TWENTY
On Monday, Sophia was just returning to the office after lunch with a new member of her team who she wanted to bring up to speed on a number of matters when she bumped into Seth near the water cooler. She exchanged pleasantries and was about to move on when he winked at her conspiratorially and wondered if she had a minute to spare. Although another liaison with Abdelrahman was the last thing she wanted at the moment, she understood she wasn't in any position to say no and ushered the Egyptian into her office.
'I take it you have a message for me, Seth,' she said.
'Indeed. His Eminence wishes you to honour him with your presence once more. Only this time he suggests a tweak.'
'A tweak?' said Sophia, praying that his brother-in-law or cousin was not in town.
'Yes, His Eminence is a man who is very interested in cross-cultural communication, in the development of harmonious relationships between races, and this passion has led him to make a proposal to you.'
'Go on,' said Sophia.
'Recently, His Eminence has made the acquaintance of a young lady who exchanged the mysteries of Manchuria for the fleshpots of San Francisco. He feels that the two of you might find that you have much in common and he would like to be the one who enables you to break down man-made boundaries and, well, develop the type of harmonious relationship which he sees as essential to building bridges in an often fragmented political landscape.'
'God,' thought Sophia, 'the old lech wants to get off watching us putting on a lesbian show for him.'
'I see,' she replied. 'And has he indicated whether this arrangement, if I am willing to accede to it, would bring about any adjustment in the agreement that he and I have struck?'
'Oh, Miss Sophia, he told me that you would show your customary business-like approach to this matter. Indeed, he has authorised me to relate to you that, in return for your assent to his proposal, he would be happy to waive the requirement for a third dining experience. He appreciates how busy you are and desires above all that your work-life balance is not jeopardised by overwork.'
'Seth, please to tell His Eminence that he need only name the day and I will move heaven and earth to comply with his wishes. For I too have a passion for world peace and harmonious relations between all races.'
'How about Saturday?'
'No problem. I'll pop the date in my dairy.'
Saturday proved a bit more difficult to sell to Peter than Sophia thought, as he was planning to spend the day playing golf with his university mates. Sophia made a late appeal to Myลกka, who agreed, if a bit reluctantly, to look after the children. Piri was involved in an art exhibition on the same day, but was okay with her flatmate helping Sophia out. All in all, it wasn't a very propitious way to get things rolling and by the time Saturday came round Sophia was not looking forward to her 'meeting with important clients from Kazakhstan' at all. She dressed in a pin-striped trouser suit that she had recently bought and left the children and Myลกka at around seven o'clock, receiving a knowing look from the nanny, which she found rather disconcerting. Did they have a mole in the office? Was Seth playing both ends against the middle? Was it a woman's intuition? Did Piri have a network of spies? Anyway, a few hours and it would all be over. She had put a change of clothes in her car earlier - after some debate, she had plumped for the dress she had worn to the wedding. For old time's sake, as she told herself.
When she got to the penthouse, Ali showed her to a spare room, where she changed into her dress and applied some make-up. She took the opportunity to ask him if the other guest had arrived and he told her that she had. Her name was Mingzhu and she was currently with Abdelrahman. Sophia rang a bell as arranged when she was ready, and Ali escorted her through to the living room, where her host awaited her. As she entered the room her eyes were drawn to the exquisite form of the Chinese girl, dressed in a tropical print mini cheongsam with gold-coloured heels. She was drop dead gorgeous and the evening had suddenly got a whole lot better. Her hair was tied up above her neck, which like the rest of her was flawless - as if formed out of alabaster. She turned to Sophia, took her hand, smiled and told her she had heard so much about her. She spoke American English with a discernible Chinese accent.
Abdelrahman got up to greet Sophia from the chair where he had been sitting. He was wearing a light grey mohair and wool lounge suit with a white shirt and a dark grey tie. Sophia had to admit he looked rather dapper and she told him so. He formally introduced the two women and expressed the hope that they would find the evening educational and edifying as well as enjoyable. They made the right sort of noises and then proceeded to get to know each other, with Abdelrahman largely an observer - a role that he seemed to enjoy. Mingzhu talked about her life in San Francisco, where she worked as a public relations consultant and part-time model. Sophia told her a little about her work at the bank, concentrating on her legal responsibilities. Abdelrahman was clearly delighted that they seemed to get along so well, launching upon a rambling sermon on his topic of the moment - the need for greater understanding and cross-cultural pollination (as he put it) in an increasingly globalised world. Dinner was once again distinctly Middle Eastern in flavour and beautifully presented. Sophia declined alcohol, saying that she wanted to stay fully alert the whole evening, while Mingzhu merely sipped at her glass of white wine. Impressed by what he took to be the seriousness with which the women were playing their parts, Abdelrahman was abstemious too, ordering Ali to take the bottle away while they were still eating the main course. He was clearly more than excited about the prospects that lay in store in respect of the entertainment part of the evening.
After they had finished their dessert, Abdelrahman announced somewhat theatrically that he would be leaving the room for a few minutes to give the women the chance to finetune their plans for the evening. Once he had left the room, Sophia and Mingzhu burst into laughter and found themselves holding each other's hands. Sophia asked the Chinese girl if Abdelrahman had given any hint as to what he was expecting from them. Mingzhu told Sophia that he had told her that Sophia was a married woman who was quite traditional and rather conservative. He was relying on her (Mingzhu) to help bring Sophia put of her shell, to, as he put it, 'introduce her to the Sapphic delights of the Orient.'
'So I need to play the ingenue, basically,' Sophia said.
'I think that would work best, if you're okay with that.'
'Sure. Have you had any experience with other women?'
'Yes, although I am engaged to a Chinese man, I experimented with girls at college. What about you?'
'I have had experience with women too, but I think for the purpose of this exercise he wants me to let you initiate me into the joys of Sapphic love and all that sort of thing.'
'So, how about we start with some kissing, then I will undress you, kiss your breasts, maybe a little foot worship, and then the main event? That should get him in the mood.'
'That sounds fine. And then I suggest, since he's already had me and will be crazy about having you, I sit back and watch while you two do the business.'
'Sure. I can't imagine he'll be able to get it up twice, anyway.'
'Oh, and by the way he loves it if you compare his thingie to something ludicrous, like the Golden Gate Bridge or something.'
'Loves a bit of chat, does he?'
'Absolutely. You noticed, did you?'
And they both dissolved in laughter again. Right on cue, Abdelrahman re-entered the room and asked them if they required anything before the entertainment began. The women told him they were good and then Mingzhu approached a little closer to Sophia and remarked on her beautiful hair.