LITMIR.BIZ

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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,

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