She touched his elbow. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” His wide-eyed innocence didn’t convince her for a second. Raed shrugged his shoulders, which made her laugh out loud.
“Okay.”
They turned the corner, and Lise stopped dead at the sight.
Staff members from the palace had lined the hallway of the business wing. Staff and her students. And they were all clapping for her. Whistling. Shouting congratulations. Lise pressed her hands to her face to try and stop the heat from rising there, but it was too late—joy and embarrassment clashed like cymbals in her mind.
“We heard you had a successful driving lesson,” cried someone she couldn’t see, and then a student stepped forward with a bouquet of flowers. Lise accepted them with a little curtsey.
“Thank you,” she said, her face flaming. “Thank you so much.” She smacked Raed lightly on the elbow, and he stepped closer, still laughing.
“How could I resist them?” His voice in her ear only compounded the flying feeling. “Everyone’s been enjoying the joke in the palace.”
The joke—that she had resisted learning for no particular reason. “All right, students,” she called, her voice finally quieting the applause. “It’s time for class to begin. I’ll give you five minutes to settle.”
Raed plucked the bouquet from her hands. “I’ll have these delivered to your house,” he announced, dashing and handsome and everything she wanted in this hallway right now. “Teach well.” He broke off a single flower from the bouquet and tucked it into one of her buttonholes. Then he was gone, disappearing around the corner with a big smile on his face.
Oh, man. Oh—it didn’t get better than this. Lise’s students applauded her as she stepped into the classroom, and she laughed it off, still riding that high. These classes, at least, were going well. She was still working on tailoring the courses for the upper echelons of the palace staff—only at the beginning of that process, really. But there had been such a clamor for basic, beginner’s English that she taught three classes a day. The same lesson at three different times for people on different shifts.
Lise went to the front of the meeting-room-turned-classroom and took a deep breath. Yes, it was an exciting day, what with the driving lesson and the bouquet, but there was a hum of excitement even on the regular days. People were thrilled to be in her classes. It felt like hope—it felt like the beginning of a grand adventure. Twenty faces looked up at her expectantly from their desks, and she finally got her thoughts together enough to teach.
An hour later, she dismissed the class, adrenaline still sparkling in her veins. She’d need to do some jumping jacks back at the house to clear it all away. Lise said goodbye to the final student and leaned against her desk. Another successful day. Very successful, if she took everyone’s reactions into consideration.
Even Raed’s, though she wished—foolishly—that kissing him wasn’t always such a secretive thing. Lise had the nagging feeling that the secrecy meant that she wasn’t worthy of being kissed in public. Which was nonsense, obviously. She was worthy of being kissed in public. Today and every day. And—
A knock on the door helpfully jarred her out of those thoughts. It would be an equipment delivery or a member of the IT staff. Lise put a broad smile on and turned to the door, only to see...
An American?
A man with rust-red hair and a goatee. “Ms. Danbury?” An American. His smile flashed onto his face, then settled into something that unnerved her. “I was hoping to steal a few minutes of your time, if you’re not busy.”
Lise stood up to her full height, her heart beating faster. Who was this guy? “What is it that you need?”
He stepped fully into the classroom, raising his hands in front of him. “I’m Bradley Taylor.” The name sounded familiar. Someone at the university, maybe. “Look, I—I came here to talk to you about the sheikh’s foundation.”
“You should direct those kinds of questions to him, then.” Her smile faltered.
“I’m not sure that’s in the best interests of all the parties involved.” Bradley sauntered further into the room. “I’m here on behalf of Georgetown University. We’re working with the sheikh’s foundation, and there’s some concern about the way he’s approaching the foundation’s projects. For one thing—” An irritated huff. “His alma mater should have the honor of directing the pilot project of the foundation, when he’s finally got it up and running.”
Not you. The unspoken words hung in the air. “I’m not quite sure what you—”
“As you probably know,” he said pointedly, “the sheikh is behind schedule with the initial arrangements. It’s been...noticed by some of the board members that he seems to be distracted by you. In large-scale business enterprises like this, it’s important to keep focus. I don’t expect you to know much about matters like this—”
“I know quite enough, thank you.” Don’t get defensive.
“It would help if you could use your influence to put the university forward instead of whatever little project you’ve convinced Raed to work on with you.”
There it was—the accusation made plainly, absolutely brazenly here in her classroom. “Excuse me?” Lise managed.
“It would be extremely unfortunate,” he continued, as if she hadn’t said anything, “if word got out that this foundation operates on a favoritism basis and any cute blonde can bat her eyelashes at the sheikh and receive funding. That—” Bradley shook his head. “That would ruin his conception of what he wanted the foundation to be, not to mention deal a serious blow to his reputation.”
“I don’t know how you’ve come to that conclusion.” Lise wished for someone, anyone, to interrupt this non-conversation. She was never going to convince him of anything. Not a man like this.
“Everyone knows Katharine Seaton is poised to take on a leading role in the sheikh’s foundation.” The light tone was completely at odds with the way his words struck her. “The contrast between the two of you is quite striking, you know. Her, in public, visible, and you, behind the palace walls, hidden away?”
Anger barreled over her then, loud and raging. She was not some little schoolmarm who didn’t understand business. And she had not used her feminine wiles to trick Raed into giving her funding. A counterargument gathered in her mind—not one that would make him believe the truth, but at least one that would make this horrible man think twice about approaching her again.
“Mama,” a little voice called from down the hall.
Jake.
With his nanny.
She snapped into action. “Let’s step out into the garden,” she said, taking Bradley by the elbow so he had no choice but to follow her. Lise ushered him to a set of French doors and kept walking down an outer garden path, her footsteps quick and sure. If he thought she might concede to his demands, he wouldn’t give her a problem, and she could lead him to the guards.
“Where are you taking me?” Bradley laughed. “Does the palace have you in charge of the gardens?”
Lise gritted her teeth to keep from shouting at him. They took two more turns and came level with a set of guards who were stationed at the garden entrance.