by Holly Rayner
“There’s no way I’m going out with him again,” she said firmly.
The three of them exchanged significant looks, and Dakota realized they had expected her to protest, to be difficult. She was nothing more to them than a problem to be solved.
Suddenly, she found she couldn’t stand to be in the room with them anymore. It was entirely their fault she was in this position in the first place, and instead of being grateful to her for all the effort she was making to get them out of it, all they wanted was for her to sacrifice even more. She felt utterly betrayed. She got to her feet and crossed the room, turning to look at them only when she was in the doorway.
“When the Sheikh calls again,” she said, “you can tell him I respectfully decline his son’s request. And make sure you get that part about respect right because none of you seem to know anything about it.”
“Dakota!” Anne said. “Come back here and sit down.”
But Dakota ignored her mother. She went up to her bedroom, let herself in, and locked the door behind her. Once there, she fell onto her bed, trying not to pay attention to the distressed mumblings coming through the floorboards.
Chapter 6
Dakota awoke to the sound of someone knocking gently at her door. The sun was coming in bright and low through her window, and she realized it was late in the afternoon. She must have been asleep for several hours.
As she sat up, her anger came rushing back. She had hoped it would fade with time and rest, but it only seemed to have sharpened. She was more determined than ever not to cooperate with her family’s plans for her. She had always known the honor and success of the family as a whole was of a high priority to her father, but she’d never realized he would be willing to put the Lee family name, and LeeWay Corp, before his own daughter’s happiness.
The knock came again. “Dakota?”
It was her brother’s voice. Dakota sighed, climbed out of bed, and unlocked the door to let him in. “What do you want?”
Dylan entered the room, and Dakota was somewhat gratified to see that he looked troubled. He took a seat in her armchair and stared at his shoes. “I’m sorry about all that,” he said. “Really. They’re asking too much of you.”
“I’m sorry I said you should be the one to do it,” Dakota said. “I don’t really want you to have to break up with Rachel. It does make more sense that it should be me.”
“It seems kind of crazy that the only way Dad and the Sheikh can find to get along is to get their kids married,” Dylan said. “You should have heard Dad on the phone with him before you got home. They were talking like old football buddies. You’d never have known they were business rivals.”
“So the plan’s working, at least?”
“Oh, it’s working, all right. Mom’s been down there looking up Baraqi wedding customs and deciding which ones she thinks you should do. Apparently, it’s tradition for the bride’s family to throw a massive engagement party. I mean, we’re talking as big as the wedding itself. Open bar, probably, and a huge guest list, and a catered menu—”
“So we’re back on parties already?” Dakota asked. “Hasn’t anyone besides me noticed that parties are what got us here in the first place?”
Dylan shook his head. “You know it isn’t just parties. If it was only the stuff that happens at parties, the Emir would probably let it go. The problem is that Dad and the Sheikh can’t come to any kind of amicable business arrangements, ever. You know Dad’s been trying to close a deal with them for months that would allow us to control seventy percent of the air travel lanes over Baraq? And that would actually be good for the bin Ayads because Dad wants to separate private and public travel lanes, so they’d face a lot less traffic when they wanted to fly. But the Sheikh doesn’t trust Dad, so he’s been holding up the deal.”
“Can you really blame them, after what happened with the jet fuel deal last year?” Dakota asked.
Dylan raised his eyebrows. “The one they cut us out of?”
“Yeah, they cut us out because Dad was trying to buy the controlling share,” Dakota said. “Don’t pretend you didn’t notice it. I was rewriting every press release three times to make it look like it was just coincidence that all Dad’s proposed plans left us with a majority of the fuel sources. Like he didn’t realize that one source was a lot more fruitful than all the others.”
“Sneaky,” Dylan said.
“I know he is.”
“I meant you. It sounds like you already think the bin Ayads are in the right, Dakota. Why are you so reluctant to marry into the family if you like them so much?”
“It’s not about liking or disliking the bin Ayads,” Dakota snapped. “It’s about disliking Majeed. You didn’t see him over lunch, Dyl, acting like he had to teach me manners, like everyone from America was stupid and rude and not worth his time…”
“Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?” Dylan asked.
“And then,” Dakota pressed on, “I come home to find that my family, who promised me that this wouldn’t happen if I wasn’t one hundred percent on board, has already made a verbal commitment with the bin Ayads. So now I have no way out of it unless I call them up and back out of the deal. And you all know that’s going to make this worse because it’ll be a public rejection. That will leave them humiliated, and they’ll be more angry with us than they were to start with.”
Dylan watched her and said nothing.
A horrible thought occurred to Dakota. “That’s why he did it, isn’t it? That’s why Dad gave the Sheikh his agreement before he talked to me. He knew that if he did, it would cause more trouble if I wanted to back out.”
Dylan wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“He’s trapping me into it,” Dakota said, horrified. “He thinks I won’t say no because it’s too much trouble. Is that it?”
“Dakota, I told him he shouldn’t do it,” Dylan mumbled.
Dakota’s mind was buzzing. Her father had manipulated her before, had forced her to do things she didn’t like to keep the family out of trouble, but in the past, those things had been easy to justify. Tweaking the truth when speaking to the press was part of her job, and she was good at it. She’d known what she was signing up for when she’d accepted the post. But this was something else altogether. He had outright lied to her by letting her think she had a choice in the matter, and when he hadn’t liked her choice, he’d tied her hands.
Well, she still had a choice, didn’t she? True, it would make him look bad, but how much did she care about that at this point? He hadn’t hesitated to throw her to the wolves. Why was she still so concerned about protecting him?
Dylan was still watching her. “I’m going to take a shower,” she told him.
“Are you coming down for dinner?”
She considered saying no, but the dinner table was as good a place as any for the conversation she needed to have. And she had to admit, she was hungry. “I’ll be there,” she said grimly, ushering Dylan from the room and closing the door behind him.
Dinner at the Lee house was almost never a formal affair, but tonight Dakota dressed for it. She wouldn’t feel right coming down to the table in casual attire, not with what she had to say to her family. Instead, she put her hair in a low bun, wore a black cocktail dress, her power heels, and a fine silver chain from which tangled a sapphire pendant. Most of the jewelry Dakota owned had once belonged to her mother or to one of her grandmothers, but this was one of few nice pieces she had purchased for herself. She had seen the way her mother’s nose wrinkled when she wore it. As if Dakota were out of line for daring to make even the smallest decision on her own.
They had taken her for granted too long, Dakota thought, as she made her way down to the dining room. Her father’s whole plan now was predicated on the idea that she was like him, and that she would balk at doing anything that would be ruinous for the family. And while Dakota didn’t relish the idea of causing harm to her family, she knew that she couldn’t allow them to be her highest priority. Not anymore.
This had revealed itself to be a toxic relationship, and she needed to assert her independence.
Everyone else was already seated when she entered the dining room. Dakota took her own seat quietly, accepted the platter of turkey that was passed her way, and served herself without comment.
A quiet awkwardness dominated the table. She could feel her mother and father exchanging glances as if daring one another to speak first. Finally, Ben said, “Dakota, have you thought any more about the bin Ayads’ offer?”
Offer. As if binding herself to their family, and to that pretentious son of theirs, was some sort of prize. As if they were being generous with her, letting her have something she hadn’t earned. Dakota bit back the retort. “I’ve thought about it,” she said neutrally, helping herself now to some soup.
Everyone around the table seemed to exhale. “I knew we could count on you,” Ben said, favoring his daughter with a winning smile. “Think about it, Dakota—you’ll be a princess! And the wedding…well, your mother’s already getting carried away, of course.” He laughed. “It’s going to be the party of the decade.”
“Parties,” Anne corrected. “It isn’t just the wedding itself, you know. There’s the engagement party, there’s the shower—I know that’s a western tradition, but I don’t think the bin Ayads will mind meeting us halfway for something like that. We’ll fly the family over from Seattle for it, of course, and for the wedding itself. We haven’t seen them in years. It’ll be wonderful to have everyone in one place again. And then there’s the rehearsal…”
Ben laughed. “Don’t you think you’re getting a bit carried away?”
“It’s our daughter’s wedding,” Anne cut in. “Now, Dakota, the bin Ayads are going to want Karida to be one of the bridesmaids, and I really think we should cooperate on that point, but of course you’ll be free to make the other selections yourself. What about your cousin Tracy? Or Rachel? I know Dylan would appreciate having her involved. And your college roommates, I doubt they’ll ever have the opportunity to participate in a royal wedding again.” She pressed both hands to her mouth and, to her horror, Dakota saw that her mother was tearing up. “Just think, sweetheart, you’ll be a princess!”
“It’s just a business deal,” Ben said. Then he seemed to soften. “But there’s no reason you shouldn’t get as much enjoyment as possible out of it, Dakota. We’ll need to find a dress for you as soon as possible—I was thinking something in blue and gold, to really bring out your coloring. Nothing too revealing, of course, but I think if we find the right dressmaker—”
“Won’t it be white?” Dylan asked.
“No, no, Baraqi brides wear jewel tones,” Anne said.
“But American brides wear white, and she is American—”
“Can I talk?!” Dakota interrupted, frustrated.
The conversation silenced. Her parents and brother turned to look at her.
Dakota drew a breath and steeled herself. “I’m not doing this,” she said.
There was a long silence. Everyone exchanged glances. Then Ben placed both hands flat on the table as if preparing to make a decree. “Dakota—”
“I know,” she interrupted. “You told Sheikh bin Ayad we were on, and now you’re afraid you’ll lose face if we have to call it off.” The look on his face told her she had been right. “You shouldn’t have done that, Dad. You shouldn’t have told me I had a choice and then gone behind my back. You lied to me.”
“Dakota, it’s the best solution for—”
“For the family. I know. But it’s not the best solution for me. I told you, I don’t want to marry him.” She got to her feet, plate in hand. “I think I’m going to finish dinner in my room.”
“Dakota.”
“Dad. You should be prioritizing my feelings here. All of you should,” she added, looking around at her mother and brother. “And until you’re ready to listen to me and take my opinions seriously, I am not committing to any marriages, to anybody.”
Chapter 7
Dakota spent the next two days in her bedroom, emerging only to use the restroom or get food from the kitchen. Now is a good time to take a few days off from work, anyway, she’d reasoned. Especially since we’re forbidden to say anything to the press. She lay curled up on her bed, watching entire seasons of her favorite TV shows and trying to forget the fact that her family wanted to use her as a bargaining chip.
She had expected them to come to her that first night and apologize. She had expected that, after being called out on what they were doing, they would see how inappropriately they were behaving and seek her forgiveness. It had been a shock when twenty-four hours had passed without anyone reaching out to her. Even Dylan had avoided Dakota’s room. Maybe, she thought ruefully, she should have let him in on what she had been planning to say to their parents. Maybe by cutting him out, she had alienated her only ally.
She lolled about in her pajamas, uninterested in dressing or going out, and wondered what she would do if they didn’t come to her. At what point would she be willing to go to them and reopen negotiations? The Emir’s deadline was drawing closer, and at some point, the Lees and the bin Ayads would have to come to a consensus on their next steps if Dakota’s family were to keep their visas. As angry as she was, she didn’t want them ejected from the country.
She was jerked out of her reverie by the ringing of her cellphone. She glanced over at the bedside table. It was an unknown number, and she considered not answering, but three days had now gone by, and Dakota was hungry for human contact. She leaned over and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Is this Dakota Lee?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Majeed. Majeed bin Ayad.”
“Oh. Hi.” Despite herself, Dakota was curious. Had Majeed’s family pressured him as much as hers had pressured her? As the only other witness to how terribly their date had gone, maybe he would be her best ally. If they put their heads together, they might be able to come up with a good strategy to convince their families that this arranged marriage was a bad idea.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Majeed said.
“You think…I’m sorry, what?” Dakota was sure she must have misunderstood.
“I think you’ll agree that our first date wasn’t quite the success either of us hoped for?” Majeed said. His voice was measured and persuasive, and it occurred to Dakota that he was probably quite a good public speaker.
“Well, no,” she admitted. “But what do you mean, first date?”
“If you’ll permit me,” Majeed said, “I’d like the chance to take you out again. I fear I may have been too hasty in my judgment. You see, although arranged marriages are customary for many families in Baraq, my family has never followed that tradition—”
“Neither has mine,” Dakota assured him.
“Then we find ourselves in the same boat. I wonder if you, like me, were a little uneasy at the prospect of marrying someone you didn’t know?”
“I was,” Dakota admitted. “And it didn’t really make things easier that it was someone from…” she cut herself off.
“From my family,” Majeed finished for her.
“I’m sorry,” Dakota said, embarrassed.
“Not at all. I had similar reservations. After all, my parents have been saying terrible things about the Lee family for years. I’m sure yours have done the same. It’s only natural that you and I should have some unexamined biases against each other.”
Dakota was at a loss for words. She had never expected him to be this forthright and understanding about their shared predicament. Why couldn’t this Majeed have shown up to lunch? She imagined the two of them would have found a lot to talk about.
“I think we might have dismissed the idea of an arrangement too quickly,” Majeed said. “Will you come out with me again?”
Dakota hesitated. “Is this you asking, or your parents? Because when I got home from our date—”
“You found that our fathers had spoken and solidified the arrangem
ent behind our backs?” Majeed’s tone turned harsh. “Yes, that was an unpleasant surprise. But I still believe an arranged marriage is an elegant solution to the problems both of our families face. And we shouldn’t refuse to go through with it simply for the temporary pleasure of causing them a little trouble.” He paused. “Although that would be satisfying, wouldn’t it?”
Dakota laughed. “More than you can imagine.”
“So you’ll join me for dinner tomorrow night?”
“I will,” Dakota said. “I’ll give it another chance.”
The car deposited Dakota at the front door of another restaurant she had never seen before. This time, however, she was determined not to interpret the choice of location as any kind of slight. Majeed had asked for open-mindedness, and Dakota was determined to do her best.
He met her at the door and escorted her to a secluded booth in the back. Dakota noticed that a bucket of ice sat in the center of the table, and a bottle of champagne was waiting for them. It couldn’t hurt, she thought and allowed him to pull out the chair for her.
“Well, Dakota,” Majeed said, once he had taken his seat. “I want to thank you for agreeing to meet me again.”
“Thank you for asking me,” she said.
“I want to apologize for my behavior the last time we met,” Majeed said. “My comments about Americans, in particular, were inappropriate.”
Dakota laughed. “You weren’t wrong. We never do seem to learn anyone else’s language. Would you believe I’m the only one in my family who speaks any Arabic at all?”
“You’re kidding.”
“My brother knows a few basic phrases, but he gets lost as soon as anyone starts replying to him,” Dakota said. “My father can say please and thank you and ask for the restroom. And Mom…I’m not sure she knows a word of it. They always say communications are my job, so…”
