She took care to dress appropriately that evening. The simple but elegant gown that flowed from the neck to below the knees might have looked matronly on another woman, but on Leila it looked sensuous. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, hoping that she had achieved the effect she was going for—elegant, sophisticated and business-like. 

After all she didn’t want Marco to get the wrong idea; there was something about the way he looked at her that made her feel weak at the knees. It irritated her that he seemed to have that effect on her. 

Men had never been a concern for her in the past. Being extremely shy growing up, she had had no experience with boys. It had been easier to hide behind her glasses and long hair than to face relationships with boys. At college, when she had gotten contact lenses and had no more use for her spectacles, her friends insisted on her showing her beautiful face instead of hiding behind it. 

She’d gained some confidence and had dated a few young men but there were never any serious affections exchanged partly because she had made sure that it never got to a serious point. Relationships were never high on her priority list or perhaps the feelings she hoped to have, had never been there.

Satisfied with the results of her efforts, she grabbed her purse and left her room. Bismah was waiting for her in the front room. His face arranged in a scowl as he took in her appearance.

“You look like you are going to a funeral, Princess. We want to court a favourable solution to this problem, not seem as if we have given up our quest or all hope.”

Leila was in no mood for his cutting comments. “Well then, that is the exact effect I was going for. It is exactly how I feel —and so would you if you were selling your soul to the devil.”

“As the future queen, your responsibility comes with certain sacrifices. When you accept that you will feel a bit better about it all.” 

There was a different quality in his voice when he said that last bit, and she wondered if there was indeed a speck of pity in there somewhere. 

It was the last thing she wanted, his pity, or anyone else’s for that matter. She had already steeled herself to attend this dinner with Marco, even though the niggling feeling that there was certainly something quite offish about it. There was so much more than the ruby that was at stake, her intuition warned; for some reason Leila knew that it was also going to be her heart that would need to be sacrificed in the end.

She sat patiently at the bar of the cocktail lounge sipping on mineral water to pass the time. It was only a few minutes since she arrived, yet it seemed an eternity. Bismah watched vigilantly from a few tables away. Even though Leila had insisted, in fact demanded, that he not accompany her, he refused to go against the Queen’s orders and so to appease her, he agreed to keep an eye on her, albeit from a short distance.

*****

Marco waited in a secluded spot studying the woman at the bar. She seemed stiff and wary and he knew he was the reason for her tense demeanour. For brief seconds, the overwhelming urge to gather her in his arms and wipe away the look of concern in her face, teetered within him. The thought led to other thoughts. What would she feel like in his arms? 

As soon as he realised the direction his thoughts veered off to, he put a stop to it. Cool and in control! Marco seemed to need to keep reminding himself of this ever since he laid eyes on Leila. He wondered what on earth he was doing—not for the first time that day. This was so off character, so impulsive and opportune, he considered leaving, letting her sit there at the bar without a clue as to what he was about to propose. But the moment the thought entered his head, he dismissed it. 

He wanted to prove her wrong. Why? When her opinion of him was probably what many of whom he’d encountered in business shared? An opinion he accepted as fact. He had no answer to that. And honestly he did not want to analyse that just yet. 

He wasn’t all about power, he wanted her to know. There was more to him. He was a self-made man and not in any way selfish, as she’d insinuated. Well, with the proposition he was about to make her, he was sure that he would set the record straight. Princess Leila would eventually see how very wrong her assumptions of him were. 

He had kept her waiting long enough. She would never know he had been waiting for her for more than an hour—one of the tricks of being in control.

“You are certainly a pleasure to look at, Princess. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Leila shifted in her chair and then faced Marco. With a tilt of her head she waited for him to explain. When no explanation was forthcoming, she said, “I don’t suppose you were ever told not to keep a lady waiting.” Her eyes drilled into his.

“You seem upset.” Marco tried to hide his smile. Leila was no push-over. She was so close to taking away his control but instead of feeling threatened, he could not help but admire her conviction.

“There is certainly an edge to you Mr.Vincenzi. It can only be explained by your attitude toward women.”

Marco was surprised by her observation. Maybe her mind was already made up.

“You think woman are just possessions and only important when they are needed for whatever reason,” she continued.

“I do admit I am a connoisseur of beauty and a beautiful woman can be the ultimate accessory.” That should rile her up a bit. Give her what she wants—the wrong impression, thought Marco. Remembering his intentions for that evening and also observing her clipped expression, he realised that he was not improving her opinion of him. “I keep putting my foot in it, don’t I? The truth is that I do value a beautiful woman as much as the next man.”

“Yes, as an object. To do with as you please. Use and discard. Like the poor woman you left stranded on the kerb earlier.”

He noticed the fire in her eyes. Leila had him in knots and a sane man would get away while he had a chance. But wild dogs could not drag him away from her. So much for being in control. She had the upper hand, but she would never know she had one up on him. He doubted that she realised just how she deeply she affected him and that was just the way he wanted it to remain. 

“Will you give me a chance to redeem myself, Princess? I think I may have come across all wrong.”