“I love America,” he said to himself and took a sip of the scotch.
Ali’s phone rang, it was Ibrahim.
“Hello, brother! I just wanted to make sure you made it to the States alright.”
“I did,” said Ali. All is well.
“Good to hear. I expect you will begin working right away, correct?”
Ali took another drink of his scotch. “Give me a chance to get settled in! These things don’t happen overnight, you know!”
There was silence for a moment as Ibrahim tried to not lose his temper on his youngest brother.
“Don’t blow this, Ali. I mean it. You know why you’re there.”
Click. Ibrahim hung up the phone.
Ali wasn’t going to let his brother ruin his first day in Vegas. He decided he was going to the Strip that night, play a few games at a casino, maybe meet a few women. He showered and changed into a suit and rolled up to the Vegas Strip in his new car.
He first stopped at a popular casino and when he entered, people stopped what they were doing and stared. Ali carried himself so confidently around the casino, and his striking features caught the attention of many.
He could see out of the corner of his eye, as women would whisper together about him, watching him until he was completely out of their sight.
He first stopped at the bar and sat down. It was crowded with all types of people, older and younger and wealthy and poor. The poor bartender, a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, was bustling around trying to keep up with all of the drink orders. It seemed to be a busy night.
The Sheikh tried waiting patiently, however, waiting was not something he was good at. Ali was so used to being served privately and immediately, that he whistled at the bartender to grab her attention as his patience grew thin.
“Miss! You’ve forgotten me!” he called.
She came up to him with two drinks in her hand for other customers, beads of sweat on her forehead. Her eye makeup was beginning to run slightly.
“I haven’t forgotten you, I promise. I just have other people to take care of.”
Ali slammed his fist on the bar. “Do you know who I am?”
She shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t. Tonight, you are a customer like everyone else.”
The young bartender turned away to serve the drinks in her hands, and this angered Ali. He followed her across the bar until he was standing in from of her again, and he waved to get her attention.
“Miss, I need a Johnnie Walker Blue. Now.”
She sighed and realized she needed to tend to this man if she wanted a decent tip. She reached for the bottle and poured him a generous portion. As she handed him the drink, he handed her a one-hundred-dollar bill and told her to keep it all. Her eyes widened.
As the young woman stared at her tip, she realized it was time to turn on the charm and be nice to this man. Chat him up. Make him order more drinks. She unbuttoned the top buttons of her polo and leaned forward toward the Sheikh.
“So, what brings you here?” she asked him with a pouty grin in her face.
Ali took a sip of his scotch, letting the fiery drink coat his tongue before taking another sip.
“My business brought me here. I am from Dubai, my name is Sheikh Ali bin Malik Al Mubarak, I’m sure you’ve heard of me and my brothers.”
The bartender shook her head.
“Do you live in a box, American woman? How have you never heard of me or my family?”
She stood straight up and raised an eyebrow at Ali.
“I am just as American as you are, Mister Sheikh Ali. My name is Mei Frigg Jonsdottir. Can you guess where I’m from?”
Ali squinted his eyes at the girl.
“From your beautiful face, I would say you are from China. But that accent, it’s from somewhere else. Where are you from, Mei?”
She smiled coyly.
“My mother is from China. My father, and then myself, we are from Iceland. I am just as American as you are.”
He slammed his drink on the bar, scotch droplets flying, and he laughed.
“I have been in the country all of one day! You certainly are more American than I am!”
Mei rolled her eyes. “Finish your drink, sir. I think you need another one soon.”
Ali spent several hours at the bar, talking with Mei and ordering drinks, never once stepping away to play at a table or a slot machine.
Mei ran back and forth between customers, taking tips and smiling and casually chatting with the drunk tourists. Ali watched her closely, his own head becoming fuzzy with alcohol.
“American woman, come pour me another,” he called.
“I told you, I’m not an American woman,” she said as she poured him another drink,
“How long have you been in the country?”
“Well, almost eighteen years now,” she replied.
He laughed. “Then you are American!”
Mei stifled her own laugh and shook her head. She was amused by the tipsy Sheikh.
He leaned into her.
“What time do you get off here? You should come back to my loft. I could keep you entertained all night long.”
She looked up at him, her eyes startled by the proposition. “I get out at two… but I shouldn’t. I couldn’t.”
“Come on, beautiful girl. No woman says ‘no’ to Ali. You should feel privileged I’m asking you.”
Her startled eyes grew stern. She looked at Ali, his eyes half-lidded and a crooked smile stretching half his face. There was no denying she found him very handsome.
He was dark skinned and muscular with shiny black hair and dark, dancing eyes. She knew he was the type that could get any woman he wanted, and probably always did get any woman he wanted. But she stuck to her guns and decided to reject the invitation.
“Sorry. I don’t go home with strangers.”
Ali was shocked. No woman in his entire life had ever turned him down before. Whether they were after him for his looks, his wallet, or his wit, they all melted into his hands so easily like a puddle. Rejection was not something he’d ever experienced, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it.
Ali set his drink down on the bar and set two hundred more dollars down on the table for her.
“Fine, but I will be back, my gorgeous Mei. And you see this tip? There’s more where that came from if you decide to ever see me. Have a good night.”
With that, he stood up and left the bar, stumbling over to the Blackjack table where he parked himself for the remainder of the time in the casino.
Chapter 2
Ali awoke in his loft and realized he’d slept until well past noon. He checked his phone and saw he had a voicemail. It was from his quietest brother, Brahir.
“Hello, brother,” the recording of Brahir said into the phone.
“Just checking in on you and making sure you got in okay. Hamza and Ibrahim are concerned you’re not going to take things seriously, but I have faith in you. Call me back when you get this, and let us know when you get the business going. Love you always, brother!”
Ali did not bother to call back Brahir right away. He felt groggy and had a headache from the night before and did not wish to rise from bed right away.
He looked around his room from the comfort of his bed, and saw boxes upon boxes that needed unpacking. He looked over at his never-before-sat-in couch. His never-before-used oven.
As he lay in bed looking around his new home, he truly realized just how alone he really was there. He had no family or friends to help him adjust to his new life, and the staff members that came with him returned to his brothers in Dubai.
As he sat up slowly, he began to recall the night before. As the cranks in his brain began to turn, he remembered Mei. The beautiful, fair-skinned, multicultural woman behind the bar. She was sassy and combative, and Ali wanted her.
As he thought more about the night, he remembered how she turned him down. She was the first woman in his entire life to do such a thing, and it
baffled him.
He began to over think things.
Was he too forward? Did he smell? What exactly turned her off and caused her to say no?
He knew all women wanted him, and decided to himself there had to be a precise reason she rejected him. He needed to find out. He needed to see her again that night.
Ali got out of bed and showered and dressed himself for the day. He knew he needed to get the ball rolling on the Vegas business section, but it was still the last thing on his mind.
He reassured himself by thinking he still had some adjusting to do to his new life. He was not yet mentally prepared to work on the business.
Unpacking some boxes seemed to be a good distraction, he thought. He decided to unpack what he could and make his new loft seem more like home.
As he unpacked, he thought of Mei. He couldn’t wait to see her again and try his luck with her. He was in the luckiest city in the country, after all.
He waited for the night and returned to the same casino hoping that Mei was working. He slicked his hair, pressed his shirt, and stuffed his wallet full of cash. He was ready.
As he rolled into the casino, women again began to notice him and smile. They’d giggle and blush to their friends as he walked by, and they’d watch him until he was out of their sight. He did not stop at any tables or slot machines again. The bar where Mei worked was his goal.
He saw her handing a glass to a woman and her two blonde friends. She’d smile at them, silently hoping they’d tip her well, and the girls trotted off to play more slots. Mei’s smile dropped from her face.
Ali sat down at the bar again, waiting for Mei’s attention. She was cleaning a few glasses at the sink when she finally noticed him. She was unsure what to say or do at first.
“Hello, beautiful Mei,” Ali said to her.
“I’ve come back for more scotch. I’ve also come back to see you again.”
She rolled her eyes. “You are quite persistent,” she said. She poured him another glass of scotch and handed it to him.
“Persistence gets me everything I want. My multi-billionaire dollar business. My reputation. Everything.”
“Persistence can also get you thrown out if you try hard enough, ya know.”
Ali almost choked on his first sip.
“No, no. I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to offend you.”
Mei tried to hold a straight face, but eventually cracked a smile. “I was only joking. Calm down, Ali. You need some more scotch in you.”
It was still early in the night and the bar was not as packed as it was the night prior. Mei had a few customers here and there, but still had plenty of time to stand and talk with Ali.
He kept watching the girl, still baffled by her rejection and trying to understand it. She was friendly enough to him. Made eye contact. Held conversations without trying to brush him aside or make him leave.
Why then? What was he doing wrong?
“Mei, what time do you get off tonight? Please do not say two.”
“It’s an early night for me. I get off at eleven.”
He took a larger swig of his drink and dove in.
“You should come out with me after. I will wait here until you are off.”
She paused and bit her lip. Mei knew her attraction to Ali was there, and she badly wanted to know what his lips tasted like and his arms felt like, but she had to try and stop herself.
Mei had not been with a man since her late husband, a brother of three billionaires she married when she was just nineteen. Her two best friends married the other brothers, and they all left Las Vegas to live like royalty in New York City.
When Mei was twenty-one, she caught her husband cheating on her with his secretary, and she ordered him to leave. Three months later, the heartbroken Mei felt perhaps she’d overreacted, and the night before she wanted to make amends with her husband, he died in a car accident on the highway.
Mei’s friends and her late husband’s brothers barely spoke to her after that as they all moved on with their lives. She wanted to be happy for them as they were all happily married in a beautiful city, but deep down, she had hatred and resentment.
Why couldn’t her story have ended up like theirs?
She looked at Ali and saw traces of her late husband. She was convinced billionaire men cheated on their women, and she couldn’t take that kind of heartache again.
As much as she wanted to meet Ali’s body, she resisted. She feared her secret would surface, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“I don’t know if I should come out with you,” she said meekly.
Ali could not understand. This woman was hurting his ego.
“Fine. It won’t be anything other than the fact that I know no one here and would like to spend some time with another person, getting to know the area. Would that be acceptable?”
Mei thought about it and realized that might be acceptable.
As long as she could resist touching him, and he didn’t try to seduce her, they could probably have a fun night together.
“As long as I am not too tired when I get off,” she said. “I guess that would be alright.”
Chapter 3
Mei and Ali exited the casino after eleven, and Ali was grinning ear to ear. Mei kept a close eye on him; she didn’t want any funny business.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her.
“I can’t imagine you’ve had dinner.”
Mei realized he was right.
“I actually haven’t eaten. We should run through a drive-thru.”
Ali laughed. “A Sheikh doesn’t eat at a drive-thru.”
Mei’s face turned serious.
“I can’t afford anything else if I expect to still pay my rent.”
Ali suddenly felt bad for his comment, hoping he didn’t offend her too harshly.
“I’m sorry, Mei. I want you to know I will be paying for dinner tonight.”
Mei wasn’t sure whether to accept or decline his offer, but she was interrupted by her phone ringing. It was her roommate, Jackie.
“Excuse me,” Mei said to Ali.
“I should answer this. Hello?”
“Hi Mei,” said Jackie into the phone. She sounded disappointed.
“Our landlord shut our electricity off again. We have no hot water or lights.”
Mei’s face sunk. Ali watched her expression change and was trying to figure out why.
“When can we get it turned on?” asked Mei.
“I’m going to see what I can do tomorrow, but for now, I was just letting you know in case you came home tonight when I was sleeping.”
They got off the phone and Mei shook her head in frustration.
“What’s the matter?” asked Ali.
“We have no electricity again. This is the third time.”
Ali was confused.
“I don’t understand. Why don’t you have electricity?”
Impatiently, Mei responded, “Because we didn’t have the money to pay it on time. Not everyone is made of money like you. Food was more important.”
Ali felt bad again and worried he was ruining his chances with this woman. Then he hatched an idea.
“Mei, why don’t you come stay with me tonight. There are lights and hot water where I live. Just stay until your lights get turned back on?”
Mei thought she should say no as she did not trust herself. She wanted him. She so badly wanted to reach out and touch his hand and feel his body heat.
She feared what she might do, what he might do, if they were alone in his home together, especially after she accepted his hospitality out of desperation. Her brain told her to say no, but her heart missed that memo.
“Are you sure it would be no problem?”
Ali smiled and his spirits lifted. There was a chance, he thought, after all.
“No problem at all. It will be nice having someone there while I adjust the first few days.”
Ali took Mei back to his loft and when they stepped inside, Mei’s ja
w hit the floor. She looked around, intimidated and in awe, and felt as though she couldn’t touch anything.
She tiptoed around the floor behind Ali as if the ground were made of lava. She didn’t want to leave a spot or mark on anything, as the place was so beautiful and metropolitan.
Romance: Bad Boss: Billionaire Romance Boxed Set Page 9
