Through the light blanket, the coarse grass irritated Nola's skin. “Can you tell me what this visit is about?”

“You understand, of course, that you’ve kidnapped this baby?”

“I did no such thing.”

“I stand corrected. You left China with this child without obtaining official permission from her legal guardian.”

Nola sprang to her feet and scooped up Lulu. “Is this a tribunal to determine the legality of my adoption?”

He patted the blanket in the spot she had vacated.

“Hear me out. We have the same interests in this.”

“You’d better get to the point, then.” She remained standing. His quick glance toward her thigh told her that the sarong had shifted, but she made no effort to readjust it. Let him get an eyeful of her half-a-billion dollar body.

“My, my. Haven’t we become gutsy.”

She turned to leave.

“Miss Sands. If you want to play with the big boys, you’d better get used to hearing what the big boys have to say.”

“Well, then, do not talk to me like I’m a little girl.”

“Touché.” His laugh was throaty and warm, and she felt hatred climb in her throat. He went on, “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Why don’t you start by explaining your deals with the Chinese?” she asked. “I know that BurgerRanch hasn’t simply gotten its foot in the door in China because the Chinese preferred Bao-Ji-La hamburgers to McDonald’s, but because BRW Entertainment has offered more. A lot more. Even if you promised to deliver favorable PR in the U.S., that doesn’t explain why you, of all people, represent the Chinese government, here, now.”

He regarded her. She could almost hear the gears clicking in his head as he readjusted his perception of her. “You know those pandas I was going to ship back with this baby? If you had trusted that I’d take care of things and not provoked your hosts with that cockamamie song of yours—” When her face remained immobile, he continued, “There was some problem with the toy version of the pandas. We’ve produced millions in China, but Congress would not allow us to import those fuzzies to the States. All kinds of regulations and tariffs. After some negotiations, I managed to smooth the way, so to speak.”

She stared at him. “You take me for a complete idiot.”

“Aha!” He raised a finger in the air. “Not an idiot, but naïve in the ways of big business.”

The sun had become hot. Nola was out of the shade, and she was too weak to remain standing for long with Lulu in her arms. “I can’t imagine you’d be speaking to Kong Ruiji like this.”

“Are you comparing yourself to the prime minister of China?”