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Khadem was already waiting outside when they made it back to the hotel, and impatient as the sheikh was, he didn't even bother to wait for the chauffeur to open the door.
Prue could only gasp as her fiancé pulled her close for a kiss the moment she was out of the limousine, and by the time Khadem lifted his head, Prue could barely remember her name.
"I missed you," Khadem said gruffly.
Prue's toes curled hard. "I miss you, too," she whispered back, and the sheikh groaned.
"You're so fucking adorable—-"
Seeing that Khadem was about to kiss Prue again, Ember decided it was time to say goodbye. "May I be excused, Your Highness?"
A chagrined smile formed over Khadem's lips when he realized he had completely forgotten about Ilyas' secretary. "Yes, of course, and thank you again for doing this for me. I give you my word I won't make a habit of asking for favors—-"
"Oh, but it's really nothing—-"
"Not according to your boss," Khadem said with a grimace. "Ilyas nearly chewed my head off earlier, and he was right to do so. I should've asked him first, since you're unlikely to say no to any of us even when you're up to your neck with work."
"But I truly wasn't that busy—-"
"Ilyas predicted you'd say exactly that. He says you're too nice—-"
Ember was starting to feel embarrassed. "No, really, I'm not—-"
"I disagree," Prue said loyally. "You're incredibly nice, and Sheikh Ilyas is so lucky to have you—-"
Oops.
Prue saw that her passionate tone had Ember and Khadem looking at her oddly, and she ended rather lamely, "—-as his secretary, is what I mean."
"I see." Khadem's tone, however, was more puzzled than convinced.
"Um, thanks?" And so did Ember.
Prue quickly stepped forward to give Ember a hug...and give herself a chance to quickly change the subject. "Thank you for keeping me company. I really appreciate it."
Ember was properly distracted. "If you need anything," she said with a smile, "just let me know. Anyway, I should go now and look for my bosshole—-I mean, my handsome, kind boss," Ember hurriedly corrected herself.
Aaaargh!
It was one thing to think of Ilyas as a bosshole, but it was another thing entirely to call him that in front of his brothers.
Ember took a peek at Khadem's face, hoping he hadn't heard her the first time, but when she saw how his blue eyes were gleaming—-
"Did you just call my brother—-"
"Oh my gosh!" Ember once again found herself guilty of terribly bad acting as she covered her mouth in feigned shock. "I just remembered I have some, um, work to do at, um, work, so I should, um, really go now—-"
"To work?"
Ember pretended not to notice the dryness of Khadem's tone and simply bowed to both Prue and the sheikh before hurrying away.
Phew.
She called one of Ilyas' bodyguards to find out where the demon prince was, and since Ilyas was still in a meeting, Ember decided to have dinner early before heading to the hotel's in-house daycare for pets.
Note to self: write a five-star review for this hotel, and remember to emphasize how absolutely precious their pet daycare center was.
The daily fees might be more than what she was used to spending, but Ember didn't mind. What mattered was that the little kitty was being properly looked after, and hopefully once her workload had lessened sufficiently, she could then figure out whether she was ready to make this kitty a permanent part of her life.
It was already a quarter past eight in the evening when Ember reluctantly said goodbye to the kitty, and when she called Ilyas' bodyguard again, it was to find out that Ilyas was now working out at the gym.
Huh.
The sheikh only did that when he wanted to work something out in his mind, and she wondered uneasily if she had anything to do with whatever it was that was troubling him.
A fast-tempo song from The Weeknd was playing in the background when Ember got to the gym, and while the place was rather immense, Ember didn't need to spend much time looking for her royal bosshole.
Where the demon prince was, most women followed to stare and gape, and voila.
The sheikh was currently running at full speed on the treadmill, and Ember fought to keep her face expressionless even as her heart started to race.
Oh man, I forgot about this.
There was just nothing hotter and sexier than the sight of Ilyas Al-Masri looking all sweaty and shiny, and Ember wasn't surprised at how some of the girls around her were literally wetting their lips while staring at him.
I feel you, sisters. I totally do.
Ilyas nearly lost his balance when he noticed his secretary looking rather stony-faced next to his treadmill. "What the hell, Ember?"
Ember tried not to feel dejected at the sheikh's reaction. Would it kill him to be nice to her, even just once?
