“The auction is less than a week away and the information I requested should have been on my desk yesterday! What is the hold up?” Marco Alessandro Vincenzi was in no mood for incompetence and the fact that one of his employees had not adhered to his expectations was unacceptable.
“You have one hour!” Marco slammed the phone, sat back and tried to recollect his thoughts. He had a lot riding on this next acquisition. The Heart of Oudh was something he had been coveting for the past four years and he was not about to let it slip through his fingers, not again.
The Heart, as he dubbed it, was an exquisite flawless ruby. For centuries, it had been the sole ownership of the royal family of Oudh, but in a surprising twist of fate, it was sold to a dealer by the Crown Prince of Oudh to pay off gambling debts.
Before Marco could add it to his extraordinary collection of priceless artefacts, it was stolen and the dealer murdered. Recently, it was recovered and put on auction. Marco vowed he would do anything to add it to his collection. Anything.
An hour later his private investigator brought in the information he sought.
“I’m sorry it took time, sir,” Benjamin Simms said handing Marco a file, “but we had a last minute bidder and you may find this extremely interesting…” Marco held up a hand to silence Simms.
It took Marco only a moment to flip through the contents of the file but his eyes kept reverting to the picture of the woman.
“Princess Leila Jodhi?” But the woman looked far less sophisticated than her title would suggest.
“I don’t understand, the last heir to the Oudh kingdom died in a car crash, who is this?” Lips pursed, he swivelled his chair toward Simms.
If anything, his line of business had taught him to never underestimate any one, especially those he intended to crush.
“She is the daughter of Princess Aranya, who was disowned by the king and Queen for marrying an Englishman, a writer for the Daily News. The Princess Aranya died as a commoner a year ago and her daughter has been reclaimed by the old queen as the heir to the Kingdom.” Simms put his hands behind his back and wrung them nervously. “Princess Leila was only appointed Heir Apparent in the last three months.”
Barely able to tear his eyes away from the photo, Marco merely glanced over the notes that contained her history.
“A few months ago she was just another guileless student and now she is the future queen of Oudh—talk about twists of fate!” Marco shook his head as he read through the short sum-up Simms had prepared. His eyes returned to the photo once again.
“She has been given the mammoth task of retrieving the ruby for her grandmother and newly acquired country. I don’t think she has a chance at all owing to the fact that funds are limited. Oudh has experienced another year of drought and they have had to sell off land to feed the starving people of that country,” Simms continued.
“So why even bother if they don’t have the money for it?” Marco huffed, tapping his fingers on the desk.
“Apparently, the reason that Oudh has fallen on bad times is because the ruby has been removed from the possession of the royal family. As its name suggests, the Heart of Oudh—well, it is…according to myth, supposed to have some powers of fortune for the royal family and their people.”
“A good luck charm?” Marco sat back in his chair, still staring at the woman in the photo. Then he shut the file and flung it back onto the table overturning a few priceless baubles.
He spun his chair toward the curved pane glass wall behind his desk and stared out at the panoramic view of the Thames. “That’s all for now,” he dismissed Simms. He needn’t be concerned, he told himself. The Heart of Oudh would be his. No matter what.
The elaborate halls of Sotheby’s, attested to the success of the leading auctioneers. Marco was immediately treated with the cordiality of a frequent and important buyer. Guided toward the viewing room by one of the curators, Marco was confident that he would soon own the one gem that eluded him these last four years.
Security guards in plain clothes stood on either side of the large ornate mahogany doors and their dark glasses and ear-pieces were the only indication that they were there for any reason. Marco studied them carefully as the curator, who just but managed to keep up with Marco’s brisk pace about the auction house, assured him that the state of the art security system was more than adequate to secure the gem.
He entered the viewing room expecting privacy. He had been anticipating this moment, when his eyes would finally behold the one gem he had yearned for all these years. To once again be in its presence —the Heart of Oudh, filled him with buoyant anticipation and he couldn’t help the broad smile that most would declare uncharacteristic. Today, he would finally have it in his possession.
But the smile disappeared the moment he laid eyes on the woman who had only been a face in a photo until now. Vexed by the realisation that it was not the ruby that quickened his pulse, he hesitated as he took in her appearance in flesh.
Marco prided himself on being well-versed in handling women as there had been many before who held his attention, if only fleetingly.
With expert understanding of the female psyche, something that he’d naturally found he was attuned to, he was always in control, both of his emotions and the woman in question. But he found his confidence floundering a little in that department the moment he walked into the room.
She took his breath away. In a demure cream pantsuit that could not hide her bold curvaceous figure, he was surprised. She was not his usual type.
Hazel brown eyes met his briefly. He was mesmerised by the mixture of innocence, fear and curiosity that flashed in those arresting irises.
Her photo had failed to do her complete justice and she seemed unaware of her effect on him. For some reason he found that intensely appealing.
“Princess Leila, an honour to meet you. I am Marco Vincenzi.” He extended his hand and she tentatively offered hers in greeting.
With all the charm he could muster, he placed his lips on slightly trembling fingers. It did not go as planned. The immediate surge of something akin to an electric shock almost crackled through his body with such power that he let go abruptly.
He tried desperately to appear polite as he turned his attention away from her and focused rather on the ruby. He needed to collect his thoughts and allow his body to recover. It was a mere touch, he tried to remind himself. Losing his edge now could cost him the only prize he was interested in, The Heart.
Embarrassed by the man’s obvious aversion to her, Leila wished she could disappear into thin air. She was a princess yet she was behaving like an insecure little schoolgirl. When the man had walked into the viewing room, she was surprised by the way her heart raced in response to him.
The flurry of nervousness had nothing to do with the fact that he was tall and impressive in his expensive suit, tailored to his impeccably built body. She knew only too well who he was and exactly what he wanted
Marco Vincenzi’s reputation as a ruthless businessman and his involvement in a few unsavoury deals, had been hinted at, if not proven. On more than one occasion, he had made the headlines of the Financial Chronicle for his questionable business deals and his uncontested acquisitions.
It was no wonder that he effortlessly dominated the large room and sent her pulse into orbit. The countless hours of lessons in poise and sophistication she had to endure in order to fit the profile of a princess, had not prepared her for the moment her eyes met with his steely grey ones.
In that moment she felt a fraud, unable to fulfil the role that was recently bestowed on her.
“Will I ever be a real princess?” she wondered for the umpteenth time.
Real princesses do not turn to liquid in the presence of powerful men. Granted, he was the enemy. Well—according to the newspapers, and of course Bismah, her aide and advisor.
“Quite extraordinary,” Marco commented evenly as he studied the ruby through the deceptively fragile glass casing. “I can see why it is called the Heart of Oudh and why so many covet it.”
Leila glanced away from the displayed gem to Marco. His magnitude seemed to proliferate the space that suddenly seemed far smaller than when she walked in. He exuded confidence and power and something else that she could not quite pinpoint. Leila found that she was intrigued.
“Are you interested in bidding for the ruby, Mr. Vincenzi?” her voice was a little shaky; her tone rang false.
Of course, she knew he would be bidding for the ruby. Only too well. Leila had been hard-pressed to do her research too. Marco Vincenzi had been coveting it for years.
“Well, let’s put it this way, Princess, you have got to outbid me.”
Challenge issued. Leila realised what the other thing was that she could not quite pinpoint earlier – he was callous, beyond the description afforded her by Bismah.
Marco Vincenzi had a killer instinct and Leila had no doubt from their brief encounter—what Marco wanted, Marco inevitably got.
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