5
The plane ride to Cairo was just a two-hour hop. Leila sat beside him in first class. She seemed ill at ease for some reason, and snapped at a flight attendant who spilled her tea. He asked her about the change of plans, and she shook her head and spread her hands.
“They haven’t told me much about it,” she said. “It’s very abrupt, and I apologize for that. But it appears that you will be working now from the Cairo office. I’m not entirely sure why.”
“Doing what?”
“Let’s just wait, all right?” she said. “In a few hours, you’ll meet him for yourself.”
“Meet who?”
But she shook her head and looked out the window. He was surprised to see her fingers quiver slightly in her lap. She clasped them to quench the trembling.
Dubai had been an island of glitter and ostentation, but Cairo was
