Trusting A Sheikh (Playgrounds of Power 1) by Rosie Pike

road with them for months – they know exactly why we're all sitting around that table, to buy them, so what's the issue?"
    "What's the sticking point? Maybe talking it over will help."
    "Hell if I know. It doesn't seem to be the share price, we agreed on that hours ago, and all the executives around that table would be keeping their jobs – I certainly don't have any experience in the body armor industry, and we'd provide written assurances that they keep their jobs in the event of this takeover occurring. So it's not about how much we are offering, or about the people in the company…
    "Honestly, Chloe, I have no idea. But I need to get this deal done," Tariq said, frustration creeping into his voice.
    "Well, Jack definitely wants to get this deal closed," Chloe said quietly, almost accidentally, as she tried to work through the situation in her head. "So –."
    "Why do you say that?" Tariq asked, intrigued. "It feels completely different up there at the negotiating table. He's shooting every proposal down…"
    "Oh, maybe I was on the wrong track then," Chloe muttered, slightly ashamed that her thought had so quickly and conclusively been proved incorrect.
    "No, seriously – what makes you think that he wants to do the deal?" Tariq asked in a reassuring tone of voice. "What's that thing teachers say to kids – there's no such thing as a stupid question? Let's put it this way – I'm desperate. There's no such thing as a stupid opinion right now."
    "It's just a thought, but look at them over at that table." Chloe pointed surreptitiously, and Tariq looked over, disguising it as if his eyes were just searching the room. She lowered her voice. "Look at them, and tell me that a man who didn't want to get this deal done would be acting like he is."
    At precisely that moment, the man in question jammed his finger down hard into the table three times, as if to emphasize some point or other. "Look at him," Chloe whispered excitedly, "there's no way he's leaving this room without doing a deal. I sensed it the moment he walked in. He's walking around with a nervous energy. I just can't put my finger on what it is that's holding him back…"
    "You're right," Tariq said slowly. "Yes, you're right. So we've just got to figure out what exactly it is that he wants. That'll be easier said than done."
    "Maybe," Chloe said, staring thoughtfully at the crumb-strewn negotiating table, lost in thought. "Or maybe not."
    "What are you thinking?"
    "Well, do you reckon it could be anything to do with our mysterious friend Charles? At first, I thought that we'd laid him a place at the table out of courtesy, but the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to think that has more significance than that…"
    "Go on…" Tariq urged, intrigued.
    "So, I did a bit of digging when I found out the name of the company, and like I said, there wasn't a whole lot on the Internet. But this guy, this Charles Murphy, he was initially some kind of mad scientist who founded the whole thing."
    "So?" Tariq said, not sure where Chloe was going with this.
    "Maybe he's acting like a father whose children are leaving home to go to college – maybe he's the thing holding back the whole deal."
    "That would make sense," Tariq mused, pacing back and forth. "Yes, that makes a lot of sense." He peeked over at the table, careful that no one on the opposite negotiating party had noticed his growing excitement. "That would explain why Jack is so keen to do the deal, why they're dancing around the specifics."
    "It's just a theory…" Chloe countered, suddenly realizing that she was completely overstepping her remit and wondering what the consequences would be if she was completely wrong and Tariq torpedoed this business deal on her say-so, but at the same time, deeply appreciative of Tariq's warmth towards the idea.
    "I don't think so. I think this is it. I wonder though, how do I play it?"
    "I'm afraid that one's up to you," Chloe said with an apologetic smile. "Have you