“Sounds like a good plan. Where was the lie?” Jurid asked.
“He didn’t know that I was standing outside of the press briefing room at the time, so he didn’t temper his words. But as he left the briefing area, he told his aide to have the contractors schedule the road construction crews.”
His hand tightened on her fingers before he slowly relaxed his grip. “Tamara, it’s sometimes difficult to get construction materials to remote villages and towns. He may have needed to build the road in order for the trucks to get there more efficiently.”
She shook her head and Jurid noticed the way her dark hair drifted softly over her shoulders.
“That isn’t what happened. He demolished the village. One day, he told the press that he was going to build a school, something he didn’t need to promise. Six months later, the construction crews plowed over the homes. All of the homes. Thankfully, he gave the villagers time to get out, but their farmland and homes were demolished in order to make room for a factory.”
“Perhaps…”
“No. I heard him talking to his aide about it as he left that initial press briefing. Seconds after promising to build the school, he was already talking about demolishing the village. He had no intention of building that school. After the villagers were moved out, they were forced into the next village. He claimed a victory that the kids that needed an education were closer to their schools and the resources that they needed.”
Tamara watched as his eyebrows drew together. Anger! Finally, something other than bland curiosity. “So, you can understand why I’m not overly interested in aligning myself with another ruler. And you are ten times more powerful than my father. So what sorts of lies do you offer your people?” she asked, aware of the challenge in her tone, but unable to stop her anger from manifesting.
He laughed and she liked the sound, even though she was serious.
“I don’t lie to my people, my dear,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out onto the penthouse patio. There were trees and flowers lining the edges of the wide expanse of patio with comfortable chairs that looked out over the beautiful city. “I might not always tell them the whole truth, but I never lie.”
She didn’t believe him, but she didn’t know him well enough, nor did she know the inner workings of his political agenda. So she couldn’t point out instances where he lied.
“I’m sure that you are the most honest leader in the world,” she said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
His eyes narrowed briefly, then his face cleared and he looked…almost amused. She thought he might challenge her, but instead, he changed the subject. “The hotel staff brought your clothes from your room,” he told her.
She frowned. “Why would they do that?”
“Because I suspected that you wouldn’t want to have dinner with me in that dress, although it is lovely. Perhaps you’d like to change into something more comfortable?”
She huffed a bit. “Yes, that would be great. But that doesn’t mean I want you invading my privacy. Nor do I want you assuming that I’m having dinner with you.”
“My apologies,” he told her, bowing slightly. “I didn’t give the order though. My security team heard some disturbing rumors.”
Her heart plunged through the floor. Security was always an issue in their world. “About me?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, my dear. But the chatter is all new. There is a threat, but they aren’t sure about the veracity of the threats or at whom they are directed. So they worked with the hotel staff in an abundance of caution.” He led her back into the suite and down a long hallway to a closed door. “Why don’t you change and we’ll have dinner?” As she took a breath to argue, he lifted a. “I don’t expect anything beyond friendly conversation and a dinner companion. You will be perfectly safe here with me tonight.”
Tamara closed her mouth, stumped by his assurance. With that, Jurid dropped her hand, bowed slightly and, with a teasing glance, left her alone in the doorway of the beautifully decorated bedroom.
Smothering her amusement at his bow, Tamara stepped into the room and found her luggage on the bed. No one had unpacked it for her, which for some odd reason, was comforting. Especially since she was a bit of a slob and her clothes had been scattered around her hotel room.
When she opened her suitcase, she sighed at the perfectly folded clothes. Some were even wrapped in tissue paper! “Good grief,” she muttered as she lifted some of the shirts and jeans. “They cleaned my clothes!”
Which was nice, and yet, weird. She knew that hotel staff did that for their more illustrious guests. And yeah, she knew that when her father traveled, he demanded that kind of service. But she’d been on her own for several years now and she didn’t like other people touching her clothes. It was just…creepy. She’d gone off to boarding school in high school and had learned to take care of herself. There had been no maids to do her laundry in high school or college. If Tamara didn’t toss her clothes into the washer and dryer herself, she didn’t have clean clothes. Simple and straightforward.
Admittedly, the clothes she kept in Nadir were expensive designer clothing and they were all cleaned by the palace staff and re-hung in her closets. But since she rarely went home now, it wasn’t something she was used to.
“Get over it,” she muttered to herself, then pulled out a pair of leggings and a big, comfy tee-shirt. Pulling them on, she immediately felt more comfortable. “Oh yes!” she sighed as she slipped her feet into a pair of soft sneakers. She hadn’t realized how much her feet ached from those lavender shoes. They were pretty, but there was nothing quite like a pair of soft, well-worn sneakers.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she knew that her clothes most likely weren’t what Jurid might be expecting. But if he really wanted to get to know her, he needed to know the real person. She wasn’t a “dressing-up” kind of gal. While working, she generally wore jeans and a tee shirt or, on days when she needed to spiff up a bit, dress slacks, boots, and a sweater. She had to be ready to tackle any issue that came up with one of their properties. If a heating system died, she needed to rush over to the property to meet the heating technician. If a toilet backed up, she raced over with a plunger to fix the problem – or waited for a plumber to fix it if the issue was beyond her knowledge. But since she and Mike had renovated several of their properties themselves, Tamara had become pretty good at fixing a wide variety of home repair problems. Not just that, she took a great deal of pride in fixing as many issues as she could in order to keep the expenses down and the profit margins high. Mike was equally adept at fixing problems, and the team they’d hired to manage the various properties were learning basic maintenance skills as well.
So, this was who she was beyond her title and her role as princess of her country. A jeans and a tee shirt kinda gal. She knew how to glam it up, but this was her preferred state of dress.
Stepping out of the room, she looked to the right and left of the large, luxurious penthouse area, not sure which way to go. Had she come from…that way? She looked down one hallway, then the other way. The décor in this area was neutral enough that she wasn’t positive. Deciding to take one direction and if she were wrong, she’d simply backtrack and start over again, she headed to the right.