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“Yasmine, finally. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you but the honeymoon huts have a strict ‘no contact’ policy.”
“What is so important that you needed to speak to me on my honeymoon?” Her heart jumped. “Is Mom okay?”
“Yes, yes, she’s fine,” he said brusquely, disregarding his wife like one would disregard a piece of furniture. “The same can’t be said for the trade deal I made with your husband.”
Her stomach sank to her toes. “What dealdidyou make?”
“I gather your husband doesn’t speak to you on matters of finance?”
Her eyes narrowed. Her dad sounded so sanctimonious, like he and Jamal thought alike in that a woman didn’t need to discuss men’s business. Like women were below men in every way. Had he forgotten about her business and languages degree? “We speak of many things; his finances though are a topic we’ve yet to discuss.”
“Then let me fill you in on the agreement I have with your husband.”
She twisted one of her loose strands of hair, her stomach knotting. Whatever her father said it wouldn’t be something she’d want to hear. He hadn’t rung because he’d missed her—he wasn’t that kind of a dad—he wanted her to do something for him, something that would benefit him while possibly putting her in a compromising position.
“As you know Amack has surplus dates for our needs. Jamal has offered to buy these from us in exchange for much better oil prices. Not only will cheap oil be better for our economy in every way, the dates will give our growers guaranteed income and many workers new jobs
“There’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
“But he’s asking for many more dates than what we grow. We need to plant thousands more date trees.” His voice sharpened. “We can’t lose this deal, Yasmine.”
“What has any of that got to do with me? Do you want me to explain we can’t meet his—“
“No!” He exhaled heavily. “Of course not. I don’t want him to lose faith in the deal…in me. We just need a cash injection to begin planting those trees.”
Her stomach plummeted, the gold-plated credit card inside her clutch purse suddenly weighing her down. “And let me guess, you want me to send that cash injection to you?”
“I wouldn’t have asked Yasmine unless it was important, you know that. Our whole economy relies on this deal.”
Relies on you.
If she refused her people and country would suffer economic loss, if she agreed she’d be going behind her husband’s back, throwing money to her father so soon after he’d already cashed in on a more than generous dowry.
“Let me think about it,” she said, her mind as heavy as her heart.
“There’s no time for that, Yasmine. You know dates take four to eight years just to produce fruit. We’ll have to try and make do with the dates we have until then even if that means having to strip them from our own people.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can and I will. This is our only hope, Yasmine. Even the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to tourism is nothing more than a glimmer.”
Her mouth dried. “How much do you think you’ll need?”
“Nine million dirham should be enough for a start.”
“For a start?” she asked weakly.
Jamal might have given her access to unlimited funds, but she’d had no intention of using the card for anything more than an occasional shopping trip. What her dad asked of her was nothing short of insanity. Did hewanther marriage to fail before it’d even begun?
“Don’t play innocent now, Yasmine. You knew when you wed him that you’d be helping your people and your homeland, not to mention your mother. The influx of cash will make her life a whole lot better, too.”
Her stomach twisted. Her dad wasn’t above using blackmail to get what he wanted. She mightn’t care about his opinion but she did care about her mother’s wellbeing. He was mean enough to make her mother’s life hell if Yasmine didn’t fall into line. But what he asked of her would seriously jeopardize her marriage and Jamal’s respect of them both.
A sudden breeze rustled the date palms that lined the circular driveway like sentinels, lifting some strands of hair off her nape and cooling her suddenly heated face. “What do you think Jamal will say when he finds out?”
“Oh, he won’t be happy, but he has you now, Yasmine. I’m sure you know how to make him forget his anger and the transfer of funds.” He chuckled crudely into her ear. “Besides, that money is just a drop in the ocean compared to his real wealth, I’m quite sure he is rich enough to splash some of it my way. My daughter is his wife, after all.”
A luxury stretch limousine pulled to a stop in front of the casino. A group of men climbed out of the vehicle, a couple of them leering at her as they stumbled toward the building. She lifted her chin and straightened regally even as her bodyguard stepped out of the shadows behind the brightly lit façade of the casino, a hand on his holster.
