The Sheikh's Secret

by Knight, Kylie

  “It amuses you, does it, my man’s serious demeanor?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said with a red face and laughter she was still trying valiantly to choke back, “I really don’t mean to.”

  “Yeah,” Clara said with a stony voice that made it clearly evident that she did not think anything was even remotely funny, “sometimes she does super strange things for absolutely no reason at all.”

  “I didn’t say it was strange,” he said with a warm voice that was both surprising and comforting to Ada, “I just noted that it was amusing to her. Please, tell me, what is your name?”

  “Clara!” she jumped back in, not yet willing to concede defeat in her grab for this man’s attention, “My name is Clara.”

  “Nice to meet you,” he took Clara’s hand briefly, then turned his attention back to Ada, “and you? What is your name, lovely girl?”

  “Ada. My name is Ada.”

  “Ada. Not something you hear every day, is it? Hello, Ada. It is truly lovely to meet you.”

  He took her hand just as he had Clara’s but he did not let it go. Instead he grasped it tightly in his own, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it gently. Ada felt her whole body begin to burn at the contact and wondered if her face had gone bright red. With the way it felt, it must have. With the way it felt it must have been shining like a neon sign. All of the noise that comes from being in any crowded club started to fade away. It was like one of those movie fade aways, the ones you never expect to happen in real life, the ones that only happen in romantic comedies when a girl sees the boy she will fall head over heels with for the very first time. Vaguely she was aware of an angry and astounded noise coming out of her sister’s mouth and the sound of her heels walking away from her in a huff. Under normal circumstances she would have turned to follow but something was different this time. She felt glued to her spot, glued to the anticipation of what his next words might be. And when he spoke, it came out in a low purr that made her shiver.

  “My name is Darvesh, Ada, and I would very much like to see you again.”

  Chapter Three

  Darvesh Matin. She had never met anyone like him, not anyone even close to like him. She had left that fancy club very soon after getting the scintillatingly mysterious owner’s name, headed home and made herself some toast, watched part of an episode of Orange is the New Black before washing her face and doing all of the things normal to her evening routine. It wasn’t until she was actually in bed, beneath her full, thick blackout curtains with her little fan blowing softly beside her head that she allowed herself to think about the strange encounter she had just had.

  How many times over the course of her life had Ada been in exactly the same kind of situation with Clara as she had been in tonight? It felt like a scenario the two of them had been playing out since the times when they were still infants. Over and over again, since she the two of them had been very small, they had played out that same situation. Clara, two and a half years older, both her protector and her competition. She could remember the two of them putting on little shows together in their living room, shows they would plan out for hour upon hour together before ever bringing them to a live audience. Naturally, Clara would boss Ada around, telling her where to stand and whether or not her voice was loud enough. She would always make Ada play the boy or the old woman or the dog, whatever role was the less desirable one. She would alway assure her that all roles were created equal, but Ada knew it was a lie. She always knew when it was a lie and yet she continued to participate in the plays because she enjoyed doing what her sister wanted to do. She enjoyed it, and she didn’t so much mind her sister being the center of attention. That wasn’t something that everyone wanted. She didn’t want it. That was why it never much mattered to her that, despite her sister’s continual assertions that the next show would be equal or maybe even the show where Ada was allowed to shine, it was always all about Clara. And it had continued to be about her. Ada was always following in her footsteps, not even because she wanted to but also because age dictated that it be so, and Clara was forever catching the attention of the boys and then the men around them. It wasn’t that Ada wasn’t as pretty, nobody would have ever said a thing like that. It was just that standing next to Clara was like standing next to the sun. It sucked men in, made them feel special and warm and full of a light they wanted to hold on to as tightly and for as long as they possibly could. It was something Ada had seen over and over again, these men following her sister like sad little puppies, good men, men who deserved to get the time of day and in the end only wound up getting burned. Because that’s what happened when you flew too close to the sun, right? You wound up getting burned, and sometimes getting burned badly. It never mattered, though, not in the end. Not to any of the men they met. Except for Darvesh. Darvesh Matin. He was different and he wanted no part of the sun. He wanted her. That’s what she fell asleep thinking about and only that. He wanted her and not the sun.

  “Um, Miss Witt?”

  Ada snapped to attention, startled by the sound of the voice interjecting into her thoughts. She had slept poorly the night before, drifting in and out of dreams of former escapades with her sister interspersed with dreams about Darvesh. It was uncomfortable, the way the dreams blended together, and although she had come to work the way she always did she had been beyond distracted. The sound of her assistant blaring over the intercom was enough to wake her up all of the way, something she wasn’t sure she was all that much of a fan of. She felt jittery, more on edge than she could remember feeling in a long, long time. She was nervous the same way any kind of high school girl would have been when they got a first date with their first real crush.

  “Miss Witt?”

  She sounded at least as nervous as Ada was which made her feel instantly bad for not responding. It wasn’t like her assistant knew anything about why she was acting so strange. Out of the two Witt sisters, it was usually Ada who was reliable, normal. It was unusual for her to be this way.

  “Yes, yes, I’m sorry. What can I do for you?”

  “It’s your sister,” she said uncertainly, “she wants to see you. She-she doesn’t sound very happy today.”

  “I bet she doesn’t.”

  “Miss Witt?”

  “Nothing. Thank you for letting me know. You can tell her I’ll be right in to see her. And it’s friday, right?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Then why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Go have an actual weekend. Go have some fun.”

  “Really? I mean, are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. Someone should be out having a good time, right?”

  “It’s just that the last time you let me go Clara got mad, and that was so much later than today. I don’t want her to get angry again. At either of us.”

  “Don’t worry, she’s already mad at me. I doubt she’ll even notice you’re gone.”

  “Well in that case, thanks! Thanks a lot!”

  “No problem. Now get going.”

  Ada could feel the excitement coming across the intercom and smiled in spite of herself. Because today she had something to be excited about, too. She had plans and they were plans that made her giddy. How many times did that happen in a lifetime? She supposed that for some people it happened quite often, but for her that was not the case. She was hard to impress, hard to get all riled up about anything. She was pretty sure that she was excited enough for whatever unpleasantness her sister had in store for her to be worth it. She stood, sighed, and made her way down the hallway towards her sister’s office. She knocked once then walked in before being offered entry. Her sister was standing half naked and looking into her full length mirror appreciatively. This was something she had done often when they were in high school; stood in her mirror and looked at herself for hours to make sure that nothing was out of place or starting to sag or anything that, god forbid, would make her less desirable. Was that what she was doing now? Making sure that she was still desirable?

>   “Ada. Took you long enough.”

  “Sorry Clara, I was just finishing something up. What is it you wanted to see me about?”

  “So are you going to see that guy?”

  “What guy?”

  Clara turned around, looking every bit like a supermodel, and gave Ada a who the fuck are you kidding look? One hand on her hip and a more than annoyed look on her face. She was most definitely not in the mood for beating around the bush.

  “Are you for real, Ada?”

  “Ok, yes. I’m going out with him tonight, actually. How come?”

  “Do you even know anything about him?”

  “Are you for real? You’re the one who wanted to meet him in the first place!”

  “Right, and we met him, and I think he’s weird. I don’t think you should see him.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Seriously. Do you know what he is? He’s a sheikh. He’s got big money and big connections and I would bet money that he’s like, super dangerous or something. You know what I mean?”

  Ada had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. She could feel a hot anger pulsing in her temples and it took more strength than she had known she had not to say something truly nasty in return. Her sister always got what she wanted. This guy didn’t want her and so she believed there was something wrong with him. So what would that mean about Ada? That there was something wrong with her? That because Darvesh wanted her he was somehow less? Well, to hell with that. She was already nervous enough about this date without her sister putting in her two cents. It wasn’t fair, wasn’t loving, and she wanted no part of it.

  “I’ve gotta go, ok Clara? I’m running late as it is.”

  “What, you don’t want to listen to your older sister?”

  “On this one? No, I don’t think I do.”

  “Fine. Your funeral, I guess.”

  Ada didn’t bother saying anything else. What was the point? Both of the Witt sisters had a mean stubborn streak and, knowing Clara, this was going to take her a while to get over. And besides. She had a date to get ready for. She wanted to look good for this. Clara telling her that Darvesh was a sheikh didn’t make her any less interested in seeing him. If anything, it made her want to get to know him even more. So what if there was some danger involved? Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Maybe she could use a little bit of danger in her life. Either way, she was going. There was nothing on god’s green earth that would keep her from going at this point. All she had to do was go.

  “Ada. Hello. I was beginning to worry that you might not come.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Really, and I must say, the thought of it made me mighty sad. I couldn’t be more happy to see that I was wrong.”

  Even though Ada was the one who had gotten herself into the cab and walked herself into the restaurant all on her own, she was still somehow shocked to find herself standing in front of him. He looked even more fantastic than she remembered him looking, which was saying quite a lot. He was so much taller than her, with broad shoulders and muscles she could see clearly through his crisp white shirt. Every little movement he made was with the easy grace of a born athlete. He had that easy confidence, too, and Ada could actually feel herself begin to salivate just watching him. Almost as if he could read her apparently uncontrollable thoughts running across her face, Darvesh smiled a conspiratorial smile and leaned in close enough for her to get a whiff of his expensive cologne.

  “What is that little smile about, my dear? It’s a beautiful smile, there’s no doubt about that.”

  “Was I smiling? I didn’t even realize that I was.”

  “Well then, might I hope that it has something to do with me?”

  “You might. But you’ll never know, because I’ll never tell.”

  “Alright, that’s alright. I’ve always been a fan of a challenge. It makes everything so much more interesting. Now, shall we?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  He put his hand on the small of her back to escort her to their private table in the back of a restaurant so hot nobody was getting anywhere close to getting a reservation any time soon. He was hardly even touching her but the skin beneath his palm felt like it was on fire. She was astounded by that. It wasn’t like she had never been touched by a guy before, but much more substantial touches had left far less of an impression on her. She knew right then that she had made the right decision by coming here. She could tell by the tingling of her skin that he could have taken her to any hole in the wall in the city and it would have been every bit as exciting as this was. She was still skeptical, it was in her nature to be skeptical of men in any kind of dating situation, but she was intrigued. She was more intrigued than she had been by anything in a long, long time.

  Chapter Four

  “Did you get the liquor count?”

  “Not yet. I mean, not completely. He’s working on it right now.”

  “What do you mean ‘he’s’ working on it? Aren’t you the bar manager?”

  “Well sure, but—”

  “Are you or are you not the bar manager?”

  “I am. I am the bar manager.”

  “And would you prefer it if I made whoever ‘he’ is the bar manager instead?”

  “No! I mean, no sir. I don’t want to give away my job, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Good, that’s good. That’s the first step. The next step is for you to actually do your job. Don’t get cocky, Adam, alright? You made an excellent first impression in your interview. I had a feeling about you and it was enough for me to give you a chance and hire you. I tend to follow those feelings and most of the time those feelings are right. Don’t prove me wrong on this one, ok? Don’t make me regret hiring you.”

  No,” the poor bar manager said quickly and with an eager look on his face, “I won’t. I’ll do better, I promise.”

  “Good. I expect to see the results of that promise. In the meantime, what’s the guy’s name?”

  “The guy?”

  “Yes,” Darvesh said with a voice he was trying valiantly to keep even and patient despite his growing annoyance over the situation, “the guy you roped into doing your job so that you didn’t have to.”

  “Oh! Honestly I’m not completely sure. Dave? I think?”

  “Alright. Well please go and fetch Dave you think and tell him that he can have the rest of the day off, with compensation. He’s going to receive your salary for the day, with time and a half.”

  “Seriously?”

  Darvesh gave Adam a look that made it clear that he was not amused with this new display of insolence. He needed it to be very, very clear that now was not the time for him to cop any kind of an attitude at all. Perhaps this man was not aware of how close to getting fired he really was. Perhaps he had not yet heard from the employees Darvesh had brought over with him from his other ventures that the way his employees worked, their ethics and their attitude, was of the utmost importance to him. With any luck, he would learn before he really did get himself fired. At least he had shut his mouth when he saw the warning look in Darvesh’s eyes. That was a good sign, or at the very least Darvesh hoped as much. It meant this guy might make it after all, which would be a whole lot less trouble for Darvesh. It would mean he didn’t have to train somebody new, which he didn’t have any desire to do. Not when he had other things on his mind, things that were a hell of a lot more interesting and engaging than dealing with situations with employees.