The Last Option
Chapter Sixty: Target in Sight

He could not believe it was her. He had his target close by, and the surprise of the encounter did not allow him to utter a word. In fact, he was petrified, not knowing what to do. He didn't think he would find her so soon. He struggled to think of what to do at that moment, but it was Bernadette who made things easier for him.

"Come, Becca," Bernadette said, calling her to join them. "I found someone from New York, just like you. Come meet him."

Rebecca Hicks made an annoyed face and didn't move from where she stood.

"I told you we had a lot of things to do," she said, looking Bernard up and down with her arms crossed. "We don't have time for strangers. No offense, whoever you are."

The last sentence was directed at Bernard. Rebecca reached over and pulled Bernadette by the arm, starting to walk away from Bernard.

"Nice to meet you, Bernard," said Bernadette as she was dragged away by her friend. "We'll be at the ice-skating rink in a little while, if you're interested in talking more!"

Bernard watched them walk away, and thought about how rude Rebecca Hicks, his target, was, but he wasn't about to lose track of her. She really seemed like a very arrogant, petulant and obnoxious woman.

He started walking in the same direction as them, intending to follow them discreetly, and when they were where Bernadette said, the ice skating rink, he would approach them again to try to befriend them.

He thought it was a good plan, but gave it some thought and decided to change his strategy a bit, remembering what Phil had told him about her, that she liked bold, determined, confident and focused men. He decided to be all that and not be overwhelmed, so he picked up the pace until he caught up with them.

"Your friend seems a little tough," Bernard said, placing himself next to Bernadette, who looked at him with a smile. They were walking towards one of the entrances to the Dubai Mall.

"She looks it, but she's actually very sweet when she puts her mind to it," Bernadette said, turning to Rebecca. "This is Bernard, it won't hurt you to meet him."

Rebecca let her guard down a little, and looked sideways at Bernard.

"One more American," she said. "So? There are many here."

"But not everyone is like me," Bernard said, "millionaires and successful. Come on! Don't make my stay here difficult. I just got here and I don't know anyone. Nice to meet you, Becca." Bernard held out his hand and she looked at it with disdain for a few seconds. Then he squeezed it briefly, all with Bernadette in the middle, who watched the whole scene with amusement. "That's better," said Bernadette. "And tell me, Bernard, what kind of business brought you to Dubai?"

Bernard was taken by surprise by the question, because he had not yet thought about what kind of business he would be in in fiction. He thought quickly about what Nathan was doing, and decided to risk going down that route, on pain of sounding suspicious to Rebecca Hicks. But if he wanted to get her attention, it would be best to do it on something she was interested in.

"My company is interested in partnering with a large Russian corporation in the extraction and marketing of gold and diamonds. Dubai seems like a good place for us to establish a chain of jewelry stores, since we have several in the United States and we want to expand the market."

As he said this, Bernard saw Rebecca Hicks frown for a few seconds, and thought that maybe he had made a mistake. He felt a sudden pang in his heart, thinking perhaps he had ruined his chance to get close to her by considering him a faker. "But let's not talk about those things now," Bernard said, trying to get out of the rush as best he could. "I have my big meeting with prospective partners tomorrow, and for now I'm more interested in getting to know a little more of this wonderful city. You said you were going to an ice skating rink. Is there one here?"

"Yes!" Bernadette exclaimed. "Don't you think it's weird to find an ice skating rink in the middle of the desert?"

"Yes, it's weird," Bernard replied. "But money can do anything."

"And then there's an aquarium," Bernadette continued, "It's huge!"

"Really? Here in this shopping mall?"

"Yes. Do you want to see it?"

"Come on, Bernadette!" Bernard was about to say yes, but Rebecca didn't let him when she abruptly interrupted the conversation. "We're going to miss our stylist's hour! Remember we were going to that?" "Right! But it's still early, Becca, remember we're on at eleven.".

"Precisely, while we get there, the time is running out."

"I don't want to interrupt your plans," Bernard said, pretending not to be intrusive, "but I'm a little confused. Are you going to the stylist, or to the ice-skating rink?"

"One thing first," Rebecca said, looking annoyed again, "and then the other. For God's sake!"

"Beca!" Bernadette gave Rebecca a slight touch with her elbow. She was beginning to feel sorry for her friend's attitude.

"I'm sorry to annoy your friend," Bernard said, feigning resignation at not being able to get in the way of that obnoxious blonde. "I can walk around the mall by myself. Besides, I was going to buy a new suit, and although I'd like a female opinion, I can manage on my own. Go! We can meet up later. By the way: do you have a phone number here, or any way to contact you?"

"No need," Bernadette said, while Rebecca was getting more and more annoyed, "we're always around. Later we'll have lunch in one of the restaurants overlooking the fountain. You can find us there."

"Perfect!" Bernard exclaimed. "See you later, then, if your friend doesn't mind, of course."

Rebecca grabbed Bernadette by the arm again and started walking quickly in the direction of the mall, almost dragging her friend, who could only look at Bernard in sorrow and shrug her shoulders.

He watched them walk away among the people who were beginning to crowd the space around him. He thought if Rebecca Hicks continued to be impenetrable like this, it would make it more difficult for him to achieve his goal. He would have to think of a way to soften her up a bit, so he could gain access to her. In contrast, Bernadette was very open and expressive, given to making friends easily, and at first she had even seemed nice to him. Why would someone like her hang out with someone as obnoxious as Rebecca Hicks? he thought.

He decided to go buy himself a new suit as he had planned, to make a better impression on her. He entered the Dubai Mall and started walking around looking for a well-known designer store. He thought it would be good to locate an Armani store; there would surely be one there because of its imposing presence in the Burj Khalifa, and buy an expensive suit.

For their part, Rebecca and Bernadette were addressing the stylist, the former still in a bad temper, while the latter was trying to get her to tell her the reasons for her misgivings about the man they had just met.

"I don't know, there's something wrong with him," Rebecca said, "and I was even more suspicious when he said he was in the gold and diamond mining business. I thought that such a coincidence was not possible."

"Not only is your family dedicated to that", Bernadette said. "There must be many more, and he must be one of those many more. You shouldn't be so suspicious. Also, he's very handsome, and if you happen to think as I think you do, I saw him first!"

"Well, I'll leave him to you. He doesn't interest me at all. Sometimes you're a bit of a slut, you know?"

"No more than you."

They both laughed at the comment.

"By the way, what happened with Luigi?" Bernadette asked, referring to her friend's lover on duty. "I haven't seen him for two days."

"The asshole found an Italian girl like him and left with her. It's the first time someone has left me. Can you believe it?"

"I could tell he was a jerk. It was the same with David, but it was me who broke up with him when I found out he was cheating on me with someone else."

"The truth is that we're alone now, and it seems you have a better chance of getting a partner than I do. I must admit this guy is very handsome."

"Yes, he is. I hope he doesn't have a girlfriend, or isn't gay, because that would be a waste."

"Anyway, you're going to do me a favor: when we meet him again, you're going to ask him his last name, to see if someone I know can give me a reference about him, and find out if he really does what my family does." "Don't worry, I'll ask him. You'll see if he's a millionaire like you, dedicated to the same thing you are."

But Rebecca wanted to be absolutely sure. Something told her not to trust the new acquaintance. It was a feeling she couldn't explain, and she didn't want her friend to know so as not to ruin her possible conquest. Kind of like a sixth sense.