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Mafir shook his head. “It’s not just good. Your bet has paid off.”
He sighed and leaned back in his seat. “I suppose, but we have to see what comes six months from now or a year. For a while, there was the novelty of the story, of the illicit affair caught round the world. People are like vultures that way. We have to see if this will still hold up and attract visitors even when there’s not a hint of scandal.”
“Actually, my sheikh,” Mafir countered, “I think it’s probably the reverse. The type of clientele we wanted—the high-end jetsetters and the whales at the card table—they aren’t looking for Kardashian-level scandals.”
“Yes, but it’s just that one never knows when the other shoe is going to fall.”
Mafir frowned even more, his brows furrowing in concern. “You’re not talking about your resort, are you?”
“I am. I’m one hundred percent focused on the ins and outs of Ali Babba’s and all other ventures of Bahan Industries.”
“Then you’re doing an amazing job of not fully reading the figures before you, my sheikh.”
“You don’t have to do that. We’re employee-employer. You don’t need to feign concern for me,” Amir replied, his tone gruff as he gritted his teeth.
“I have to care when I see you losing focus on the business. I’d like to have a place to keep working, and if anything does jettison Ali Babba’s bottom line, then that would affect me as well. Besides, after a decade, I’d like to think of us as friends, or at least let you know that I care about you as more than a source of income.”
“I’m touched,” Amir drawled.
“And I’m serious. I can see that lack of focus, that pain in your eyes. You miss Miss Sinclair.”
“And I embarrassed her, made her an international laughingstock, and had her rush out on me in no uncertain terms.”
“Then maybe you need to finally go to America instead of having guards protect her by proxy.”
Amir raised his eyebrows at his manservant. He should have known. Even if he’d tried to keep Mafir out of it, his assistant was sharper than most. It was why he’d hired him, after all. “You knew?”
“Of course, and I think it’s time you reconciled as best you could with Miss Sinclair. You’re a ghost of yourself, and you’re distracted. It’s not just business decisions you’re missing—it’s life. You need to get everything back in order, and I think the only way for you to do that is to win her back.”
“You didn’t see her anger, hear her words. I can’t.”
“Then you’re not the same titan of industry I always thought you were. You’re fearless there, why not here?”
“Because,” Amir objected, “I humiliated her. I should have seen the angle with a betraying employee, should have requested the video feed be sent to me and then destroyed. It’s all on my head.”
“Then you’ll be truly lost. In fact—”
He was spared from hearing more of Mafir’s pep talk when there was a ring at his desk. Thank Allah for small mercies. Reaching for the phone, Amir glared at Mafir, indicating that his services were no longer needed. Once his servant was gone, he spoke into the receiver.
“Bahan here. Talk to me.”
“Sir, it’s Waalid.”
His heart stopped. Waalid was his top agent watching over Amanda and her roommate. If he were calling him outside of the regular schedule of check-ins, then something had happened.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re not sure. We broke into the apartment after Miss Sinclair missed her doctor’s appointment and Miss Simmons didn’t show up for work.”
“I should have made you put in cameras.”
“That might have been obvious if they’d found them,” Waalid said. “There’re signs of a struggle, and I’m calling in all forensic contacts and investigative friends of the crown here in Washington. I suggest that—”
“It’s that damn senator, I know it. I’ll be on the next plane. And find out where they were taken. I need to get there and I need to get there fast.”
***
Margery was breathing, but they were slow, deep breaths. There was a deep gash on her forehead, and Amanda was worried her friend might have suffered a concussion or something even more severe. Amanda’s own head was swimming from the shock, and her back felt tight, but at least her son was still kicking. That was the one blessing in all of this.
