by Holly Rayner
“How many romantic comedies have you watched? People want a connection, Fakhir—they want love!”
The debate went on like that for several minutes before Fakhir threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “You’re impossible, you know that? Fine! Launch your stupid app, and don’t come crying to me when it flops and you lose millions of dollars.”
“Why would I cry over a few million dollars? What am I, poor?”
Fakhir grinned. “You are many things, Sadiq, but poor is certainly not one of them. You coming out tonight?”
“Of course I’m coming out. I’ve got a new Ferrari and the world needs to see it.”
“They always do,” Fakhir agreed, grinning as he rose to leave.
Alone in his office, Sadiq browsed through the coding one more time before flipping the digital switch that set the app to go live. A wave of excitement coursed through his body, as it always did when he launched a new venture.
Sadiq bin Haled Al Halam was no stranger to opulence. As a cousin to the ruling family of his home country, Al Shayam, he had spent much of his youth running around palaces and causing trouble. Still, there were high expectations of him, and with no crown in sight he had grown up with the finest tutors, expected to go into business, if not politics.
He’d been twenty-five years old when he’d made his first billion.
It didn’t take long for the rich and beautiful to flock to him after that. Sadiq had generally stayed under the radar during his youth, but it was as though he had blossomed overnight. He was rich. He was successful. Everyone wanted to be his friend.
He loved it.
Life as a billionaire was outstanding; he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted. No one ever told him no. If they did, he found out just how much they wanted and paid it without a second thought. He was friends with all the rich and famous of the country, and they spoiled themselves rotten.
Of course, many of them were complete morons, but they were beautiful, rich morons. The kind of people that for, some reason, Sadiq had wanted to get in with all his life. Only recently had he started questioning that choice.
It had started when he’d been on a yacht, off the coast, with three bikini-clad models.
“Sadiq, come rub lotion on my back!”
“No, rub it on me!”
“No, me!”
Sadiq was lounging in one of the deckchairs, his muscled chest oiled so as to soak up more rays, a pair of sunglasses reflecting the water, hiding his dark brown eyes.
He took a sip of his cocktail. “The first one to tell me how much sixty by one hundred equals gets a good lotioning.”
The girls stared at each other in bewilderment, giggling and flipping their hair.
“Oh Sadiq, you’re such a tease! Now come over here and rub me down.”
Normally Sadiq would have just smiled and enjoyed the beautiful women’s company—after all, he was living every man’s dream—but it was one too many deflections. As beautiful as the women were, they were vacant and shallow, and he realized he wanted someone with substance in his life.
That was the day he came up with the concept for his app, LoveMatch.
Checking the time, Sadiq shut down his computer before heading out of the office. He wore light shorts and a collared shirt; it was his company after all—he could wear whatever he wanted.
A car was already waiting for him at the curb, and he slid onto the backseat, directing his driver to take him home. When he got there, he took a quick shower, doused himself in aftershave and changed into an immaculate suit before hopping into the driver’s seat of his brand new Ferrari.
He revved the engine before peeling out of the long driveway and heading straight towards the glittering lights of Al Shayam City. He parked in front of the club and stepped out to a sea of sparkling smiles and short dresses.
“Hi Sadiq,” a chorus of breathy, feminine voices poured from painted lips.
Sadiq soaked it all in. There was a time when he had dreamed about this life every night: everyone woman wanted to be with him; every man wanted to be him.
He grinned as he strolled up a red carpet to the front door of the club, where he was granted instant access ahead of a very long line.
The club was full of dancing people, the air scented with rich liquors and heavy perfume. Fakhir caught his friend’s gaze and waved him over to a large table in the corner. He was already surrounded by a slew of half-naked women, who were vying for his attention. Compared to Fakhir, Sadiq thought he was dressed rather plainly, but that didn’t stop the women from fawning over him when he arrived.
“Have a drink my friend, for the cup is never empty and the company is always plentiful,” Fakhir said, his eyes twinkling.
Sadiq could tell his friend was already half drunk, and he sighed inwardly. The last thing he wanted to do was carry drunk, cocky Fakhir around town all night.
Fakhir frowned. “Why are you pouting, Sadiq? I hate it when you pout!”
“I’m not pouting,” Sadiq said. “I’m thinking.”
“Well stop it. Work ended. It’s time for play, and we have plenty of friends.”
Sadiq peeled a woman’s hands from his arm and looked challengingly at Fakhir. “I’m afraid I won’t be playing with these friends tonight.”
The girls at the table audibly protested this statement, but Sadiq silenced them with a stern glance.
Fakhir lifted one dark, perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“Because I’m going to prove you wrong, Fakhir. I’m going to use my app to find my wife.”
The people seated at the table stared at him in stunned silence, and it took everything in Sadiq not to laugh in their faces.
He took his opportunity to leave them, flashed a wide grin and immediately left the bar. There was no reason to stay, after all. They’d all seen his flashy new car, his top-of-the-line clothing, the fact that he could sit at the best table and choose to leave because it wasn’t good enough. He had made his point for the evening.
He sped home at a hundred miles per hour before slamming the brakes and pulling into his palatial home. The entire outside was painted white, which stood out starkly against the red desert and green palm trees. The inside was elaborately lavish, with every material made from the best money could buy. Sadiq ignored all of it as he threw open the front door and went straight to his massive bedroom, sitting down at a desk and turning on his computer.
He watched his screen flash on and realized with a laugh that he had launched his own app without even downloading it himself. Flipping out his phone, he made short work of downloading it and creating a brief profile for himself. It felt strange, even to him, to leave out a picture.
He scanned through the profiles of the surprisingly large number of women who had already downloaded the app. Without seeing them, all he had to go on was their wit and grammar. That ruled out a lot of them already. He continued to swipe until he came across a profile that caught his eye.
“Single woman looking for man who has a brain. All applicants apply within.”
Sadiq chuckled. Funny, he thought, glancing at the name on the profile. Hallie Richards…why did that name sound familiar?
He clicked into her profile and read the few short blurbs she had typed in about herself. She was clearly witty, and could write well. That much was obvious. Perhaps this could be the one he was looking for—the one who would help him prove that he was right.
Clicking into the notes section of her profile, Sadiq typed in a message and sat back, waiting for her to respond.
THREE
Hallie was nearly cross-eyed by the end of the day. Around five, she finally got to shut off her computer screen and look out the window, where the setting sun blinded her even further. Blinking against the black dots floating around in her eyes, Hallie waved goodbye to her coworkers as she descended the seventy flights down to earth and headed back to her apartment.
When she got home, she kicked off
her shoes and stretched her long fingers into the air, shifting from side to side as she brought life into muscles weary from sitting in one position for so long. She microwaved a frozen dinner and poured a glass of cheap red wine before she sat on the couch and ate in the quiet space of her living room.
Hallie had gotten used to silence over the past year; in fact, she’d almost started calling silence her good friend. If there was no noise, it meant no one was judging her for what the tabloids had said.
Her phone made a foreign beeping noise, and she glanced at it to see a message sent through LoveMatch, the app she’d downloaded at work.
In spite of herself, her heart gave a hopeful little jump. Someone was interested! She reminded herself just how much crazy existed in the world of online dating, how much of it she had already come across, and her excitement died down a little. She opened the app and read the message.
Hi there. I believe you are looking for a man with a brain. While I don’t consider myself Stephen Hawking, I believe I might qualify for what you are looking for. Please write back if you would like to chat.
Hallie read the message three times, laughing. She’d been a little tongue-in-cheek when she’d written the header for her profile, but at that point, what did she really have to lose? Besides, his answer was funny, and Hallie was looking for funny.
She tapped into the message box to write her reply.
I know this app is meant to curb shallowness, but I think I might be okay if you’re not Stephen Hawking.
There was a pause before Hallie could see the man was writing back. His username was Sadiq.
Well, everyone has their standard, but I’m hopeful this app will help us get to know one another outside of all that. How come you’re using it?
Hallie thought for a moment. How could one reasonably answer that question? Taking a risk, she decided to tell him the truth. If he ran, that was just another internet breeze passing by, wasn’t it?
I got tired of dick pics and shallow jerks. Figured at the very least this app will spare my eyes of that.
Men can be really gross sometimes, I know, Sadiq replied.
“How would you know? You’re one of them!”
“That is precisely why. I know the stupid thoughts that go through a man’s head when he’s interested in a woman. It’s a shame that men flash their genitals, exposing their most intimate parts while simultaneously pushing women away. How does that even make sense?”
Hallie settled into her sofa, taking another sip from her wine glass, surprised to find that she was enjoying talking to this guy. He was straightforward and honest—something she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. She tapped out her answer.
Well it’s nice to know that there are men out there who wouldn’t do such a thing, anyway. Where are you from?
Al Shayam. Have you heard of it?
Hallie thought for a moment before tapping out her reply.
I can’t say that I have.
It’s quite lovely. You should come visit sometime.
Hallie laughed. You’re making the assumption that I have free time. I can’t remember the last time I went on a vacation.
Of course, Hallie could remember the last time she’d been out of the country, but she really didn’t count that as a vacation. After all, she’d been trapped in the hotel most of the time. When you didn’t get a one on one or a group date, you were mandated to stay out of sight, lest someone get a picture of you and spoil the outcome of the season for the public.
She watched the triple dots pulse as Sadiq typed out his response.
Is travel something that interests you?
Hallie sighed. Of course she’d wanted to see the world. Wasn’t that one of the big reasons she’d convinced herself that taking part in a reality TV show was a good idea?
I’d take the chance to go somewhere new in a heartbeat, she replied, taking a sip from her wine glass and staring into its empty depths. When did she finish a whole glass of wine? She’d been so distracted by her conversation with Sadiq that she hadn’t noticed.
What would you think about coming to the Middle East? he wrote.
Hallie froze, her thumbs dangling over the phone as she thought about the response.
I’m not sure, really. What’s your country like?
It’s beautiful, Sadiq wrote. I live just outside our capital city, which is on the water, but otherwise we’re entirely surrounded by desert. I know it doesn’t sound that appealing, but the desert has a way of sinking into your soul and carrying you away. It’s otherworldly, in a way.
That sounds very tempting, Hallie replied, and she meant it.
It was a very good thing they couldn’t see one another, because his talk of visiting so soon was a little disconcerting, and she was sure it showed on her face. Hallie had been majorly burned by two men within the past year, and to say that she was skittish was an egregious understatement. Still, she had to remind herself that pushing men away was no way to heal and move on. There were seven billion people on Earth—they couldn’t all be bad. She had enough married friends to know that much.
Look, Hallie, I’m going to be real with you. I’m on here to find a real match—someone I can marry. I can have an easy conversation with you and you seem like a kind, intelligent woman. I own a tech company here and I make more than enough to support a wife and keep her happy. The problem is distance. If you decide that you’d like to consider me as a match, I could fly you out to see how it would work between us.
Hallie stared at the screen. She’d started messaging with Sadiq maybe twenty minutes ago, tops? Now he was already asking her to come visit. Everything in her screamed to run away, that he was already full of red flags. There was another part of her though, that hesitated. If she ran away, she could be giving up a great connection, and out of what? Fear of the unknown? At this point Sadiq was proving himself to be straightforward and no-nonsense, which was exactly what she was looking for in her life. Hallie was tired of liars.
Can I think about it and get back to you? she typed, hesitating one more time before sending the message out.
Take all the time you need. I will be here if you have any questions about me or my background. You know my name now. You can google me if it will make you feel better. I have nothing to hide. I simply want to find the right connection with the right woman. It’s quite possible that is you, Hallie.
Possible, but I’ve been led astray before, Hallie said; if Sadiq was going to be blatantly honest, she might as well meet him there.
I understand completely. Trust, once lost, is hard to regain. Consider my offer. I can give you the vacation of a lifetime with no strings attached. If we’re a match, you can consider becoming my wife. If we aren’t, I will happily fly you home and we can part as friends. Do consider it, Hallie.
I will, she said.
Sweet dreams.
Thank you. Goodnight, she replied, before clicking out of the app.
Her wine glass dangled from her fingers as she thought about the prospect in front of her. Taking a risk like this before had gotten Hallie turned into a D-list villain. Would it really be worth taking another? What if people in Al Shayam watched The Perfect Couple and knew who she was? Would she find out she was despised there, as well?
Setting her glass down, Hallie pulled her laptop from under the coffee table and turned it on, looking up Al Shayam and a man named Sadiq bin Haled Al Halam. Boy, was that a mouthful!
She scrolled through page after page, seeing the vast number of tech industry articles Sadiq had been quoted in and written about. It was extremely impressive. If he really was who he said he was, it was obvious he was way richer than he led on.
The country itself did look beautiful, in an exotic, desert kind of way. Images of red sand sweeping off dunes were mixed with trendy images of a modern-looking city, and Hallie found her curiosity was piqued. Still, she knew this was not a decision she should make without some kind of outside input. She picked up her phone and called the one per
son who could help her make sense of all this.
“Hello?” her best friend, Gemma, said.
“Gem, its Hallie. Can you come over? I’m in the middle of a conundrum here.”
“A conundrum, huh? Be right there.”
Minutes later there was a playful knock at Hallie’s door, and she answered it for her friend and neighbor, who lived in an apartment down the hall. Hallie and Gemma had met as contestants on the show, and after the fallout from The Perfect Couple, when Hallie had lost her job, Gemma had recommended her building, knowing that the previous tenant was about to move out. It had worked out perfectly, saving Hallie from total bankruptcy. She missed her old apartment, but she had enough space to live.
