Page 27 of Passion and Deception

His eyes widened at her comment. “What’s wrong with my transportation policies?”

She shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. “The ten year road plans heavily favor the wealthy parts of our cities at the expense of those who are most vulnerable. The wealthy people don’t need more roads as much as the poorer sections of the cities. For instance, the plan for Ostra,” she continued, mentioning a city in the south of the country, “takes road-repair funding away from the most critical areas that need improvements. Your plan transitions that funding to resurfacing roads in areas that are relatively fine. I don’t know why.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “Property values in the poorest areas of the cities are severely impacted by neglected, rundown roads. A community can be transformed by a clean, new road. Plus, your policies require that the poorest areas be demolished to make way for new road development. The residents of those areas are forced to find new homes and that’s not fair. They don’t have the voice to argue against the road plans. Also, they don’t have the income to easily move to a new place. It’s not just the financial burden of moving. The people your plan displaces are the citizens that have the least amount of time to find a new place to live, meaning you’re putting them further at risk of falling into poverty by forcing them to take whatever new housing they can find quickly. In contrast, wealthy people have the ability and resources to investigate housing options instead of taking whatever is easily available.”

He was shocked by her knowledge of his transportation policy. “How do you know all of this?”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled and leaned back in her chair. “I’m not just a pretty face, Ramit.”

He felt…humbled. Again. “I’m sorry,” he told her, trying to convey his sincerity through his eyes. “I guess I just assumed that you…?”

“Shop for a living?” Ciara finished for him when he didn’t finish his statement.

He sighed, feeling slightly defeated. Again, Maggie’s sparkling, brown eyes popped into his head. “Yes.”

“Nah,” she laughed again. “I do more than shop.”

He hesitated, aware of the back-to-back meetings he had on his schedule for the rest of the day. He’d allotted only fifteen minutes to speak with his sister and he’d already gone well over that. Plus, Ciara had meetings as well. He’d interrupted her day and that was…rude, to say the least.

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?” he asked.

The surprised happiness on his sister’s face made him smile in return.

“I have a dinner meeting planned. How about tomorrow night?”

He nodded. “Wonderful. I look forward to it.” He didn’t know what was on his agenda for tomorrow, but he’d have his assistant move things around so that he could dine with Ciara. He realized now that he needed to make his sister a priority.

On the way back to his office, he stopped by the security office. “I need you to…,” he considered the possibilities for a moment, “punish two men.” When Nittan leaned in, bracing his hands on the desk, Ramit explained what Barney Mathis and Humphrey Todras had done.

Chapter 20

Ten Months Later…

“Levi!” Ramit called out, hurrying towards his friend. “Good to see you! It’s been…what? A year?”

Ramit knew exactly how long it had been since he’d last seen Levi Harris. Because it had been the last time he’d seen Maggie. After a whole year, Ramit should be over her. He shouldn’t still be thinking about her.

Why the hell couldn’t he stop thinking about her? Why did he still dream of her soft, silky skin and her sweet laugh? He even missed her flashing, brown eyes as she sweetly explained how he was a complete ass.

“Almost exactly a year,” Levi replied, then turned to his friend. “You remember Edward, Duke of something or other.” Ramit chuckled as Levi continued. “He’s going to help us with our next project.”

Edward rolled his eyes, but he was much more mellow these days now that he was married with a young son. He didn’t punch Levi’s shoulder for the insult to his ducal title. Instead, the tall man extended his hand to Ramit. “Ignore him. He’s just pissy because his wife and kids couldn’t come with him this time.”

Levi huffed a bit, then nodded towards Edward. “He spent the entire flight over here showing me pictures of his son. So don’t let him fool you. We’re here to discuss business, then we’re both heading right back home to our ladies.”

Ramit laughed, even as another image of Maggie flashed through his head. He didn’t miss her, he reminded himself for the millionth time. They’d had only a few days together.

And yet, it was on the tip of his tongue to ask about her. He knew that Maggie worked at Levi’s club. Yes, he was a member of that club, but he was considering canceling his membership. The idea of seeing Maggie again didn’t seem appealing.

“Come into the dining room. Falk from Itim is already here.”

“Isn’t Falk engaged to your sister?” Levi asked, walking beside Ramit down the long hallway.

“Yes. They’ve been engaged for…” Ramit paused to think about it. “More than ten years now.”

“Wow!” Edward whistled. “That’s a long engagement. They aren’t rushing into anything, eh?”

The three men laughed, but Ramit started to wonder. He’d ask Ciara about it during dinner tonight. They’d both been working on their sibling relationship over the past several months, sharing more meals and talking about various subjects.

Ramit led them into one of the salons and he introduced the fourth member of their partnership. “Gentlemen, this is Falk bin Alon, Sheik of Itim. He’s a brute of a man, but underneath all those muscles he’s a pussycat.”

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