Dark Oil Read Online Free PDF Page B

game. She’d started to enjoy the bantering nearly as much as he did.
    He shrugged. “My fair share.”
    The seatbelt sign came on with a clunk and the pilot asked the staff to prepare the cabin for landing. Lara shoved her handbag under her seat, tightened her seatbelt and folded the blanket she’d had on her lap most of the trip.
    â€œSo what’s the plan after we land?” She was longing for a hot shower, a walk around, perhaps even a lie-down. A day off would have been wonderful, but she had the impression she’d be struggling to get a few hours to herself. She wasn’t sure what to expect, though. She’d hardly ever travelled before for work, except for seminars, and that was probably nothing like major negotiations in a foreign country.
    â€œOnce we’re through the airport we’ll go to Global Oil’s house. You can get your stuff organised, have a shower, that kind of thing.”
    â€œSounds great.” More than thirty hours in the sky and in airports was a long time. She’d never thought of water and clean clothes as a luxury until now.
    She peered through the tiny window again and this time made out houses. From what she could see, they were grey, square and gardenless. “I didn’t expect the buildings to look like this. I thought they’d be brown for some reason.”
    â€œThey now use concrete a lot here. You do find the odd place that’s a bit different, but mostly they’re a grey box with a flat roof.”
    â€œDo they use the roof as a terrace?” Images of outdoor eating areas reminiscent of the Arabian Nights tales, decorated with vivid silks, ornate lanterns and lush pots, came to her. Oh and rich carpets. You had to have a magic carpet in the picture. She could almost smell the incense, taste the rose and lemon flavoured Turkish Delights. Or was that only in the Middle East? She realised how little she really knew about Negala.
    â€œToo hot. You’d bake on it and get sand-blasted. At night there are insects.” He laughed. “Giant insects. Besides, most people can barely afford a roof over their head andthere’s no money for extravagances. There are some richer people, but they’re few and far between.”
    â€œOf course.” She felt like a fool. Her world until then had revolved around work, family, nice restaurants, the theatre. She’d travelled, but only for holidays in upmarket resorts on idyllic islands or in glamorous cities. She’d certainly never set foot in a third world country and now it showed. Leaning towards the window, she pretended to be absorbed by the view, hoping Jack wouldn’t notice her burning cheeks.
    They were nearly at ground level and the light was blinding. Lara heard the clunk of the wheels as they stretched out like the claws of an eagle ready to dig into a perch. The plane hit the tarmac and the engines roared. Lara slid forward a little, held in place only by her seat belt.
    Within seconds, even though the doors were still locked, the passengers were all standing, holding their hand luggage with the eagerness of horses waiting to leave their trailer to gallop in the wind. Lara, too, felt restless. The air-conditioning had been turned off now they’d landed and it was stuffy and stale inside. She simply couldn’t wait to get out and breathe the fresh air. Then there was the excitement of discovering a country entirely new to her, even if she was apprehensive.
    She opened her overhead compartment to collect her hand luggage, but it had slid to the back and she couldn’t quite reach it.
    â€œLet me.” Jack said startling her, so close was his voice to her ear. She turned, a reflex, and found herself facing him, nearly in his arms, and she couldn’t control the effect he had on her—the tingling in her arms, the slight shiver despite the warmth, the incredible sense that she wanted to abandon all effort to keep her distance, to be