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  themselves. You can’t take away their homes!”

  Raji knelt down, to look Bahir in the eye at his level. He placed a sturdy hand on the boy’s shoulder.

  “Bahir, sometimes people have to suffer for the greater good of the community at large. This building will provide jobs for many more people than we would displace, and besides, they can afford to find housing elsewhere. You will see that this is the best decision for everyone, in the end.”

  Bahir frowned, unconvinced, but knowing better than to question his father.

  Raji had a reputation for being a stern, sometimes cruel man, but in his heart he always believed he was doing what was best for the most people. In the end, he tore that neighborhood down to make way for a skyscraper, and Bahir watched as his friends were relocated, never to be seen again.

  Bahir’s father died a few years later. Bahir and his mother had been eating breakfast together in their elaborate dining room, and Bahir was planning on heading back to university that morning.

  When Raji was noticeably absent from the breakfast table, the two of them decided to go see what the holdup was, expecting to find him on the phone somewhere, conducting business. When he entered his parents’ bedroom, his mother following behind, Bahir’s blood turned to ice.

  His father was lying facedown on the floor, his limbs bent at awkward angles, as though he had collapsed. When Bahir rushed to his father’s side, he found that the man on the ground was lifeless. Bahir’s mother let out a strangled sob, and what she said next burned into her son’s memory.

  “How will we be able to live now?”

  Bahir looked back at his mother in disbelief. There he knelt by the body of his dead father, and all his mother could think about were their finances. In that moment a part of him died, too.

  He rose and left the room, placing the necessary calls to wrap up Raji’s affairs cleanly and without fuss. The funeral was arranged in short order, held at the end of the week, before Bahir jumped on a plane back to college.

  From that day on he buried himself in his work. He was the head of the family, and would be expected to provide for his mother, who wrote to him regularly expressing her concern over their finances and the loss of his father. Bahir had never cared about the money, really. He’d never needed to. He didn’t want to be a part of what his parents had going on, even if he was bound by his family history to make a good name for himself.

  Bahir made his fortune because he wanted to do it his way, and he promised himself that he would always treat the people under his care with a respect his father had rarely showed. His mother would die not long after of a prescription drug overdose, leaving him completely alone in the world.

  In a strange way, Bahir liked being alone with his business; it kept him so busy that he rarely thought of the loss of his parents. The fact that Cassandra had had the power to bring up such emotions again annoyed him, and he turned his thoughts elsewhere.

  Nicole’s glowing blond hair was the first thing that came to mind after suppressing those memories again. There was a part of her that spoke to Bahir—the part that wanted to think about life outside of work.

  He was so grateful for the day, all those months ago, when he’d run into her in the hallway, and he wanted her to know that she was a big part of what kept him going. Her presence was soothing in a way he hadn’t experienced before. As he stretched out on his comfortable mattress, his thoughts remained fixed on Nicole.

  How excited he was to spend a day with his assistant. He couldn’t wait to thank her in some small way for all the endless ways she’d helped him.

  FOUR

  Nicole could feel warm sunlight pouring across her pillow, and she rolled over, stretching languidly across her bed. She loved having a queen-sized bed all to herself. It wasn’t like she had time for a love life, so she figured she might as well enjoy the perks of being single.

  She cracked open an eyelid and stared out at the city, already awake and bustling. Glancing at her clock, she saw that she had thirty minutes to prepare for their excursion.

  Not having packed for anything other than work, Nicole dug through her suitcase as she searched for anything to wear that might be suitable for a day of sightseeing. She combed through the suits and skirts until she came across a white dress with blue flowers—an outfit she must have packed with hope for a break but never had the chance to wear. Nicole had learned never to fully unpack her bag, and to always have one ready, since Bahir loved to change his mind about when she would be traveling and where.

  It was not his most endearing quality.

  She washed up and slid into her dress, eating a protein bar as she headed out the door, purse on her shoulder, ready for adventure. She felt lighthearted and giddy, trying to take in the fact that she might have very little work to do over the next eight hours. What a concept!

  As she stepped into the lobby and out the door, she was surprised to see a long, black limo parked by the curb. The driver stood at the door waiting for her, and he pulled it open as she approached. Bahir was grinning at her from the inside.

  “I thought you said you’d pick me up in the car,” she said, staring pointedly at the elaborately stretched limousine.

  Bahir shrugged, his grin infectious.

  Nicole crossed her arms and tried to look annoyed, but by his expression she could tell it wasn’t working.

  “This is a car, it’s just a little longer. If we’re going to take time off, we might as well do it in style!”

  Nicole sighed. “You are nothing if not subtle, Mr. Al-Jabbar,” she said, sliding into the limo and sitting across from Bahir, who was already pouring two glasses of champagne. She was surprised to see him looking casual in slacks and a T-shirt, when she had never seen him without an immaculately tailored suit on. It suited him, she thought.

  He handed her a glass flute as the limo pulled away, and she took it, purposely avoiding his fingers.

  He held up his own glass to her. “Cheers, to a day off!” he said, and Nicole clinked her glass against his, unsure of how to handle this version of Bahir. She had never seen him like this. He was so involved in his work that she had never even considered that he might know how to enjoy himself.

  “Cheers,” she agreed, taking a sip of the bubbly drink, and feeling excited.

  She gazed out the windows as the city passed them by, before looking back at Bahir, whose gaze darted away from her. “How much are you thinking about work right now?” she asked with a teasing gleam in her eye.

  Bahir cleared his throat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, his glance darting left and right, then finally down at his pocket, where his smartphone was tucked away.

  Nicole peered at him over the rim of her glass as she sipped on the drink. “You’re wondering how many emails you have this morning, aren’t you?” she asked.

  Bahir huffed, though the sound was playful. “I’ll have you know I woke up early and checked my email already, so today’s business has already been dealt with.”

  “But now you’re wondering what they’ve said back. Has that task been completed? Is the next contract ready? What other slave work can I get Nicole to perform?”

  “Slave work!” Bahir laughed, setting his drink on one knee. “Finally, she speaks the truth! I knew you couldn’t keep your silence about the stresses of this job forever. You, Nicole, are a gem,” he said, taking another sip.

  With a fairly empty stomach, Nicole could already feel the alcohol taking effect, and she set her glass down. There was no way she would ruin her only day off by getting too drunk to enjoy it. Her mind drifted to her other potential job offer, but she brushed the thought aside. No need to think about that on a day like today.

  “So, are you going to check it?” Nicole asked.

  “Check what?” Bahir said.

  “Your email.”

  “Oh. No…” he said, his gaze darting back down to his pocket, the expression of longing evident on his face.

  “I won’t jud
ge you, you know.”

  “But then no one can say that I can have fun, too,” he said.

  “I won’t tell,” Nicole replied.

  A look of relief washed over Bahir’s face as he pulled out his phone, unlocking the screen.

  “It’ll only be a moment,” he said, his expression apologetic.

  Nicole wondered why he would even feel the need to apologize. After all, she was in his employee. Doing some work on the way there was in no way untoward. She watched him as he scanned through emails, opening them up and typing lengthy answers with his thumbs.

  His face had relaxed as he focused on the many projects he was juggling at once, and Nicole smiled to herself as she gazed out the window once again.

  The crystal-clear waters of the Persian Gulf sparkled in the sunlight as they drove down a long stretch of highway along the coast. Buildings became sparser, in favor of desert countryside dotted with palm trees. Bahir continued to work in silence for a while longer before he finally put down his phone and took another sip of champagne. When he glanced over at Nicole, she wore a bemused expression as she stared at her own phone.

  “What is it?” he said, and she looked up at him.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know a woman named Cassandra, would you?” she asked, and Bahir frowned.

  “Maybe. Why?” he asked, cautious.

  Nicole smirked. “For some reason she thinks that she can schedule an appointment with you at your office this afternoon. It says, and I quote, ‘Bahir is expecting me for a very important business meeting, and it is imperative that you schedule me in this afternoon. Please advise as soon as this is scheduled.’”

  Nicole looked up at Bahir, waiting for him to answer, and he squirmed under her stare.

  “All right, all right, so we kind of dated. I don’t think we’re dating anymore, but apparently she disagrees.”

  “Bahir,” Nicole said, her voice admonishing. “Not another one.”

  “Another one! I haven’t dated that many women, Nicole,” he said, defensive.

  Nicole held up a hand and started counting them on her fingers. “There was that Australian woman, the one who you asked me to send flowers to, and write the break up card for, if I remember correctly. Ah yes, she threw a rock at my window after tracing the address back to our building. That was fun. Then there was the woman from Hong Kong. She was a real treat. Now it would seem dear Cassandra is not taking the boot very well either. I wonder what she’ll decide to throw at my window when I tell her there will be no meeting today?”

  Bahir smirked, his expression guilty. “I do find it a bit of a struggle to hold down a healthy relationship,” he admitted, and Nicole grinned.

  “Maybe stop dating crazy people, and then you might find a good match.”

  “I don’t think I have a good match,” he said, his expression suddenly serious.

  Nicole’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? You’re a rich, handsome businessman. You’re everyone’s type.”

  “Maybe…but no one is my type. You more than anyone should know that love involves more than money and good looks. It requires someone you can confide in. Someone that accepts your lifestyle. No woman is willing to accept this part of me,” he said, waving at his phone.

  It was true that Bahir probably spent fourteen to sixteen hours of every day working, rather than sleeping or going out with friends or living a life. He spent his life in the office, and Nicole could see how that would get in the way of romance.

  “Maybe you should consider giving some of it up,” she said, and Bahir looked aghast.

  “I beg your pardon?” he said.