ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance

by Knight, Kylie

  Carefully, she crept out into the hall and listened. The palace was silent. Taking a deep breath, she slipped down to the stairs and tip-toed down. She’d made it to the bottom when Nahid walked in. Freezing at the bottom step, she could only stare at him like a deer in headlights.

  “Jada,” Nahid said with a chuckle. “Are you sneaking around the palace like a teenager?”

  “Sheikh,” she said as she bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I’ll go back upstairs.”

  “Jada, I am your Sheikh, but I am also your father-in-law. And since my son is across the ocean in another country and my wife is no longer speaking to me, I’d very much appreciate it if you were my family right now instead of a citizen of my country.”

  “Of course.” She smiled and shook her head. “I’m kind of lonely myself. So you and your wife are fighting over your decision to let Kamal leave. I think I’m supposed to take her side in the matter.”

  He chuckled. “Didn’t realize you had the spunk. I like it. I suppose you’re right. You should be taking my wife’s side. Does that mean that we’re not going to be friends?”

  “Yes, I do think it means that. But you didn’t want a friend, you wanted family. And as your family, I know you’re doing what you think is right for the biggest company in this country. I understand what the expansion means. Certainly more money and a bigger export base. It’s not just business. It’s political.”

  Nahid gazed at her curiously. “Your father said that you went to school.”

  Jada blushed. “Sorry. I like international politics. I think the move that you’re making is brilliant. I just wish it didn’t include my husband. Not that it matters.”

  “Are you saying that you don’t think your voice matters in this family?”

  “I think it doesn’t matter that I didn’t want my husband to leave. I think that my husband wanted to go, and that I didn’t say anything to stop him.”

  Nahid grunted and cocked his finger. Jada sighed and followed him. It’s probable that he was pissed at how forward she’d been, but the truth felt good. She didn’t care that she’d said it.

  “Ameena and I didn’t even know each other when we were married. After the wedding, it was rough. She was too scared to talk to me, and I was too damn cocky to care. It went for an entire year before she finally broke and screamed at me. And after that point, we didn’t speak at all for two months. It took all that time for me to realize that my wife had been terrified to speak to me. I wasn’t actually seeing her.” Nahid led her into the office and sat his briefcase down.

  Jada blinked. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”

  “Because you, my dear, are too scared to talk to your husband. And your husband isn’t seeing you. You need to let him know that you need to be seen.”

  “I’m not scared of Kamal. In the beginning I was concerned. Not all arranged marriages work out well for women. But Kamal has made it clear that I should not be scared of him, and I’m not scared of him.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  Laughing softly, Jada shook her head. “My father raised me to marry Kamal. From the moment I was born, my father made sure that I was groomed and ready to be the future wife of the future Sheikh. It wasn’t until I left for college that I even knew what I wanted, and I knew that I wasn’t the woman that my father raised. But he is my family. Until I married into your family, he was my only family. And I can’t let him down, Sheikh. I can’t. I need to make this work, so I’m trying to be the woman that he raised me to be.”

  Nahid took a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t have a daughter, and I know I could have done a better job with my son. But your father is my best friend, and I know that raising was a struggle for him. And I know that no matter what happens, he is proud of you. And he loves you.”

  “Thank you,” Jada said softly. “That means a lot.”

  “Ameena isn’t wrong. My son is blind. But it’s not something that you did or that I or his mother did. He loved someone in the past, and I don’t know the details, but I know that it damaged him. He doesn’t see you because he’s too scared to see anyone again.”

  The smile slipped off her face, and she felt her shoulders slump. It was probable that Kamal would never love her, but it was too late for her. She was already in love with her husband, and she had no idea that it was going to hurt this bad.

  “Thank you, Sheikh. I think I’ll just go back up to my suite now,” she said softly.

  “You could do that, or you could go find my wife, and you two can complain about your husbands together,” Nahid said with a wink. “The more my wife vents, the faster she comes back to my arms.”

  “You two fight often?” she asked in surprise.

  “We love each other. Of course we fight,” he said simply. Jada chuckled and turned from the door.

  “I’ll go find your wife so you two can having something else to fight about,” she said with a smile.

  Marriage was difficult. Marriage meant fighting and compromising and understanding. And when Kamal got back, she was going to work on that. She wasn’t going to be afraid of fighting and compromising and understanding. And she was going to make her husband see her.

  * * *

  Kamal slumped at the desk and sighed. Papers were spread out all over the desk, and he was barely keeping it together. He thought he was ready for this. He knew that he was ready for this, and he wrong.

  “Kamal? The board members want an update, and the paperwork for the county license needs to be turned in by tomorrow. The supervisor has interviews for tomorrow, but the hiring system in the computer isn’t up and running.”

  He pushed back the chair and sighed. “Leave the information on my desk, and I’ll get to it tonight. Right now, I need some food. So I’m going to grab dinner, and I’m going to call my wife, and then I’ll get back to all of this.”

  “You’re married?”

  There was a span of silence before Kamal nodded. “Yes. I’m married.”

  “I guess your wife isn’t happy with you,” the man muttered.

  “She’s fine. She understands. Besides, we haven’t been married very long,” Kamal muttered.

  “Wow. Newly weds. So you’ll probably be divorced before you get home,”he said as he shrugged. “Enjoy your dinner.”

  Kamal stared after him. Divorced? Jada was happy for him to be gone. The man had no idea what he was talking about. Pushing himself from the desk, Kamal walked past him and into the sunshine. He’d been trapped inside for hours, and he inhaled deeply. Closing his eyes, he rolled his head and tried to relieve the tension in his shoulders. Food. He really needed food.

  He’d been eating at the same restaurant since he’d gotten here, and he really needed something different. Flagging his driver down, he slipped into the backseat. “Let’s go to the diner on Third street. I’m looking for something new.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The diner was only a few minutes away, and he pulled out his phone. In those few minutes, he’d check in with his wife. “Jada?”

  “Kamal,” she said shortly. “This isn’t your normal check-in. Is everything okay?”

  “What do you mean it’s not my normal check-in?”

  “It’s a little early. You normally call a few hours from now. Not that it matters. I’m not complaining. I just want to make sure that everything is okay.”

  He heard laughing on the other end. “Everything’s fine. I didn’t realize that I was on such a routine schedule. Is that my parents that I hear in the background? When I left they weren’t speaking to each other. Now they’re laughing.”

  “It’s a marriage, Kamal. They love each other. They fight. And then they make it. Down the road, they fight it again.”

  Her voice sounded odd, and Kamal shifted uncomfortably as he moved the phone from one ear to another. “I’m glad they’re speaking to each other, and I’m glad they’re keeping you company.”

  “Yes. It’s making things better for me. I know you’ve bee
n busy and stressed. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Kamal chuckled. “I can think of quite a few things that could help me relieve the tension, but unfortunately, you are thousands of miles away.”

  “Kamal!” she said tightly. “I’m with your parents!”

  “I know. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said tiredly. “Look, I’ll let you go. Tell my parents that I said hi.” For some reason, he felt almost empty inside when he tried to say goodbye.

  “Kamal, I miss you. I don’t want you to work yourself to death, but I am waiting for you to come home. And I have my phone by my side all day, so you can call whenever. Okay?”

  He smiled. “Thank you, Jada. And I miss you too.”

  “When you get back, we’ll work on relieving that tension.” She hung up the phone, and Kamal didn’t feel any better.

  The car stopped, and Kamal looked up. “We’re here sir.”

  “Would you like to join me?” Kamal asked politely, but he asked every night, and every night, the driver declined. The car service was professional, but Kamal needed company, and the service didn’t include that.

  “No, sir. I’ll wait for you here.”

  “Right.” Kamal got out and walked into the restaurant. It was late, the place looked fairly empty. Instead of taking a table, Kamal walked straight to the bar and ordered a beer. Sipping on the cold liquid, glanced over the menu, but nothing looked appetizing. Ordering something random, he tipped the glass up again.

  He needed to get back and get work done, but he also really just needed to relax. His father had warned him that it would be a ton of work, but he didn’t tell him how lonely he’d be. And he didn’t understand why. He’d buried himself into work for a long time now, but he’d never felt so lonely.

  “Hi. I’m here to place a to-go order.”

  As someone sat him down near him, Kamal froze. He knew that voice. That voice haunted hm for a long time, and for a moment, he hoped that he was wrong.

  “I’ll take a cup of coffee,” she said.

  Kamal stared down at his beer as he felt his inside seize. Closing his eyes, he tried to push it out. Block it out. Do absolutely anything to look to his left and verify what he already knew would be true.

  “Kamal?”

  Putting the beer down, he swallowed hard and slowly turned his head.

  “Hello Sara.”

  A brilliant smile spread over her beautiful face. “It is good to see you.”

  With a snort, Kamal tipped the beer and drained it. “Yeah. It’s good to be seen by you,” he muttered.

  “Oh, Kamal. You’re angry with me. I never thought I’d see you again, but I’ve imagined it over and over again. And I had hoped that you wouldn’t be angry. I suppose that it’s stupid. Of course you would be angry with me. I hurt you.” The bartender came back and dropped the coffee down.

  “Are you ready to order?” the bartender asked.

  Sara stared at the coffee and then stared at him. “You know, I think it’s probably best if I go. I’ll just pay for the coffee. Thank you.”

  “Wait.” Kamal shook his head. “I shouldn’t be angry. You made a choice, and it wasn’t me. We’re older now. We’ve moved on. And we should be at a place where if I ran into you on a business trip in America, even though this is a large country and the odds should have been impossible, that we can sit together and have a pleasant conversation.”

  She raised an eyebrow and stared at him. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  With a smile, she slid over so that she could sit on the barstool next to him. “Good. I’m glad you said that. Because there is quite a bit that I want to say to you, Kamal.”

  His phone rang, and he looked down. Jada. Taking a deep breath, he silenced the phone. “There’s quite a bit that I want to say to you too.”

  Gesturing to the bartender, he ordered another beer. It looked like his night was about to get much more interesting.

  Chapter Eight

  Kamal woke up with a start and looked around wildly. He was in his office, and

  there were papers stuck to his face and drool on the desk. With a groan, he wiped off his face and rubbed his eyes. Glancing blearily at the clock, he realized it was three o’clock in the morning.

  He and Sara spent hours talking at the bar. Hours. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d spent hours talking about anyone other than business. They talked about old friends and old memories. He talked about his business, and she talked about her work.

  What they didn’t talk about was their relationship. She didn’t say whether she was seeing anyone, and he didn’t admit that he was married.

  God. Married. He finally saw Sara again, and he was married. Feeling guilty, he picked up the phone and called Jada.

  “Kamal? Oh my God, what’s wrong?”

  He chuckled. “You said I could call anytime of the day.”

  “I know but it’s three o’clock in the morning there. Have you not gone to sleep yet?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I fell asleep at my desk. How do you know that it’s three o’clock in the morning?”

  “I have my phone set to let me know what time it is there. And I’m stressing you out, aren’t I?”

  “Of course not. I like that you know what time it is here and that you get a little worried when you think I’m calling at an inappropriate time. What have you been doing with yourself?” The fluorescent lights blared angrily down on him, and he reached over and flipped the switch off. As he plunged into darkness, he settled back in the chair and closed his eyes so he could listen to her voice.

  “You want to know what I’ve been doing with myself? Kamal, you should be going to bed. You shouldn’t be discussing my day with me.”

  “I want to hear about your day, Jada. I need to hear about your day.” Even he heard the desperation in his voice, and Jada fell silent for a moment.

  “Okay. I woke up this morning and made breakfast. I know you want me to eat with your mother and have the servants cooks us breakfast, but I like to cook. So I made breakfast and I cleaned. And then I read.”

  “What did you read?”

  Again there was a few minutes of silence. “I picked up a book on the political theory of law.”

  Kamal whistled under his breath. “Wow. That does not sound like light reading.”

  “It’s not, but it’s interesting, and it helps pass the time. What about you? How are you progressing?”

  The words were unspoken in the air. When was he coming home? “I keep hitting some roadblocks, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.” He lapsed into silence, and for a moment, he just listened to her breath.

  “You should go,” she said finally. “You need to at least get a few hours of sleep, and if your are at your desk, that means that you need to go back to your hotel and get to sleep.”

  “Yup.” He nodded his head and rapped his knuckled against the desk. “Yeah, I should get some sleep. I’ll talk to you later, Jada.”

  She hung up, and he sighed. His wife was concerned for him. His wife wanted him to go back to the hotel and get some sleep, and that’s exactly what he needed to do. He’d left the bar with Sara and came straight here because he didn’t trust himself to go home. He didn’t trust himself to be alone after seeing Sara.

  “What am I doing?” he muttered as he closed his eyes. “I cannot be around her. I can’t do this. I’m married.”

  Getting up slowly, he dragged himself out of the office and into the abandoned warehouse. Leaning against the railing, he gazed down on the empty space below him. Soon this place would be buzzing with activity, and it would be his. This was his baby. He’d left his new wife before to do this. He’d wanted to do this to make his father proud. He wanted to prove that he could do this.

  In his pocket was a business card with Sara’s number on it. Pulling it out of his pocket, he stared down at it. He could call her. He could call her and bring up all those bad memories, or he could drop it and let go. He
could let go, focus on his job, and get home to his wife.

  Decision made, he opened his fingers and let the card flutter to the ground. He wasn’t going to be the man that threw away his present because he couldn’t let go of his past. Straightening, he made a call to the driver and take him to the hotel.

  During the drive, he dozed. He thought about what Jada was doing, and he wondered if she even missed him. She wondered if she even thought about him.

  As they pulled up to the hotel, he stretched his legs and got out. “Kamal.” Turning his head, he stared at Sara. “Hi. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Why?” he said hoarsely. “It is really late, Sara. You should be asleep.”

  “I tried,” she said with a soft smile. “I honestly tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I kept thinking about you, and I wanted to see you. Is that okay?”

  “Sara, I’m married,” he said as he approached her. “I’m married. A couple of months now, and I don’t really know her. It’s my fault because I’m never there.”

  “Okay. I was married. Divorced now. This isn’t about our past, Kamal. This isn’t about the other people in our lives.” The wind howled around them, and she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you. And if you’re thinking about me, then maybe we can see each other tomorrow.”