But he broke that rule. He got her presents. And came back to her bed every night to sleep pressed against her. He made her hot drinks and gave her a foot rub. There had never beenanything casual about their short relationship. Except for the fact that he didn’t tell her that he was staying here in the city. Or that his family was buying a property here.
Ayesha told Ruby more about the hospitality manager role and why she wanted Ruby. “Look, I know it’s a big decision,” Ayesha said. “And if you’re dead set on going to London, I may be able to find you a position there.” She paused. “Why don’t you think about it and let me know? Okay?”
Ruby smiled and nodded. She didn’t want to ask her if this was her brother’s idea, because she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that question yet. But she was almost one hundred percent positive that she was going to turn down Ayesha’s job offer here in Toronto. Giving up a lifelong dream because of a three-week situationship was the definition ofimpulsive—too impulsive even for Ruby. But she needed to talk to Rashid before she told Ayesha that.
After telling Ayesha she would consider her offer and thanking her again, Ruby left the café. The moment she was on the sidewalk, she called Rashid.
“Hey, Red!” he said after answering. “How’d your meeting with my sister go?”
“Um, how doyouthink it went?”
“I’m sure she loved you. What did she say?”
“Youreallydon’t know?”
“Know what? You’re acting strange, Ruby. What’s going on?”
Ruby exhaled. Was it possible he didn’t know that his sister was going to offer her that job? But he had to have known his family had bought that failing Toronto hotel. And he of course knew that he wasn’t moving back to Calgary in February, as planned. And he hadn’t told her either of these things.
“We have to talk,” she said. “I’m heading home now.”
“Okay. Do you want to come to the house?”
Ruby exhaled. She couldn’t have this talk with any of his family around. “Can you come to my place in about half an hour?”
“Sure,” he said. “Do you want me to bring anything? My mother made a huge batch of biriyani today. I can bring some—”
“No. It’s fine. I just need to talk to you.”
Ruby’s mind raced the whole subway and bus ride back to her apartment. Was she overreacting? Could Rashid have really pulled strings behind her back to make her stay with him? There were a lot of reasons why he may not have told her about his plan to stay in the city—not the least of which was the fact that it really wasn’t any of her business. This was a fling with an end date, not a committed relationship. What he did after January first had nothing to do with Ruby.
But that thought hurt, too. Rashid meant so much to Ruby, and it was going to be torturous for her to go from this to no relationship at all in two days. She was going to miss him so much. If he wasn’t opening up to her about his life, then maybe it meant he didn’t feel the same way about her?
But it was also possible that her initial gut instinct was right, and he told Ayesha to offer her that job to make her stay with him. That was manipulation, as far as Ruby was concerned. He was using something she wanted—a hotel job—to convince her to stay with him.
Just like her father had used something she wanted—the UK visa—to get her to come back to Toronto. Which he’d only done to get his hands on Ruby’s money.
When Rashid arrived about ten minutes after she got home, Ruby had convinced herself that she was overreacting. That there was no way Rashid could be as manipulative as her father. And when she opened the door to see him standing there, she was even more sure.
Those kind eyes. That tiny smile whenever he saw her.
“Ruby, what’s wrong? Did something happen in your meeting with Ayesha? She’s hard to please sometimes, but I know she’ll love—”
Ruby shook her head as she stepped aside for him to come in. “No. I like your sister. And I think she liked me fine, considering she offered me a job today.”
A wide, surprised smile transformed his face. “Red! That’s amazing! That’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Not really. Come and sit. I would offer you some tea or something, but the mugs are all packed.” Ruby’s whole life was packed up now. There were boxes and garbage bags everywhere.
He frowned as he sat on the sofa. “What do you mean, not really?”
Ruby sat next to him and put her hands in her lap. “Rashid, she offered me a job as hospitality managerhere—at the newRaj Toronto hotel.”
He grinned. “I knew she’d love you!”
Ruby frowned. “She said she wanted someone from here—a Canadian who understands the culture—who understands customers looking for luxury, which I do after working in luxury retail for so long. And she wants my connections—Marley and Shayne in the fashion industry, and their partners in entertainment media.”
He smiled. “Ayesha is a smart cookie. She wouldn’t offer if she didn’t think you could do the job.”
