of smoke because I couldn’t even get past the gatekeeper.
Pathetic. I had blown my only shot and I was back firmly at square one.
But it couldn’t be over, not like this. There
was just too much at stake to give up so easily. Any other day, I would have
quit, but not today. After a few moments of moping, something made me pick
myself up and try again.
‘Good morning, Darius Developments,’ answered
the same monotonal voice.
‘Gooood morning, who am I speaking with please?’
‘This is Norah. How can I help?’
‘Good morning, Norah. Wow, Norah, that’s a
lovely name! Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?’
There was a pause. ‘I am Lebanese, actually.’
‘Wow, really? You’re so lucky! Lebanon is such
a beautiful country. I love the food, the music, the history.’
‘Thanks! Yes, it’s a beautiful country. Have
you been there?’
‘Not yet. But I’m dying to go. I really am. I
just don’t know anybody there to show me around.’
‘Well, if you’re going I can connect you to
some of my friends who live there if you like. They can show you a good time.’
‘Wow, you would do that for me?’
‘Of course, my pleasure!’
‘You’re too kind, thank you. I’m so glad we
spoke today, Norah.’
‘No problem.’
‘By the way, Norah, is Saff Haque around? I am
a business associate of Mr Haque and he asked me to call him back. It’s quite
urgent.’
‘Sure. Just give me a second, I will put you
right through.’
I punched the air in triumph. ‘Hello, Saff
speaking,’ a voice eventually said in a crisp British accent.
‘Good morning, Saff. My name is Adam and I am
an employee of Imperial Bank. I apologise for the unsolicited call, I know
you’re a busy man so I won’t take too much of your time. I have heard from a
senior colleague that your firm is looking to purchase plots in Dubai?’
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
‘Great. I may have exactly what you are looking
for.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Well, through one of our affiliates we have
access to a prime piece of land that has come directly from government sources.
It is in a key location and has not been exposed to the market.’
‘Okay, can you tell me where the plot is?’
asked Saff. It was the question I had been dreading.
‘I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information at
this stage. But can I ask which locations you would be looking for?’
‘Well, there are two areas on our radar
currently: the Business Bay and the Marina. Can you at least tell me if it is
in one of these?’
‘I’m afraid I can’t on the phone, but I suggest
we meet up to discuss what we have and I can share some further details then.
How does that sound?’
There was a pause. ‘Okay, sure, how about
tomorrow evening? Say, nine at the Montgomerie golf club?’
‘Erm, that’s perfect. See you tomorrow at nine.’
‘Who’s the man!’ I screamed the second I hung
up. I had just engineered a meeting with the CEO of one of the city’s new
property developers from nothing! Sure, I didn’t have the location, the plans
or the price, but it was a start. I was tempted to call Jerome right way and
tell him the good news, but I held back. I wanted to be completely sure that Saff
was in a position to buy first, so I decided it was best to tell Jerome after
the meeting. The following evening, I jumped in a cab and made my way to meet Saff
as agreed.
En route, I got talking to my driver about life
in the city. I always enjoyed my conversations with taxi drivers; they were the
real ears and eyes in Dubai and their stories and observations often exposed
hidden truths never mentioned in the newspapers and travel guides. Their claims
were usually unsubstantiated, of course. But like so many other aspects of life
in Dubai, the fine line between reality and fantasy was blurred, which made
their stories even more intriguing.
‘Can I ask you something, buddy?’ I asked my
driver.
‘Please sir, tell me,’ he replied willingly.
‘Is
Pathetic. I had blown my only shot and I was back firmly at square one.
But it couldn’t be over, not like this. There
was just too much at stake to give up so easily. Any other day, I would have
quit, but not today. After a few moments of moping, something made me pick
myself up and try again.
‘Good morning, Darius Developments,’ answered
the same monotonal voice.
‘Gooood morning, who am I speaking with please?’
‘This is Norah. How can I help?’
‘Good morning, Norah. Wow, Norah, that’s a
lovely name! Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?’
There was a pause. ‘I am Lebanese, actually.’
‘Wow, really? You’re so lucky! Lebanon is such
a beautiful country. I love the food, the music, the history.’
‘Thanks! Yes, it’s a beautiful country. Have
you been there?’
‘Not yet. But I’m dying to go. I really am. I
just don’t know anybody there to show me around.’
‘Well, if you’re going I can connect you to
some of my friends who live there if you like. They can show you a good time.’
‘Wow, you would do that for me?’
‘Of course, my pleasure!’
‘You’re too kind, thank you. I’m so glad we
spoke today, Norah.’
‘No problem.’
‘By the way, Norah, is Saff Haque around? I am
a business associate of Mr Haque and he asked me to call him back. It’s quite
urgent.’
‘Sure. Just give me a second, I will put you
right through.’
I punched the air in triumph. ‘Hello, Saff
speaking,’ a voice eventually said in a crisp British accent.
‘Good morning, Saff. My name is Adam and I am
an employee of Imperial Bank. I apologise for the unsolicited call, I know
you’re a busy man so I won’t take too much of your time. I have heard from a
senior colleague that your firm is looking to purchase plots in Dubai?’
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
‘Great. I may have exactly what you are looking
for.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Well, through one of our affiliates we have
access to a prime piece of land that has come directly from government sources.
It is in a key location and has not been exposed to the market.’
‘Okay, can you tell me where the plot is?’
asked Saff. It was the question I had been dreading.
‘I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information at
this stage. But can I ask which locations you would be looking for?’
‘Well, there are two areas on our radar
currently: the Business Bay and the Marina. Can you at least tell me if it is
in one of these?’
‘I’m afraid I can’t on the phone, but I suggest
we meet up to discuss what we have and I can share some further details then.
How does that sound?’
There was a pause. ‘Okay, sure, how about
tomorrow evening? Say, nine at the Montgomerie golf club?’
‘Erm, that’s perfect. See you tomorrow at nine.’
‘Who’s the man!’ I screamed the second I hung
up. I had just engineered a meeting with the CEO of one of the city’s new
property developers from nothing! Sure, I didn’t have the location, the plans
or the price, but it was a start. I was tempted to call Jerome right way and
tell him the good news, but I held back. I wanted to be completely sure that Saff
was in a position to buy first, so I decided it was best to tell Jerome after
the meeting. The following evening, I jumped in a cab and made my way to meet Saff
as agreed.
En route, I got talking to my driver about life
in the city. I always enjoyed my conversations with taxi drivers; they were the
real ears and eyes in Dubai and their stories and observations often exposed
hidden truths never mentioned in the newspapers and travel guides. Their claims
were usually unsubstantiated, of course. But like so many other aspects of life
in Dubai, the fine line between reality and fantasy was blurred, which made
their stories even more intriguing.
‘Can I ask you something, buddy?’ I asked my
driver.
‘Please sir, tell me,’ he replied willingly.
‘Is
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