Bought For One Night: The Sheikh's Offer

by Holly Rayner

FIVE

  Beth

  Beth waited for the door to close before she wiped her mouth and gazed around at his room.

  So this was where Middle-Eastern royalty slept. It wasn’t so different from her own sleeping quarters. There was a large king-size bed draped in gossamer hangings, the small dining area where she sat, and a living area with a few sofas and chairs placed before a fire.

  Compared to her own suite, the Sheikh’s quarters seemed much more masculine. The room was furnished with dark woods and leather, and the whole area just smelled…manly. Beth tried to ignore the subtle cologne that rested on the furniture. She also actively avoided looking at the Sheikh’s bed, which hadn’t been made yet, and was still covered in tangled sheets from the night before.

  Beth stood, dropping her cloth napkin on the table and strolling around the room. There had been no indication that the Sheikh would be back anytime soon, so she felt comfortable exploring his chambers. He’d left her there, after all, hadn’t he? And if she wanted to know the man she would be working for, she needed to get a glimpse of who he really was. Beth couldn’t help it, but she was really, really nosy.

  Glancing in the bathroom, she found a full shaving kit and another raindrop shower head. There was also an enormous hot tub that had stone walls around it, made to look like a waterfall. It was absolutely stunning.

  A small door led to a private theater room with six large, comfortable-looking chairs all angled towards an enormous screen. Baskets of full candy bars were placed on small tables in between, and there was a bar on the side with drinks and a microwave for making popcorn. Beneath the screen, Beth saw a series of gaming consoles and a compartment filled with video games and movies.

  “This is awesome,” Beth breathed.

  She loved movies. She loved going to the cinema, too, but thought this place might be even better. Unable to help herself, she sank into one of the chairs in the front row, and caught a glance at the movies perched on top of the DVD player. Her eyebrows lifted at the titles, which weren’t scheduled for release for several months in American movie theaters. Top of the line, indeed.

  Forcing herself up from the plush recliner, Beth made her way back out to find a couple of maids cleaning up the Sheikh’s room. When they saw her, they paused and bowed.

  Beth tried not to blush as she nodded back at them and headed out of the room, into one of the winding hallways. Taking a guess at where to go next, she went right, and eventually found herself at a locked door—a dead end. Glancing around, she pulled a hairpin out of her pocket that she kept for this very reason, and pressed it into the key hole, wiggling it around. The door swung open with a small creak, and Beth swept into the room before anyone could notice what she was doing.

  Beth was met with a wall of darkness, and, pulling out her phone, she turned on the flashlight and held it out to the small room. It was a storage closet. There were boxes everywhere, some labelled, some not. Old toys and rocking horses were stacked haphazardly, everywhere she looked.

  Even the rich have messy closets, then, Beth thought with a grin.

  Draped over a horse was a small, blue baby blanket, with a name written on it in Arabic lettering. Beth ran her fingers along the soft fabric, covered in dust.

  “Who are you, Osman Al-Haddeni?” she whispered to the blanket. The man claimed to only want her as a prop…some kind of status symbol. But was there more to it than that?

  Beth’s phone rang, a piercing sound in the dark silence of the closet, and she scrambled to hit the button to answer it, not bothering to look at who was calling.

  “Hello? Beth, are you there?” Connor’s voice shouted.

  She put the phone to her ear and spoke softly, not wanting to get caught hanging out in a closet on her first day.

  “Hi Connor, I’m here,” she said, trying not to sound like she was whispering.

  “Why are you whispering?” he said.

  Beth rolled her eyes, glancing furtively at the door. “I’m not. It must just be a weird connection. Long distance calling sucks, you know.”

  “Okay,” Connor replied, clearly not buying it. “Weirdo. Anyway, I just got your signed contract scanned over—great job, kid! I know you’re going to do great. You are going to do great, aren’t you, Bethie Bee?”

  Beth bristled at his insinuation. What, like she wouldn’t do her damn best, like she always had, her whole life?

  “I don’t fail, Connor. You know that.”

  “You don’t always fail, true. You just failed with us.”

  Beth was about to say something when she heard the sound of another phone ringing in the background, and Connor’s voice cut her off.

  “Gotta go, duty calls. Just wanted to congratulate you, babe. I knew you could do it!”

  Before she could reply, Connor had already hung up the phone.

  Feeling annoyed, Beth exited the closet and got lost three more times in the hallways before a young maid found her and led her back to her suite.

  “Thanks for helping me,” Beth said, relieved to be back somewhere she recognized.

  The girl bowed respectfully. “His Highness has asked me to be your tour guide of the grounds, so that you don’t get lost again, miss. I’m Nura, by the way,” she said with a grin.

  Beth couldn’t help but smile back. “Does that happen a lot?” she asked, and Nura nodded.

  “Every time His Highness has a guest to stay, or hires a new staff member. It’s not a small estate, miss. People normally need some time to adjust and find their way. It’s why the Sheikh provides a day to acclimate to the premises. We could lose someone for days—there are parts of the estate where virtually no one goes.”

  “Like where?” Beth asked, unable to help herself.

  Nura bit her lip, as though trying to decide how much to tell. “His Highness’ mother’s quarters, for example. They are kept clean, but she has been gone for so long now that all of her furniture has been covered in wait of her return.”

  “Why did she go?” Beth asked, but she knew she’d gone too far.

  Nura’s expression hardened instantly. “That is a question only the Sheikh can answer, miss. I’m afraid I am limited to the areas we do use. Whenever you are ready, I am happy to show you around myself.”

  “I’m ready now. Show me everything you can.”

  Nura smiled again and gestured for Beth to follow her. As her official tour began, Beth’s mind wandered to the empty halls where Osman’s mother once lived.

  That was a story she would definitely want to hear.