by Holly Rayner
“I changed my mind. A man is entitled to do so.”
“You are going to lose us millions!” Lee shouted.
When Kaled continued to stand, unmoved and silent, Lee began pacing around in a circle, desperately trying to find a way to get through to him. Anne-Marie fought rising panic as she realized that her land no longer belonged to her, that through some loophole, it now belonged to the government. What was she going to do?
Lee finally stopped pacing, and when he looked up at them again his eyes were filled with untapped rage.
“This is her doing, isn’t it?” he hissed, and Anne-Marie felt Kaled stiffen beside her.
“You fell for this simple country broad? You could have anyone in the world, Kaled. Don’t let your member do your thinking for you; use your damn brain!”
In an instant, before Anne-Marie could register what was happening, Kaled was down the steps and in front of Lee. He brought his arm back and let it loose, punching the man square in the face. Lee crumpled to the ground, screaming as he cradled his nose.
“What happened to you?” Lee shouted from the ground, staring up at his former partner.
“I gained a conscience. You should try it sometime,” Kaled said coolly. He bent down and scooped up the purchase papers for the ranch before stepping back. “And if you ever insult her again, I will do more than break your face. Got it?”
Lee stared up at him, a blossoming purple bruise growing along the side of his cheek. “You’re a fool, Kaled. A damned fool. I hope you rot here.”
He spit blood before standing and walking toward his car.
“If you think for one second that I’m not going to sue you until the end of time, you’ve got another thing coming. Our friendship is over, Kaled. Our partnership is over. By the time I’m through with you, I will be the one running this company and you will have nothing. That is the price you paid today!”
With that, Lee threw open the car door and slammed it shut. The driver was clearly ordered to speed out of there, because the wheels spun as the car desperately sought to exit the premises, a large cloud of dust rising in its wake.
Once the car disappeared, Anne-Marie realized she was shaking. Kaled was staring out past the retreating car, but when he looked up at her, his brow furrowed with concern. He was at her side in an instant, and he could feel her trembling.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t let him get to you. He’s full of nothing but hot air, that guy. I should have known that when it mattered he would never really be a friend.”
Anne-Marie gazed up at him, seeking courage from his closeness.
“Is it true? Does my land really not belong to me anymore?”
Kaled frowned, glancing down at the paperwork. “Let’s sit down while I take a look at this,” he said, guiding her back inside and to the sofa, where they sat close together, Kaled stroking her hands to calm her down.
“Why weren’t you paying ground rent, Anne-Marie?” Kaled asked.
Anne-Marie placed her face in her hands. “Why do you think? I can barely afford to keep this place afloat, much less pay for the land it’s sitting on.”
“If you’d taken my deal, you could have gotten out of this mess,” he said quietly.
Anne-Marie looked back up at him. “I know that. I thought about it long and hard, too. But in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I figured I had to find another way to stay afloat, somehow.”
Kaled placed the papers on the coffee table. “It’s true that this land doesn’t belong to you anymore, but we can fix that.”
“How?” Anne-Marie asked, miserable.
“If I sign these papers, that means my company owns this land. But that doesn’t mean I have to put oil rigs on it. What I would like to do, before Lee can get to us, is sign these papers and then draw up some new ones, which will enable me to sell the land back to you.”
“How much do you want for it?” she asked, staring deeply into his eyes.
Kaled grinned wickedly.
“A kiss.”
Anne-Marie smiled in spite of herself. “You would sell my land back to me in exchange for a kiss?”
“I know it’s a heavy price to pay, but if you’re willing to consider it, then yes, that is my final offer.”
“You offered me much more than that last time,” she teased, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Did I?” he asked, his eyes darting down to her lips.
Anne-Marie tilted her head, considering. “Actually, not really. This right here is absolutely priceless.”
She closed the distance between them, kissing him gently at first, but, as always happened when they locked lips, their embrace quickly turned passionate. Anne-Marie was the one to end it, needing to say her piece.
“Thank you, for coming here, for taking a chance on the ranch, and for saving it in the end.”
Kaled smiled as he rubbed his thumbs along the sides of her face, cradling it. “You’re welcome.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, Anne-Marie lost in thought. She had lost everything and gained it back, plus interest, in the span of an hour. All the other events of the week seemed to pale in comparison to that.
“I believe we have dishes to wash,” she said after a minute, and Kaled laughed.
“You have your character questioned, your property stolen and replaced, all in the space of one afternoon, and you still want to get chores done?”
Kaled’s tone was incredulous, but Anne-Marie simply shrugged.
“Well, they won’t do themselves. Besides, what are we going to do? Sit around all day and think about Lee Palmer? No thanks,” she said, standing.
Kaled followed suit, and the two of them headed back to the kitchen, where they cleaned up their unfinished meal. When they stepped back onto the porch, the sun had dipped noticeably closer toward the horizon. How had so much time passed already?
“You know,” Kaled said, glancing over at the fire pit, “we never did get to enjoy that fire last night.”
Anne-Marie grinned. “You’re right. At least, not for long anyway. Heck with it! I just got my ranch back. It’s time to celebrate!”
“Now you’re talking,” Kaled said, and he grabbed her hand as the two of them made their way to the pit, where they worked together to build a new bonfire. Kaled grabbed a pair of beers and handed one to Anne-Marie, and she accepted it gratefully.
Intrigued, the horses moseyed over to investigate, and Anne-Marie smiled even more broadly.
“Well, if we’re having a party, everyone should get a treat. Be right back.”
She dashed into the house, where she grabbed a bag of apples, a bag of carrots, and the ancient kitchen radio before heading back out. Kaled had gotten the fire started, and the smell was pure country as she rejoined him. The horses lifted their heads, their nostrils twitching at the scent of the goodies.
“They aren’t sugar cubes like your best friend here has, but they’re still pretty tasty,” Anne-Marie said, and together she and Kaled gave the horses a nice treat of apples and carrots.
Once everyone had a snack, Anne-Marie turned on the radio, and a twangy country song came on.
“This has a good beat to it,” Kaled said, and Anne-Marie nodded.
“It sure does.”
Kaled walked over to her, holding out his hand. “Care to dance, ma’am?”
This time his accent was spot on, and Anne-Marie laughed.
“I’d love to,” she said, placing her hand in his.
They danced right there in the field, a light breeze toying with their hair as Kaled swung Anne-Marie around in circles.
“Okay, I think I finally found something you aren’t good at.” Anne-Marie laughed, and Kaled made a face.
“How dare you? My dancing skills are world-class!” he said, swinging her around and dipping her as she laughed all the more.
They danced and laughed their way through several upbeat songs until finally a slow song came on. The sun was beginning to set, and the air gre
w cool as they stood a little closer to the dancing bonfire flames. Anne-Marie wrapped her arms around Kaled’s neck and gazed up at him adoringly.
“Now this is much better. At least you can slow dance. I had to watch my feet at every turn this afternoon. Who knew dancing could be so dangerous?”
“My apologies,” Kaled said with a small smile. “I think we’ve found two things that I’m not exceptional at now, right? Speaking with a Texan accent and dancing.”
“Oh, I don’t know. You’re getting better at both already, and I imagine by the end of the week you’ll be an expert. You seem to be pretty quick on the draw.”
“That I am. Now, there’s one more thing I need to practice,” he said, dipping his face down and capturing her lips once more.
She kissed him deeply as the sun sank lower along the horizon. Wrapping her arms tightly around his broad shoulders, she allowed herself to melt into him. Their bodies merged, warmed by much more than the fire by their side.
After some time, Kaled ended the kiss, and Anne-Marie was breathless as she spoke.
“I’m sorry, but what was it you needed to work on with that?”
Kaled shrugged. “I don’t know. I just wanted to do it.”
Anne-Marie laughed. “You are a sneaky one.”
Kaled lifted Anne-Marie into his arms once again, this time sitting on the log by the fire and setting her comfortably in his lap.
“Always,” he said.
They stared at the flames for some time, and Anne-Marie’s thoughts drifted back to the events of the day.
“Kaled, do I really not have anything to worry about? Lee seemed to think that document gave him power. If you sign it, can he threaten me in any way?”
Kaled held her tighter, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Not at all. I run that company, and I’ve already made plans to fire him the minute I get a chance. The man has shown himself to be a coward with a big mouth. There is no way Lee Palmer Jr. is going to harm us.”
“Us?” she asked, looking into his eyes.
“Well,” Kaled said, glancing down and clearing his throat. “I was hoping you might be amenable to me staying on a little while longer, past that whole two-week deadline.”
Anne-Marie smiled broadly, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much. It was a nice feeling, to be sure.
“I would love that more than anything in the world.”
“Not just because I’m a good worker?” he asked, and Anne-Marie captured his face between her hands.
“Not just because of that. Though it will certainly be useful, I think there are much better reasons to keep you around.”
“Good,” Kaled said, closing his eyes as Anne-Marie kissed him and the sun finally set behind them, leaving them with the promise of many new and exciting days to come.
The End
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And now, as promised, are the first few chapters of my previous novel, The Sheikh’s Stolen Bride-To-Be. Enjoy!
ONE
Steph
Stephanie was slacking.
Sitting in her plush computer chair, she clicked through page after page of summer dresses, evaluating their design and style, thinking about how she would change them up to make them even better. As she clicked on the next item, a yellow sundress, a knock on her door startled her into clicking out of the internet browser.
“Steph, do you have a minute?”
It was her boss, Bill.
Straightening her back and running her hands self-consciously along the sides of her blazer, Steph stood and smiled.
“Of course, Bill. What can I do for you?”
Bill was a middle-aged man with fluffy gray hair and a belly that protruded just a smidge too far beyond his vest. Not wanting to get on his bad side by recommending a different suit style that might work better with his body type, Steph looked away from the offending bit of belly and kept her gaze on her boss’ eyes as he took a seat in the chair across from her desk.
“How long have you been working with us now, Steph?”
She took a minute to calculate it out.
“Two years now, not counting the two I interned.”
Bill nodded. “Correct. You’ve done fantastic work in that time, and I’m getting to a place where I would like to promote you, you know.”
Steph tried her best to look enthusiastic.
“Wow, that’s amazing news!”
Bill put up his hands. “Now don’t get excited just yet. The problem is that in this industry I really can’t promote you to a position that requires a college degree, no matter how experienced you are.”
Steph’s shoulders slumped. Again with the college degree.
“I know how unfair it is,” Bill continued, “and I know the circumstances surrounding your family’s position, but there is such a thing as student loans, Steph. It’s something to consider, if you ever want to get anywhere in this field.”
“Thank you, sir,” Steph said, her tone respectful. “I’ll speak with my family about it and see what we can do.”
Bill nodded, satisfied. “You do that. It would be a shame to lose you, Steph. You’re a good egg.”
“Thank you,” she said again.
Bill nodded and left her office, closing the door behind him. Steph stared at the thick wood for a moment before looking back at the exotic beach backdrop on her computer and sighing.
College was important. She knew that. Her parents knew that. But Steph’s future wasn’t destined to be traditionally American. Her father, an Irish American, had made a fortune on Wall Street in the eighties. People called him “the lucky lender,” for heaven’s sake. The man had been able to produce money as though from thin air, which made him all the more interesting when he’d embarked on an arranged marriage to a woman from the Middle-Eastern country of El Farah—Steph’s mother.
Steph had had a fairly normal childhood. Her parents had decided to raise her in the tiny town in Vermont where her father had grown up, and they had been the richest family in town. She had lived a privileged life, but her father had always instilled in her a sense of hard work, and Steph was not afraid to get her hands dirty. She was a country girl, after all, and knew how to look after herself.
All of that had changed when the market crashed in 2008. At the tender age of 14, Steph had gone from being the richest girl in town to the poorest; her whole world twisted and tossed to the ground. She’d watched deep lines develop on her father’s face as they’d sold everything they owned and moved into a small two-bedroom house on the edge of town.
One evening, her mother had looked at her with concern in her eyes. “We thought you would be able to make your own way in this world, Stephanie, with our wealth at your back. Now that it’s gone, we’ll have to reconsider. I advise you to prepare yourself for an arranged marriage someday, as it will be the best way for us to ensure that you are cared for.”
At the time, Steph had cried and screamed and threatened to run away. How could her parents plan such a thing, taking away her choice of a partner, deciding her future for her? Her boyfriend at the time had offered to help her catch a train to New York and never come back. She had even packed a suitcase to do just that, before she had found him kissing another girl behind the gym.
In that moment, an arranged marriage hadn’t sounded like such a terrible idea. If her parents, who cared for her welfare more than anyone, could help her find a decent man to spend her life with, who would provide the financial security she had been so used to as a child, was that really such a bad idea? In that moment, Steph resigned herself to her fate. She was a daughter of America and El Farah, and, in truth, she really didn’t belong to either.
Opening up her browser again, she perused a few more dresses before losing interest. What was the point? If Steph had had her way, she woul
d have been a fashion design major, maybe in Boston or New York. She had always had a talent for design, and her notebooks were filled with doodles and drawings of ideas. She was an artist stuck working at a bank. She had only gotten the job because of her father’s reputation, even though he had fallen so far. Names mattered in Vermont. People looked out for their own.
Her eyes darted to the clock at the bottom of her computer screen, and she realized she could head home for the day if she wanted. Unwilling to spend another minute in that stuffy blazer, Steph shut down her computer and grabbed her work bag, waving goodbye to the tellers as she headed out the door.