by Holly Rayner
A young woman in a purple hijab approached the table with some glasses of water.
“Bahir, this is my daughter, Farah. She is very pretty, yes?” Akilah said.
The girl blushed as she peered at Bahir from beneath lowered lashes, and he gave her his most debonair smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Farah,” he said, accepting a glass from her.
The girl set down Nicole’s glass with a curious stare before returning all her attention back to Bahir.
This was another thing Nicole had gotten used to. One didn’t spend time in the company of an eligible bachelor and not get accustomed to being completely ignored at every turn. That was just part of the job description.
Akilah spent another minute praising her daughter before they both left the table. Farah returned shortly after with a basket of bread and a shy smile for Bahir.
“Do you ever get used to it?” Nicole asked, tearing off a piece of warm flatbread and dipping it in oil before taking a bite.
Akilah was right. The food was delicious. Of course, the fact that Nicole was starving and rarely ate an actual meal could have also contributed to that fact.
Bahir looked at her, taking his own piece of bread. “Used to what?” he asked, tucking in.
Nicole blinked, trying not to get lost as she gazed at him. “The adoring public. Being treated like a god everywhere you go.”
Bahir scoffed, taking another bite and swallowing. “I am not treated like a god. People are simply nice to me. They always have been.”
“Are you really so naïve as to think that it’s because people are inherently kind?”
“What, you think people are inherently evil?” he countered.
Nicole frowned. “I think people are born with the capacity to be good or evil, and each person makes that choice over and over again as they age. Saying that, I don’t think you see how much better you are treated than the general public.”
Bahir shrugged. “Well, I’m not the general public, am I? I was born into privilege and with that comes a certain level of treatment. That is not my fault, and I think that in turn I am kind to those around me, wouldn’t you agree?”
Nicole thought about that for a moment. It was true that while Bahir was generally treated better because of his good looks and status, he had never really taken advantage of the fact. He hadn’t let it get to his head so much that he treated others poorly, knowing that they had to be nice to him either way. In spite of being born into wealth and building an empire, Bahir wasn’t a snob.
“How did you manage it?” she asked, unable to resist prying a little.
“What, being kind? Not everyone who comes from money is a jerk, Nicole. Now who’s the snob?”
“Just speaking from my own experience,” she said, tearing off another mouthful of bread.
It was nice getting to know Bahir—the real Bahir, behind the businessman—and she found herself greedy to know more. Before she could ask another question, however, Farah and Akilah were back with plates full of hot, fragrant food.
“You will love this, I assure you,” Akilah said with a big smile. She patted her daughter on the shoulder before they left Bahir and Nicole to eat again, and Nicole tried her best to be as delicate as possible as she scarfed down the best meal she’d had in months.
“You think I should ask Farah out?” Bahir asked, wiggling his eyebrows, and Nicole laughed.
“I think that would be cruel of you. Leave the poor girl alone—you have no intention of giving her the love she deserves.”
“You don’t know that,” Bahir said with a furrowed brow.
“Don’t I? You said earlier that no one can take the place of work in your heart.”
“You’re putting words in my mouth, Nicole. I said that I wish I could meet a woman who could accept my lifestyle.”
“Yes, but your lifestyle includes all of your free time. At first a woman might be able to accept that—seeing you sparingly, living her own life of luxury while you spend your days and nights at the office. But that would fade in time. A woman wants to be loved. She wants the one thing a man can give that doesn’t cost a thing: his time. She wants to know that she is worth more than the fame, the glory and the empire.”
“Really? Because in my experience a woman wants money, and that’s the end of it.”
“You can’t mean that. What about your mother?” Nicole asked.
Bahir’s laugh was brittle. “My mother cared more about our estate than she did about my father. As she stood over his cold body, all she could think about was maintaining her lifestyle.”
“Not all women are like that, Bahir,” Nicole said flatly.
“How do you know?” he shot back.
“Because I’m not from your world. I know what it’s like to value things beyond the material, and to take advantage of them when they are there. I’ve seen what toll it takes on someone to have their world stripped away.”
Bahir stared at her for a moment. “What happened?”
Nicole stared at the table, not wanting to answer. Still, her little outburst deserved an explanation, and Bahir’s eyes were open and free of judgement.
“When I was seven, my parents’ house burned down. It was a kitchen fire that I started. We lost everything because of me. My brother was blind. We had to drag him out of the house because he couldn’t find his own way. In one day everything was taken from me—my possessions, my parents’ trust, a life free of guilt. One stupid mistake and it was all gone.”
“You can’t possibly blame yourself for that, Nicole. You were a child.”
“And you wouldn’t blame yourself, if you’d burned down your father’s estate. You wouldn’t live the rest of your life seeing the resentful stares? I had to learn to place value in other things, Bahir, because in the space of a few hours, my family lost everything. So don’t tell me I don’t know a woman who can value love above possessions. When you lose everything, sometimes love is all you have left. My family never blamed me for what happened, and I’ll be forever grateful to them for that.”
They sat in silence for some time. Finally, Bahir sighed.
“Thank you for sharing that with me. Sometimes I forget that the world is a much bigger place than I can fathom, and that every story is different.”
“Well, it helps to be so busy I never have time to think about my problems, so I guess I have you to thank for that,” Nicole said.
A little voice in her head told her she should stop talking. She was rambling about love and nonsense.
Bahir sighed. “You can just say I’m overworking you, Nicole. There’s no need to beat around the bush about it.”
“What?” she asked, not expecting that answer.
“You shrugged off my question about your love life because you don’t want to admit that I don’t allow you the time you need to find someone. Admit it,” he said, pointing a fork at her.
“This isn’t about me,” Nicole deflected. “This is about you and your paramours. I’m just saying you should leave that girl alone, because she expects more from you than you can give. Stick to business, and maybe then you’ll stop leaving behind a string of broken hearts for me to clean up.”
They ate in silence for a few moments, collecting their thoughts. It was the most honest conversation they’d ever had, and Nicole wondered just how far she would have to go to get him to fire her. If he did, would the other firm give her an offer in time? Was there really anything she could say to push him over the edge? Bahir, the unflappable businessman?
Bahir sighed. “Well maybe I should just marry her. My visa situation is a mess and I might not even be granted access to America again. Maybe I should just settle here; buy a boat and fish for the rest of my life.”
Nicole laughed at this, picturing Bahir in a fisherman’s overalls, casting lines out to sea. She took another bite, her belly starting to feel full.
“You know you’re rich, right? I know we just talked about it, but you’re used to getting your way, Bahir. Yes, t
his might take some time, or maybe a little creative thinking, but with your kind of money, you can make anything happen.”
Bahir stared at her, then, a funny expression on his face.
Nicole’s hand shot up to her lips. “What? Is there something on my face?” she asked.
The corner of Bahir’s lip twitched, his dimple threatening to come up to the surface. “No, there’s nothing. It’s just—”
Bahir didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Abdul the cook had come out from the kitchens to say hello.
He turned to Nicole after shaking Bahir’s hand. “This young man used to come to our restaurant every summer with his family. Very nice people, the Al-Jabbars, very nice. You eat on the house today. We’re grateful for your patronage!”
Bahir put up his hands. “Absolutely not. I would find it a great insult if I could not provide payment to you for your exceptional service. Please allow me to feel that my gratitude has been adequately received.”
Akilah grinned. Nicole could tell that was the answer she was hoping for, and Farah pulled a bill from her front apron, placing it on the table.
“Whenever you are ready then, Bahir. Remember, you’re welcome back any time, and bring lots of friends!”
“I will,” Bahir promised, though Nicole wondered just what friends he had to bring; she had never seen him with anyone other than business partners.
When they left the table, she reached out to grab the bill, used to handling these things while Bahir kept the conversation flowing. Her hand collided with his. Glancing up, their gazes met and held, as their hands continued to touch.
“What are you doing?” Nicole asked.
Bahir smirked. “Can’t a guy buy lunch, every once in a while?”
“Technically you buy lunch every time,” she pointed out, and Bahir broke the contact by swiping up the check and placing a hefty pile of bills on top of it.
“Humor me, then,” he said as he stood, and Nicole rose as well, waving farewell to Akilah’s family as they exited the establishment.
As they walked down the street, Nicole’s phone started beeping furiously, indicating a quick succession of emails.
And just like that, the spell was broken.
Pulling out her phone, Nicole read that a crisis was spreading across the office in Dubai. The legal team were missing documents that only she had access to, back at the computer in her apartment.
“Damn,” she said.
“What is it?”
“It’s the Monroe case documents. The legal team needs them now and I have them saved on my computer back at my apartment in Dubai. I’ve got to get them back today.”
“I’ll come with you,” Bahir said, and she held up a hand.
“No,” Nicole said, not used to contradicting him, but not wanting to be around him at that moment. He was too mesmerizing, and she needed to clear her head. “There’s nothing you can do. Besides, you’re actually taking time off to enjoy yourself. I’m sure you know other people in the village, maybe even some family you might want to visit?”