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“I apologized,” Avi replied without missing a beat. “The jet is in use. I’d be happy to arrange a commercial flight for you, or I can check to see if another client’s jet might be available—”
“Who has the jet?” Rami knew he was being too sharp with Avi, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“Sheikh Kyril has the jet,” Avi answered, a note of wariness creeping into his tone. “I’m more than happy to—”
“I’ll contact him,” Rami said, cutting the call short.
The video call to Kyril took three tries to connect, and by the third attempt Rami was ready to throw his phone out the window. But at last the window blurred and then cleared, Kyril’s face appearing in the middle of the screen. A moment later, the sound cut in.
It was deafening.
Inan was shrieking at the top of his lungs in the background of the call, and Kyril was half-turned toward his son. “Inan, it’s time to be quiet,” he scolded gently. “I’m talking to Uncle Rami. Do you want to say hello to Uncle Rami?”
Inan screamed “NO!”
Kyril laughed, turning toward the phone. “What can I do for my unbelievably romantic younger brother?”
“I’m not in the mood,” said Rami.
Inan tore past Kyril again, hooting like an owl. “Give me a moment,” Kyril told Rami, then turned his face away from the screen. “Hannah? Hannah, come out here.” Her reply was too muffled to hear, as if she were in a far room of whatever estate they were at. Rami didn’t recognize it as one of the royal properties. He gritted his teeth. What was it going to take to get Kyril to pay attention for long enough to—
“What’s on your mind, brother?” Kyril was back. He gave Rami and arch look. “Trouble in paradise?” He laughed at what he clearly thought was a fantastic joke.
“I need the jet.” Rami ignored Kyril’s comment completely. The last thing he wanted was for this conversation to devolve into a litany of jokes at Rami’s expense. “I need to come back from Texas now.”
Kyril raised one eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the States for another week?”
“Why so many questions?” Rami shot back. “Have the jet sent to Texas.”
Kyril shook his head. “I’m going to need more information than that. We’re on holiday in Italy, and tomorrow we fly to Spain.”
“Everything is in shambles. Is that enough of an explanation?” Rami didn’t bother to keep the fury out of his expression.
“What do you mean?”
“I need the jet more than you do. Have it sent to Texas. As soon as possible. Can you charter a yacht? Hannah likes those more than planes.” Hannah and Kyril had told the story of their own whirlwind romance enough times that Rami didn’t have to reach for that detail. Though she didn’t seem to mind the private jet so much as she did commercial flights.
“What’s in shambles, Rami?” Kyril insisted. “Did the deal fall through?”
“Yes, the deal fell through. The deal might as well be dead.”
“What happened?” In the background Inan started shouting again, and Kyril walked a little farther away, the noise receding slightly. “Did Morris flinch?”
“She wanted Catelyn involved, and that can’t happen, for reasons that should be obvious to everyone. And now she’s gone and ruined everything.”
“Who? Lydia Morris?”
“Catelyn.”
“I don’t—” Kyril shook his head. “How exactly has Catelyn gone from your partner in crime to ruining your life?”
“She’s gone,” Rami burst out. “She’s furious with me for telling her the truth.”
“What truth?”
“The truth about her position in this family.” Rami tried to calm down, tried to slow down. “She can’t cosign the contract with me.”
“Why not?”
