Chapter 1
“Are we there yet?” asked Hannah anxiously, looking out the window over the Persian Gulf as they flew toward their destination. She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling as her best friend and coworker, Alexis, leaned over, patting her on the knee before shaking her head and looking out the window. “Sorry, I’m just ready to get this project moving,” continued Hannah as Alexis comforted her, chuckling lightly as she sipped from her bottle of water.
Alexis looked over to the other seat to find the man sitting beside her asleep, as he had been for most of the trip. “Maybe you should have had what he was having,” referencing the four bottles of liquor he drank prior to take off in Rome. “He seems to be handling his nerves quite well.”
Hannah leaned forward and looked at the man draped over his seat, hanging out into the aisle. His mouth was hanging open and he was snoring lightly as the two girls looked on in amazement. “That is one way to handle nerves,” quipped Hannah, shrugging her shoulders as she leaned back in her chair and pointed at the window. “But if you do that, you miss this amazing view.”
“I’m pretty sure he booked the aisle seat because he would rather look at the back of his eye lids than at any other view,” replied Alexis sarcastically, but in a jovial manner. “Besides, we don’t know all of the information. He could be so afraid of heights that the window seat makes him incredibly nervous. It could cause him to vomit profusely anytime he looks out the window and the aisle seat, combined with a lot of nature’s cure for bad dancing and awkward conversation, can ease him just enough that he can make it through the flight without causing a scene.”
Hannah nodded. “Or he could just be passed out from getting drunk,” she stated plainly.
“Or that,” admitted Alexis before turning to look at the man again before facing Hannah. “Probably that.” Both girls leaned back in their chairs and continued to wait patiently for the plane to approach their destination: Dubai.
Dubai. A city built for billionaires, that encompassed manmade islands created out of sand to provide extra space for living, and a night life that thrived with some of the best restaurants and nightclubs in the world. A booming metropolis, the professional world centered on trade, stemming from importing goods into the area for the large shops and bazaars, to exporting oil and other resources. Having built their entire city on the fortune of oil, and with the Port of Jebel Ali being nestled within its borders, Dubai is an essential connection to have for anyone in the oil business.
One of these companies is the American Oil Trade and Refiners, based out of New York City. Their business model is simple: use an immense buying power to get the cheapest product available and distribute it at slightly below market price. And Alexis Matthews and Hannah Burchfield, two of the best and brightest employees at the American Oil Trade and Refiners, made sure this happened. Both were credited with increasing profits and efficiency, building relations, and enhancing the company’s reputation. Though having never visited Dubai, both girls were trained and prepared to handle the tasks at hand.
***
Alexis Matthews at twenty-eight, was already carving out a niche for herself in the professional world. Having joined the company straight out of graduate school at age twenty-three, Alexis immediately leapt into the limelight as a master administrator, being able to handle a burdensome workload while producing incredible results. With her expertise at tariffs and customs, and her fluency in seven languages allowing her to communicate with the port authorities and local magistrates for the various regions they dealt with, she quickly proved herself to be indispensable at moving cargo from one end of the world to another. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. While she was not very tall, her thin, toned body suited her and with stunning brunette hair hanging down to her shoulder blades accentuating her tanned skin, she drew many a man’s eye.
Hannah Burchfield though only twenty-seven and a few years behind Alexis in terms of her career, was cunning, curious, and a master negotiator. The girls grew up together in New York City, attending the same schools and becoming inseparable over time but chose different routes after high school. While Alexis went to business and graduate school, Hannah decided to try law school after college. After three years of law school she realized that a career on the bench did not suit her. As she had since childhood, she turned to her best friend Alexis for advice. A few hours of persuasion later, Alexis convinced Hannah to apply for a clerk position with the American Oil Trade and Refiners, filing all the documents that came in. It was a lesser job than Hannah wanted to do with her life, but she accepted that it was a start.
After the interview, she was offered a job, during which she showed off her talent at negotiating, convincing the human resources representative to give her nearly double what was offered with a much more lucrative benefits package. Before she could even sign the contract, however, one of the board members informed her that she would be given an audition: a working interview with a live negotiation. Though having very little knowledge of the industry, Hannah initiated the call with a supplier from Tunisia. While she could not get him to accept the lowest offer, she was able to make a substantial profit for the company she wasn’t even working for yet. Everyone looked on in disbelief at how she was able to convince someone, who never negotiated, to come down on his price. Hannah had already begun creating her reputation. The board offered her a position as a lead negotiator on the spot, with a very lucrative pay and benefits package, which she accepted under one condition: she could work with her best friend, Alexis.
Hannah was just slightly taller than Alexis, with an athletic physique and a soft, pale complexion. Her silky blonde hair, usually kept up in a ponytail, flowed down to the middle of her back. Always filled with energy, she never stopped too long to enjoy the scenery.
***
The plane started its descent into Dubai with Hannah starting to become more anxious. As she listened to the pilot over the loud speaker, her nerves stood on end as she looked out the window, seeing the scenery of Dubai in the distance. As they moved closer, the Burj al Arab came into view. With its glass façade and awkward construction, it appeared as a large wind sail from far away.
Hannah sat back in her seat as Alexis peered out the window, looking at the Burj al Arab with a slight bit of glee. The trip was long, having left from New York City the day before and arriving in Italy after a fourteen-hour flight before going through customs, only to get on another plane to Dubai. She was tired, but focused on the job they were sent there to do. As the plane moved closer, the Burj al Khalifa appeared in the distance. The tallest skyscraper in the world the Burj al Khalifa was hailed one of the greatest creations of mankind. “Hannah, look at that,” mentioned Alexis as she pointed out the skyscraper. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.”
The girls looked out the window in awe at the giant skyscraper, admiring its beauty as the sun reflected off of its glass façade. The plane continued to travel towards Dubai, allowing the girls to get a closer view at each detail in the building’s structure. Though still a few miles away, the shear mass of the structure made it visible to anyone traveling around the large city.
Around the Burj al Khalifa was one of the largest choreographed fountains, the Dubai fountain. Built on a thirty acre, manmade lake, the Dubai fountain put on a regular display of dancing water for tourists and residents alike. “Isn’t that lake around that building like the fountains in Vegas?” asked Hannah, looking back at Alexis for confirmation.
“Yes, it’s like the fountains at the Bellagio,” answered Alexis, not breaking her gaze with the beauty in front of her. The lake was sparkling with the sun reflecting off it the clear blue of the water.
The plane edged closer to land, showing two of the most amazing feats accomplished by the architects and designers in Dubai. Both a series of islands created by dredging sand, the first, World Dubai, showing off the beauty and splendor of the world while the second, Palm Jumeriah, one of the three Palm Islands, was an even greater and a more beautiful accomplishment. They offered miles of beaches, wild life and nature preserves, water parks, and more, all for the people of Dubai to live in a luxurious paradise.
Alexis and Hannah sat in their chairs as the plane descended further, hovering over the tops of the tall buildings while plunging through the air toward the runway. “Remember, why we are here?” asked Alexis as the plane’s wheels touched the ground, squealing as the rubber abruptly hit the pavement. The plane shook as it stabilized with the fins lifting up slightly to drag the wind against the plane, slowing it down so it could taxi to the gate.
“We’re here to work,” answered Hannah. “We’re here for a couple of weeks to further our careers and make our bosses even richer.”
“Correct,” replied Alexis.
“Though I’m sure there’ll be some time for some harmless fun, right?” asked Hannah coyly, smirking as she unbuckled her seatbelt with the plane reaching the gate.
“Oh, I’m sure of it.”