Page 6 of Earned Husband

“Thereissteel involved,” Alex said, leaning forward with an expression on his face that told me he was already seventeen steps ahead. “Thayer has processing facilities all over the country, all with state-of-the-art facilities and existing regulatory approvals.”

“You’ve also got established logistics networks and an existing labor force,” Khaled said. “That’s two more of the hurdles we’re facing off the table.”

“How difficult would it really be to outfit one or two of those facilities for chemical processing?” Alex asked.

I shook my head. “More difficult than you’re thinking. That’s for sure.”

Alex shrugged. “It’ll be a piece of cake in comparison to building an entirely new operation from the ground up. Plus, you’ll have W&S behind you. With our backing, it could be done with just a handful of signatures.”

Just a handful of signatures.

He made it sound so absurdly simple that I admired him for it, but something like this involved regulators andenvironmental compliance—and hundreds of millions of dollars—but I supposed GlobalStar had that.

“There would be dozens of burning hoops to jump through,” I said, shaking my head.

Alex pointed between the three of us. “There is no hoop that we couldn’t get through if we’re working together and you know it.”

I glanced at Khaled, but his expression remained carefully neutral. Alex, however, was starting to get excited. I’d seen him like this before and I suddenly knew that I’d already been backed into a corner, so I threw my last card on the table.

“Jane is our CEO, not me,” I said. “She would undoubtedly have opinions about this, but aside from that, Thayer and GlobalStar were already in talks years ago and those fell apart. So what’s changed?”

“A lot has changed,” Alex said. “You and Jane being in control of the company now, for starters. You also have equal shares. I’ll talk to her about this, obviously, but in principle, you can agree without needing her permission.”

As I looked back at him, I caught the way he glimpsed at Khaled, who gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod in response. The entire exchange lasted maybe a split second, but I’d seen it. Something else was definitely going on here. Something they weren’t telling me yet.

I knew it wouldn’t help to press Alex about it while Khaled was here. My brother-in-law might not be my best friend, not even within the ranks of his very own family, but I did know the guy.

Alex was a master of timing and he had the patience, tenacity, and grit to wait for whatever opportunity he was looking for to present itself. He was also supernaturally skilled at bringing people together to make a deal.

If he wasn’t ready to tell me what else was going on, he wouldn’t do it—and he wouldn’t even consider it while the other person was literally still at the table. Finally, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, turning to look at Khaled.

“What chemicals are you looking to process, exactly?”

There were some that would certainly be easier to gain the necessary approvals for than others. My mind was already racing through what I knew of GlobalStar and their facilities, mentally wading through just about every chemical they could possibly handle, yet none of them came anywhere close to the answer he eventually gave me.

“Have you ever heard of White Water Lily?” he asked with a shrug. “It’s one of our family’s largest international brands. We have an expanding market for its products in both Europe and America, but meeting the demand here without a local plant has become an honest to God nightmare. It’s perfume, Colin. I’m looking for a facility where we can manufacture perfume.”

CHAPTER 4

DEJA

Afew days after Jane and Alex’s party, my brother and sister-in-law had finally recovered from their hangovers and Khaled and I were up at the crack of dawn. Chicago was quiet at this hour, the streets largely empty as we made our way to a flower and botanical market several miles outside the city.

Despite the early hour, I was buzzing for excitement to visit this place. “I’ve been hearing about it for years. Do you know how many of our local supply chain partners have told me about it? Dozens. So many that I’ve lost count.”

Khaled stifled a yawn, but not even most of the world still being asleep could keep him from reminding me of our primary mission. “Just remember, we’re going there to network and possibly make some connections. Today is all about the research, not the formulas.”

I sighed. “You say that like those two things are mutually exclusive, but they’re not. Part of the research is considering different scent combinations. In order to consider that, we need to think about the formulas we’ll use to turn whatever we find into a scent our buyers will love.”

As the head of sourcing and design for White Water Lily, our mother’s perfumery, it was literally my job to focus on theflowers and the formulas. My brother was a businessman right to the very core of his being. He could focus on networking. I, however, was visiting this market to find out what American flora could offer to our existing range.

White Water Lily had always remained true to Egypt. We prided ourselves on using our local scents for our fragrances, but with our customer base expanding, I was truly eager to find out how we could incorporate what the States had to offer.

“Our buyers will love anything you give them,” Khaled said as we pulled into the parking lot, the sun only just beginning to lighten the sky above. “Just take business cards of anyone who supplies anything you think you might want to use, okay? It’s not like we can just pop back in here if we don’t have contact details.”

I nodded, but my attention had already shifted to the warehouse we’d come to visit. Before he’d even fully stopped the car, I was out, not slowing but knowing he’d catch up anyhow. I’d barely even made it to the entrance before he was next to me. Grinning, he shook his head.

“You always have been like a kid on Christmas morning about a flower market,” he said. “Have you got your phone on you?”