“Can I be honest?”
“Always, cousin.”
“Take care of your heart. Kamal is an experienced man. If he’s really determined to seduce you, you won’t stand a chance.”
“I don’t intend to give him the chance. I’m in London to start a new life. I want to make friends, go out without worrying about what people think of me. None of my plans include being the temporary mistress of a hot Sheikh.”
She finally smiles again. “Keep that in mind, love. Have a good time. Make a lot of mistakes, but with the right guy. There are ones we make that can be fixed. Others not. I was lucky that when I fell in love with Christos, he loved me back, otherwise I’d be spoiled for all men. You don’t meet someone like him and Kamal and then move on. You’ll always compare him to a new potential boyfriend, and the guy will lose.”
“I’ll memorize that like a prayer. I won’t let things between us go outside the professional realm. Oh, I almost forgot. In a few days, I will accompany him to an event. Any suggestions on what I should wear?”
“To be honest, you didn’t pack anything that fits. If the event you’re referring to is anything like the ones I attend with Christos, you’re going to need something more sophisticated.”
“I brought a dress, but it’s like the ones my mother used to make me wear.”
I think about how contradictory Mom is. She said my natural blonde hair was vulgar, but at the same time, when we had to go to a party, the dresses were always very low-cut, like I was a piece of meat on display.
“She wanted you to marry some billionaire—that’s why she made the dresses so sexy.”
“I don’t plan on wearing a nun’s habit, but for an event with my boss, it’s not right to draw so much attention.”
“Why did he invite you?”
I shrug. “It wasn’t much of an invitation. Before I left his office, he handed me a full schedule of events and travel. I thought he would take a girlfriend, but no. He said I would be the one to accompany him.”
She looks worried again when she says, “I can get you a job with another friend of Christos’s, Maddie. I don’t like where this is going.”
“I’m not a baby, Zoe. I know how to take care of myself. I won’t allow him to seduce me.”
Chapter 7
I wake up to the sound of traffic outside my apartment. Today will be my last day here. I’ll be moving to the property my boss arranged for me.
I must admit I was surprised by the size of the new apartment and where it is located. London is an expensive city, and the place I’m at now is no bigger than a studio. What the Sheikh is giving me has two bedrooms and is situated on a quiet, wooded street.
The only problem is that it’s not as close to his offices, and I was worried about how long it would take me to get there. However, as if reading my thoughts, he told me that I’ll have a driver at my disposal, which shows me the advantage of working for a powerful Sheikh.
I look at my two suitcases containing all the belongings I brought to London and think about the conversation I had with my mother on the phone yesterday.
She didn’t even care where I was going to live. Talked the whole time about how she and my father had been excluded from social events in Boston since the scandal hit the pressregarding the pension fund he managed. I don’t know why I’m still surprised. Mom doesn’t care about anything other than herself.
I turn to the alarm clock on the bedside table just to confirm that I need to get up, even though the chance of meeting my boss today is almost nonexistent. I’ve been going to his offices all week, but since the interview, I’ve only seen him once, and he was with the man I found out to be his advisor—Adil.
Sheikh Kamal treated me in a completely impersonal way, different from that first day. However, I held my breath almost the entire time I was in his presence.
Mostly, I’ve been undergoing some sort of crash course with his secretaries to familiarize myself with the Sheikh’s routine, including the security measures I must take, because I can’t forget that although he’s a CEO, first he is the head of government of his Emirate.
I get up and head for the shower, thinking that I’ll have to use my lunch break today to buy a dress for the party to which I’m accompanying the Sheikh. I also need more clothes. The ones I brought won’t be enough to start with.
I realize how foolish I was to think that two suitcases of clothes would suffice to accompany Kamal on his trips and dinners.
I’ll have to make a dent in my budget. I intended to open a savings account, as per Zoe’s advice, but the new wardrobe will be my only expense besides the few meals I make at home, so I don’t see it as a big problem.
I step into my boss’s office, ready to start another day of work, which so far has been less glamorous than I initially thought, but I almost have a heart attack when I come face to face with Kamal, his advisor Adil, and two other men who bear a striking resemblance to the Sheikh.
There is no need for introductions. I’m sure they are Princes Irfan and Zarif, my boss’s brothers.
They are as handsome as their older brother, and I can’t help but wonder about the blessed genetics they have.
