by Holly Rayner
Chapter 6
Rami
Angie darted from the market before I could process what was happening. I watched her go from afar, as her yellow dress danced through the crowd and out into the evening streets. I felt punched by her words. Staggering back, I blinked wildly, waiting for the anger to pass. But instead, it grew stronger in my chest, in my stomach.
You think you’re God’s gift to the world, but you’re nothing.
The words she’d used rang in my ears. Several women pushed past me, wine in hand, not giving me a second glance. I felt more invisible than I had in years. Didn’t they know who I was? Didn’t they see it? I stared down at my clothes, remembering that I wasn’t dressed in my typical garb. I looked like everyone else. And I hated it.
Turning my head toward the edge of the market, I caught sight of a familiar dark head. Staring, incredulous, I realized that Alim was perched next to his truck, watching me. He was laughing, holding onto his stomach. He’d witnessed the entire scene.
With my frown thick on my forehead, I marched toward him, anger throttling through me. When I reached Alim, I stopped a full foot away, staring at him.
“All right, all right,” I said. My words were firm. “You’ve had your fun.”
Alim wiped at his mouth, trying to stop his laughter. “I’m sorry,” he sputtered. “I just can’t help it. That was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen…”
“Come off it,” I told him. “We had a great date. It was going well…”
“Yeah. Until she called you an arrogant creep and stormed off,” Alim said, cackling now. “Don’t think everyone couldn’t hear it. Because they could.”
I stared down at my shoes, feeling shame spread across my cheeks. In the back of my mind, I told myself that it was all right—that no one had recognized me anyway. I’d been undercover. This wouldn’t ruin my reputation for good.
“Come on, now. Let’s grab a drink,” Alim said, opening the passenger door of his car. “It’s on me.”
I sighed and got into his car, watching as he cranked the engine. The sunlight was orange against the windowpane. It was nearing seven in the evening and all I wanted to do was chase myself down an alcohol-induced rabbit hole.
“Tell me, did you at least have a good conversation?” Alim asked me, his eyes skirting down the road. Across from us, children were playing on a street corner, dancing barefoot on the sidewalk.
“She was pretty tight-lipped, actually,” I said. “Didn’t want to open up to me.”
“When normally women are falling at your feet, eager to tell you their entire life story,” Alim said, turning left, toward a bar. “Can we finally leave this to rest, then, and agree that most of your prowess with women is rooted in your title, your clothes—”
“No,” I responded, my voice firm. “Absolutely not. I think I just happen to have found the toughest cookie in all of Al-Jarra.”
“I don’t think another American girl would be any different,” Alim told me, shaking his head. “They demand more than the girls we’re used to. You’ve been with them before—”
“Sure, but I was never trying to get them to fall in love with me,” I said, my voice sounding whiny and strange, even in my own ears. “And this girl, I mean. She’s impossible… She has something to hide, maybe.”
“Or she senses that you’re up to something. That you’re trying to collect her, like a prize.”
“Trust me, I played it cool,” I said. But in the back of my mind, I was beginning to think I hadn’t. The scarf had been overkill—but my arrogance had bled through even in our initial conversation. How was I meant to reel it in? I wasn’t used to it. I was a sheikh, for heaven’s sake. I didn’t need to.
“Let’s just say that you lost, and call it over,” Alim said. “You don’t need to pay me, either. I feel too bad for you.” He scoffed, eyeing me.
“Let’s give it a few more days, okay?” I told him. “I don’t think it’s completely over. This is always that scene in the movie, you know? When the woman slaps you and tells you you’re the worst person she’s ever met, and that she never wants to see you again…”
“You mean American movies from the 1940s? Sure. You should definitely take your cues from them,” Alim smirked, sarcastic. “Face it, stranger. You’re done. Let’s go drink our blues away.”
But I wouldn’t let it go. Although I grinned and laughed through the drinks with Alim, in the back of my mind, I was developing a new plan. I wouldn’t be taken down, not like this. As I bantered with Alim, thankfully finding new topics, new conversations beyond my complete embarrassment, I began to restructure the “rules” of the game.
And as Alim smacked me on the back, mid-laugh, I felt a passion surge through me. One that told me I was going to win, no matter the cost. Even if it meant going behind Alim’s back. Even if it meant breaking the very basis of our bet.
I was too proud to lose. If I did, I’d never be able to look Alim in the eye again.
The following day, Alim had a business meeting at three in the afternoon. “Thank God your American adventure is over,” he’d told me the night before. “Otherwise, I’d have to reschedule so I could watch you fail!”
Armed with this knowledge, I dressed in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit, along with my favorite gold watch. At home in my penthouse, I gazed at myself in the mirror: the penetrating eyes, the dark wavy hair.
I knew that, dressed like this, Angie would have no reason to turn me down. This was the Rami that the world knew—the Sheikh. Finally, she would realize that the only way to move forward was to fall madly in love with me.
I walked toward my car, a Lamborghini I’d recently purchased, and hopped into the front seat, revving the engine. I felt the arrogance that Angie had called out pulsing in my veins. But I didn’t care, knowing that it suited me now that I was dressed the part. Maybe none of us could help where we came from, who we were.
But describing that to Alim wouldn’t make me “win” the bet. I had to find another way.
I drove toward Angie’s school, the route now a familiar one. After parking at the entrance, I remained in my seat, watching as the kids swarmed the yard and began to dive into their parents’ vehicles. Sure enough, Angie was amongst them, dressed in a light purple dress. Her dark hair whipped around her as she said goodbye to the kids, waving her hands. My stomach felt squeezed, remembering that just yesterday, I’d made her laugh like that. I’d made her smile. Until I hadn’t.
When the last of the children had filtered out from the building, I stepped out of the car. I knew my presence was imposing, especially when contrasted to the tired parents and the older woman who worked alongside Angie, perched on the top step. After a pause, I began to move down the sidewalk, toward the entrance. Immediately, I knew that I’d caught Angie’s attention. She stood, frozen, staring at me.
I didn’t allow a smile to stretch across my face. I knew I had to remain cool, poised. I held my chin high, exuding confidence. Angie had her hands on the shoulders of one of her students, before he darted out to his car, leaving her behind. She swallowed sharply, showing her fear.
But moments before I arrived at the steps, she spun around, waving her finger. “Don’t come any closer,” she hissed. “I told you not to come here.”
“Hear me out,” I pleaded. “I need to talk to you. It’s important. And it’s not about my ‘love’ for you, or whatever.”
The difference in my voice was palpable. Finally, I was being genuine with her.
She spun round toward me, blinking at me with curiosity.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice filled with angst. She eyed my suit and shoes for the first time, really looking at the quality. “And what are you wearing?”
“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” I told her, my voice deep. “But I’m prepared to do that now. And if, at the end of it, you still want me to leave you alone, I will. But hear me out first, okay?”
Angie nodded, her expression still
bemused. With a firm hand, she waved goodbye the last of the kids leaving with their parents, and then gestured for me to follow her into her classroom. I did, rolling my shoulders back and striding confidently down the hallway. On all sides, bulletin boards were decorated with animals and robots and plants, sparkling with life.
Inside her classroom, the words “Miss Peretti” were written in cursive across the blackboard. I felt a stab of longing, wanting to know more about her. But I still sensed the divide between us. She looked at me quizzically, her eyes still burning with curiosity.
“All right. What is it?” she asked, closing the door behind us. We were alone.
“Like I said,” I began, suddenly doubting myself. This was her territory. Her world. “I haven’t been completely honest with you, and I want to rectify that. In fact, I’m Sheikh Rami of Al-Jarra. My father is the ruling sheikh.”
I saw a flurry of recognition across her face. She had heard my name before, but hadn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together. After a brief nod, she shrugged questioningly.
“Then why the hell were you hanging outside my school the past week?” she asked, chuckling slightly. “Wearing street clothes?”
“You’re going to laugh,” I said, my eyebrows high. “But you were a part of an elaborate bet with my best friend.”
“Ah. So you were making fun of me,” Angie said, her voice growing hollow. “I should have known. Tell me, why don’t men ever grow up? It’s horrible. They just play game after game…”
“We weren’t making fun of you,” I said sincerely. “Seriously. It was… My friend Alim said I couldn’t get just any girl if they didn’t know that I was a man of royalty. If they didn’t see my clothes. And…” I shrugged my shoulders. “It appears he was right about you. I wasn’t able to get you. You were stronger than most. And definitely on the side of being tight-lipped.”
“Don’t insult me while you tell me this,” Angie said, her shoulders falling. She looked wounded, almost fragile. “You’re not helping your case.”
“Well, you hated me, didn’t you?” I asked. There seemed to be something of an understanding between us, although I couldn’t have placed it with words.
“Now, you have this extreme wealth. This bet,” she said, her voice quivering. “Am I just meant to forget all of what I thought about you, and give into your every whim?”
“Absolutely not.” I shook my head. “In fact, I would think less of you if you did. I want you to know that my opinion of you is incredibly high.”
“And why should I care about that?” she asked. “In fact, now that you mention it, I don’t care about you at all. Or your status. Or about your stupid bet. In fact, I’d really like you to leave my classroom as soon as possible.” She pointed toward the door. “I have a lot of work to do. And the likes of you, a man who’s been given the world, are not welcome here. Not when I have my own life to deal with.”
She pointed a finger at the exit again, directing me out. I shook my head.
“Please,” I implored her, raising an eyebrow. “Just five more minutes of your time. Five minutes, and then I can be out of your life for good. I swear.”
Chapter 7
Angie
The rage filled my stomach, making me want to tear at my hair. I couldn’t believe his persistence, his enduring arrogance. Rami stood before me in that immaculate suit, looking dapper and charming in my sad little classroom.
He was telling me about this bet he’d had with his friend. A bet that said he could get anyone to fall in love with him. Even an American, he said. But I’d been too tough for him. I’d been “the wrong woman” for the kind of bet he was up against. But he was too proud, and he wasn’t willing to go down without a fight. Even if that meant including me.
“All right,” I told him, when he asked if I’d let him have five more minutes. I had nothing else to lose. The call from my father that morning had been tearful, heart-wrenching. Again, the students had crowded around my desk, patting my arms and asking me what was wrong. What could they do? They were children. They couldn’t help me. But they were trying their best to comfort me, if nothing else.
“Okay. I need to win this bet. And in order to win it, I have to make you fall in love with me. Essentially, that means you have to marry me,” Rami said to me, saying the words with such certainty, as if I would just buy into something so serious so quickly. What a joke.
“Marriage?” I asked, aghast. “I mean, what makes you think I would—”
“I know. I know it’s a big thing to ask anyone,” Rami said, doing his best to calm me. “But as I told you, I am extremely wealthy. And foolhardy, as you already know.”
“Something like that, although I might choose a different word,” I told him, my eyes glittering.
“Sure. I’d wager that. But listen. I’d be willing to give you half a million dollars for your trouble, ensuring that we both benefit from the arrangement. If you agree to it, that is.”
My heart thudded in my chest. Half a million dollars? Was he kidding? I hadn’t even heard of that sum of money being together in one place.
I pictured Rami’s bank account as a giant ocean, swimming with cash. I wanted to leap into it, to throw it over my body. I wanted to take it home. Were people really ever that comfortable? Did people really sleep at night without the shadow of whatever they needed to pay for on their shoulders?
“Wait. Say that number again?” I asked him in disbelief.
“Five hundred thousand smackeroos,” Rami said, using an American word and chuckling at his cleverness. “What do you think?”
During these silent seconds, I thought instantly of my mother, and the surgery she so desperately needed. Five hundred thousand dollars was more than I would make in ten years. And by then, my mother probably wouldn’t even be around anymore.
I swallowed harshly, wondering at the weight of what I had to give up, versus what I would be giving up if I didn’t go through with it.
“I can tell you’re considering it,” Rami said, his eyebrow twitching.
“Well, of course I’m considering it.”
I leaned against my desk, wondering at this predicament. If I agreed to it, I knew I would have to legally marry Rami. Which meant that I’d have to spend a bit of time with him, at the least. Ensuring that the marriage looked “right” for his friend, the one he’d made the bet with. The thought made my stomach stir.
“What would make you accept?” he asked, tilting his head to the right.
I tapped my fingers along the edge of my desk, trying not to look at him too closely. When I did, I was overcome with his outrageous good looks. The refined suit, its fabric thick and unwrinkled. His five o’clock shadow, which yielded a perfect texture across his brown skin. I’d known since moving to Al-Jarra that the men in this country were almost unfairly handsome, but he took the cake.
“I’ll give you some money upfront,” he said suddenly, his voice deepening.
“How much?” I asked.
“Ten thousand,” he said, stepping forward. His eyes met with mine, bringing a shot of emotion up and down my spine. “It’ll go into your account today, if you give me your details.”
“Ten thousand dollars,” I sighed in disbelief as I wandered toward the window, staring out at the street. Mere blocks away, I could see the market, where we’d eaten together only days before. “I could really use that ten thousand dollars.”
“And don’t forget, my net worth is in the billions…” he said, trailing off. His words sizzled with arrogance.
I flashed around, spinning back to face him. Without hesitation, I lifted my hand and reached for his. We shook on it, just like that, over the top of the desks between us. Instantly I felt grimy. But I felt that I was on a path toward saving my mother’s life.
“All right. Well. I guess I’ll send you some details…” Rami said, stepping back. His expensive shoe clacked on the floor. “Maybe that means I should get your number.”
“Right. Yes. Phone.” I l
ifted a pad of paper from my desk and wrote it out in scrawling handwriting, passing it toward him. “I’m not sure how all of this will work.”
“You can leave it up to me,” Rami said, giving me a wink that made my stomach stir. “But know that we’re going to have to see each other a bit more. My friend Alim will know something’s wrong if—”
“If we just get hitched, like that. I know,” I sighed, feeling the heaviness in my heart. I wanted to go lie down, but I knew I couldn’t. I was trapped.
“Right. Well, as long as you get it. You seem like a clever girl,” Rami said. He turned back toward the classroom door, giving me a salute. “I suppose I should start calling you a pet name, now. Angie-bear?”
“Don’t push it,” I said, finding a smile rush between my cheeks.
Moments later, he was gone, and I collapsed in the chair behind my desk, allowing my forehead to fall toward my hands. I heard the clatter of feet at the door and looked up, finding Rita there, watching me. She sniffed, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses.
“That man was here again,” she said brashly.
“He was,” I replied, suddenly wanting to put as much distance between us as possible.
“Have you dated much in Al-Jarra?” she asked me, leaning further into my classroom. Her hair was frizzy, swirling toward her shoulders. “Because the culture, it’s completely different. You’re going to want to be aware…”
“It’s not really… I mean, we’re not really dating,” I told her, knowing full well that I would have to come clean about the engagement very soon. “He’s just a guy.”
“They always start out as just guys,” Rita told me, “until suddenly…”
“I’d better get going for the day, Rita,” I sighed, dragging myself up from the desk and pushing past her into the corridor. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Just let me know if anything’s wrong,” Rita told me, calling down the hall. “You know I’m here for you.”
