Читать книгу True Love - Brenda Jackson - Страница 12

The following morning Nicholas discovered that putting Shayla out of his mind wouldn't be easy. The woman had too much of a sensuous draw about her. He wasn't the only one to pick up on it. When she walked into the meeting room, looking completely businesslike and professional, every man took notice. Her presence demanded their attention.

Paul had arrived very late the night before. Standing beside Nicholas, he whispered, "I can see why temptation was nipping fast and furious at your heels. She's a good-looking woman."

Nicholas frowned. For some reason he did not like nor appreciate the male attention being lavished on Shayla. "Let's get this meeting underway," he grumbled, ignoring Paul's soft chuckle.

"Feeling the sharp bite of primitive male possessiveness, Nick?"

The look Nicholas shot at Paul spoke volumes. He then shifted his attention from the older man back to Shayla. As efficient as she was beautiful, she had not waited for him to make introductions. A born diplomat, she was making her way around the room, speaking in fluent Chinese and conducting herself with culturally acceptable decorum. It was easy to see that the businessmen were just eating it up.

"Didn't I tell you she'd be an asset to us?" Paul asked, smiling. "Look how easily she's working that group."

Nicholas nodded. They both knew that it was expected for Westerners doing business in China to have a mastery of the given language. Although Nicholas's knowledge of the language was limited to a few words, Shayla, who was representing his company, was laying it on very smoothly with her vast knowledge of it.

He also observed her exchanging business cards with each man present. He knew from past experience that in China the exchanging of business cards was like shaking hands. It was part of the business etiquette. He had forgotten that major detail, and wondered where Shayla had gotten the cards. His company had not yet printed any for her.

By the time Shayla had made it over to where he and Paul stood, Nicholas was completely overwhelmed with her, as the others were. "Ms. Kirkland, I'd like you to meet Paul Dunlap, head of security at Chenault."

Shayla's gaze quickly left Nicholas and looked into the eyes of the tall handsome man standing beside him. She remembered the name from her mother's diary. He had been the security person to uncover Thomas Jordache's plot, and had brought it to the attention of Alan Chenault, resulting in her mother's firing. Knowing what she knew about the man, Shayla forced herself to offer her hand to him and pasted a smile on her lips. "Mr. Dunlap."

Paul took the hand in his. "Ms. Kirkland, welcome to Chenault Electronics." With his observant gaze, he studied her. "You look somewhat familiar. Have we met before?" he asked, releasing her hand.

Shayla quenched the panic that rose inside her. She hoped there was nothing about her that reminded him of her mother. Surely he couldn't remember that far back. "No, Mr. Dunlap, I don't think we have," she heard herself saying. "Unless we saw each other when I came in for my interview. Perhaps it was then."

Paul nodded as he continued to study her. "Perhaps."

Not wanting to give the man time to dwell on it, she said to Nicholas, "Everyone is ready to begin. How do you want the seating arranged?"

"Whichever way is comfortable for them."

Shayla nodded, agreeing with Nicholas's decision. Often, Chinese people saw Westerners' quick decisions as signs of suspicious behavior. It was imperative to be patient in any business negotiations with them. "I think that all of us sitting around the table will work out fine. Paul needs to sit on your left side, and I'll sit on your right."

Nicholas nodded, deciding not to ask why she'd suggested such an arrangement. He did want to ask her one thing before they began. "The business cards. Where did you get them?"

"After I went to bed I thought about the importance of having them. I got back up and used the computer in the office next to my suite to make them. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I'm very glad you thought of it. We don't need to get things off on the wrong foot." He glanced across the room at a Chinese gentleman standing alone near the window. "I take it you've met Mr. Ho Chin."

Shayla nodded. "Yes."

"We need to be cautious around him. He's the one I was talking about last night. The one who could sway the negotiations another way."

Shayla nodded again. She almost wanted to tell Nicholas that Mr. Ho Chin was not the only one who could sway the negotiations. She had the ammunition to destroy him herself, and that was her intent.

"If you're ready, Mr. Chenault, we can get things started."

"I'm ready."

Shayla walked off to deliver that statement to each man in the room.

"There's something about her that's familiar," Paul said to Nicholas as they moved forward to sit around the table.

Nicholas raised a brow. "Perhaps you saw her photo in her personnel file. I'm sure one was there when your department did their background check."

Paul nodded, his gaze still on Shayla. "Perhaps."

When the golden opportunity presented itself for Shayla to ruin Chenault Electronics, she discovered she couldn't do it.

Negotiations were tense, and had been all morning. They were going into their fifth hour, and what had seemed like a done deal earlier was anything but that now. All because of Mr. Ho Chin. There was something about him that Shayla didn't like, and she found herself wanting the deal to go through just so Nicholas could best the man. His arguments were nothing more than stalling tactics, and everyone in the room knew it. Up until this hour, the other Chinese businessmen in the room were still leaning toward closing the deal, but now things didn't look quite that way. Mr. Ho Chin was trying to discredit Nicholas in the only way he knew, and that was to question his sincerity in doing business with their country.

Shayla shook her head. None of this made any sense. True, the Ling Deal would be good for Nicholas's company, but it would also be good for the Chinese people. Ever since the sovereignty of Hong Kong had reverted back to China, the people of the Republic were trying to catch up in ways of advanced technology, and were doing an astounding job of it. What Nicholas was proposing in his plan was to put them on top, escalating them to a higher playing field than even Japan.

"May I try something, Mr. Chenault?" Shayla whispered, when it appeared the talks were momentarily at a stalemate.

"Anything is better than nothing," Nicholas grumbled softly for her and Paul's ears only.

Nodding, Shayla began speaking fluent Chinese, addressing her words to the men sitting across from them. They fully understood what she was saying, if their expressions were any indication. Nicholas frowned, wondering what she was saying to them. Whatever it was had their rapt attention. And whatever it was made Mr. Ho Chin not a happy camper. He suddenly spoke up in a loud voice, and Nicholas could tell he was angry about whatever Shayla was saying.

Keeping her voice soft and even, Shayla acknowledged Mr. Ho Chin's comments before turning to address the entire group again. After a few minutes, one of the other Chinese gentlemen began speaking. Shayla nodded, smiling. She glanced over at Nicholas and smiled again. Then she gave a reply to the man.

"What in the world's going on?" Paul had leaned over and whispered the question to Nicholas. "What's she saying to them?"

Nicholas shrugged. "I have no idea. She could be giving away the company, for all I know."

"Aren't you going to stop her?"

"No, I'm going to follow my gut instincts and trust her."

Paul lifted a brow. That might be Nick's inclination, but it sure wasn't his. Although he had pushed for her hiring, she had not worked for the company long enough to develop any sense of loyalty. This was just her second day on the job.

A part of Nicholas, the one ruled strictly by business sense, knew he should try to figure out, as best he could, just what Shayla was saying. But he was too caught up in listening to the sound of her voice as she spoke to the men. He doubted she realized it but her voice sounded soft, husky, and sexy. She might not be aware of it, but every man in the room was.

When the Chinese gentlemen at the table all nodded their heads except for Ho Chin, Nicholas knew he had to know what was going on. Before he could ask, Shayla turned to him. "All right, it's over."

Nicholas frowned, clearly not understanding. "What's over?"

Knowing that a few of the men in the room, Mr. Ho Chin especially, could understand the English language, Shayla chose her words carefully. "The negotiations. Everyone is ready to sign."

Nicholas felt his head spinning. "To close the deal?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes."

He shook his head, clearly dazed. "But how? Why? What did you say to get them to change their minds?"

Shayla reached across the table and captured Nicholas's hand in hers. To everyone observing, it was definitely not a businesslike gesture. Nicholas lifted his eyebrows, wondering what she was doing. Instead of pulling his hand back, as he had an inclination to do, he decided to let it stay put. According to her earlier announcement, the deal was about to be closed. Somehow she had placed the ball back in their court, so he was willing to let her continue to play it as she saw fit.

"I explained things to them, Nicholas," she said softly, meeting his eyes.

"What things?" Nicholas asked, still not comprehending. The look in her eyes pleaded with him to pretend that he did, and he hadn't missed her calling him by his first name.

"I explained why you had turned down Mr. Ming's invitation to the dinner party Friday night."

Nicholas lifted another brow. He knew why he had turned down the man's invitation to dinner-he intended to be on a plane headed back to the States on Friday. "Really? And just what did you explain to them?"

"I explained that you and I had made personal plans, and that you thought you would be disappointing me if you were to break them. However, in light of everything, I assured Mr. Ming that we would be honored to change our plans and attend the dinner party at his home."

She smiled tentatively at him, staring into his eyes. "Trust me on this one, sweetheart."

Nicholas blinked at her term of endearment. He then met her stare head-on. "I am, darling."

As if grateful for that, Shayla released his hand and turned her attention back to the gentlemen and gave them a smile that made all of them blush, except Mr. Ho Chin. She then placed the documents to be signed in front of them. Each of them signed, even Mr. Ho Chin, although he did it grudgingly. Nicholas was more than anxious to put his own signature on the paper.

With the business concluded, the men stood and walked out, leaving only Shayla, Nicholas, and Paul in the room. When Nicholas was sure the gentlemen were inside the closed elevator and couldn't possibly hear a thing, he turned to Shayla. "What the hell was that about?"

Shayla let out a deep sigh as she began gathering up the papers from the table. "That, Mr. Chenault, was about saving face. When Mr. Ming invited you to a dinner party at his home Friday night, you turned him down, not realizing the repercussions."

Nicholas frowned. Before he could ask the question, Paul did. "What's wrong with not going to the man's house for dinner?"

Shayla met Paul's inquisitive gaze. "Everything. In China, an individual's reputation and social standing are based on the complex concept of saving face. By turning down a dinner invitation to a Chinese associate's home, you can cause that individual to lose face simply because you're not available, or evidently think he's not important enough for you to make yourself available. To save face for him, as well as for yourself, if you can't accept the invitation you must apologize for not being able to do so, then propose an alternative plan that is palatable to the person who extended the invitation. Although you apologized for not being able to attend the function, you did not offer an alternative solution."

Nicholas shrugged. "I didn't know."

"Evidently you didn't, and your lack of knowledge was what Mr. Ho Chin was using to get the others to back out of the deal. He was trying to make it seem that you had intentionally delivered Mr. Ming an insult. He was carrying it a little bit further, too, by claiming you had no knowledge of their culture, and it would not be wise to do business with your company."

"So what did you tell them?" Nicholas asked quietly, trying to absorb it all.

"When I saw what Mr. Ho Chin was trying to do, I simply explained to the other men that you and I had recently gotten engaged, and that you wanted to get back to the States to look for a ring. That way I made them think that love had caused your thoughtlessness, not intentional rudeness."

Nicholas looked at her for the longest time, not saying anything. Paul, he noticed, had covered his mouth to smother his laughter. "Let me get this straight. You told them you and I are engaged? To be married?"

Shayla shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other under Nicholas's intense stare. "Yes. I had no choice. I could have told them you were in a hurry to get to some other woman back in the States, but that would not have soothed them. They had met me and were impressed with my command of their language and customs and culture. They figured that as your future wife, I would make up for what you lack. And when I told them we would change our plans and attend the dinner party, that clinched things and took the wind out of Mr. Ho Chin's sails. Without any other argument, he had to go along with everyone and sign the papers."

"You seem to have understood the situation well," Paul said, clearly impressed.

"I did. Believe it or not, most Asians credit blacks with understanding their culture better than whites, especially in the field of literature. They feel we're quicker to understand and appreciate the value of their writing, and take it more seriously. Howard University has a history of publishing books by Asian-American authors."

Both Nicholas and Paul nodded at what Shayla had told them. After taking it all in, Nicholas couldn't keep from beaming. He was more than happy that the Ling Deal was closed, and was extremely happy that Shayla's ingenious thinking had pushed things through.

"I'm curious as to what they'll think when the two of you don't get married," Paul said, still clearly amused.

Shayla met Paul's grin. "They'll think nothing of it. They're aware that Americans break engagements all the time."

She then turned her attention back to Nicholas. "I hope your remaining in this country for another day won't pose a problem for you, Mr. Chenault-or for your significant other back in the States."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow as he looked at Shayla, remembering he'd posed the same question to her last night at dinner. He drew in a shuddering breath when her questioning eyes met his. His lips tilted into a smile, and she felt the intensity of his gaze. "I don't have a significant other back in the States, Shayla. But it seems I do have a fiancée while I'm here in China, doesn't it?"