“It does nothing for your curves,” he pointed out. Morgan raised her eyebrows. He had even noticed her “curves”?
“That was not the aim.” She was only looking for something to wear at the funeral. She was not trying to impress anyone.
“You smell like alcohol.”
“Your dad was drinking whiskey and I thought I would drink with him. However it tasted awful.” Morgan frowned as she recalled the taste.
“You drank with the king?” Sofian was shocked.
“Yes. He even poured it for me.” Morgan wiggled her eyebrows. “In Korea, it was considered an impossible honor for the king to pour a drink for a peasant like me.”
“You say a lot of weird things.” Sofian smiled and shook his head.
“I don't say weird things!”
Sofian raised his eyebrows. He obviously did not believe her. Morgan rose to her feet. “I am going to lie down,” she said to him as she rubbed her belly.
“It’s still early.”
“I’m not tired, just really full.”
“Not only do you say weird things, you do weird things.”
Morgan shook her head. She turned to leave but once again Sofian grabbed her dress. “Again?” She cried out.
“Stay,” he said. He let go of her dress and lay back down on the bed.
“What?” Morgan asked.
“Stay, here.”
Chapter 12
Sofian moved over, creating space for Morgan. She got on the bed and lay down next to him. It was a weird request. He did not know why, but her presence was comforting. Her weirdness distracted him from feeling too sad.
“Your bed is so comfortable,” she said.
Sofian smiled to himself. “Glad you are comfortable,” he replied lazily.
Morgan rolled over to her side and looked at him. “Are you going to do it, become the crown prince?”
Sofian sighed heavily. That was one thing he did not want to speak about. “You’re too noisy,” he said.
“It might be not a bad thing.”
“What!” Sofian looked fiercely at her.
“Hear me out,” she said. “If you don’t do it, then who will? Isn’t it better that you do it? Someone who was close to Samir. I am sure he would rather you take his place than someone else.”
Sofian looked away. He had not thought of it that way. Her words made so much sense. When had she gotten so wise and good with words? “Maybe,” he said at last.
Morgan started drawing on his shoulder with her finger. “Guess what I am writing,” she said.
“Just when I start to think you are normal, you do something even weirder.”
“Argh.” Morgan made an odd sound and turned to face the other side. Sofian just smiled to himself.
“You’re such a bore,” she complained.
***
Morgan slowly opened her eyes. She was so sleepy that it was almost impossible to open them. She brushed her hair out of her face. She stretched her arms. She let out a squeak as she stretched. Stretching felt so good.
“You’re awake,” Sofian said.
Morgan rolled over and looked at him. She had forgotten where she was. She sat up instantly. Sofian was sitting up. He was leaning against the headboard, and reading a book.
“I fell asleep?” Morgan asked. She couldn’t believe that she had fallen asleep in his bed. She always found it difficult to sleep in new places, and yet she had slept so comfortably and easily in Sofian’s bed.
“You snore.”
“I do not!”
“You are so defensive.”
“I am not.” After saying the words, Morgan realized that she was being defensive. She actually was defensive. She rolled her eyes. “What is the time?”
“It’s just after ten.”
“Huh? Did I sleep that long?”
“You did.”
Morgan got out of Sofian’s bed. “I am leaving,” she said and rushed out of the room. She felt a little embarrassed. She wondered if she had talked in her sleep. She had a tendency to do that. Then her hair, it was always messy when she woke up. She could not believe that she had fallen asleep in front of him. It was not even in front of him, it was next to him.
Morgan shut the door behind her when she got into her own bedroom. She unzipped her dress and climbed into bed. It had been a long and strange day for her. She needed to close her eyes and just relax.
The next morning, Morgan had her breakfast in her quarters. She sat at the luxurious chairs and just soaked in the warm sun seeping through the windows. It was nice to have breakfast brought to her. She took her laptop and just started looking over some work documents. She thought that she might as well work.
“Miss,” one of the maids said as she approached Morgan.
“Hi.” Morgan smiled at her.
“The sheikh bought you some things.”
“Like what?” Morgan turned her head. She saw two maids walk into the room with a rack of clothes. Other maids followed with shopping bags. “What’s all this?” she asked.
“The sheikh said to get you clothes and other feminine things, since you left the States without anything,” the leader of the maids said.
Morgan rose to her feet with her jaw hung open. “I just have to pick a few items, yes?” she asked.
“Everything here is for you. Please have a look and let us know if there is anything else you wish to have,” the maid said to her. Morgan was speechless. Sofian had basically gotten her a whole new wardrobe.
Morgan walked over to the rack. She touched different colored fabrics. There were different styles of clothing. Dresses, skirts, blouses, shorts, trousers. All different colors. There was an outfit for every occasion. She looked in the shopping bags. There were different kinds of shoes, lingerie, toiletries, makeup, hair accessories and even nail varnishes.
She was speechless. She only needed a few outfits and toiletries. Sofian had gone above and beyond. She wondered if Sofian had simply asked the maids to get her clothes or if he had told them specifically what to give her. The more time she spent with him the more she could not figure him out. On a bright note, she was witnessing different sides of him, which made it easier for her to be around him and to deal with him.
Morgan decided to go see Sofian. His maids looked at her as she walked in. One of them tried to stop her. “Miss, you cannot just walk in here without receiving permission from the sheikh,” she said to her.
“I come in here all the time. It’s never been an issue,” Morgan said to her. Actually, she had come there a few times, and not all the time. Still, the point was the same. Sofian had never given her backlash for it.
“Let me tell him you’re here first.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Morgan walked in anyway. Life in the palace was different from what she was used to. There were maids everywhere. She had to think twice before doing anything reckless. Morgan heard the maids calling after her but she ignored them. She kept walking and checking each room for him.
“Morgan,” Sofian said without looking up from his newspaper to her as she walked into the room he was sitting in. It was beautifully furnished with black-and-white furniture which matched the curtains. The floors were made of white marble. There was a nice fireplace that complemented the room.
“Sheikh Sofian, we tried to stop her,” the maid that had spoken to Morgan said to Sofian. He dismissed her with his hand.
“It’s fine. Leave us,” he said to her. The maid bowed her head and left the room.
“I have not seen her before,” Morgan said to Sofian.
“She was not on duty for the past few days, I believe. I am surprised that she did not tackle you to stop you from coming in.”
Morgan raised her eyebrows. “Why would she?” Was that another one of his odd jokes? He’d say a joke with a straight face.
“Normally you cannot just come in here without my say-so. She usually makes sure that no one enters.”
“Oh, I was too fast for her.” Morgan gaped a
t everything in the room. “What is this room?”
“Drawing room.”
“Drawing room? That’s so ancient.” The drawing room was a room rich people had in their homes centuries ago. Its purpose was to entertain guests before dinner, sort of like a living room. Morgan did not even understand why it was called a drawing room and why people had it.
“Something I can help you with?” Sofian asked with half a smile on his face.
“I’ve seen the boutique you had sent to me,” Morgan said as she sat down. He was sitting on a chair. She sat on the settee to his right.
“I don’t know what you speak of.”
“All the things you bought for me are enough to outfit a boutique.”
“Oh.” Sofian flipped the newspaper page. “Are they to your liking?”
“If I said no?”
“More things can be bought for you.”
Morgan shook her head. “No more Sofi–Sheikh Sofian.” She cleared her throat. Lately whenever she tried addressing him, his first name seemed to slip out of her mouth instead of sir, sheikh or your highness. Sofian looked up from his newspaper.
“I am just saying that you got me far more than I need,” she said. He looked down at the newspaper.
“I have never heard a woman say that,” he said lazily.
“It’s too much. You have to take some of it back.”
“Never heard that either.”
Morgan narrowed her gaze at him. He was not taking her seriously. She shook her head. “What will you do today?” she asked him. He looked up again.
“Is this your way of asking to spend some quality time with me?” he said. Again his tone was so serious. However Morgan knew what he was thinking. He was joking with her.
“Yes,” she said. She went along with his joke.
“Do as you please.”
When he did not react, it sucked all the fun out of it. “No thank you, I have work to do.” She rose to her feet and headed out of the room.
“Do you really think I should be the crown prince?” Sofian called out after Morgan. She stopped and looked at him. She smiled and nodded. “It’s okay to take Samir’s place?”
“Don’t think of it as taking his place. Rather finishing his work.” Morgan smiled and walked out.
Chapter 13
Sofian went to meet with his father. After really thinking about it, and listening to Morgan, he decided to accept the position. He did not have much choice anyway. He did not have any other brothers. He was the only one left to do it. He was just being his stubborn self. He adjusted his tie before walking into the king’s office.
“I trust that you are well, Father,” Sofian said.
“I am,” his father replied. He gestured for Sofian to sit down.
“I won’t take up too much of your time.” Sofian cleared his throat. “I will do as you say.”
His father nodded. “It’s the only thing to do, son,” his father said.
Sofian knew that already. However, where was he to begin? He knew nothing about being the crown prince. He had gone off to the U.S. to live life the way he wanted. He had focused on growing the family business and he had been incredibly successful. That was what he knew, not this.
“It won’t be easy,” Sofian said.
“No, it won’t be. We have to start preparing you now,” his father replied. Sofian bowed his head to his father and headed out of the room. He already knew the chaos that awaited him. He had watched his brother go through it. There were to be endless sessions on politics and economics. He had to learn about all the other countries. A king should never be in a position where he lacked knowledge.
He walked into his quarters and headed to his office. He told one of the maids to summon Morgan. Just because he was in Kaslan did not mean that he had to stop working. He needed to check on everything that was happening in the States.
Sofian sat in his white leather chair. It felt like he had not been in his home office for so long. He looked up. There was a photo of him and Samir on the wall. He banged his fist on the table. He needed the Khans caught quickly. It was taking longer than he had anticipated. There was a knock on the door. Morgan walked into the room.
“Did you ask for me?” she said.
“Would the maid have said so if I had not told her to?” he spat out. Morgan frowned. Sofian knew that he had scared her. She had only asked a simple question. She was not really asking, it was her basically announcing her arrival. He instantly felt bad. She did not deserve that.
“I did not mean to snap at you. I just have a lot on my mind,” he said to her. He rubbed his forehead. Morgan sat on the chair opposite him.
“I understand,” she said softly. She reached out and took his hands into hers. Sofian was not expecting that at all. Her tiny hands were so soft and warm. She had said to him that she was not good at comforting people, and yet she was doing a good job comforting him.
“You're holding my hands,” he said to her.
“I know. Apparently it’s a way to comfort people. Is it working?”
Sofian almost burst into laughter. She was funny and she did not even know it. “I went to see my father,” he said changing the subject, and not letting go of her hands either.
“How did that go?”
Sofian sighed before he replied. “We did not talk for long. For the first time in my life I’m not confident I can do this,” he said.
Morgan smiled. She did not look shocked. “The things that matter scare us,” she said.
“What?”
“It’s a big thing to be crown prince. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”
“You are really helping here,” he said sarcastically. Morgan laughed. He let go of her hands and crossed his eyebrows. It only made her laugh instead.
“If it doesn’t challenge you then it won’t change you.”
“Do you have any more motivational quotes?”
“Go hard or go home.” Morgan grinned. Sofian looked puzzled. He did not understand that quote. “My point is this is a good thing. Things that are challenging are good things. I think you will be good at it, once you get the hang of it.”
“You have faith in me?”
“I do.” Morgan smiled. “So what do you need me to do?”
“Send out an email to everyone informing them that I will be here for a while.”
“I have already done so. I told them to forward their reports to you or to me.”
Sofian nodded. He liked her using her initiative. “Okay. I also need you to finish the paperwork for the child-friendly painkiller,” he said.
“I have finished with it. I did the research for the ingredients, I did a preliminary budget list and everything else you asked,” Morgan said.
Sofian stroked his chin. He was very impressed. He knew he had made the right decision in hiring her. She was proving him right. “I’m now left not knowing what to tell you do,” Sofian said to her.
Morgan laughed. “I am good at my job.”
“You are.”
“Thank you. That is the closest you’ve been to complimenting me. I’ll take it.”
Sofian smiled. “Well, just keep watch of your email. Look over all reports sent to you.” Sofian could not think of anything else to make her do. It was odd. Normally he gave his assistants tons of work to do. His mind was too consumed with this crown prince business.
“I will do so,” Morgan replied.
“I will summon you when I have more for you to do.” Sofian dismissed her.
Morgan laughed. “Summon,” she repeated. “It’s such an odd word. I don’t think people really use that.”
“I do,” said Sofian. There was nothing wrong with using the word summon.
“No, I mean normal people. Us peasants.” She bowed her head and left the room. That was the first time she had bowed her head to him. He was not sure if it was legit or she was being sarcastic about it.
Chapter 14
Morgan sat in her quarters dealing with emails from w
orkers, just as Sofian had asked. She had never been so idle since she had started working for Sofian. He always had a lot of things for her to do. She looked at her hands. She could not believe that she had held his hands. It was so out of her character. It was even more surprising that he had let her do so.
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