Page 40 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
“You see there? That’s a similar construction to the one in Gleave Hall which has recently been uncovered. It’sgotto be here.” Her excitement was contagious, and he held his breath as she edged the drone closer to the point behind the eye where a series of prisms caught the light coming down from the light well. She took a few photos from different angles and then suddenly her hand froze over the controls. She studied the laptop, and Amare suddenly realized why. There was nothing there. The space where she believed the diamond would be was empty.
“It’s not there,” she said dully, rolling back on her haunches and pushing her hair out of her face in a gesture of frustration.
“I’m sorry. I know you had your hopes pinned on it. Maybe it’s somewhere else around here.”
“Maybe. But my knowledge lay in the building. Rosana has her own theory.”
“Hm,” Amare said, not believing Rosana would be any more successful than Leonora or Janey.
“We’ve still time before the centenary. Hopefully Rosana, and her knowledge of the culture and traditions of the monarchy in this area, will help her find it.”
“Well, at least you’ve found out more than you already knew about the harem with the aid of modern technology.”
“True. But I feel quite gutted. But, yeah, you’re right. It’ll be good to bring this up at the social media meeting tomorrow.”
“What social media meeting?” he asked, unable to disguise a sudden burst of anger.
She looked up at him with a curious frown. “Didn’t Leonora tell you? I guess not. She’s arranged some online live sessions to stir public interest in the centenary of Gleave College.”
“No way!” He shouldn’t have shouted, but he couldn’t believe he’d been blindsided like that. “This isn’t going ahead. There’s going to be no media—social or otherwise—about the centenary, or the diamond.”
“But it’s all arranged.”
“Thenun-arrange it.”
“Why? What’s the problem?”
“The problem?” He walked away in frustration. He couldn’t tell her that the very idea of social media was an emotional trigger for him. After what had happened to him and his closest friend, he wanted nothing to do with social media of any kind, ever. He took a deep breath and turned back to her. He had to make her stop this stupid charade. “Come on, Janey. I’ve helped you out here, despite the fact I knew there was nothing here. Now it’s done. There’s obviously no need for any kind of social media event.”
“But thereis. It’s all arranged.”
“Thenun-arrange it,” he repeated. He strode towards the door. “Come on, it’s time to leave. I have things to do.”
He waited for her by the door while she collected her things.
She walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He tensed. “What’s this about, Amare?Reallyabout, I mean?”
He turned to her, her expressive eyes inviting a confidence he wasn’t yet ready to give. He shook his head, pulled away, and opened the door. He sensed her disappointment, but could do nothing about it. Not yet. He knew he could only delay the inevitable. But so be it. He wasn’t ready to open himself up completely to her.
CHAPTER18
Janey wasn’t so much hurt as puzzled by Amare’s response to the social media event. She knew there was something in his past which made his need for control more extreme, and which he’d yet to tell her about. But, whatever it was, she had no intention of cancelling this event.
An hour later and she was ready with her laptop and connected to the others in the event. She’d given them a rundown on the work she was doing and showed them a little of her surroundings to give it authenticity. She didn’t tell them she hadn’t found the diamond, because there was still the possibility that Rosana might. And the mystery surrounding it was part of the angle of interest that some influencers were taking.
As the meeting wound down, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, her phone flash up with Amare’s name. She leaned forward and checked the message.
“Where are you?”
She checked the screen. Leonora was talking about the college so she quickly texted back it.
“In an interview. Won’t be long.”
“I told you not to do any!”
He’dtoldher! Since when did she take orders from him? She tossed the phone to one side. She’d deal with him later.
She turned back to the screen. They were all looking at her.
