by Leslie North
“You seem to know more about this situation, so I think you should be the one to speak to Malik,” Tariq told her.
That night, Sara invited Malik over for dinner. She thought that the sooner they spoke, the better. Malik arrived promptly at their home. Sara was in the dining room supervising while she held Leylah on her hip. Tariq walked in with Malik.
“Hi, Malik,” Sara greeted him. Malik kissed Sara on both cheeks. He kissed Leylah too.
“Hello, Sara. Leylah is growing fast,” Malik commented.
They had a normal dinner, discussing trivial matters until Sara opened the topic that was on her mind. Malik was surprised that Sara was even aware of what was going on. Tariq leaned back in his chair and watched the situation unravel.
“Sara, you do not know what you speak of,” Malik said.
“On the contrary, I do,” Sara replied. Tariq was silently cheering her on. He knew she could handle herself. She told Malik about how much Amir liked Soraya. She was there when it all began. She told him how much effort Amir put in and how genuine he was, how Soraya liked him too. Malik was shocked at how much Sara was telling him.
“Malik, she is an adult and she likes Amir as much as he likes her. Actually, he likes her more but you need to let them be. Amir won't hurt her,” Sara concluded her plea for Soraya and Amir.
“And how do you know that?” Tariq questioned.
“My question too,” replied Malik.
“Because I will be there to keep his ass in check,” Sara replied. Both Tariq and Malik raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. If anyone could, it would be Sara. She was good with the Botros brothers. She even won over their mother. Malik agreed to it because his sister liked Amir; which he hadn't known and because he trusted Sara. He was going to let them give the relationship a chance, but he planned to keep an eye on Amir.
Chapter 15
Sara, Soraya, Keira, Kaleena, Aaliyah and Alex were out for a girls’ day out. They were having lunch and catching up. It was Alex's last day before she returned to London. Soraya was overjoyed at her new relationship and her brother’s blessing and couldn’t stop talking.
“Why so happy?” Alex asked her. This was the most she had gotten out of her in the past few weeks. Soraya acted as if she didn't know what she was talking about.
“She is in love with Amir,” Sara said. Soraya laughed and didn't deny it. Malik had apologised to Amir for punching him but said he'd do it again if he hurt his sister. Amir had assured him that it was not going to happen. He really cared for her and nothing was going to break them apart. Soraya was happy that her brother was letting them be. She really liked Amir.
Sara's family had returned to London. She was going to miss them but she liked her new life here. She was perfectly happy. Her parents and Tariq's parents actually got along and now they were all family.
Soraya told the girls about Amir and Kalil at the wedding. The girls laughed. Sara didn’t know that Amir was that jealous. He was as possessive as his brother was after all. The waiter brought a tray of seafood. Sara had been so hungry but lately she was not eating properly. Sometimes she ate more and sometimes she ate less. Just as she was about to eat the prawns, her stomach started hurting badly. She decided not to eat them and have something else. That was even worse; she got up and ran to the toilet.
“Are you okay, Sara?” Alex banged on the toilet door. Sara came out and washed her mouth and face. The other girls had followed to see if she was okay.
“I just threw up,” Sara said.
“Pregnant again,” Keira teased. The other girls laughed. Sara rolled her eyes. It was taking a long time to adjust to the weather.
After lunch, they went to the shopping mall. Sara was linking arms with Soraya. Keira and Alex had wandered off. Aaliyah and Kaleena were buying cinema tickets. When they all regrouped, Alex handed Sara a bag with a pregnancy test inside.
“Come on, humour us,” Alex said. Sara thought it was ridiculous. She knew her own body but she thought she'd humour them. Five minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom and stood there staring at them.
“What's wrong?” Soraya asked.
“I'm pregnant,” Sara said. The girls gasped. Sara could not believe it. Her whole body was paralysed with shock. Sara smiled and touched her belly. Tariq was going to be so happy. The girls hugged her. They were all happy for her.
“Already pregnant again,” Alex teased. “If I was married to Tariq, I'd have five babies by now!” she added. The other girls laughed. Sara sighed, her man was an Adonis.
That night when Sara told Tariq, he picked her up. He was so happy to learn that they had another child on the way. He loved Leylah so much; he wanted her to have a sibling. He was happy to build a life with Sara.
* * * *
Soraya was wearing khaki shorts, a blue vest and black boots. She tied her hair back and went outside to meet Amir. They were going horseback riding together. This time, he didn't have to abduct her. He walked up behind her and smacked her bottom. Soraya jumped and turned around. Amir was standing there smirking.
“I couldn't help it,” he said. Soraya shook her head. He always found ways to make her speechless. He helped her up on the horse. This time he sat behind her and pulled her close to his body.
“Amir!” Soraya admonished.
“So you don't fall off,” he whispered against her head.
She turned to look at him narrowing her gaze. He pressed a small kiss to her lips.
“I told you that I would claim you,” Amir said.
“Who said you have?” Soraya replied.
“Remember. Your first ride was with me.”
The horse began to trot slowly.
“Unfortunately, it was,” she replied, attempting to sound sulky.
“Well brace yourself, because all your firsts are going to be with me,” Amir promised with a grin. Finally, he had gotten her. It had been so hard to make her smile or laugh. Now she was his and no one else’s. He was not going to let her go. He swore to himself that he would do everything right by her.
Soraya smiled to herself. She liked the sound of that. At this moment, riding fast in the warm sun, cool breeze, and in Amir's arms; she was happy. She couldn't ask for more.
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The Denver Men Series
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Excerpt from ‘CEO’s Pregnant Lover’ (Download Instantly – Click here)
“HR, Janet speaking. How may I he-”
“Janet? Trent. I need you to send up a replacement for Pam. Her daughter was injured in an accident, and she just left to go take care of the children and such. I’ve no idea how long she will be gone, so send me someone that you weren’t planning on firing at the end of the week.” Trent said matter-of-factly. He didn’t really care if she fired twenty people each week; if they couldn’t do the job they could find somewhere else to work.
Janet Marshall worked as the head of HR for Coldwell Enterprises. She was not only a friend, she was the toughest woman Trent had working for him. She was also his second cousin and married to his best friend from college. While Janet didn’t have to work another day in her life, she enjoyed managing people and understood Trent in a way others didn’t. He was as alpha as they came, she’d never met a more dominating, arrogant man until Trent had come along.
“Oh dear! Which one of Pam’s daughters was hurt?” Janet asked with obvious concern in her voice. Pa
m had worked for the company for as long as she could remember, first as Trent’s father’s personal assistant, and now for Trent. She was one of the nicest women Janet had ever worked with and she only hoped that her daughter wasn’t too badly hurt.
“Susan,” Trent replied, thinly hiding his impatience.
The timing couldn’t be worse as Trent was in the process of acquiring a large production company in Europe and the contracts that had been drawn up by his European office were in chaos. He had been in the process of finalizing his corrections when Pam had announced that she must leave immediately. He needed these contracts fixed today!
“Oh, no. And she just delivered twins a few months back. That poor woman,” Janet commiserated over the phone. “Don’t worry about it; I have just the girl in mind. She’s only been working here for about six months, but her reviews are excellent.”
Janet was thinking of the young woman she had hired a little over six months back. Janet had interviewed her and been surprised at how mature she seemed for someone only twenty-four years old. Smiling to herself, she tried to envision how Trent would react to the young woman who wore her hair like a fifty year old, clothing that didn’t fit her body, or compliment her natural coloring, and honestly had no idea of just how attractive she could be. On top of all that, she was the most capable woman Janet had hired in months.
“Whatever - just send her up after lunch. I’m right in the middle of negotiations for that buyout in Germany, and Pam didn’t have time to make the corrections on the contract yet. I need them by 3 o’clock - if not sooner.”
“Not to worry. I’ll go tell her now and then send her to lunch. I assume that I can offer her the same benefits and salary that Pam was drawing?”
“Of course.” Trent started to hang up the phone when he heard Janet call him back. Sighing, he put the phone back to his ear and answered, “What?” Damn it, he had work to do. He didn’t have time to chitchat with Janet; that’s what her husband was for. He’d mention just that fact to Shawn next time he saw him.
Janet took a breath and thought about keeping this information to herself, but then she decided that Trent would want to know. “Shawn and I went to that symphony fundraiser last night.”
Trent waited for her to continue, and when she didn’t, he impatiently replied, “And? I assume it was a smashing success and all that.”
“It was, but that wasn’t my point.”
“Well, get to it. I have work to do and so do you.”
“I saw Marco Bresi there.” Janet said in a rush, holding her breath for the explosion she assumed was coming. When nothing happened, she paused, letting Trent digest what she had just told him. Marco Bresi was a very wealthy, and very influential businessman in Europe. He and Trent had a past marked with tragedy and Marco had stayed in Europe for the last three years because of it. Janet had been shocked to see him back in the States, especially in Denver.
Trent was silent as he let Janet’s words sink in. Serena’s father was back in the states. Trent immediately tamped down on the emotion that threatened to sideline his focus. He hadn’t thought of Serena for several months now, and wanted to keep it that way.
Serena Bresi had taken the fashion world by storm at the age of sixteen. Three years after that, she had met Trent at a fundraiser in New York City and they had fallen madly in love. At least, Trent thought she had been in love with him as much as he had been with her.
Their love affair had been the subject of all the social magazines and the paparazzi had hounded them mercilessly. When Trent had taken over Coldwell Enterprises from his father, he had immediately used his many contacts in Europe to expand the company overseas.
Everything had been going smoothly, or so he thought. Serena had signed a contract with a large fashion house in Milan and had temporarily moved to Italy. Trent had missed her, but had so many things on his plate in the states, that the time had just seemed to slip away.
Four months later, he had flown to Milan to surprise Serena for the weekend. He had gone straight to her flat, flowers in hand, surprised to find her home in the middle of the afternoon. The surprise had been on him, however, as she had answered the door with the arms of her current lover wrapped intimately around her.
Trent had been so furious, he had immediately left and returned to the airport. His private jet had been airborne several hours later. Serena had called him repeatedly, but he had ignored her calls. Trent valued honesty and loyalty above all else, and her betrayal had hurt him deeply. He had let it be known to the media, that they had decided to break things off, but were still friends. He’d had no wish to tarnish her reputation in the publics’ eyes.
When she had called him three weeks later during the middle of the night, he had reached for the phone, unaware that she was on the other end of the line. Having been caught off-guard, he had listened as she tearfully apologized and begged for his help. It seemed that she had just found out she was pregnant and expected Trent to come to her rescue. Trent knew there was no possible way the baby was his since he hadn’t touched Serena for over five months.
Trent had been repulsed and hung up the phone without replying. Two days later, he received news that Serena had driven her car off a bridge. Her suicide note made it seem that Trent had refused to do the right thing and marry her, and that she couldn’t bear to shame her family by having a child out of wedlock.
Marco Bresi, Serena’s heartbroken father, had managed to keep the suicide note out of the media, but had vowed to get revenge for Serena’s death. He blamed Trent for causing her death. Trent had thought of telling Marco the truth, but didn’t think that her grief-stricken father was in any position to listen at the time so had kept silent.
True to his word, Marco had started to go after Trent, keeping their feud to the business world, thus far, but Trent knew that it was only a matter of time before Marco started trying to attack him in his personal life as well. Now that Marco had personally come to Denver, it seemed that time had arrived.
“Did you speak with him?” Trent asked.
“He didn’t give us a choice. He made a point of cornering us during the intermission. Trent, there was such hatred in his eyes when he asked about you. I know you and Serena broke up before her death…”
“Janet, let it go. I told you then, and I’ll tell you the same thing now. What happened between Serena and myself was between us. I will not discuss it and as she’s dead, there really is no point. Marco believes some things that are not true. I’ve tried to correct his thinking, but he doesn’t want to hear it. That is on him.” Trent took a breath and then continued, “Now, we both have work to do. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?”
Janet wondered if she should just let it go like Trent had commanded, but then pushed forward anyway, “Trent, he asked me to deliver a message to you.”
Trent clenched his jaw and then looked to the ceiling before asking Janet to continue. Whatever the message was, he assumed it was more threat than anything and part of him felt bad that Janet and her husband had been put in the middle of his and Marco’s feud.
“Tell me.”
“He warned me that you were going to get what you deserve and that I should tell you to watch your back very carefully. He also mentioned a company called Global Tech. Does that mean anything to you?”
Trent cursed softly and quickly pulled his keyboard towards him and pulled up the information on the company they were currently buying out. When he scrolled down through the list of shareholders, he cursed again. How could he have missed something like that? Marco Bresi’s company owned thirty-two percent of the stock. No wonder he was in the states. He must have gotten wind that Coldwell Enterprises was in the process of negotiating a hostile takeover and was already talking with bidders, for when the company was split apart. The current shareholders stood to lose a lot of money when that happened.
Trent had dealt with Marco trying to derail other business negotiations, and Trent had made it a point to stay away f
rom any company attached to the Bresi family name. He had no wish to harm Marco or his family, and didn’t have time for complications with this current negotiation.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he held his breath and then let it go in a rush, “Janet, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle the problem. Get me that assistant.” Trent hung up the phone and then went back to reading the contract in front of him, making marks with a red pen as he went. He would deal with Marco later. Right now, he needed to finish these contract papers.
Janet shook her head as she said “Goodbye” to a dead line. Trent exasperated her with his ability to be rude without trying. One of these days she hoped he learned to curb his impatience, just a little bit. Shaking her head, she placed the call that would bring Trent’s stand-in assistant to her office and hoped that whatever Marco Bresi was planning would fail before it got off the ground.
*****
Trent Coldwell was the CEO of Coldwell Enterprises. If someone were to ask what the company did, the answers would vary. Coldwell Enterprises had many interests, but mainly purchased failing companies and then either sold them off in pieces, or turned them around and made them leaders in their market. They did their job very well.
At the age of thirty-one, Trent Coldwell was one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors, never lacking for female companionship, but never being seen with the same women for more than a few weeks. The fact that he was richer than Croesus didn’t hurt his eligibility either.
