by Leslie North
“Lakes.” She grinned.
“Oh. There are four underground lakes here.” He leaned on the railing beside her. “These caves are also home to many other creatures as well, including bats, arthropods, mollusks, snails and water beetles.”
“Cool.” She turned then pointed at something on the wall behind him. “And spiders. Don’t forget them. Jeez, they grow them big in the desert, huh?”
Raheem whirled around to find his worst nightmare on the cave wall. His mouth dried and his pulse raced. Without thinking, he fumbled for Laura’s arm and hauled her back against him as he rushed for the door, his survival instincts on overdrive. “We need to get out of here now!”
“What? Why? Raheem? What the hell is going on?” She pulled free and scowled at him, hand on her hips. “It was one camel spider. They look horrifying, but seriously, they’re not even venomous. I’m sure it was way more scared of us than—”
Her words trailed off as she took in his wide eyes and white-knuckled grip on the railing. He wanted to make himself stop, knew it was irrational, but couldn’t. Ever since his brothers had forced him to watch Arachnophobia when he’d been four, he’d been terrified of spiders. He didn’t kill them if he didn’t have to, but he didn’t go out of his way to encounter them either.
“Oh, wow. You really are terrified, aren’t you?” Her tone took on a soothing quality, the same one might use on a quivering colt. “Yeah, let’s go outside then. We can get with the driver and check the equipment before we start shooting for the day.”
Laura took his hand and helped him up the stairs, staying by his side even after they’d emerged back into the sunlight. He swallowed hard against the bile rising in his throat and stumbled over to a boulder to rest and catch his breath. If his brothers could see him now, they’d never let him hear the end of it. Acting like a coward in front of a woman.
“If you’re so scared of them, why don’t you have them removed from the caves?” she asked, leaning back on the rock beside him. She’d gotten her camera and was checking it out as she spoke. “I’m sure there’s something they could put down.”
“No.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. “When I said that I wanted to keep things as natural as possible, I meant it. They are an integral part of the ecosystem here, whether I like it or not, so they stay.”
“What about all these tourists you hope to bring in though?” She narrowed her gaze. “I’m guessing their reaction might be similar to yours if one of those things came skittering toward them. Not to cause another panic attack or anything, but I’ve read they can run up to ten miles per hour.”
Raheem shuddered and stared into the crystal blue skies above. “That may be, but I believe we just startled that one. Probably when the lights came on so suddenly. I’ve not seen one in there before.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed heat prickling up from beneath the collar of his shirt. “And I usually do not react so badly when I see them.”
“It’s a phobia. They’re not rational.” She shrugged. “So, where should we start filming?”
Relief washed over him. Not only was she taking pity on him and his reaction to the spider, but the day wouldn’t be a total loss after all. He exhaled slowly then pulled out his phone and brought up his GPS maps. “I thought we’d begin here, in the main grotto, then move on to this lake where the blind fish live, then perhaps if there’s time we can view the desert from atop the entrance. It’s quite breathtaking at sunset.”
She looked up at him and smiled and his whole world brightened, the fear banished. “Sounds perfect. We can start whenever you’re ready.”
8
The next morning, Laura spent a few hours going over all her photos and video clips from the day before. Walking through the underground tunnels and caves with Raheem had been educational, to say the least. He knew so much about the landscape and the native species of his home and his pride in both were obvious. If she’d ever doubted his sincerity before, she didn’t any longer.
But his reaction to that spider had been something else.
When she’d pressed him about it later, on the way back to the palace, he’d explained how his brothers had forced him to watch a movie back when he was a kid and it had given rise to his intense fear of spiders. Seemed pretty outlandish, but then again, she’d never really trusted again after her mother had died and her father had tried to control every aspect of her life. So, yeah. Who was she to judge?
A knock at the door jarred her back to the present. Laura got up and walked over to answer. A white-robed servant stood on the other side, bowing low while holding out a silver tray with a white box on it.
“Is this for me?” she asked.
The servant nodded and Laura took the box, frowning as the servant hurried away again before she could thank him. She closed the door then wandered back to the bed, staring down at the box. She held it up to her ear and it wasn’t ticking. Always a good sign. There were no markings on it to indicate who it was from or what was inside.
Slowly, she removed the lid and found a new, top-of-the-line Apple watch inside. She’d always wanted one, but couldn’t afford it. Beneath it was a small hand-written note.
From Raheem. For scaring off my foes.
Laura laughed. Okay, sure. She’d chased away the big bad spider, but honestly. This watch had to cost over a thousand dollars. There weren’t big enough bugs to chase for that. At least she didn’t think there were. If so, she didn’t want to see them.
She slipped on her shoes and checked her reflection in the mirror before putting the watch back in its box and heading downstairs with it. Raheem was being far too generous and she couldn’t accept it for doing nothing. The fact he was paying her an outrageous amount to film the natural beauty of his country was already more than enough.
Once she reached the foyer, though, she had no idea which direction to take to find him. This place was huge, with so many halls and passages it was easy to get lost. She stood for a moment and heard the distant sound of voices echoing from the left, so she decided to start there.
Her wandering paid off and she found Raheem discussing something with his brothers in Arabic. She understood basic words, but nothing beyond that. She waited discreetly outside the door until they finished, then caught Raheem on his way out.
“Hey,” she said, tucking a stray auburn curl behind her ear. “Um, thank you so much for the watch, but I can’t accept it.”
He looked down at the box in her palm then back up to her. “Why not?”
“Because it’s too expensive. Seriously. All I did was chase away a spider. No big deal.”
“It was a very big deal to me.” He gave her a curt bow. “Please. Take it. I want you to have it.”
“Really. I can’t.” She tried to hand the box back to him, but he walked away. Laura rushed to catch up with his longer strides. “Here.”
“I won’t take it.” He gave her a side glance. “Did you ever stop to think that it’s in my best interest to make sure you don’t end up lost in the desert again? I’m paying you an exorbitant amount to film my homeland. I wish to see a return on my investment. That won’t happen if you end up dead of heat stroke on the side of a remote sand dune.”
“Oh, well.” She balked. “I didn’t think about it like that. But still. It costs too much.”
“What price do you put on your safety, Laura?” He stopped and raised a brow at her. “There may be times during this assignment where I can’t accompany you to a location. My country is not known to be overly dangerous, but it would give me peace of mind to know that you are taken care of. Besides, it will be one less thing I have to worry about. Do this. For me.”
He’d stopped short of commanding her to take the watch, but the implication was there in the rigid set of his broad shoulders and the imperious glint in his eyes. Laura forced herself to take a breath, calm down, reassess. It really was a lovely watch and she had been planning on getting herself one someday. And the last thing she wanted to do was insult the
man who’d be paying her salary so she could live debt-free for once. Hell, with the amount he was paying her, she could live debt-free for the next decade, if she was smart about her spending.
“Fine,” she said at last.
“Fine.” Raheem turned on his heel and continued onward, leaving Laura to catch up once again. “Are you busy right now?” he asked.
“Uh, no.” Other than chasing you around. “Why?”
“How would you like to accompany me to see my brother’s newest five-star luxury monstrosity?”
“Okay.” She ran upstairs and grabbed a sweater, her camera, and her cross-body bag, then headed back to the foyer where Raheem waited. “Where exactly are we going?”
“A famous world-wide hotel and resort chain has purchased land near the royal family’s holdings and they have filed plans to put up a five-star resort on the site. Before they can break ground, however, royal approval must be given. Feraz is far too busy to do it and Rehaj is only concerned about the financial aspect and not the aesthetics, so that leaves me.”
“What about your sisters?” she asked as they walked out to the Range Rover once more.
“Oh, they could care less about the hotel at this stage. Wait until the spas are up and running, though, then look out.” He sighed. “Besides I asked them all and they turned me down.”
“Oh.” Laura chuckled. Twenty minutes later they pulled up to a barren piece of land cordoned off with yellow caution tape. Heavy machinery and workmen dotted the area. Raheem got out, then helped her down. The air was warmer today and the sun was out, heating her skin even more. Good thing she’d put on extra sunscreen this morning, otherwise she’d be in trouble.
They entered a small construction trailer set up near the perimeter of the site and three men—all Scandinavian and blond—rushed over to shake Raheem’s hand and bow to Laura. They introduced themselves as the architect of the project, a representative from the hotel corporation, and the on-site project manager.
“Let us see what you have in store, gentlemen,” Raheem said, leading Laura over to a table in the back of the trailer covered with architectural drawings and schematics.
“These are so cool,” Laura said, staring at the mockups of the exterior of the hotel and the sketches of the rooms. At Raheem’s inquisitive stare, she said, “My mom ran her own interior design business, before she got sick.”
“Interesting.” He handed her more drawings to look at. “What do you think of these, Miss Bliss?”
She went over everything from lighting fixtures to wall coverings to carpets. It was fun, reminding her of when she’d been little and rushing around at her mother’s side as she’d gone on buying trips for her store or consulted with clients about decorating their homes. Surprising how much of that stuff stuck with her after all these years. Fond memories swelled inside her. As if maybe her mother wasn’t truly gone. Maybe a part of her lived on inside Laura.
“Thank you for your help with these,” Raheem said to her during a break. “Takes beauty to know beauty.”
Warmth spread through her again, but of a completely different kind this time.
Once they’d gone over and approved all the interiors, they moved on to the exteriors of the building. And here is where the problems began.
“We’ve had to make a few adjustments from our original plans submitted, sir,” the architect said. “Unfortunately, once we were on-site and able to see the land up close, our first choice of placement for the hotels’ foundations has turned out to be completely unsuitable. Too much sand and not enough supporting bedrock beneath. Thus, we’ve chosen to move the foundations to this spot here.”
He pointed to a spot on the map in front of them.
“No. That’s unacceptable.” Raheem frowned. “If you put it there, that will block the family’s view of the lake from our private wing of the palace. I’m sorry, you’ll have to choose someplace else.”
A heated discussion between the two men began and soon Laura and the others had drifted to the opposite end of the trailer to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. To help ease the awkwardness, Laura turned to the hotel representative and smiled. “Have you begun working on the marketing for the project yet? Prince Raheem has hired me to help with a project to build tourism in the area. We might be able to collaborate on some things to mutual benefit.”
“Ah, yes. That sounds wonderful,” the man said. “Our goal is to team up with local vendors to give our guests a one-of-a-kind travel experience they can only get here in Djeva.”
“Oh, that sounds fantastic.” She told them about the caves and Raheem’s planned wildlife refuge and how both might be good locations to add to their roster of excursions for guests. She was just finishing up her conversation with them, when Raheem appeared at her side.
“Ready?” he asked, checking his watch. He looked aloof and stern. “I need to get back to the palace for another meeting.”
“Uh, sure.” She said her goodbye to the men, noticing that Raheem gave them all only a curt nod, then followed him back to the Range Rover. “How’d things work out with the foundations?”
“He told me Feraz has basically already assured him that we would go along with whatever they chose to do. So, my hands are tied, it seems.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Laura said, climbing into the backseat beside him. “It will be a shame to lose your view of the lake.”
“Yes. Well, we’ll see about that.” They took off in a cloud of sand and dust. “I have things I need to discuss with my brothers when I get home. But at least my wildlife refuge is safe.”
9
A week went by and Laura found herself busier than ever. Between meetings with local ecologists and trips to various sites around Djeva, she was in the city or on the road more than she was at the palace. Which was probably a good thing, given that she’d finally called her boss at the production company and told him what was going on. He’d blustered and berated her until she’d mentioned the deal she’d made with Prince Raheem to secure their production company exclusive filming rights. That took most of the wind out of his sails. Plus, she’d managed to finagle a bit of wiggle room for herself in there too, stating that if she became unhappy with the production company’s treatment of her during their stay in Djeva, Raheem would revoke their filming privileges indefinitely. That shut him up for good.
Still, she didn’t trust the guy. He was far too greedy and self-indulgent for his own good and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see him show up one day at the palace, demanding to see her. So her being gone was good. The fact she’d gotten a nice tan and also spent each day learning all she could about Djeva’s natural resources, beautiful architecture, culture and wildlife, was all icing on the cake. What’s more, all these people were suddenly coming to her, instead of her having to hunt them down. Raheem’s name and family connections went a long way.
All of it made her realize how lacking in resources her usual position at the production company was. Once this was over, she planned to sit down with her boss and have a nice, long discussion about what she expected from them in the future. Thanks to the money Raheem was paying her, she could afford to speak her mind. If the production company went along with it, fine. She’d continue to work for them. If not, well, she didn’t need their job anyway.
As she snapped photos of the passing desert out of the window of the Range Rover she was being chauffeured around in today, Laura hoped her work on Raheem’s project would also help to boost her standing professionally as well. If she could do well and help his wildlife refuge succeed, then perhaps other high-profile clients would consider hiring her as well. After all, she had a long future ahead and the funds she made from this job would only last so long.
Laura smiled, staring out at the line of distant sand dunes. It really was beautiful here and this place was going to look spectacular on film. She couldn’t wait to get back to the palace to show Raheem her shots from the day.
They continued on into the city of Al-Qustra pr
oper and stopped at a red light. Laura was fiddling with her camera when the back door opened suddenly. Fearing it might be a car-jacking, as so often happened back in California, she was shocked to see Raheem climb into the seat beside her. She blinked at him, stunned, as the driver accelerated through the now-green light.
“What are you doing here?” Laura asked. “I thought you had meetings today.”
“I did.” Raheem ran a hand through his thick dark hair and grinned over at her. “They are done now. I texted your driver and he told me where you were, so I thought I’d join you for the rest of the afternoon, if that’s all right.”
“It’s great.” Her smile widened. Truth was, they hadn’t seen as much of each other over the past week as they had initially and she sort of missed him. Not in a romantic way, because that would be ridiculous. They were work associates. They barely knew each other. They were from two different lifestyles and cultures. It would never work between them. Still, Raheem was easy to talk to and kind and friendly and whenever she was with him she felt like she had his full attention, even though he had a whole country to run outside of her. Being around him was nice, fun. Intoxicating.
Yeah. Enough of that, she chided herself. No sense falling for the guy when she’d only get her heart broken in the end. That would just be stupid and Laura was anything but dumb.
“So, what’s on your agenda?” Raheem asked as they wove through the midday downtown traffic.
“Well, I’m not sure. I ended up getting most of the shots I’d had planned for today already.” She handed him her camera to scroll through the digital images while she talked. “I figured I’d just hang out in the city, check out the shops, maybe pick up a couple souvenirs to take home with me.”
“Sounds marvelous.” He admired her photos then handed her back the camera. “Those are excellent. You are very good at your job, Laura. Smart, talented, with an eye for finding the beauty in everything.”