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“Well, of course,” Rick said as they pulled her between them. Turning her to face everyone in the office, he added, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present our newest VP!”
Everyone cheered, and Shira was quickly drawn into the crowd, shaking hands and smiling broadly at all the congratulations. She kept looking over her shoulder to see where Kale was, wishing that he was at her side, but he was deep in discussion with her bosses. The rest of the morning and well into the afternoon, Shira was busy balancing meetings for her transition with spending a few more casual moments with her colleagues to catch up and say goodbye. She missed the camaraderie of the office, but as she looked at Kale, who managed to stay out of the way, she realized that she was getting the best of both worlds. She couldn’t have imagined a better life.
Back in the limo, Shira tried to call her cousin again, but her phone still went to voicemail. Calling the foundation where Erin worked, Shira was disproportionately relieved when the receptionist answered the phone.
“I’m sorry, Shira. Erin no longer works here. She said you’d been out of the country, so perhaps she couldn’t call you to let you know.”
“What? Since when?”
“We just got the call this morning.”
Shira hung up, utterly shocked and bewildered. “Kale, we have to go to the condo. Now. Something is terribly wrong.” Kale quickly gave instructions to the driver and turned to her with concern.
“What is it?”
Wrapping her arms around herself, Shira hugged her torso. “I don’t know. I still can’t reach Erin, and when I tried her at the office, they told me she no longer works there. Something’s happened, I’m sure of it.”
Shira scooted closer to the door and as soon as the driver pulled up out front, she was out the door and running up the walkway. She ignored Kale as he called out to her to wait. Opening the door, she ran inside, calling for her cousin. “Erin! Are you here?”
Searching the condo, she could see that she had been there recently. Her bed was still unmade, and her room hadn’t been picked up. From everything that she saw, it definitely looked as though her cousin had been unwell. Growing frantic, she even opened closet doors, thinking that maybe Erin had passed out somewhere or maybe got stuck.
Unable to find her, she returned to the living room and dropped onto the couch. She swiped at the tears that were forming and took huge gulping breaths. “We should have come here as soon as we arrived last night. It was selfish of me not to check on her. And now…where could she be?”
She stared at Kale and then narrowed her eyes. “Why do you have a guilty look on your face? Are you keeping something from me?”
He shook his head, then stopped. “Maybe.”
“What?” Shira was ready to scream if he didn’t say something more.
Reaching for his phone, he held it up. “My brother called after we landed yesterday to tell me that he needed the jet to transport your cousin to Jawhara.”
“Erin is in Jawhara? Why didn’t she tell me she was going? She’s been so sick.” Shira stared as Kale’s neck began to flush, and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Oh my god, he’s kidnapped her, hasn’t he? I thought you were joking when you talked about taking women out to the middle of the desert, and he’s actually done it.” Leaping up, she strode over to him. “Get. Your. Brother. On the phone. Now.”
Kale moved before she could reach him and walked into the kitchen as he tapped a contact and waited for the phone to ring. “Put it on speaker,” she growled at him.
When the phone stopped ringing, she heard a male voice say something in Arabic. “What did he say, Kale?”
“He was asking if everything is all right.”
“Everything is NOT all right! Give me the phone.”
Kale shook his head. “Not until you calm down.” Dodging her again, he answered Kam. “Brother! I’m glad I caught you. Shira was very upset to return to DC only to find out that her cousin wasn’t here. When I informed her that Erin was on her way to Jawhara and that she was unwell—”
Kam and Kale continued in Arabic, and Shira grew incensed as they intentionally left her out of the conversation. She glared at Kale, silently communicating her anger and frustration, but he ignored her. His voice became animated as he spoke, and Shira snapped. Climbing over the couch, she lunged at him, barely managing to grab the phone. Jumping out of the way, it was her turn to make sure a large piece of furniture stood between them.
Continuing to glare, she shouted at him, “Don’t you dare switch languages on me where my cousin is concerned!” She shifted over to speak to Kam. “Where is my cousin? Is she okay? Did you kidnap her? Tell me what’s going on, Kam!”
Before Kam could respond, Kale plucked the phone from her grasp. “It’sYour Majesty, Shira. You must not be so informal where anyone can hear. We’ve been through this.”
Shira tried to grab the phone back, too furious with both of them to think coherently. She was prepared to do battle to find out what happened to Erin, but before she could tell Kale exactly what she thought, his phone pinged. Looking at the message, he smiled.
“Your cousin is fine. Or at least she will be.”
“What does that even mean? Tell me what’s going on! Is Erin okay? Why did Kam insist on bringing her to Jawhara when we have good doctors here?”
“Hush! Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with Erin. She’s not ill. But her…condition will resolve in several months.” He paused.
Shira stumbled backward and landed on the couch, staring at him. Erin had been sick to her stomach, but she wasn’t ill… “Several months. You mean…?” Shira asked, her eyebrows raised and her eyes wide open.
