Igniting the Passion With Mr White (3 page)

“
We were thinking of taking some time in Mexico but Tasha wants some time in Aspen. So we got the cabin for the long weekend,” he said smiling.

“
By the way, when he said ‘we’ at the beginning of the sentence, he actually meant him. I wanted Aspen right from the get go,” Natasha said matter-of-factly.

“
God knows you will need the chilly weather,” Naomi said. Natasha felt her cheeks flush. She suddenly regretted inviting them over for breakfast.

“
So Mother, you have to promise not to do anything drastic with Alexis,” Mitchell said quickly. Naomi frowned.

“
What makes you say that? And even if I could, it’s not like I could get her away from Charles,” Naomi said as she glanced at her husband who had gone back to playing with the baby.

“
What? You can’t blame me. She is adorable,” Mr. Schmidt said with a smile.

“
Of course she is. She is mine,” Mitchell said proudly.

“
Hey, those are my genes. Your father’s side of the family is all fat and double chins,” Naomi said quickly.

“
Guess I hit the genetic jackpot,” Mitchell said sarcastically.

“
No, the one who hit the jackpot is Alexis. With your hair and her mother’s great features…” Mr. Schmidt took a long deep breath. “Please tell me you will get all men within a hundred feet screened before they even think of talking to her?” he said looking at Mitchell.

“
Please, she will not know what sex she is until she is thirty,” he said laughing.

“
Good luck with that. I tried that with your sister,” Naomi said laughing. “It’s a good thing she joined that Christian club thing,” she added.

“
So anyway, mother. You cannot dress my baby up like the queen of England or Lady Gaga and most importantly, you cannot enter her in toddler pageants,” Mitchell said with finality.

Natasha looked at him and then at Naomi. “You do
that
?” she asked, shocked.

“
Come on, that’s the old me. How could I possibly pull off getting her into a pageant in one weekend? I don’t even think there are any pageants this weekend,” Naomi said. “Unless I stage one myself,” she added in what she thought was a whisper.

“
Don’t even think about it, Mother,” Mitchell said sharply. The last thing he needed was photographs of his daughter on the internet. So far, he had managed to lead a normal life despite the paparazzi that fought tooth and nail to get a snapshot of the latest addition to the Nolan Schmidt family tree.

“
Don’t worry son. I am not letting this one out of my sight,” Mr. Schmidt said with a smile.

“
So when are you leaving?” Naomi asked before she took a bite of her waffle.

“
In a couple of hours. I just wanted to drop by my dad’s and see them before I leave,” Natasha said with a smile.

“
Yeah that will give us enough time to get to the airport and check in before the rush,” Mitchell said. His father looked at him and frowned.

“
You are flying commercial?” he asked. Mitchell smiled and nodded. “Since when?” his father asked surprised.

“
Well, I loaned the jet to one of our newest clients. He gets back tonight and I didn’t want to wait that long,” Mitchell said. “If it helps, it is first class,” he added. Naomi took the last bite and then took her last sip before standing up.

“
We’ll get going then. I don’t want Eric thinking that we are influencing you negatively,” Naomi said.

“
He would never think that,” Natasha said.

“
I am taking his grandbaby away. He is going to be pissed but I need time with my favorite granddaughter,” Naomi said as she picked Alexis from her husband’s arms.

“
Alexis is your only granddaughter, Mother,” Mitchell said as he walked to the nursery to get Alexis’ bag. When he got back, Natasha was giving Alexis little hugs and kisses. It was always hard for her to say goodbye to the baby, even at the office daycare. He was actually surprised that she was willing to leave her behind for three long days but he was determined to make the trip count. By the time they got back he would have made sure that the only sex dreams in his wife’s life would be the ones she witnessed on TV. He was prepared to sex her out…as soon as he called Eric and Estelle to cancel the weekend plans. He knew that talking himself out of this would be hard but three days in Aspen with his wife was worth it.

After Mitchell’s parents left, Mitchell and Natasha did not waste any time. Being the last minuters that they were, they went right to packing their bags for the weekend.

“
I don’t think you will need all that. I doubt you will need any clothes at all,” Mitchell said as he watched Natasha packing. She looked up at him and smiled.

“
Well we are going to be seen in the airport and we cannot travel in our birthday suits,” she said as she put the final item of clothing, a pair of boxer shorts for Mitchell, inside the suitcase. He looked at her and smiled.

“
There is that and there is the little fact that I noticed you packed your laptop too,” he said. Natasha looked at him and shook her head.

“
No, Mitchell. I need to carry my laptop,” she said. He stood up and walked towards her.

“
Give me one reason, one good reason, and I’ll let you bring it,” he said as he looked into her eyes. Natasha shrugged.

“
Well, I…I need to, um….,” she looked into his eyes and realized that she was fighting a losing battle. “Okay, fine. I don’t have a good reason, any reason,” she said. Mitchell gave her a smile, that all knowing “I’m right, you’re wrong” smile. She looked at him and shrugged again. “Don’t you dare gloat,” she said.

“
I was not about to. I just want to make sure that the only thing keeping you busy is me,” Mitchell said as he brought his head down to kiss her. Natasha closed her eyes and let herself respond to his soft kiss.

Their romantic moment was interrupted by the loud ringing of her phone. Mitchell pulled away from her and looked at her. “Yeah, we will have to talk about the phones too,” he said. Natasha smiled and walked towards the night stand where she had placed her phone. She looked at the screen and then looked at Mitchell. “What? Who is it?” he asked looking concerned.

“It’s Stacy. She knows better than to call me today,” Natasha said.

“
Had you told her about us taking the weekend off?” Mitchell asked. Natasha nodded. “Don’t answer it,” he suddenly said.

“
It could be important. She would not have called otherwise,” she said as she slid her finger on the screen to answer her phone. “Hey Stacy,” she said.

“
Hi, Tasha. I am sorry to call you today. I know you and Mitchell are probably on your way to the airport but this is important,” Stacy said. Natasha looked at Mitchell and then sat down at the edge of the bed.

“
Okay. What’s up?” she asked.

“
I’ve tried to reach Mitchell too but his phone keeps on going straight to voicemail,” Stacy said.

“
Hold up, he’s right here. I’ll put you on speaker,” Natasha said looking at Mitchell. “Right, you’re on,” she said.

“
Hey, Stacy. Everything okay?” Mitchell asked as he took a seat next to Natasha on the bed. They heard Stacy take a long deep breath.

“
Well, it depends on how you look at it. If I was in your shoes, this would not be very good but it is generally good news for the company,” Stacy said matter of factly.

“
Stacy, what is going on?” Mitchell asked in an authoritative voice. Stacy knew she was no longer dealing with her laid back boss.

“
I had a call this morning about a Naima Nassir, the daughter to Sheikh Fayed Nassir,” Stacy began.

“
The
Fayed Nassir? The Arab billionaire?” Mitchell asked.

“
Exactly. He has been looking for opportunities to invest in the States and he has decided on what he wants to do,” Stacy said.

“
Okay, what is it?” Mitchell asked.

“
As of ten minutes ago, the Nassir Foundation owns sixty percent of Lovell Telecommunications and Naima made a call to Natasha’s office,” Stacy continued.

“
My office? Why?” Natasha asked. “I don’t even know this Naima Nazir,” she said.

“
Nassir,” Mitchell corrected her.

“
My point exactly,” Natasha said. “Why would she call my office?” she asked.

“
Well, your work is known far and wide Tasha. She said the only company she wants handling her campaign is NSCS but only on one condition,” Stacy said. “That Natasha personally handles her campaign,” she added. Natasha looked at Mitchell in surprise.

“
Okay,” she said not sure of what she was supposed to say at that point.

“
Okay? Baby, the Nassir family is worth billions. Business with them would be a great bump in our financials,” Mitchell said excitedly.

“
Really?” Natasha asked.

“
Um Tasha, the campaign is already priced at thirty million dollars,” Stacy said. Mitchell looked at her as his eyes grew wide.

“
I’m sorry. Did you just say thirty million dollars?” he asked.

“
Yes and that said, you guys have to reschedule your plans because Naima will be here in half an hour,” Stacy said. Mitchell and Natasha exchanged glances. “So, yeah. I told you it was kind of good news, bad news situation,” she added.

“
I see what you mean, Stacy. See you in a few,” Natasha said as she hung up. She looked at Mitchell and shrugged.

“
So much for flying commercial, right?” he said.

“
Guess we will just be taking the jet after all,” Natasha said as she walked to her closet. She took off her comfortable pants and top and pulled out a green sleeveless dress. It was just what she needed. Pencil design, knee high and it was the kind of dress that you could wear from the office and straight to happy hour. She pulled out a pair of black peep toe pumps and a red and black checkered coat and then put it on. By the time she walked out of her walk-in closet, Mitchell had loaded their bags in the car. It seemed he had the same thoughts as her. They would do the meeting and then go right to the airport. She waited for him to get changed and then walked out to the car.

“
This is it, huh?” she said as she buckled herself in the passenger seat.

“
Yeah. Maybe losing a four million dollar account was the pathway to getting a thirty million dollar client,” he said as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

“
So, what do I need to know about this Nassir Foundation?” she asked as she pinned her hair back, letting her rich black curls pile up in a ponytail.

“
The Nassir Foundation was set up in the late eighties. It was initially just another charity but soon they began venturing out to more commercial business to fund their charities. They support over four hundred shelters and they also run a school, one of the biggest schools in the Middle East. My grandfather worked with the foundation sometime in the early nineties but that relationship did not last,” Mitchell explained.

“
How so?” Natasha asked.

“
They were out of commercial business for a while. I had heard rumors about them in merger talks with Lovell but I thought they were just that, rumors,” he said and then looked at Natasha. “If they asked for you specifically, then baby you are the star I always knew you were,” he added.

“
Well, I knew I was good but this is the golden feather in my hat,” Natasha said as they pulled into the company parking lot.

“
You got this, honey,” Mitchell said looking into her eyes. She smiled and nodded.

“
So, one more thing. On a scale of one to ten, where one is the Malibu Princess and ten is the royal family, where would you rate the Nassirs?” she asked. Mitchell smiled.

“
Like fourteen,” he said. “These guys could buy not just England but the entire United Kingdom, the United States and still have enough money left to have at least a hundred thousand dollars in every bank account in the world,” he said excitedly. Natasha frowned.

“
Really?” she asked.

“
Okay, I may have exaggerated a little,” Mitchell said smiling.

“
A little?” Natasha asked as she got out of the car.

“
Okay, a lot but I did not exaggerate about their net worth. These guys are the definition of filthy rich,” he said as the two of them walked towards the elevator. As they rode up to the office, Mitchell looked at her. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. Natasha shook her head and frowned.

“
What for?” she asked.

“
Our perfect weekend is ruined,” he said. She smiled and shook her head.

“
No it’s not. It’s a meeting. We will strategize and then fly off to Aspen. Then when we come back on Monday we go back to work,” she said as she leaned forward to give him a small kiss just as the elevator doors opened. She smiled at him as they walked out of the elevators.

Natasha was not surprised that it was business as usual. That was the kind of place she worked in. Stacy had already set up the board room.

“You look spectacular as usual,” Stacy said smiling at Natasha who smiled back at her and mouthed a “thank you.” “It’s good to see you, Mitchell,” she added.

“
Hey Stacy,” Mitchell said.

“
You guys are just in time. Naima should be getting here any time now,” Stacy said. “I assume Mitchell has already briefed you on everything you need to know about the Nassir family?” she asked turning to Natasha.

“
Bits and pieces,” she said. Stacy handed her a tablet.

“
That’s everything on the family, their foundation and basically anything that could come up,” Stacy said. Natasha frowned.

“
You do know I am not some crazed paralegal with a photographic memory right? I can’t have all these in my head in five minutes,’ she said scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of files.

“
I should have said for future reference,” Stacy said before turning to look outside. “I think she is here,” she said as Natasha noticed a tall brown-skinned woman walking towards the board room.

Natasha had to admit, Naima Nassir was not what she expected. She had the whole image of her in a burqa but the woman making her way towards them was tall, maybe five nine, and had a slim figure like a model or something. She had long brown wavy hair cascading onto her shoulders and she wore a short black dress and a matching pair of black platform heels.

“So, I am guessing she is one of those reformed Muslim people?” Stacy asked as they looked at her.

“
Actually there is no such thing as a reformed Muslim. According to my knowledge,” Mitchell said.

“
Hmm, just smile, people. We can talk about this when she leaves,” Natasha said as the front office girl opened the door to the boardroom.

“
Mr. Schmidt, Mrs. Schmidt, this is Naima Nassir,” she said before turning to Naima. She whispered a few words and then walked away, leaving Naima and two other gentlemen with Mitchell and Natasha. Natasha guessed that they must have been her bodyguards.

“
Miss Nassir, it is nice to meet you,” Natasha said smiling.

“
Oh, please call me Naima,” Naima said shaking Natasha’s hand.

“
It is an honor to meet you,” Mitchell said. Naima smiled at him.

“
The tabloids were not exaggerating. You are ruggedly handsome,” Naima said smiling.

“
Well, the camera never lies, now does it?” Mitchell said smiling.

“
And you have an even better looking wife. I can imagine that little girl that you have kept a well-guarded secret is a killer in her looks as well,” Naima said looking at Natasha.

“
I do not want to sound like I am patting my own back but she is the most beautiful little girl to me,” she said. “But then again, I have to say that. I am her mother,” she added laughing. Naima laughed.

“
I’m sure she is a looker,” Naima said. She turned to Stacy and smiled. “You must be the lovely lady I talked to on the phone,” she said.

“
Yes, Miss Nassir. I’m Stacy,” Stacy said, trying hard to hide her excitement. “But my work here is done. I’ll be at my desk if you need me,” she said before practically running out. Naima smiled as one of the men pulled out a seat for her as Mitchell did the same for Natasha.

“
So, shall we get started?” she asked as she sat down. Mitchell sat down and looked at her.

“
I understand that you are now the managing partner at Lovell, congratulations,” he said with a smile.

“
Actually, my family’s foundation is. I am merely a representative for the foundation’s interests. I have been a big fan of the work done by NSCS and I found out that most projects were headed by Mrs. Schmidt here. That is why I thought she would be perfect to head this project,” Naima said as she took two files from the other man and gave them to Mitchell and Natasha. “As you can see, we have big plans for Lovell,” she added.