s a professor of Middle Eastern archaeology here in New York. Well…was. She left the job about a year ago. Didn’t take another position… Her LinkedIn says that she’s doing private coaching now.”
“Why didn’t she write you back?” I ask, taking a seat next to him on the couch.
His lips twist and he shakes his head. “It’s a mystery, isn’t it?”
I stare out the window at the morning light glinting off New York’s skyscrapers. Professor of Middle Eastern archaeology…Currently without a position… I’m dangling the golden carrot of her profession right in front of her!
“Was there some sort of drama?” I turn back to Ollie with a frown. “Some scandal that’s keeping her away?”
“Her reputation seems to be impeccable. Look at this talk she gave. It’s been viewed almost a million times.”
He turns the tablet to face me. On it plays a video of a woman in her mid-thirties standing on a stage. The first thing that strikes me is how pretty she is. Curly brown hair, big chocolate eyes. Dimples that somehow look both cute and sexy on her.
The second thing is the passion in her voice and gestures. She’s talking about an Egyptian prince’s tomb, her eyes sparkling and a huge smile on her face. She’s the kind of person who could talk about toilet paper and make it interesting. No surprise that the video has so many views.
“You said you emailed her?” I ask, unable to take my gaze off the screen.
“Yes. I’m working on finding a phone number.”
“Good. Send it to me when you do. I’ll call her personally.”
Ollie makes a note of it. “Anything else?”
I get up and walk to my desk, which is usually perfectly organized, nothing but my computer, my notepad, and a pen on it. Lately, though, I’ve been so distracted and unsettled that I don’t even recognize the desk. Books on Jumayah are stacked at its corner, and there are several paper coffee cups. Did I leave those there?
I rub my eyes. How late did I stay here last night? How have the hours just been slipping away?
Ollie wants to know if there’s anything else, and yes, I know there is. There’s always so much to be done. Meetings to schedule. Interviews to prep for. The real estate conglomerate doesn’t run itself, and for years I’ve been impeccable with my processes. But lately…
Lately I’ve been falling apart, and the most unexpected part of it all is that I don’t give a damn.
“Remind me what’s on the schedule for today,” I say.
