by Jan Moran
He pulled back and resumed massaging her foot. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, or what, but she wanted to crawl over there, sit on his lap, and kiss him so badly.
“Did you want me to stop?”
She shook her head. “No. It feels good actually.” She restrained herself and stayed in her seat. “I was born in Jaipur, India, and raised here in Karim. My father died last year, and now my mother and brother live with me in a three-bedroom house in the south of the city.”
“Now that is something I didn’t know.”
“It’s not something I tell everyone. But I have a duty to take care of my family.”
Arthur nodded.
She folded her hands in her lap. “Listen to me, going on about my family when you asked me about myself.”
“It’s fine. I think that makes me like you even more. Caring for your family shows strong character. You could have let them fend for themselves, but you didn’t. That’s remarkable.”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“It is. If my family needed me, I’d have done the same.”
Sohana loved hearing that. How could he be so perfect? She knew she shouldn’t think that way, but he was exactly the type of man she’d been waiting for.
“After my father died, they had no money to live on by themselves. My mother isn’t physically able to work, and she has no formal education. My family depended on my father, and now they depend on me.”
“How old is your brother?”
“Seventeen,” she answered. A smile came to her face. “He is truly brilliant. He plays the piano like Debussy, and has never brought home less than an A in every subject.”
“I can tell that you are proud of him. Your face brightens when you speak of him. What’s his name?”
“Rupesh. Once he finishes college, he’ll be a great, successful man.”
“I’m sure he will.”
Sohana felt the car pull to a stop in front of Giovanni’s. “We’re here.”
“Right,” Arthur said and gave her foot a pat. “Let’s eat then, shall we?”
She nodded and slipped her shoes back on. She went to open her door.
“Victor will help you out.”
Her door opened and Victor, a tall Native American man, held a hand out to help her.
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He bowed his head. “You’re welcome, miss.”
Once out into the warm night air, Arthur took her hand. “What do you recommend?”
“Everything.”
Inside, the hostess seated them in a booth near the back of the restaurant.
“Wait until around one or two o’clock. It will be packed in here with people leaving the bars and clubs.”
“Do you go out often?”
“Not at all. Only when Aimee drags me out. Gavin usually has me at the office before anyone else even arrives.”
“And look at me,” Arthur says. “I have you out before the sun rises.”
Sohana smiled. “This is different. This is fun.”
The waitress approached them. “What would Y'all like to drink?”
“Water for me,” Sohana said.
Arthur looked at the menu. “I’ll take the apple juice.”
“Do you know what Y'all want to eat?”
“Just a slice of the cheese pizza.”
“I’ll have the same,” Arthur said. He looked at Sohana. “Will that be enough?”
Sohana nodded. “Yes. Their slices are huge.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine darlin’. If you’re still hungry, I’ll bring you another slice,” the waitress said and smiled before walking away to input their order.
When Arthur turned back to Sohana, she had a wide grin on her face. “Apple juice?”
“What? I don’t trust faucet water anywhere I go.”
She laughed. “Now there is the rich boy attitude you’ve been hiding.”
Arthur shrugged. “We all have our quirks.”
“I suppose.”
He stood from his seat. “I’m also a bit of a germaphobe, and enjoy everything clean, and neat, as you’ll soon find out. Point me in the direction of the washroom?”
Sohana pointed him to the bathrooms, and he bowed before following her direction.
Once he was gone she checked her phone. Her heart raced when she saw that she had twelve missed calls from her brother’s cell phone. She read his text message.
Mom is worried about you. Where are you? Are you all right?
Sohana quickly sent a reply text. I’m fine. Is mom okay?
Yes. Where are you?
I’m out right now. I’ll be home soon. Get some rest, Pesh.
Okay. Be careful.
When she looked up, the waitress set their drinks down. She leaned down close to Sohana’s face.
“You two are such an adorable couple,” she said with a friendly smile. “You’ll make some cute babies.”
Sohana laughed nervously as Arthur approached, hearing the entire thing. The waitress looked toward him, after winking at Sohana.
“Your food will be out in one minute.” She turned on her heels and vanished into the kitchen again.
Arthur grinned at her. “What all did I miss?”
“Nothing. Well, my mother is worried about me. I haven’t actually been home since this morning. After leaving the firm, I went to lunch with Aimee and then to her house. My mom can worry quite a bit.”
“Sounds familiar. I think my mother calls Elisa or I every day or at least every other day.”
“I bet she misses you. When is the last time you’ve been home?”
“A year.”
“Why haven’t you gone back?”
His face seemed to darken at the question. All traces of a smile vanished. He rubbed his chin. “I have my reasons,” he said, shortly.
The pizza arrived at a silent table as Sohana realized she’d hit a soft spot for him. The investigator in her instantly wanted to know more, but she suppressed her urge to question him further. In time, she would get it out of him. Perhaps that was the key to unlocking something.
As she took a bite of her pizza, she made it her mission to figure it out.
Chapter 10
“Where to now, Boss?” Sohana stood against a gas lantern and watched him in the dim light.
Arthur was such a good-looking man, but she could see that underneath his exterior was someone who teetered on the verge of being a bad boy. She saw it in the way he walked, and how she caught him looking at her sometimes. He never backed down, and that intrigued her.
How was she going to keep her hands off of him? Even with the alcohol wearing off, she still found it hard to resist touching him. She wondered if he felt the same way. She closed her eyes and soaked in the warm air, realizing she hadn’t been out this late in years. Well, besides working late, which didn’t count. She was actually having fun and didn’t want the night to end.
Arthur put both hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “You tell me. I told you your first line of business was to show me the best that Karim has to offer.”
A smile stuck to Sohana’s lips. She actually had a good idea of where to go. It was one o’clock in the morning, and sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.
When his car pulled up, and Victor hopped out to help her in, she whispered to him. “Take us to Victory Park.”
He nodded and closed the door behind her.
Arthur looked curious. “What did you say to him?”
She grinned and fastened her seat belt. Turning in her seat, she winked at him and put her left foot in his lap.
“You just finish your massage and let me lead the way.”
Arthur took off his suit jacket and looked down at her foot with a laugh. “I like it.” He took her foot in his hands and resumed his massage of her sore feet.
She leaned against the door and watched him, praying that the night would never end.
***
When they arrived at the p
ark, there wasn’t a car in sight. Sohana was pleased.
Arthur’s eyes scrolled over the large stone sign: Victory Park.
“A park?” He looked amused. At least he didn’t look bored.
“Yes,” she said and opened her door before Victor could do it for her. Hopping onto the cool concrete with her bare feet she grinned at Arthur. “Catch me if you can.”
With that she turned and ran into the night, heading for one of the paths that made this park so popular. She knew it well. This was where she ran every morning. The lakes and creeks were welcome little gems as she ran along the dirt, wooden, and sand pathways. To her surprise when she looked back, Arthur was right on her heels.
She squealed in surprise as he gained on her. With a loud laugh, she increased speed, not caring one shred that she was in a cocktail dress. If he wanted her to be his assistant, he was going to get the real Sohana, not the fake one who simply tried to please everyone all of the time, and losing herself in the process.
This time, she would do it right.
On her terms.
She hadn’t run barefoot since childhood and found that there was something liberating about it. She just hoped she wouldn’t step on a sharp rock or get a splinter. At that point, it would probably only add to this adventure.
When he caught up and scooped her in his arms, she burst into a tirade of chuckles. He swung her around and set her back down on the ground.
His grin was nearly as wide as hers as she glanced at him in between bending over and laughing.
“Did you really think you could beat me?”
She couldn’t stop laughing long enough to reply.
“Didn’t your research bring up anything about my running days? I could have been an Olympic athlete.”
Sohana stood and nodded. “Yes. Sure. Of course, you could have. Because you’re a Koenig, and can do anything.” She laughed again, and he gave her that lopsided smirk that melted her heart every time. “I honestly didn’t look that far into your history, Sir Koenig. I admit it shocked me that you were so quick.”
Arthur swept her up again and kissed her on the lips.
Caught off guard, Sohana put her hands between their chests, and he set her back down.
Soft droplets of rain fell onto her as she stood on the path and looked up at him. Another fleeting typical Karim shower that neither seemed to care about.
“What’s wrong?”
She looked at him, her chest heaving. “Nothing,” she said.
His hair matted to his head as the rain picked up. “I apologize if I stepped out of line.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought I was to be your assistant?”
He shrugged. “I’ve wanted to taste your lips from the moment I saw you.”
Alarm filled her eyes. “What?” All traces of a smile faded from her face.
Arthur reached for her. “I’m sorry. You’re so beautiful, Sohana.”
Memories of Gavin saying those words slammed into her mind, and she winced.
“I just had to get closer to you.”
“So this was all a ploy to get me alone with you?” Sohana covered her mouth with her hands. “I can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head as tears fell from her eyes.
“No,” Arthur said. He caught her by the arm, and she ripped it away.
“Liar.”
Arthur’s shoulders slumped as he stood there, helpless as he watched her step backward away from him.
“I would never lie to you,” he said. His voice was so low that she could barely hear him.
She detected a slight waver to his voice and froze. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. Could he be telling the truth?
“The job,” she called. “Was it real?”
The rain lessened as Arthur held out his hands. “It was.” Taking a step closer, he held his hands together before him, as if in prayer. “But there’s something more here. I can’t just have you work for me. It’s almost beneath you. You mean more to me than that.”
“You’ve known me for one night.” Even as she said those words she felt like a hypocrite. He’d been on her mind all day, ever since the first time their eyes met the morning before. All of that research she’d done on him for the firm made her feel as if she’d known him for much longer.
“One night is all it takes when there is something real between two people.” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. Shaking his head, he turned away from her. “Maybe I’ve lost it. Maybe I thought I felt something that isn’t there.” Swirling around to her, his eyes bore into hers with an intensity that shook her. “Don’t you believe in magic? If only a little?”
Sohana’s lips parted. She did. She really did. Fear kept her quiet. Her head told her that they had only known each other for one day and that he must be crazy if he had developed feeling for her. If he was crazy, then she was as well, because she felt it too.
But no one falls in love that quickly, and if they did, she should be wary. But did she not feel it too? A strange force pulled her closer to him in a way she’d never experienced.
Love, at first sight, had to exist. Who was she to deny it?
“I’ll take care of you,” Arthur said with a finality displayed by his balled fists.
Arthur wasn’t like Gavin at all. He was genuine.
Shaking her head, Sohana took one step closer. Her brows furrowed as she looked from side to side at the darkness of the woods that surrounded the running path. What was she doing?
“No,” she said. The look on his face nearly broke her heart. Those green eyes seemed to lose their enchantment, the very luster that had pulled her in. “No, no,” she said, shaking her hands. “I want the job. I don’t want you to have to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
Stepping closer, she rubbed her arms against the breeze that now felt cold after the brief rainfall.
He looked confused, but reached for her arms and pulled her into his chest where she felt warm and safe.
Good god something strange was happening to her. Perhaps she knew him in another life, and finally after centuries they were brought back together. That’s what it felt like when she was in his embrace. He was hers, and there was no denying it.
“If we are to be together, it’s not going to be about the money.”
Arthur rested his chin on the top of her head as he rubbed her arms to warm them. “I don’t think you could have proven to me that this was real in any better way.”
She looked up at him, seeing his eyes full of a striking look of both sadness and joy.
“Why do you say that?”
His eyes left hers, and he looked away. The barriers were broken. The walls were torn down. She could feel that hard exterior crashing all around them.
“I bought a ring for a woman,” he said softly. “Just once mind you. I loved her, and I thought she loved me too. I was ready to give her that ring and make her my wife. I was ready to make her the happiest woman on the planet.”
Jealousy flared in her, shocking her by its intensity. So he had been engaged before. She never read anything about that. But it was his past. She had no right to feel that way.
Arthur glanced down at her. “I never got the chance to give it to her.”
Sohana held his waist. “What happened?”
Shrugging, he looked away again. “She left me for her ex, and I tossed the ring into the Thames River. And I haven’t been able to bring myself to return to London ever since.”
“Oh,” she said. She reached up and held his face in her hands. “I see now. That’s why you tense when I ask you about London and going home.”
He nodded, his lips pursed.
She couldn’t resist. She stood on the tips of her toes and pulled his head down to hers. The moment their lips touched, he wrapped his arms around her so snugly, that she knew she would never fall. Passion dominated her thoughts as she started out tender, soft, enjoying the feel of his perfect, full lips.
Soon tongues were introduce
d and caressed each other in a way that awakened all of her senses. As if electricity had pulled them together, she found it difficult to break away. All she wanted was more. She needed more of his kiss like she needed air, and when he pulled away, she was left utterly breathless.
“Come with me,” he said, his hand sliding down to grip her own. Palm to palm, he led her along the path and toward his car, where Victor patiently waited.
Sohana didn’t ask where they were going. She trusted him, and it didn’t even matter.
Chapter 11
The drive was quiet, but neither minded. Sohana sat in the middle, with her head rested on Arthur’s shoulder. She was tired, but she didn’t want to go home.
When they reached the Richter Tower, her eyes widened as she looked at the glass siding that seemed to stretch to the heavens. She knew that this had to be where he lived. Only the wealthiest Karim citizens, foreign dignitaries, and businessmen could call that building their home.
She slid out through Arthur’s door this time and waved goodnight to Victor. She knew there would be no going home. As Arthur led her inside, they passed the doorman and the front desk. She didn’t care that the security and late night staff stared at her as they headed to the elevator.
While they waited for the elevator to reach them, she pulled out her phone to text Pesh. Instead, she saw a text from Aimee that surprised her. Apparently, Aimee was in the same building.
With Arthur’s sister, Elisa.
The bewildered look on her face must have caught Arthur’s eye.
He took her hand in his again, stroking the soft flesh of her wrist. “What is it?”
They stepped onto the elevator as Sohana giggled and replied to Aimee telling her to have fun.
Pressing her chest into his body, she looked up at Arthur. “Well. It seems my best friend is in your sister’s condo…right now.”
“Oh,” Arthur said. “That’s interesting, indeed.”
Sohana laughed. “Indeed.” Quickly, she sent a text to Pesh telling him that she would be home when he got back from school, and to tell Mother not to worry.