by Leslie North
While Hussain was stern and controlling, she had to admit that she had a good day with him and even though he would glare at her when she would take too many pictures, she did catch him smiling and he even offered a joke or two. She liked being around him and teasing him about all his little idiosyncrasies. Especially the left seat of the car. And that night of passion they shared showed an entirely different side to him. Cassie blushed when she thought about how good he was in bed. His desire for perfection certainly did not stop in the work environment.
She felt cherished for the first time in her life, which brought a lump to her throat just thinking about it. She remembered the look in his eyes when he was aroused and she wanted to see it again. And again. And again. Part of her wanted to return to that time when she knew nothing of her identity, because now she had this decision weighing over her.
Either she had to finish what she had come to do, which was steal information from Hussain and give it to Jacob or she had to betray Jacob. Either way, when Hussain found out, he would be furious with her.
Cassie had to admit that the money would set her on the road to a new life. While it was not life changing, it would allow her to get away and start over somewhere. Maybe she would see if that jewellery store was still there and finally go in to buy something.
She never expected to feel anything for Hussain. She had fallen for him and did not want to see him hurt. Either way she was screwed.
Once Hussain found out, there was no future for them and because of her; he might not ever trust another woman again.
***
Taking a deep breath, Cassie walked into the conference room a couple minutes late. The room was already full with Hussain's legal team and business partners. There were also some other men there that Cassie did not know. She recognised one man from the previous meeting.
“Good afternoon, my apologies for being late. My name is Cassie Milton and I am Sheik Tazeem's assistant. Unfortunately, he will not be attending the meeting due to an accident, so I will be going ahead with everything for him,” Cassie said as she looked around the room at all the faces.
“Is he going to be okay?” asked Mr Omar; Hussain's lawyer. The other businessmen, lawyers and accountants also looked concerned. Some of them were whispering amongst themselves.
“Yes, he is fine. Fortunately he was not hurt too badly, but the doctor was insistent that he rest.”
“So you will be the one to finalise the deal?” another man spoke up. Cassie recognised his voice immediately. It was the same voice from the phone call earlier at the boutique. She looked at him and it was the same man from the first meeting with Eastern Mountain Herbs. Now it made sense to her why he had given her such a weird look.
“Yes, Sheik Tazeem has entrusted me with completing this project,” Cassie replied. A sadistic smile stretched across his lips, which made Cassie sick to her stomach. The other members from the herb company started complaining. They were not pleased about it, as they wanted to deal with the sheik himself and not his assistant. Some of the businessmen from Tazeem Spices were not happy either. It was such an important deal and they were reluctant to leave it in her hands.
“I cannot believe this. A little girl will be overseeing such an important matter,” one man said.
“This is unlike the sheik. He always closed deals himself,” another man said.
Cassie stood in front of them with a stern look on her face. She was not going to allow herself to be intimidated, especially since she was the youngest in the room. “The sheik trusts me with this deal. You should trust his decisions,” Cassie replied confidently.
“Did the sheik leave any information for us?” Jacob asked.
“Sheik Tazeem has provided me access to everything that we would need,” Cassie replied as she undid the buttons on her blazer and revealed a USB stick that was dangling from the necklace around her neck. She made eye contact with Jacob.
When he saw the USB stick, he smiled and said, “Well, given that this final meeting is nothing more than a formality, I do not see any reason why we shouldn't sign.”
Nodding her head, “Shall we get started then? Who would like to sign first?”
Jacob clicked his pen and was the first to sign the contact. The other members of Eastern Mountain Herbs were more hesitant, but he assured them that it was okay to sign. Moments later, they signed the contract followed by the board members from Tazeem Spices. Gathering up the papers, Cassie smiled at the men, “That’s it then. Thank you, gentlemen, for your time.”
“Miss Milton, may I have a word with you outside?” Jacob asked as he got up from his seat and buttoned up his blazer. He had a sick smirk plastered across his face, as he eyed the USB dangling from her neck.
Nodding her head, Cassie agreed but before the two of them could get out of the room, Kalik stormed in as he looked furiously at Cassie.
“You thieving bitch!” he roared.
Chapter 13
Cassie stared at Kalik wide-eyed as the men looked at each other in shock. Their gazes shifted back and forth between Cassie and Kalik.
“Me?” Cassie asked him.
“Yes, you,” he replied.
“What is the meaning of this?” Mr Omar questioned as Cassie handed him the paperwork. It was too late for her to leave the room as she waited for Kalik to speak.
“This woman here works for Eastern Mountain Herbs,” Kalik declared as Cassie felt her heart drop into her stomach as he glared at her. The very thing she was scared of happening was unfolding right before her eyes. If Kalik knew, then Hussain definitely knew.
“What are you talking about?” Mr Omar demanded as he looked at Cassie. “What does he mean that you work for Eastern Mountain Herbs?” he asked her.
“She works for them. She is an industrial spy.”
“What!”
“She was sent here to spy on the company so that she could steal vital information.”
Cassie felt sick. She did not know what to say as everyone turned to look at her. The Tazeem Spice Company members looked disappointed. Jacob stood there with his hands in his pockets smirking. Why wouldn't he? His plan had been going well. He had already warned Cassie that she was taking too long. She simply had to complete her job before she was exposed. By then, there was nothing they could do about it.
“I...I.. that is not true,” Cassie stammered. She did not really know what to say in that moment.
“But you are the sheik's assistant?” Mr Omar stated. Kalik looked at the USB stick.
“What is that around your neck?” he asked her and pointed at it.
“This is unnecessary,” Jacob interrupted. “We have no idea what you are speaking about. Miss Milton does not work for us,” he added. Kalik marched towards Cassie and grabbed the USB ripping it from her neck. Cassie winced at the pain as she rubbed the back of her neck. Kalik marched to the computer and stuck the USB into the port.
“This is outrageous,” Mr Omar stated as he sat down and scratched the back of his neck. Cassie made eye contact with Jacob. He had stopped smirking and had started looking a bit concerned. The USB was now in Kalik's hands and he was determined to expose all of them as he opened the only folder that was on the stick.
The businessmen gasped when photos of Cassie and Hussain appeared on the white screen. Kalik frowned as he flipped through all the contents of the folder. There were only pictures of the two of them when they went sightseeing.
Cassie felt emotional looking at the pictures. She remembered the way she had felt spending the day with him even though he had been forced to do it by his sister. Later that day was when they shared their first kiss and then he had made love to her. How she wished that she could return to being in his arms and not being the bitch that was trying to take down his company.
“What the…” Kalik said. He looked confused.
“You bitch,” Jacob shouted when he realised that he had been played. His face turned red and he banged his fist on the table.
“Well that w
as pointless,” one of the businessmen said as he stood up to leave.
“The deal is off!” Jacob said angrily.
“The contract has already been signed,” Mr Omar told him.
“We changed our minds,” he yelled.
“I am sorry but the contract has already been signed. It is legally binding. You cannot change your mind. If you wish to seek legal remedies, we would be happy to tie you up in court,” Mr Omar replied as he looked smugly at Jacob who was glaring at Cassie.
“You will pay for this,” he shouted at her. He was furious and Cassie was glad that there were so many people in the room with her. Otherwise there was no telling what he was going to do. Kalik was looking at her with so much confusion on his face. Cassie fought the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
“I would never betray Hussain,” she said softly to Kalik. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
She walked down the hall quickly and pressed the button for the elevator multiple times until it finally opened. Stepping inside, she rode down alone and exited the building. When she got into the car, she sat in the back and burst into tears. She had no idea what Jacob was going to do in retaliation.
She cared too much for Hussain and knew how hard he worked. There was no way she could hurt him. Not like that. She knew that she had done the right thing but she was worried whether he could forgive her, after knowing why she came into his life. She really did not want to lose him but it seemed as though she had no choice. He was definitely going to want her out of his life.
And Adilah, oh sweet and friendly, Adilah. She had been so nice to Cassie. She welcomed her and treated her like a friend. She did not want to face her. She was scared that she had disappointed her and ruined the trust between them.
When she reached Hussain's house, Cassie rushed to her room and flipped open her suitcase to start packing. She thought that she might as well be ready to go before Hussain returned and told her to leave. She wiped her tears and picked up her clothes. She did not even bother to fold them as she quickly threw them into the suitcase as they were. She was not going to pack anything that she had bought with Hussain's money.
“And where do you think you are going?” Cassie heard someone asking her. She knew whose voice it was. She dreaded to turn around as her hands started to shake.
Chapter 14
“You are out early,” Cassie said to Hussain nervously.
“I checked myself out,” he said to her. He saw that her eyes were red and she looked nervous. She looked down unable to meet his gaze. “Where are you off to?” he asked, as he approached her. It took him less than five seconds to close the gap between them. He stood so close to her.
“Back to New York,” she said quietly. “I am sure you have spoken to Kalik. I..I,” her voice started shaking as she spoke. Hussain lifted her chin with his index finger.
“Don't cry,” he said to her and kissed her nose. He could see how scared and emotional she was.
“I'm sorry.”
Cassie sniffed a couple of times. Hussain had been shocked when Kalik called him and informed him about Cassie's identity, and that he was on his way to expose her. He never expected her to be an industrial spy and he felt more betrayed than angry. He wondered if everything that had happened between them was fake.
Adilah too was shocked when she found out. “That can't be Cassie,” she kept saying. She was in disbelief and could not wrap her head around it. They were both relieved when Kalik returned to the hospital and told them that the meeting had gone well and that not only did they sign the contract, but Cassie in the end had betrayed Jacob. She had chosen Hussain. After Kalik told him everything, Hussain checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice to find Cassie.
“I know about Jacob, don't worry,” he whispered to her. “I will make sure that no harm comes to you or your family.”
“There’s more,” she whispered. “He’s holding a burglary charge over my head. I was young and stupid.”
“I will take care of it. I promise you that. No one will ever threaten you again.”
“I am so sorry, I would never betray you.”
“I know. I meant it when I said that I trusted you.”
Hussain wiped her tears and pressed his lips firmly against her forehead. He put her at arm’s length. “You were actually dressed appropriately for once,” he said. Cassie crossed her eyes and looked at him.
“Because right now is the time to discuss my attire,” she said. Hussain smiled. He unpinned her hair and allowed it to fall past her shoulders. He held her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers to kiss her gently. He had been thinking of little else as he let his tongue sweep inside her mouth.
Hussain reached for the buttons on her shirt as he tugged it free from her waistband. Pulling it open, he looked down at her rosy-coloured breasts as he cupped them in his hands. Breaking the kiss, he kissed the tops of both before reaching for the front clasp on her bra.
Pulling it free, he tugged both her shirt and bra off dropping them to the floor. Turning her around, he unzipped her skirt and let it pool around her ankles, helping her to step out of it. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her against him and kissed her neck.
“Don't go,” he whispered against her ear. Cassie responded with a moan as his other hand caressed the front of her body and worked its way down to touch her mound.
“Hussain,” she moaned out as he rubbed his fingers on her clit.
“Stay,” he commanded her.
“O...Kay,” she responded. He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “You…shouldn't...be lifting me up...like this,” she said to him. He laughed at how hard it was for her to speak.
“I am okay,” he said. He lowered his head, kissed her gently before trailing kisses from her neck to her stomach. “More than okay,” he murmured as he continued to kiss her. “In fact, I can think of nothing else to make me feel better than burying myself deep inside your warmth.”
Moaning again, Cassie reached for the buttons on his shirt, but he pushed her hand away. Standing up, he watched her with hooded eyes as he unbuttoned his shirt and undid the clasp on his pants. Dropping his clothes to the floor, Cassie could not help but wince at the bruises on his torso.
Standing in front of her, he smiled down at her, “They look worse than they feel,” he told her as he read the thoughts flitting across her face.
“That’s probably the pain killers talking,” she said dryly, suddenly unsure if they should go on.
Grinning at her mischievously, he pounced on the bed as she yelped in surprise. “In that case, woman, we best be getting down to business because I do not want to miss a moment with you.”
Rolling onto his back, he brought Cassie with him as she rose up to straddle his hips, careful not to put too much pressure on his torso. Leaning down, her hair tumbled down around her as she bent to kiss him on the lips.
Moving down his body, she rained kisses down the side of his face, stopping to nuzzle his neck as he groaned in response. Shifting, she kissed her way across his torso, giving extra attention to those areas that were not bruised as she slowly worked her way down his body. Her hair added an extra sensation to Hussain as it tickled his skin.
When she reached his stomach, she dipped her tongue in his navel as she nibbled on his stomach. Hussain hissed in reaction as he clenched sore muscles. Putting his hand on her head, “Careful what you do,” he told her. “I plan to make love to you, but I won’t be able to if you make me come too soon.”
Smiling at him, she reached her hand out and wrapped it around his member as he fell back on the bed. “Oh, what you do to me, Cassie,” he moaned as she began to pump her hand up and down as his erection vibrated against her palm.
Bending her head down, she kissed the tip as it bounced lightly against her mouth in response. Opening her mouth, she slowly drew the head in as Hussain tossed his head back. “Oh…that…feels…so…oh…my…good,” he finally finished as Cassi
e chuckled over his own difficulty to speak. Pleased that she could affect him that way, she dropped back down and began to bob her head up and down as she worked to take more and more of him into her mouth.
When Hussain felt that he was getting close, he tapped Cassie on the head, “Ride me, habibti, I want to see your ecstasy on your face as we come together.”
Rising back up, she carefully straddled him again as she directed his erection to her slit. Rubbing back and forth, she slowly sat down as his member slipped between her welcoming folds. Groaning lustily, she began to move her hips both up and down and back and forth as she looked for the direction that caused the best sensations. Finding just the right spots, she began to move in earnest careful not to lean against his torso. Sliding his hands to her hips, Hussain adjusted her movements as he groaned in approval.