Page 41 of The Betrayer
“Thanks for your help. Keep the change.”
The young woman’s eyes widened as I handed her a hefty bill. I turned away before she could say anything more, in the same move swiping the cup of espresso from the counter another employee had just placed there. Paul and I finally seemed to be in a good place, or at least on the start of that path, and I wasn’t going to screw it up. I could hold off for now and show my son how seriously I took his requests and our company.
Takeaway bag in one hand and coffee in another, I pushed open the door. Someone else was coming in, and I stepped back to hold the door open so she could pass through.
Then our eyes met, and I couldn’t look away. Intensely green eyes caught mine for just a moment, then a glimpse of creamy skin, almond-shaped eyes, and long, dark hair.
“Thanks.”
The woman flashed me a smile and was gone into the shop. For a moment, I nearly went back in just to talk to her. From what I’d seen, she was young, maybe as young as the bartender from the club. And I had just been thinking about being good until Paul got home.
So, I left, patting myself on the back for my restraint.
But I also screamed at myself for leaving.
Chapter 17
Paul
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ICOLLAPSED INTO THEmodern chair, the leather creaking as I leaned back and let my head fall over the padded rest. To say I was tired didn’t entirely cover the bone-deep exhaustion I felt at that moment. My eyes drifted closed, and I tried to will away the headache that had tugged at my temples since morning and had steadily grown worse all day.
I’d been working in the corporate world for a long time. I knew what it was to play mind games, each company or person trying to gain the upper hand. But I never had experienced business quite like this.
To be fair, this was a different country. The rules were different. I had hired someone beforehand to help me learn the ins and outs, the expectations, and the cultural subtleties that might make the difference between success and failure. China was a total culture shock, both in the business world and out of it, which was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
I was widely traveled. I considered myself able to adjust and adapt quickly thanks to trips to Europe as a kid, backpacking trips to far-flung places over the summer in high school, and the weeks I’d spent wandering from place to unknown place with only my backpack during college. I had already been to China, from Hong Kong to Shanghai, to Guangzhou, to Harbin, I had traveled up and down and around several times.
But that had been as a tourist during gentler times. Being a part of the business world was something else entirely, and I was grateful I had hired an interpreter and fixer to help me along. Still, I felt lost. I had to call on every ounce of training I’d received from my dad, directly and indirectly, to help me through the endless business meetings as I tried to secure this crucial funding. Several times I almost picked up the phone to call him to ask for help, but I put it back down again.
I was fully grown, and I was going to do this on my own.
Too often, though, I wished Tara was with me to help me organize my mind and work. The massive number of things I had to remember, to file away, the red tape and the documentation, and the sheer amount of paperwork was mind-blowing. She helped me as much as she could from afar. When I wasn’t at meetings, a business dinner, or being shown around Shanghai, I was on my computer and phone with her and the fixer who had become my temporary assistant as we sorted through and filed away all the information.
At the completion of this marathon was the funding for our takeover of ITN, a goal shining at the end of this challenging road like a beacon. I hadn’t come this far, worked this hard, and reached this final level to let it all go now over a technicality that was understanding how business was done in another country.
