The Sheikh's Scandal Read online

  THE SHEIKH’S SCANDAL

  By Holly Rayner

  Copyright 2017 by Holly Rayner

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.

  All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.

  Table Of Contents:

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  ONE

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  Ali sat in a tree and munched on an apple as he stared into the swirling waters of the river. He spent much of his time there, being the only child his age in the northern village of his tiny country, Al Jayah. The rocks and trees and towering mountains had become like friends, since he hadn’t had any of those to begin with.

  Finishing his apple, he threw it as far as he could. He grinned when it landed all the way on the other side of the riverbank. He deftly climbed down the tree, his toes digging into the bark to keep him from falling, until he was low enough to leap to the ground. He turned and faced the river again, staring out along the rocky shore, past the sand-colored mountains. He may have been poor, but he certainly knew the wealth of the earth better than probably anyone.

  Seeing his favorite boulder, he ran over and climbed it, plopping his bony bottom on the top and pulling a small piece of paper, a pen, and a tiny bottle from his various pockets. He held the paper down against his knee as he thought about what to write. Then he bent his head and began a letter.

  Hello,

  My name is Ali, and I am from the northern region of the beautiful country of Al Jayah. You should come and visit it sometime! We have the most beautiful scenery here. As I write this, I’m staring out at the river, and we are surrounded by huge mountains that can block out the sun with their height. We have a capital city, called Rayah, and a lot of the adults go to work there. I don’t go to work, because I am ten.

  I should probably tell you about me, too. I’m not very rich. My papa died when I was very little, but my mama says that she has enough love for two parents, and I think she is right. I’m sure I loved my father when he was alive, but I was too little to miss him, so I don’t. Is that bad? I hope not. While I can’t afford to go to school, my mama taught me how to read and write, and so I’m using those skills to send this message to you.

  I don’t have any siblings or friends here, so I’m writing to you. I hope whoever finds this will come be my friend. I’m really tired of being alone.

  Ali heard his mother’s voice echoing through the trees.

  “Ali! Dinner is ready!”

  Quickly, he finished his letter.

  My mama says it’s time to go in for dinner. I have to go. Come find me soon, okay?

  -Ali

  Rolling up the piece of paper, he slid it into his tiny bottle and wrote the date on the underside of the cork before pressing it deeply into the spout. He looked at it for a moment, gave it a hug, and then threw it down the length of the river. The bottle was gone with barely a splash, and Ali watched for it for a moment longer before his mother called for him again and he ran back home.

  TWO

  Twenty Years Later

  “Hey, can you toss that back?”

  Sarah Chamberlain glanced down at the red Frisbee buried in the sand before her bare, painted toes. She knelt down and picked it up, adjusted it in her hand so she could get a good angle, and sent it flying back to the college kid who’d called out to her.

  His muscles glistened in the hot Miami sun, and a few years ago, Sarah would have definitely flirted with him.

  He caught her perfectly tossed Frisbee and grinned, his white teeth shining even from afar.

  “Thanks. You’ve got good aim! You want to toss it around with us a few times?”

  “I’m okay for now. Thanks,” she said, doing her best to give him a natural-looking smile.

  The guy shrugged, his muscles rippling as he did so. For some reason, all those muscles turned her off now. What was he trying to compensate for by spending all that time on his looks? Then again, this was Miami. Everyone did that.

  She watched from the corner of her eye as the guy turned back toward his friends and continued their game. All around her the beach was filled with people enjoying the late summer afternoon, basking in the sunlight, getting tan, splashing in the warm Atlantic Ocean. Normally, she would have been happy to join them, but her mood was gray. She’d thought going out in the sunlight would help, but she found herself even more melancholy as she watched the world continue on as though nothing had happened.

  That morning, Sarah had gone to work as usual. She had showered, taking care to shave her long legs, which were lean and strong from hours spent running along the many beaches of the city. She had blow-dried her long brown hair until it had been perfectly straight and plumped with a smidge of volume. She’d applied her usual daytime makeup. When she had looked in the mirror, she’d felt powerful and ready to face the day.

  When she’d stepped onto the street, she had held her hand out for only a second before a cab pulled up to the curb, and she made short business of getting inside and out of the heat. It was one thing to enjoy the beach when one didn’t have to work, but when there was the chance of makeup melting, it meant getting inside air-conditioned spaces as quickly as possible.

  Sarah worked for a travel agency called Wanderlust, Inc. The day before, her boss, a very tall, very blond woman in her late fifties, had been mumbling about how their industry was heading south. It was true that most people could book their own flights online, but Wanderlust catered to a different kind of client—the kind that wanted to have a journey rather than just transportation planned. Sarah planned safaris; she planned European tours and New Zealand adventures. A travel agency was so much more than booking flights.

  As she stepped into the office that morning, she greeted the receptionist, as she always did. The woman glanced down at her lap, which gave Sarah pause.

  “Carolina, what’s the matter?”

  While the travel agency was small, it was a nice boutique-style agency with two offices on the side—one for Sarah and one for Diane, her boss. Hearing Sarah’s voice, Diane stepped out of her office, and her expression was somber.

  “Sarah, can we talk for a moment?”

  Sarah hesitated, swallowing. This didn’t sound good at all.

  “Sure,” she said, her heart pounding with nerves.

  She followed Diane into her office and took a seat across from her desk. Diane sat in her plush seat and laced her fingers together, staring sympathetically at Sarah.

  “I think you know why I brought you in here today,” she said.

  Sarah stared at her, bewildered.

  “I actually have no idea. What’s going on, Diane? What happened?”

  Diane sighed, standing and pacing leisurely around the room as she stared at the photographs of exotic locations hung all over her
walls.

  “We haven’t been doing well for quite some time, Sarah,” Diane said after a long pause.

  Sarah’s stomach dropped as she realized where the conversation was going.

  “That’s true, but we’ve got a long list of clients and plenty of time to call them. I’m sure we can find some folks who were looking to book and just hadn’t thought of it yet.”

  “Even if that were true, it doesn’t change the fact that this agency can’t support two agents anymore.”

  Diane returned to her seat and looked Sarah directly in the eye.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go.”

  “We? You’re the only one who works here other than me! At least have the courage to take responsibility for what you’re about to do.”

  “Fine,” Diane said, leaning back. “I have to let you go. When I started this agency, travel agents were all the rage, but as the Internet gets bigger and people get more empowered, I can’t fiscally justify having another agent on staff.”

  Sarah glanced down at her lap, trying to determine exactly how she felt. Her stomach was twisted in knots and her heart was going a mile a minute with fear, but if she were honest, there was, deep down in her bones, the tiniest sliver of relief.

  “I’m sorry,” Diane said as the silence dragged on.

  Sarah looked up, her caramel-colored eyes meeting Diane’s blue ones.

  “It’s okay. I understand. You have to do what’s best for the agency, and you were the one who started it. I appreciate the opportunities you’ve given me to learn how to do this, and I’m sure I’ll find something even better.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Diane said, her shoulders drooping with relief. “And don’t think for a moment that I’m simply going to leave you on the streets, Sarah. I’ve got enough money to give you a three-month severance, including health insurance, until you can hopefully find something else. You’re a smart, beautiful girl. There are plenty of places for you in Miami, or anywhere in the world! You’re free to do as you wish. I sincerely hope that you do, and if you need a reference, you can use my name any time.”

  Sarah sighed, squaring her shoulders and standing. Diane followed suit, and when Sarah stuck out her hand, Diane shook it firmly.

  “Thank you again, Diane. Good luck with everything.”

  “And you,” Diane said, escorting her back out to the main area.

  Sarah bid farewell to Carolina before she made her way out the door without looking back. She braved the humid walk of the few blocks to her boyfriend’s office. When she stepped inside, she felt the rush of cool air along her skin, instant relief from the sticky Florida heat outside. She took the elevator up to the tenth floor, and when the doors opened she beelined it to Jon’s office. When she got there, she froze.

  A leggy redhead was leaning over his desk, her bosom inches away from Jon’s face. She was smiling down at him suggestively, but that wasn’t the troubling part. The troubling part was the look on Jon’s face as he grinned back up at the woman. Sarah cleared her throat at the door, and they both jumped, separating instantly.

  “Sarah? What brings you here?” Jon asked with a furrowed brow.

  His black hair and blue eyes had been what had melted Sarah’s heart from the beginning. He was quite stunning, and beneath his suit she knew quite personally how muscular he was. She wondered if the redhead knew that, too. Sarah eyed the woman as she made a quick exit before looking back at Jon.

  “I got fired,” she said, taking a seat across from him.

  Jon leaned in, his expression full of concern.

  “What? What happened?”

  Sarah watched his face carefully. He was trying too hard to look like he cared. It was obvious as his eyes darted back to the door that he wasn’t thinking about Sarah at all. That little sense of relief from before made itself present in her gut again, and she realized her relationship was also at an end.

  “This isn’t working, is it?”

  “What isn’t working? Can you tell me what the heck is going on?”

  Sarah sat back and crossed her arms.

  “You like that woman.”

  It was a statement more than a question. Jon sat back in his seat, crossing his own arms.

  “She is a colleague of mine. You’re not really going to go all jealous girlfriend on me, are you?”

  Sarah realized how quick he was to ignore the fact that she’d just lost her job. This was the second inevitable conversation of the day. What was that thing people always said—when it rained, it poured?

  Sarah shook her head, her shoulders slumping with the weight of the world.

  “I’m not. Still, I saw the way you two were looking at each other. I think we’ve come to that place.”

  Jon’s expression was carefully neutral.

  “What place?” he asked.

  “The place where you and I end this and move on from one another.”

  “You’re breaking up with me?” he asked, though his tone was more resigned than angry.

  Actually, he almost sounded relieved.

  “I think so. Things have gotten pretty stale with us for a while, if we’re being honest. I think what we have is a good thing, but you and I aren’t the kind of people who want a good thing. We want something great. We want fireworks. I don’t think you and I are sparking anymore, do you?”

  Jon stared at her for a moment, considering. Finally, he shook his head.

  “No. I don’t either.”

  He sighed, running a hand along his face.

  “Jesus, Sarah. You just lost you job. Are you sure you want to do this, too? It’s so much for one day.”

  “It’s the right thing to do. I just didn’t notice until the rest of my life shook me from this sleep.”

  Jon sat quietly for a moment, looking around as he tried to find the right words.

  “What will you do now?” he asked.

  Sarah looked into his beautiful blue eyes, remembering everything about him she liked. Yet in spite of all those things, there hadn’t been that chemistry she had always wanted in another person. She knew in that moment that she was truly free, and her grin was tempered by only a trace of melancholy.

  “I suppose that’s the beauty of it,” she said. “Anything I want.”

  She stood then, and, as with Diane, she stuck out her hand, giving a genial farewell to her entire existence as she shook Jon’s hand like he was an acquaintance and then left him behind.

  When she stepped back outside, Sarah realized that she had no plans and an entire day ahead of her. While the severance pay Diane had provided wasn’t much, it was enough to blow off some steam and figure out what she was going to do with her life. With that in mind, she spent the rest of the morning getting brunch and a whole-body spa treatment.

  It was one of the best mornings she’d had in a very, very long time.

  As the masseuse rubbed her scalp, Sarah considered all her options. She would obviously have to look for another job first and foremost. That money and insurance wouldn’t last long, and she needed something stable. On the other hand, she was completely and totally freed up for the first time in her adult life. Was that something to take advantage of? If she could do anything in the world, what would it be?

  When the answer didn’t immediately arrive, Sarah decided to head to the beach to clear her head a little better. The ocean always had a way of helping her find the answers she was looking for. But as she passed wave after wave of happy people, she realized her whole reality had been torn out from under her.

  She was twenty-seven years old, officially unemployed, and single. Nearly all her friends were married and starting families, and for a time she had thought she would be joining them, with Jon, who had often spoken about starting a family and settling down. The trouble was, every time he had said that, it had given Sarah a stomachache. She should have known that her body had been trying to give her the hint that that wasn’t the path she would be taking with him.

  Thirty had
been such a hazy, distant line. How had it come up so fast, so soon? Plopping onto the sand, Sarah pinched the delicate grains between her fingertips as she stared out at the sea, listening to the contented laughter of children at play. Her thoughts drifted in and out like the waves, and she nearly jumped when she felt cool water dance along her toes.

  The tide was coming in. How long had she been sitting there? Gazing down at the waves, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She stood, brushing sand off her legs, and bent down and picked up the little trinket. It was an ancient, tiny little bottle.

  Inside it, there was a note!