The Sheikh's Assistant

by Emily Walters

  A maid knocked on her bedroom door. “Miss, lunch is ready,” she said.

  “Okay,” Morgan called out. She felt so pampered. All her meals were prepared for her. Clothes and shoes had been bought for her. She got up from her bed and took her laptop with her.

  The table had already been set for her. The cooks had prepared rice, lamb, Mediterranean salad and pita bread. Morgan’s mouth instantly watered. She sat down at the table. She flipped open her laptop. She decided to call Brooke on Skype while she ate. It was still morning in the States. Brooke must have been getting ready for work.

  “It’s too early to talk,” Brooke said as she answered her Skype.

  “Good morning to you too,” Morgan replied.

  “Hurry up and tell me the gossip. As you know, I have work soon.”

  “What gossip? I am just calling to see how you are,” she lied. She needed to tell her about everything that been going on with Sofian.

  “Hey. Right now you need to tell me what’s been going on over there.”

  “You tell me what’s been going on there.”

  “The usual. Everyone is talking about you.”

  “Still? They need to get over it. I was only made an assistant and nothing special.”

  “Nothing special? You are working with the sheikh and now you are in Kaslan. Everyone is talking about you being in Kaslan. I guess they’re just jealous.”

  Morgan bit into her succulent lamb. Brooke stared into the camera. “Are you eating? Hurry up and tell me the gossip. I have no time!” she shouted. Morgan burst into laughter and almost spat out her meat.

  “Okay,” she said. She quickly chewed and swallowed. “I went to the funeral, drank whiskey with the king, I slept in Sofian’s bed, he bought me tons of clothes and shoes, he has to be the crown prince now obviously, I held his hands this morning and that’s everything.” She spoke so fast, she was out of breath when she was done.

  “My head is spinning right now,” said Brooke. She was just staring into the camera with her jaw hung open. “I don’t even know where to begin,” Brooke continued.

  “That’s everything,” Morgan said and grinned.

  “This is worth being late for.” Brooke cleared her throat. “You slept in Sofian’s bed?”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter. Nothing like that happened.” Morgan quickly explained the full situation to her. It did not seem to make much of a difference to Brooke.

  “Just what is going on between you and the sheikh?”

  “Nothing. I am just his assistant.”

  “The pair of you are in love with each other but no one will admit it first,” Brooke teased.

  Morgan almost choked on her drink. “Love? You need to get to work,” said Morgan.

  “One day, you will tell me how your love has blossomed.”

  “There won’t be such a day. I am now hanging up on you now. My food is getting cold and you are running late,” Morgan said to Brooke.

  “I’ll be waiting for the–” Before Brooke could finish speaking Morgan ended the call. She knew what Brooke was going to say and she was trying not to hear it. There was nothing between her and Sofian. She was just his assistant. He looked at her as just an assistant and she looked at him as just her boss. That was all there was to it.

  After Morgan had finished eating, she sorted out Sofian’s schedule for the week. He had a very busy week ahead of him. He was to meet with different people who were going to help him prepare for the throne. They would more or less tutor him. She suddenly wondered what Sofian was doing. She wanted to go check but she stopped herself.

  ***

  Sofian attended his first meeting as crown prince. Each week, the king attended a cabinet meeting with all the ministers and his advisers. When the crown prince reached a certain age, he had to attend cabinet meetings also. When Sofian and his father entered the room, the ministers rose from their seats and bowed their heads.

  The ministers waited for the king and Sofian to sit down before they did. They were sitting at an oval shaped table with the king at one end and Sofian at the other.

  “It's good to see you, Sheikh Sofian,” one of the ministers said to him.

  “It is indeed. You have grown up really well,” another minister agreed with him.

  “Thank you,” Sofian replied.

  The secretary of state read out the minutes from the previous meeting. Sofian looked at his hand. He still had the bandage on. The bandage that Morgan had wrapped around his hand. In a way she was motherly. She had taken care of him in her own way. It was odd. No one had ever taken care of him like that.

  Sofian found himself remembering Morgan in his bed. She slept so peacefully. She looked so adorable, and she had spoken in her sleep. He wondered if she was liking it in Kaslan, and if she was comfortable. Sofian shook his head. There was no time to be thinking about Morgan. He was in an important meeting.

  “The last thing we need to discuss is the coronation,” said the secretary of state.

  “Yes, we need to do one at the right time. If we do it too early, it seems insensitive to the previous crown prince. However if we take too long, the people will be uncomfortable knowing that the crown prince position is empty,” said one of the ministers.

  “You are right,” said the king. Sofian said nothing. Everything was just happening too quickly. He wished that he would not have a coronation. However that was not up to him. Even if they listened to him and did not do one, there would be so much speculation.

  “However let us discuss that at a further time,” said the king as he rose from his chair. Sofian also stood up.

  “Yes, your highness,” the ministers said as they rose from their seats also. They bowed their heads as Sofian and the king left the room.

  “So how was your first cabinet meeting?” the king asked his son when they were out of the conference room.

  “It was what I expected,” Sofian said. He had found it incredibly boring.

  “And what did you expect?”

  “I expected it to be so uninteresting.”

  The king laughed. “You will get used to it, son,” he said. Sofian shrugged his shoulders in response. “By the way, how is your assistant?” he asked.

  Sofian looked at his father with a puzzled expression. “Morgan? Why would you ask about her?” Sofian asked. It was rather strange that his father was asking about Morgan. He had never asked about Sofian’s employees before.

  “She left an impression on me.”

  “She did?”

  “Yes. She’s very talkative,” the king said. Tell me about it, Sofian thought to himself. “But it’s good. She is full of life and very entertaining,” his father continued.

  “She is something,” said Sofian. “I am off to start my foreign affairs meeting.” Sofian bowed his head to his father.

  “Okay, I will see you soon.” The king smiled and walked off.

  Chapter 15

  Morgan accompanied Sofian to a tent meeting. A tent meeting was a just a meeting where the king would meet up with sheikhs from different tribes and neighboring countries. The tent meeting was first done in the 1900s. The sheikhs would meet in a tent. That was where the name was generated. Now they met in the Kaslan Empire Hotel. Samir had been going to the meetings in place of his father. Now it was Sofian who had to do it.

  “Are you nervous about the tent meeting?” Morgan asked Sofian. “Your first ever.” She emphasized the fact that it was his first meeting.

  Sofian crossed his eyebrows and looked at her. “I don’t get nervous,” he said.

  Morgan made a sound. “If you say so.”

  “My father asked about you.”

  “Did he?” Morgan’s eyes flew open. “When was this?”

  “A few days ago.”

  “And you’re just telling me now?”

  Sofian crossed his eyebrows at Morgan again. She cleared her throat and looked away. “I did not think it was that important,” he said to her. Sofian’s phone vibrated. He pulled it
out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He grunted and then put the phone back in his pocket.

  “Everything okay?” Morgan asked him. He just dismissed the topic with his hand.

  “We are here,” Sofian said as the car pulled up. The chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for them. Sofian got out of the car first and then Morgan got out after him.

  There were so many officers and soldiers outside the hotel. Sofian had his own personal security detail that tailed him everywhere he went. He went about his business without noticing them. Morgan was not used to them. She and Sofian walked into the hotel.

  The hotel was so extravagant. The reception area alone was impressive. There was a long black desk with ten receptionists behind it, each one with their own space. The receptionists were dressed so elegantly. The floor was made of white and black marble tiles. There was a massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

  One of the receptionists rushed from behind the desk to welcome Sofian. She then escorted him and Morgan into the elevator. The meeting was being held on the Presidential Floor. The receptionist used her key for them to gain access to that floor. No one could get to that floor without a key.

  “Miss, you will need to wait for the sheikh in a different room,” the receptionist said to Morgan.

  “Why?” Morgan asked her.

  “Only the sheikhs attend the meeting,” Sofian said to her.

  “I can’t come in?”

  “No.”

  “Only men?” Morgan asked.

  “Yes,” Sofian replied.

  Morgan shrugged her shoulders and just followed the receptionist to the room she was to wait for Sofian in. As she walked there, she wondered why he had brought her to the meeting if she was not even going to attend.

  Morgan was served with delicious cold beverages as she waited for Sofian. Fortunately for her there was a television and some magazines in the room. It kept her occupied until Sofian returned. He stood in the doorway and just looked at her.

  “What?” Morgan asked him. He had a habit of just staring at her and not saying anything. It was rather odd. She rose from her feet and walked towards him. “How was the meeting?” she asked him.

  “Fine, I guess,” he replied.

  “You guess?” Morgan stood in front of him. He still stared at her with an intense gaze as always. It was so hard to maintain eye contact because he was impossibly handsome.

  “My mind was occupied.” he said.

  “By what?” Morgan knew she should not have asked. He was probably thinking about his brother. Sofian, being his unpredictable self, surprised Morgan by snaking his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Morgan gasped as she flew into his arms.

  Morgan felt incredibly awkward. Here she was standing in Sofian’s arms. He had pulled her in but she had not objected. He smelled so good and looked so good. He dipped his head and pressed a kiss against Morgan’s lips. She gasped as his lips touched her. Her brain said to push him away and ask what he was doing.

  Sofian’s lips were soft and felt so good against Morgan’s lips. Morgan inhaled his manly scent and let out a small moan. Sofian had his hands on Morgan’s lower back. He pulled her closer to him.

  Sofian broke off the kiss and just gazed into her eyes. Morgan wanted to protest when he stopped, but she realized where they were. “What are you doing?” she asked and gently pushed him away.

  “Kissing you,” he replied with a tone that suggested that she had asked the dumbest question.

  “Yes, I know that but not here.” Morgan created some distance between them. She needed that distance. Her hormones were going crazy. Sofian said nothing. He just stared at her. “If you are finished, we should go,” Morgan said and walked out of the room. Her shoulder rubbed Sofian’s shoulder as she walked out. She cleared her throat and tried to act as though it did not affect her.

  Morgan opened the car door for herself. She did not even wait for the chauffeur to open it for her. She quickly got in and fanned herself. She needed to catch her breath and just comprehend what had just happened.

  Sofian joined her in the car moments later. He looked fine. He appeared unaffected. He checked his watch. “Do I have anything else planned for the rest of the day?” he asked her. He was back to normal, as if he had not kissed her. Morgan was confused.

  “Just lunch with your mother,” Morgan said to him. Sofian just nodded.

  The rest of the drive to the palace was a quiet one. Morgan looked out of the window and stared at the palm trees lining the highway. Kaslan was beautiful. She felt sad knowing that she would have to return to the States at some point. She wanted to stay a bit longer and just enjoy the good weather and food.

  When they arrived at the palace, Sofian and Morgan went their separate ways. She was to have a conference call with the rest of the managers back in the States. They needed to update her with reports on current projects. Sofian went to have lunch with his mother.

  Chapter 16

  Sofian kissed his mother on both cheeks before he sat down at the table with her. She was already waiting for him. They were to have lunch together in the palace courtyard. The family often had lunch, dinner or even events in the palace courtyard.

  “How was the tent meeting?” his mother asked him.

  “It was fine,” Sofian replied. He picked up his cutlery and dug into his rice.

  “Once you have learned everything and had your coronation, everything will settle down.”

  “I know. I just have to bear with it all.”

  “There is something else I wish to discuss with you.”

  Sofian stopped eating and looked at his mother. Her tone suggested that it was a sensitive topic she was about to approach. “What is it?” he asked.

  “For the coronation, you need to have a crown princess,” she said. Sofian started eating again. He was not particularly keen on the idea. His mother had picked Zara for Samir. Zara was a good woman. However Sofian did not want a wife arranged for him. He was not even sure he liked the idea of marriage.

  “I suppose you already have matches for me,” he said to his mother.

  “I do.” She smiled and pulled some pictures out of her purse. She arranged them on the table for Sofian to see. He looked at them. They were beautiful but not interesting. Nothing about them intrigued Sofian.

  He already knew what kind of women they would be. They would not be as funny as Morgan. She was funny and she was very intriguing. They all had perfectly straight silky hair. He used to find it attractive. Now it was just plain to him. Morgan had thick curly coils of hair full of character and life. When she was sleeping in his bed, her hair was so messy. He just wanted to run his hands through it.

  “What are you thinking?” his mother asked him.

  “I don’t like any of them,” Sofian replied.

  “Sofian,” she said gently. “You are thirty years of age. You should be married by now.”

  Sofian sighed. Had he been just a prince and not the crown prince, there would not be this much pressure for him to find a bride.

  “Let’s talk about something else for now,” Sofian said.

  His mother sighed heavily. “Okay,” she agreed.

  ***

  Sofian heard the doors slide open. He frowned. Who would dare come into his room in the middle of the night? He heard footsteps approaching the bed. He jerked his head up. Morgan stood next to the bed with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a black silk nightgown.

  “What is the meaning of this audacity?” he asked her.

  “I can’t sleep,” she said.

  “Okay?” He did not know what he was supposed to do about it. He did find it a little entertaining. Morgan was full of surprises.

  “I couldn’t sleep, and when you can’t sleep you start thinking about things.”

  “And what were you thinking about?”

  “You.”

  “Really?” Sofian sat up. Things were getting rather intriguing.

  “Yes. You just ki
ssed me and act like nothing happened,” she complained. Sofian smiled. A glimpse of the moonlight shone into the room. It complemented her hazelnut skin color. Her beautiful curly hair was tied up into a messy ponytail. Morgan looked so attractive and she did not even know.

  “How did you want me to act?” he asked.