His words hung in the air for a moment, still soft, still polite, but with an underlying hint of power. Faith had a flash of awareness that perhaps she’d gone too far, but she wasn’t about to back down. To anyone.
“Just stating facts, Mr. El-Etra,” she replied coolly. She refused to use his first name or his title, which would put this situation on a more personal level and she intended to keep this strictly business. “So exactly what is the problem?” she asked, determined to get on with the business at hand.
He smiled. “If I knew, Ms. Martin, trust me, I would have fixed it myself, or had my staff of computer experts attend to it. I’m afraid that we are at a complete loss to understand this confounded system.”
She tried to place the accent, but couldn’t. There were definitely hints of English, probably Oxford, she surmised, but there was also a hint of whatever his native language was still detectable in his impeccable speech patterns. It was an enticing blend of something foreign, exotic and slightly…erotic.
He dragged a hand through his dark hair. “All I know is that this problem has disrupted my entire operation, and it simply cannot go on or be tolerated. I must have the problem fixed immediately.”
“Immediately,” she repeated with an irritated nod of her head. Obviously this was a man who was accustomed to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Spoiled, she thought again, realizing she’d been right about him.
Her eyes flashed. “Well, if I hadn’t been cooling my heels in your waiting room, perhaps I’d have a clue what the problem is and be well on my way to solving it.”
“Perhaps.” Apparently, she was not about to forgive him so easily. “I understand that you are considered the best computer consultant in the business?”
“Considered?” One auburn brow rose and Faith felt the stung of his subtle doubt. Fists clenched in frustration at his high-handed arrogance, she took a step closer to his desk. “Well, you’ve apparently been misinformed.”
It was his turn to look surprised. His glance shifted from her to his elderly assistant who was still quietly hovering in the background. “Kadid? What is this?” He glanced at Faith, his dark brows drawn together, then back at his assistant. “Have I been misinformed?”
The carefully chosen words sounded like a threat, almost making Faith shiver. The guy gave a whole new meaning to the word arrogant.
“Absolutely,” Faith responded before the assistant could. “I am the best computer consultant in the business.”
“Modest, too, I can see,” Ali said, with a cautious smile of relief. Plain, but feisty, he decided with a hint of amusement. An interesting combination.
“No, Mr. El-Etra, not modest, just honest.” Her chin lifted. “Honest, and the best, but my time is valuable, and I don’t appreciate having it wasted.”
There was anger, he noted, and something else radiating from her, something he couldn’t quite place.
“Nor do I, Ms. Martin,” he said, making it clear that he considered her little temper tantrum a waste of his time. “If you are the best, then I trust you’ll be able to fix this insidious problem. Immediately.” It was a clear challenge, one Faith couldn’t ignore.
“Well, I don’t know about your idea of immediate, but once I find out what the problem is, I’m sure I can fix it. I can’t tell you how long it will take, though, until I know exactly what we’re dealing with.” She met his gaze head-on. “Some things take time whether we like it or not.” And she was not about to be rushed. Sensing he was going to issue another order or command that would no doubt only tick her off more, she rushed on. “Now, if you can give me an idea of just what the problem is, it might help. I have to start somewhere. I’m good, but I’m not a mind reader.”
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer, stung once again by her sarcasm. He drew himself upward, slipping his hands in the pockets of his pants. “We are a full-scale investment firm, Ms. Martin, and once a month an assortment of checks are issued to each and every client, checks of different denominations for different purposes, of course.”
“Of course.” She wished he’d stop staring at her. He was making her…itchy.
Ali blew out an exasperated breath. “A few days ago, on the first of the month, when the first batch of checks were distributed, the system began spitting out checks in the wrong denominations. In addition, we discovered that it was also crediting deposits to the wrong accounts and in the wrong amounts. Both new funds, interest, as well as divestitures were misappropriated to the wrong accounts.”
With a shake of his head, Ali glanced down at the neat sheaf of papers on his desk. He’d spent hours going over paperwork, trying to fix this problem, then more hours on the phone, soothing investors. He felt as if he hadn’t left his office in weeks.
“As a result, chaos has reigned. My accountants did not discover the errors until after the first checks had been mailed and the first irate calls started coming in.” His brows drew together as he remembered the flurried panic among his staff that morning.
“Our in-house computer experts were at a loss as well. They began searching for the problem—”
“Immediately,” she injected with a nod of her head, causing him to stop and stare at her for a long moment. Obviously this was a man not used to being interrupted, judging from the look on his face.
“Yes,” he said slowly, still watching her carefully. “But alas, they came up empty. They tried various things, unfortunately, nothing worked. As a result, we had to completely shut down our entire computer system simply because it is set up to distribute and print checks automatically. I have been deluged with calls from angry investors who have either not received the proper funds or have not received any funds at all. Now, unfortunately, they have begun to question the integrity as well as the security of my firm.” He sounded as if he was surprised by this.
“Well, that would do it for me.” She slipped her hands in the pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels. “If I’d invested my life savings in a firm and found out they’d screwed up and sent my money to someone else, I’d be a tad annoyed as well.”
“Screwed up?” His dark eyes narrowed and she could hear Mr. Kadid sigh from behind her. Apparently telling the sheik he’d screwed up wasn’t part of the proper protocol. “This cannot continue, Ms. Martin,” he said in clipped tones. “So as you can see, this is of an urgent nature and must be attended to. Immediately.”
Perhaps if he hadn’t sounded like he was issuing a command, she might have softened at his plight.
“Situations happen whether we allow them or not. And as for urgent and immediate, I’m not the fire department,” she clarified, watching his face darken. The assistant was apparently back to sighing again as well. “Clearly you’ve got a problem with your accounting program,” she said, meeting his gaze. “But it wouldn’t take a genius to figure that out.”
He stiffened and his eyes went cold at the perceived insult. “I can assure you, Ms. Martin, that my staff is more than qualified to handle almost any situation that arises—”
“But apparently not this one. If they were, I wouldn’t be here.”
Her words hung in the air for a long moment, and Faith wondered
