“You said I could.”

“No. I gave you permission to discuss our family’s history with him, not the foundation of our country’s economic future.”

“It’s all related to keeping our family safe,” Cassie insisted. “Levi discovered that the assassins who tried to kill me were indirectly hired by Satori Oil.”

“You can’t be serious.” Her father’s face paled. “Someone tried to kill you for profit?”

“We believe so,” Cassie said.

“How did you come to this conclusion?”

Cassie glanced at Levi, silently signaling him to answer.

“Your dislike of Americans is widely known. When your daughter narrowed the candidates down to three companies, two of which were based in the United States, a possible motivation for eliminating Princess Cassandra became clear,” Levi explained. “If your experts came back with the same analysis and you were making the decision, it follows reason that you would have chosen the company that wasn’t run by Americans.”

“Your logic is sound, but how sure are you that Satori was involved?”

“I’m sure,” Levi said. “My security team traced the payments to the assassins. The money was washed through a number of accounts, but it originated from a corporate account. The money was logged as a security payment, but it was four times the going rate.”

“That does sound conclusive.” He took a roll from the bread basket and set it on his plate. “I am impressed that you were able to gather so much information. I didn’t realize Meridian intelligence had that depth of capabilities.”

“I did call in a favor from Interpol,” Levi said.

Before her father could comment on their involvement in the investigation, Cassie said, “Levi and I believe that announcing the winner of the drilling rights can eliminate the threat from Satori.”

“You first have to iron out the contract details. That will take weeks.”

“Actually, we did it in five days.” Cassie took a deep breath. “I signed the contract yesterday.”

“With?”

“Axion Oil. It is based out of Houston,” Cassie said. “It’s one of the companies Crispan suggested.”

“Houston, Texas. In America.”

“Yes, Papa. In America.”

CHAPTER 33

Levi escorted Cassie out of her father’s quarters and back to her room. The breakfast they had shared had been more meeting than eating, but after Cassie explained the contract points and the reasons for her selection, King Alejandro had calmed down.

Levi suspected Cassie’s father recognized he wouldn’t be here to see the fruits of his daughter’s labors and, ultimately, had decided to trust her decision.

Cassie opened her door. “Can you come in for a minute?”

“Sure.” He followed her inside. “What do you think? Did that go better or worse than you expected?”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to tell him so soon.”

“I know.”

“You know?” Cassie’s eyebrows drew together. “Why did you do that? You had to know I wanted to prepare before meeting with my father.”

“I know you were already prepared and that you would have wasted all day stressing over meeting with him,” Levi said. “Now it’s done.”