“I don’t know why I’m still here, Your Excellency.”
“Of course you know. Because you need the salary I’m offering, Miss Turner. Now sit down so we can talk.”
I do as he asks, taking the chair across from him at the wooden table.
The decor in the room doesn’t matchhimor his culture; it’s like any other modern, luxurious office, like my father’s in Boston.
When I turn my attention back to Kamal, I feel his gaze on me.
My heart races, even though I don’t want to feel this way. Not just because the man would be my boss if I accepted the job but because I’m still mad as hell that he assumed he’d take me to bed if he wanted to.
I have no experience with men. I was raised to become an exemplary wife, and because of my almost non-existent self-esteem, I had few boyfriends. Even those were handpicked by the family and watched by my father. Coming to London is the first time I’ve taken a risk on a solo flight, and even then, the world fell on my head when I told the family that I was leaving the United States to work in England.
There is no level of desire for freedom, however, that will make me go to bed with a man like him just because of his beauty. I’m a virgin and pretty much a nonentity when it comes to relationships, but I’m not an idiot. The Sheikh must be the type of man that collects broken hearts.
However, if I’m so determined, why can’t I stop looking at the Sheikh?
I know the answer, even if I don’t like it: every time I look at him, a chill spreads through my stomach, as it does when we approach something dangerous but irresistible.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm down, and lie to myself that it’s because of the smoldering anger I feel inside, not because of Kamal’s dark gaze. He doesn’t even pretend he’s not analyzing me, and it’s making me shiver.
He stands up, and only then do I realize that his shirt is all stained with coffee, too.
Shame comes back with strong force, but before I can apologize, which I haven’t done yet, he says, “Don’t move. I’ll go change my shirt.”
I follow him with my eyes and see him going into an attached room. A couple of minutes later he comes back, still buttoning the cuffs of a white shirt that looks like it was tailor-made.
I look away because the sliver of golden skin on display near the collar completely distracts me.
Although I know I don’t have the best cards, when he sits down again, I ask, “What do you want from me, Your Excellency? I think that after what you said when I got here, there is no longer any possibility of us working together.”
“Regarding your arrival, I would advise you to be more careful when walking. I could have splashed coffee on your face, and it would have been quite painful.”
“I’m sorry about that, but I can’t promise it won’t happen again. It’s not an uncommon thing in my life to drop things and run into people,” I say, embarrassed, but I quickly recover. “However, it doesn’t change the fact that you were verypretentious, not to say rude, in saying you wouldn’t hire me because you would seduce me.”
“I was rude about which claim?”
“Huh?”
“Was I rude to be honest and say that I’m attracted to you and I would want to get you into bed, or that I wouldn’t hire you for that reason?”
Chapter 5
“Both. For assuming I’d give in to your seduction and for saying you wouldn’t hire me after all. I left my life in the United States to come work for you.” Madeline delivers her speech very confidently, and I can see she’s really upset.
Clearly she had assessed me as much as I did her, which goes to show she’s not indifferent. On the other hand, nothing in her posture tells me she’s trying to impress me.
Very few times have I interacted with a woman, regardless of age, when they were not trying to get my attention somehow.
Madeline, however, looks like she wants to bolt.
Why?
Her stance intrigues me. Any other woman, if aware of my interest in her beauty, would use that as a weapon. After all, the chance to be my mistress for a month would give her far more advantages than traveling around the world as a mere assistant.
That’s not what her body language is telling me, though.
“I was honest. I’m attracted to you,” I say.
