Lisa was there, true, but there was something calming about River. Something that put her at ease, and she needed that right now.
“Wait.”
River paused, peering over his shoulder.
She took a tentative step, stopping at the coffee table’s edge. “Please, don’t go.”
River’s regard flashed from her to Zayn, and back again. He tucked his hand all the way into his pocket, and it bulged, as though his hand fisted around something within. “Okay. Is that all right with you, boss?”
“Please,” Zayn said.
River pointed to the gray armchair beside the door. “I’ll just—I’ll be over here.” He swiped the magazine sitting on the stand beside it, and plunked down, making it clear he would take no more part in the conversation.
That was fine with her. With her father gone, she was ready to lay things out for Zayn.
Aaliyah sat again and forced her torso to relax. It didn’t listen. “I know my father offered the CEO position to you,” she began, “but I think it’s only fair to tell you I’d like it for myself.”
Zayn lowered into his seat and folded his arms. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. “I appreciate your candor. Honestly, I haven’t been thinking about that. Not as much as his other…offer.”
Her spine turned into a wooden plank. “You mean marrying me.”
Zayn ran a hand through his hair. “Miss Elir, I’m sorry if I’m not expressing myself very well. I’m afraid this has come out of nowhere. I’ll be frank; I would have appreciated some kind of forewarning.”
You’re telling me, she thought.
“I know it’s sudden,” she said, reaching for a strawberry and staring at it. “It was for me too.”
“So this wasn’t your idea?” Zayn said.
“No.” She didn’t want to go into details about her father’s health conditions or elaborate any further. She placed the strawberry on her small plate. “But I do see where he is coming from. I’m willing to get to know you, and I told him we could start there.”
He was sitting too still. Too calmly. Her father had praised him for his composure under pressure, and she was witnessing it firsthand.
Did he always have it together? Was he the type to let things bottle and stew? He would be a good match for her if she needed help as CEO. That was a big if, though. She was still confident she could manage it on her own. But how could she deny her father his dying wish? To marry someone so seemingly stoic?
She was surrounded by put-together. She wanted a man who was real, who sang in the shower and stopped to help someone if they dropped something, a man who could kick back and be himself while she did the same. For some reason, nice as he was, she couldn’t picture Zayn being that way.
“I’d be happy to start there,” Zayn said. “I have a lot of respect for your father. We’ve worked together for a long while, and he’s mentioned you before with high praise. I’m sure you’re a good person, Aaliyah. I just—marriage. Wow. That’s a big commitment.”
She refused to lower her chin, though irritation and the smallest trickle of hurt washed over her. It was a hasty decision, and in any other circumstance, she never would have considered it. She couldn’t figure out why she should be hurt by his words. Rejection was rejection, she supposed.
“For me, too,” she said.
The two of them sat across from one another. She took a bite of the strawberry. He reached for his glass of lemonade. Resolutely, she broke the silence.
“How about a date, Mr. Hassan?”
“A date?”
“Yes. You take me on a date, to dinner or somewhere else where we can talk. We can see about getting to know one another. And then we can decide from there.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you doing this?” he asked. “You said you want the CEO position, and that I believe. But something tells me you don’t want this.” He waved his hand between the two of them.
The ready answer came to her lips without question. “Because I love my father.”
Zayn ran his finger along the rim of his glass. “That’s admirable. I love my father too, but I wouldn’t marry someone because he said so.”
Whether he meant them to be or not, his words were insulting. She wasn’t sure what to say. “How very fortunate for you.”
Zayn winced. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at…marriage arrangements.”
Aaliyah pushed backed into her seat and folded her arms, pinning him with her most purposeful stare. “What is it you want, Mr. Hassan?”
“Me?”
“You have a billion-dollar business. A jet to take you across the country at the last minute. An assistant to handle all of your scheduling. Is there anything you’re lacking?”
He smirked. “Are you asking if I have a girlfriend?”
She couldn’t smile. Maybe she was being too serious, but he didn’t seem to be taking this seriously at all. “Not necessarily, though that would be helpful information to know, considering the deal my dad is trying to arrange.”
Zayn looked right at her. His eyes were brown, like coffee grinds. “No, Miss Elir, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“And do you have any interest in—” She almost said me, but changed her mind at the last second. “The CEO position my father is offering you?”
He cleared his throat. “I’ll have to give the answer some thought. It’s an advantageous offer. I’ve built my law firm in conjunction with my partner, and while it’s been extremely successful, it’s not a thriving resort line. I’m sure—”
Trapped halfway between disgust and disbelief, she tuned out his train of thought, unable to hear the rest. Was he serious? Any decent person would have declined. Rather, she should say any decent person in league to marry her would have declined. She’d told him she wanted the position, but either he hadn’t heard her, or he didn’t care. In any case, it told her all she needed to know.
“Well,” she said when he finished. “I can tell you don’t want to do this, so I’ll thank you for your time and say goodbye.”
Aaliyah stood, wove through the space between coffee table and chairs, and headed for the door. She was ready to be rid of him, of her father, of this entire debacle. She felt stupid. So stupid.
“Miss Elir, wait.”
Her eyes closed. He wasn’t supposed to call after her. He was supposed to let her walk away and leave shortly thereafter.
Slowly, she turned. Zayn was standing by the seating area, one hand on the back of the chair he vacated. Vulnerability streaked across his face. Here she thought she was the only one who was nervous.
Zayn offered her a smile. Her father had been right. He was good-looking.
“Forgive me for being so thrown off by all of this. Of course, I’d like to get to know you better. I’d be happy to take you to dinner. How does seven o’clock tonight sound?”
The sound of a magazine’s pages crinkled. River kept his face ridiculously focused on the magazine he’d discovered. She’d almost forgotten he was there.
She couldn’t displace the instant effect River had had on her. That connection was non-existent with Zayn. Was that lack of connection some kind of karma because she was fighting so hard against the union her dad was trying to arrange? She supposed human nature led her to want what she couldn’t have.
Her mind was a circus. Thoughts flipped from one trapeze to the next. She should just say no. Thank him for coming, wish him well, and tell her father it wasn’t going to work. Yet, something inside of her held her back.
Would it really be so bad to get to know him a little better? To give this a try?
No, an arranged marriage wasn’t what she would have wanted, but how could she really know? It was only dinner.
“Seven o’clock sounds great,” she said, astounded she was even agreeing to this. She inhaled a long breath. “I’ll meet you at the Crystal Sands Restaurant below.”
Zayn’s cheeks relaxed into a relieved smile. At least, she thought it was relief. “Sounds g
ood.”
River lowered the magazine enough to peer over its edge. Jitters spiraled all down her arms as she made her way past him to the exit. She didn’t stop until she returned to her room and planted her back against the door as though she needed the support.
“I don’t believe it,” she muttered to her empty suite. The entire, appalling conversation replayed in her mind with stark clarity, from the coursing blaze of meeting River in the hallway, to the calloused consultation with Zayn, to being left painfully alone to discuss things with him.
She’d warmed to the thought of River when she thought he was her intended. If only it was River.
Aaliyah berated herself for the thought. Minutes ago she’d been disgusted by Zayn’s blatant, selfish comments about vying for CEO. Who was being selfish and unfair now?
She had to face it. This was really happening. She was going to give Zayn a chance, a chance to be her husband.
Aaliyah only hoped she wouldn’t come to regret it.
CHAPTER FIVE
River waited for Aaliyah to close the door behind her before lowering the Outdoors magazine completely. He hadn’t read a single word, backpacking, biking, or otherwise. Everything had blurred under the scalding heat of Zayn and Aaliyah’s conversation—a conversation he would much rather have avoided.
The look Aaliyah had given him, the desperation in her voice as she’d asked him to stay—he couldn’t have denied her. She had to have known what was coming, but from the way Zayn stood and stared out the window in a daze now, it was apparent his boss hadn’t.
“Would you have ever guessed that was why he requested we come here?” Zayn’s voice was colorless. Stunned.
“Come on,” River said. They were still in Mr. Elir’s suite. Zayn would probably want the privacy of speaking freely without worrying about the owner overhearing. Mr. Elir had stepped out into the hall, but who was to say he hadn’t remained within listening distance?
River led the way, and Zayn followed him out. They made it as far as the elevator, and River managed to push the Down button before Zayn started again.
“CEO, I can understand.” His voice betrayed how unsettled he was. “But marriage?”
“Are you seriously going to consider it?” River asked.
They entered the elevator, and he pushed the button for the lobby.
Zayn shrugged. “It sounds like I already am. I wanted to say no, but did you see her?”
River was about to agree. Aaliyah had appeared completely thrown by the whole situation, like a hostess trying to remedy a grave misunderstanding among her guests. He hardly knew her, but he suspected she’d been trying not to fall apart in there.
Zayn jabbed River and fought against a smirk. “She’s a fox.”
“Seriously?” River was taken aback. He thought Zayn was being sympathetic, not sociopathic.
“Come on,” Zayn said. “You know I’m just trying to make light of a really heavy situation.”
That comment, light as he clearly meant it to be, didn’t completely assuage the lump in River’s chest. For some reason, he didn’t like Zayn talking about Aaliyah that way. Like she wasn’t a person.
“She is gorgeous,” River agreed as the elevator dinged and opened to a lavish lobby with a towering ceiling. Its gilded décor was like antique frames and set off by marble columns. Planted palm trees stood as sentinels along curved couches and elegant tables. “But that can’t be your only reason for doing this, and you know it.”
Zayn tugged at his collar and stepped onto the mosaic-style carpet. “Sounds like the old man is making one offer, not two. If I don’t marry his daughter, I don’t stand a chance at the position.”
“You actually want CEO?”
“Why do you sound so shocked?”
“You said yourself; you already have a rocking business, man.”
“Look around you,” Zayn said, fanning out his arms in reference to the impeccable, multi-layered fountain in the lobby’s center, the silver pillows with tassels, the mirrors above glossy, polished tables. “I could have the position. Travel to places like this. And it would be my job.”
“You can travel to places like this anytime you want.”
“I’m qualified,” Zayn argued. “And this seems so much more exotic than a stuffy courtroom.” He inhaled with satisfaction. “So satiating.”
River’s mind whirred. Maybe Zayn was missing the seriousness here. It wasn’t as though he wasted energy worrying over his own schedule the way River did. Did Zayn really think he could just walk away from Hassan and Stillman?
“What about your firm? Your clients?”
“Plenty of lawyers would kill to take my place,” Zayn said without a blink.
River scoffed, thinking of Zayn’s most demanding client. “Norris will love that.”
“That’s just it. If I do this, I’ll never have to wrangle a complicated case like his ever again. I’d let people deal with their own problems, while I deal with this.” He plunged onto a colorful, armless seat and spread-eagled his arms across its back, cocky and confident.
“You don’t have the spot yet,” River cautioned. He didn’t like this behavior. Zayn wasn’t usually one to let things get to his head, but he was acting so possessive. So entitled and careless.
He was about to call him out on his inflating head when Zayn lifted his phone to his ear and held a finger to halt River. River stewed in his thoughts, thinking back to the situation they’d just left.
Uncomfortable didn’t quite seem strong enough of a word. He could only imagine how distressing it was for Aaliyah. Though he couldn’t understand it, he was glad when she’d spoken up for herself. Why was she going along with this whole thing?
She’d claimed to love her father, but he couldn’t buy that. Not that she didn’t love him; but that she’d do all of this, give her life away, just to please her dad? Something else had to be going on. This was the twenty-first century. Arranged marriages were things from King Arthur and Fiddler on the Roof.
He wished he could help Aaliyah somehow, to help her realize she didn’t have to do this. Surely, she had to be dreaming of something other than marrying a total stranger. She’d asked Zayn about having a girlfriend and what he wanted. What about her? Wasn’t there anyone she loved? What did she really want, in her heart of hearts?
Why was he thinking about this at all? River was Zayn’s assistant, nothing more. He was on vacation in one of the most amazing resorts in the world. He couldn’t take this situation on himself. He shouldn’t.
The problem was, he was Zayn’s assistant. His job entailed tackling Zayn’s problems. It was why the man had hired him, and he was used to dealing with the tedious demands his boss didn’t want to handle.
River sank onto a chair in the lobby and took the lamp from his pocket. Rubbing the trinket he’d found in Arizona with his grandpa when he was a kid had become a habit. When he was younger, he’d believed the lamp gave him good luck. It’d been with him on every test, at every job interview. He’d even wished on it when he’d applied for the position with Zayn.
He wondered dismissively about giving it to Aaliyah. If anyone needed luck right now, she probably did. While he liked Zayn, he wasn’t sure he was the best person to arrange a marriage with anyone. Zayn tended to think selfishly—as evidenced by his initial reaction to Mr. Elir’s offer—though River had to admit, having that bone thrown would choke any dog right at first.
Aaliyah was beautiful. She held herself with confidence, and the angle of her head was similar to a swan’s. Her dark hair, her lovely temperament. She’d kept her cool much better than Zayn had. Then again, she’d known what was coming. What would River have done if he’d been presented with such an offer?
Not bumble like an idiot, that was for sure. But really, what would he have done if it’d been him? He rubbed his lamp charm again, out of habit more than anything else, and tucked it into his pocket.
Zayn was still on his cell, laughing heartily and receiving several glances from
other hotel residents. His gaze shifted, and he turned his back, making River wonder who he was talking to.
River considered poking into the high-end gift shop adjacent to the reception desk while he waited for Zayn to finish his call when his own phone buzzed.
Jason Norris’ name filled the screen. Norris was one of Zayn’s biggest clients. Though many other attorneys worked at his firm, Zayn still took on the more difficult—often international—cases, and Norris’s case in Fiji happened to fall into that category.
While River wasn’t privy to the details of circumstances Zayn handled, he did know this client was dealing with a rather nasty divorce. This client was also needy and often demanded Zayn to fly out in person rather than dealing with things over the phone.
“Hello, Mr. Norris,” River said.
“This is deplorable,” Norris said in his scruffy voice. “They’re asking for a financial disclosure, as though I have some hidden assets. Those offshore accounts are none of her business. Should never have married without a prenup. I need Mr. Hassan here, and I need him tonight.”
River hurried to placate him. His divorce had been dragged out for a year now. Consequences of substantial debt and significant assets between the two of them. Yeah, River knew more about it than he probably should.
It was Norris’ doing more than Zayn’s. Zayn kept the appropriate level of confidentiality, as he should. But Norris spewed everything like a leaky pipe.
“Just one moment please, Mr. Norris,” River said, watching Zayn bend backward with more laughter. Who was he talking to? “I’m afraid Zayn is already out of town on business. He’ll have to schedule something with you perhaps for tomorrow or the next day.”
“That won’t do. I’m paying him insane amounts of money, and he needs to get here as soon as possible. I can’t handle this without him.”
Zayn pocketed his phone and swaggered to the marble column where River stood. “I understand,” River said. “Do you mind if I call you back, sir? I’ll need to check a few things in Mr. Hassan’s schedule.”
Aaliyah and the Billionaire's Lamp Page 4