“Desperate because your relationship was coming to an end?”
“Something like that. Or she thought she would pressure me into making our connection public.”
“Which just proves you don’t know her.”
“No one is really capable of knowing another just by living together for a month. Which is precisely why my contracts only last that long.”
“Are you already thinking about who will be next?”
“Not yet,” I say, heading for the door. “After the way Danna left, I need a few days to breathe.”
He follows me. “Not even anyone in sight?”
“What’s with you today, Adil?”
“Nothing. Maybe watching your new assistant stirred my heart, turned me into a romantic. Where are you going?”
“To find Irfan. He wants to buy a new yacht from the company of the Regent of Amasitano[4] and he wants my opinion.”
“Prince Vicenzzo’s yachts are the most luxurious on the market.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll trade mine for a bigger one too.”
“Wait for me—I need to get some coffee. I haven’t had any yet and I can’t think properly without my daily fuel,” he says, and I stop walking. “Want one?”
“I hate those paper cups.”
“You’re such a snob.”
“Okay. Get one for me too, but don’t put on the lid.”
Chapter 2
When the taxi that brought me from my small flat—which I just learned I’ll have to leave soon, after having barely set foot in London—parks in front of the building on Canary Wharf, the city’s financial hub, I am mesmerized by the grandeur and luxury of it.
I’ve looked up both Sheikh Kamal and the place where I will possibly start working. Given the wealth of the Emirate ofSintarah,I expected nothing less than an imposing property. Up close, it’s even more beautiful than in the pictures. In fact, from what I’d gathered, the project, designed by a famous Boston architect named Lucas Ward, won the “boldest designer”award.
I get out of the charming and classic-in-an-English-style vehicle, but just as I enter the building, I start to get anxious.
From the pictures I saw of my future boss over the internet—yes, I’m considering my signing as a sure thing; I’m optimistic—mostly taken at official ceremonies in his country, his face always looked downright intimidating. However, I trustthat he won’t be too mean to me, as he’s friends with Christos, my cousin Zoe’s husband.
Not that I’m expecting any special treatment. If he is just a little patient with me until I learn the job, it’ll be a big help.
It’s been three months since Zoe told me she might have gotten me a job. I was dying to run away from my mother in Boston, and now, with the family’s newly declared bankruptcy, things have been more difficult than ever, so I accepted without thinking twice.
I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m scared to death. I have never lived in another country, and my experience away from my family and my state’s high society is very limited. The only thing that puts me at ease is knowing that the Sheikhis aware that this will be my first job.
According to Zoe , the most important thing, however, is not my professional capability but my social knowledge. It seems my future boss isn’t a fan of high society’s rules, and his behavior can sometimes be considered rude. In a nutshell, my job is tocutthe diamond in the rough and turn him into a lord, in terms of Western culture.
According to the gossip magazines, my boss is six point five feet tall and weighs more than two hundred pounds.
In other words, a diamond lord.
Also, very handsome. Not in a “okay, he’s cute” kind of way. More like a “wow, what a man!” type.
However, none of that matters to me. I just need to focus on the fact that this job means freedom from my family.
It takes me some time to explain to one of the security guards by the entrance who I am. I have yet to get used tothe British accent, because in addition to the accent, which makes some words sound different from in the United States, I’m dyslexic[5], and what I think and what I say don’t always correspond.
