It wasn’t Kamal’s ex-girlfriend’s arrival that made me so angry. I never thought he was a saint. The problem was what she said.
I felt cheap, just another addition to a man’s collection, whose only concern is to be sexually satisfied. I don’t want to lose respect for myself. If he’s incapable of starting a relationship without a deadline, I’d rather not even try.
I’m digging in my handbag for the card with the code to unlock the apartment when I notice my phone lighting up with a text.
Kamal:You shouldn’t have left without me, Madeline. It won’t happen again.
Still very upset, I’m tempted to reply wondering what would happen if I defied him. But first and foremost, he’s my boss, so I swallow my anger and answer.
Me:As you wish, Your Excellency.
Chapter 14
“You let him kiss you?” my cousin asks.
I woke up early to call her because I couldn’t go meet the Sheikh at the office without venting to someone first.
“You heard me perfectly the first time, Zoe. And it wasn’t ‘I let him kiss me.’ I kissed him back. And as much as that makes me stupid, I don’t regret it. It was the best kiss of my life.”
“He shouldn’t have done that.”
“You don’t have to be so protective. When you met Christos, you were only eighteen and he was thirty-five, nearly twice your age, but that didn’t stop you two from being together. That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?”
I tell her about the situation with the boisterous woman I now know as Danna Spencer-Harris.
“Ugh, I know who she is. Insufferable. An actress wannabe, if being an extra counts, and a duke’s daughter. She looks like a princess, but when she opens her mouth, she’s arrogant and unbearable. I had the displeasure of crossingpaths with her once at one of Vanity’s fashion shows, and I wish I could erase the event from my memory.”
“Why?”
“She made a scene, accused one of the staff members of stealing her purse. In the end, she found it in the backseat of her limousine.”
“Jesus!”
“How a man of Kamal’s caliber could get involved with someone like her, I’ll never understand.”
“She’s beautiful, Zoe. What he’s looking for doesn’t include having a good heart.”
“Yeah, for sure. Anyway, Madeline, her speech just sounds jealous, like a woman who’s been turned down.”
“I know. And that’s precisely the reason I left. I don’t want to become a ‘Danna’ in his life.”
“You did the right thing. Now you just have to make sure not to repeat the mistake.”
I fall silent because being a liar is not one of my flaws.
Zoe takes a few seconds to understand. “Oh my God. Don’t tell me you plan on repeating it.”
“I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in bed.”
“Out of anger?”
“No. Remembering the kiss. It was incredible, Zoe. I’ll never forget it.”
“God, Maddie. What do you intend to do about it? There’s no chance that getting involved with him will end well.”
“I know, but based on what I’ve learned about him so far, he won’t give up on pursuing me.”
