Dual Dilemma

by Santoso, Otello

• ISBN13: 9781449732936
• ISBN10: 1449732933
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-16
• Publisher: Westbow Press

Summary

Rianto, the Indonesian millionaire, transfers large donations to US senators in hopes they would vote for the international trade bill. He almost succeeds, but his sister-in-law and his keris pin get in the way... Suspense, romance and cultural exchange frame this story of intrigue.

Excerpts

Ani had seen plenty of muscular man legs before, but never white-skinned, hairy ones. Without looking up, she instantly cried out, "Oh! So sorry!" And when she did look up, a bemused, friendly face startled her. It was the handsomest "long nose" she had ever laid eyes on in person. "Did I hurt you?" she asked nervously. "Like crazy," the victim replied, stroking his shins with his right hand. She noticed the thumb looked dirty, but then she realized that the spot was probably a dark brown birth mark. "But I think I'll live," he added with an impish grin. Her eyes locked with his twinkling, gray-blue eyes framed in curly medium brown hair. She had never looked into a Caucasian man's eyes before; and for a moment longer than she was accustomed, her view lingered there. They were different from any eyes she'd ever seen. Not just their color, but their expression. How different from the eyes of some Sunda men she had known—eyes which would eat you up with lust. This man's eyes merely smiled with kind-hearted playfulness. "Well, fancy that," chuckled Grace. "It's the infamous Tom Hanson you crashed into." "Hello, Grace!" Tom mustered, his shifty glance at Grace revealing a slight annoyance with her presence. Grace reminded him of his mother, which to him meant intrusion. He preferred to focus on the immediate cause of the collision: the very attractive someone who had bumped her grocery cart into him. "Aren't you going to introduce this reckless but gorgeous grocery cart driver to me?" he asked, continuing to gaze at the Asian beauty before him. "Let's first move over, shall we?" said Grace. "We're blocking everybody. There, now, that's better. Annie, this is Tom. Tom, this is Annie." 'Hi, Tom, I'm Ah-nee," Ani said, not sure if it was polite to correct Grace on the pronunciation of her name. Saying Tom's name directly to his face felt strange enough. It was something one would never do among the Sundas. She held out her hand as her father had taught her to do when meeting someone for the first time in the United States. "Please excuse my—my clumsy." Tom smiled broadly as he took her hand a second longer than he normally would. She shyly looked down at it and noticed a nickel size dark birthmark just under the nail of his right thumb. "A pleasure to meet you, Ani," she heard him say. "And I forgive you, of course," he said with a half smile, "despite the pain in my knee." "Ani just arrived from Indonesia—yesterday, is it?" asked Grace. Ani nodded. "Well then, welcome to Maryland!" "We can't stay here long, Tom," Grace said. "Our new friend here is starving!" "So am I!" laughed Tom. "I guess I'll be seeing both of you again at IFH in a couple of weeks—on a Tuesday night, right?" Grace nodded slowly with a stern face. "I'll tell Ani about it. But I'm not sure why you will be there, Tom. I thought you couldn't abide by the IFH statutes." "Ah, yes," Tom replied, scratching his head. "I've been a bit naughty in the past. But that's history, and I'm all straightened out now. I promise!" He turned to Ani. "It was very nice meeting you, Ani. Look forward to seeing you again," he said as he began to walk past them into the store. Ani smiled back with a smile only she knew expressed nervousness. And what was that other feeling? She didn't know exactly. Something inside her told her it was forbidden, but that feeling kept coming toward her anyway. . As they transferred her bags of groceries from the cart to the trunk of the car, Ani asked, "What's I.F.?" She struggled remembering the letters. "I.F.H. It's short for International Friendship Hour. It's a campus event for international students to discuss cultural issues, learn more about life in America and practice their English. It meets every week and is run by college alumni such as myself. If you're interested in coming, I will introduce you to another graduate student who has just signed up as a volunteer. Her name is Sarah. A real neat gal. As for Tom, just be careful...." "Careful? Why?" she laughed. "He's known to play around with women and not settle on anyone. I'm afraid he'll flirt with you and in the end drop you like a hot potato." "Drop me like a what?" Grace laughed. "Hot potato. It's an expression that's a little like 'breaking your heart.' Do you know what that means?" Ani nodded. She didn't know why, but Ani momentarily forgot all about hunger. Life in America had begun to get interesting.