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“I thought since my lawyer works here that it would be alright if I popped in and asked her out for a business lunch,” he said and smiled. “I have a feeling she wouldn’t say no so I already made reservations.” He had a look of self pride when he concluded that amused her. She was surprised that the same arrogance she had despised a few weeks ago was now replaced by a fluttering heartbeat at what she now perceived as sexy.
“You had a feeling she wouldn’t say no, or you didn’t plan on taking no for an answer?” she asked and rested her chin on her cupped hands.
He paused for a second, his eyes looking upwards, and then returned to her with a gleam that penetrated her. “What’s the difference?” he asked and laughed. “So, can you leave now?”
Jameela was beaming by this, and in that instant she saw Selena in the background, making faces and pointing her finger at Al-Hafeez. Then she wagged at her knowingly, and slipped her hands behind her as Al-Hafeez turned to see what had captured Jameela’s attention. Selena waved then and hurried off.
“Now is a great time,” Jameela smiled and stood. She saw the woman again when she was leaving and she gave her the thumbs up sign.
“So, I made reservations at one of the best places I like to eat,” he told her.
“And where would that be? Five-star restaurant along the coast?” she asked as she tried to think of somewhere expensive he might like.
“No,” he said and laughed. “Home.”
Jameela froze after he spoke. “Wait, we are going to the palace?” she asked him.
“That would be where I live,” he agreed. “There is no place I prefer eating than home.”
He had this childlike deference about him when he spoke of home that melted Jameela, and distracted her from her present anxiety. “I had you completely wrong,” she told him.
“Is that so?” he asked her. “Can’t say I blame you; we each started out on bad footing. When I first came to the office I was instantly taken by you, but under the circumstances, and after that snowball you tossed at me, I reacted.”
“You reacted?” she asked and laughed. “That’s quite a reaction.” She suddenly grew quiet and her eyes focused on the scenery as they came closer to his home. “I have to be honest with you about something. There was a reason behind my being so cold to you from the start.” She sighed and looked over at curious eyes. “Remember when I told you my grandfather had a gambling problem? He had an estate along the coast, just a few miles from here. I used to love going there in the summertime.” A wave of nostalgia hit her and she smiled as she reflected, until she saw his face and was once again riveted to the present. She cleared her throat and continued. “He made a habit of going to the gentlemen’s clubs and gambling houses. He wagered more than he had one night, and when he couldn’t pay, the man he lost to asked for the deed to the house. That man was your grandfather. I figured I’d let you pay for him robbing me of my inheritance.”
“Why did you change your mind?” he asked, a shocked expression on his face as he tried to absorb what she was saying.
“When I went to the precinct and saw the victim’s brother,” she told him. “I guess something within me wouldn’t let a man be punished for a crime he didn’t commit,” she told him.
“Life has a funny way of getting back at us,” he told her. “What are the odds we meet like this?”
“What indeed?” she asked. She sat up straight then when she saw them approaching the huge bronze gate, and she looked over nervously at him.
“Don’t worry,” he told her as the gates opened and he drove along the all too familiar path that circled the fountain at the main entrance. “They will love you.”
“Why am I here again?” Jameela asked nervously, suddenly intimidated by the elegance and glamour of the palace. She had never had more than a passing glance, and she was surprised there weren’t guards posted everywhere like the Buckingham Palace.
“For lunch,” he reminded her and took her hand as they met at the front of the car. “And no, we don’t care much for an array of guards; Father prefers the palace looking like home still,” he said as if he was able to read her mind. “No, I can’t read minds either,” he leaned over and teased. “It just seems to be the first thing everyone notices. I would know, I’ve witnessed enough tours.”
“And now I get my own personal guide,” she said and walked off next to him.
“That you do,” he replied and stroked her hand that was now draped through his. For the remainder of the afternoon Jameela enjoyed the Ramadan hospitality. She met the kitchen and wait staff, was served a delightful lunch, and later received a tour of the palace. She was surprised to find that beneath the grandeur of the place, there was a sincere feeling of homeliness. She had always thought it would feel like a crypt—cold and devoid of human interaction. She was served the opposite, and the longer she remained there, the more she felt ashamed of her earlier perceptions.
As soon as they got back in the car later that afternoon, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in for a vicious kiss. She had wanted to feel him on her ever since she had seen him earlier at the office, but after seeing him in his domicile, whatever she thought she was feeling for Al-Hafeez, she had been wrong. In a matter of weeks, she had moved from loathing the man, to feelings of indifference that had quickly transformed into something she was not quite ready to define.
He responded to her by pulling her into him as his hands probed her thin frame, and he crushed her against him. Then he pulled back, and raked her hair behind her ear. “What do you suppose we should do after I am freed of all charges?”
“You assume they will find nothing else,” she replied.
“There is nothing else to find,” he told her. “I didn’t kill the man; neither did I authorize anyone to.”
“Still, something may come up and you may need my expertise for a little while longer,” she teased.
“But I do need your expertise for a little while longer,” he answered, then dipped his head so that he nuzzled her neck. “I just don’t think any judge would mind.”
Jameela laughed at his insinuation, and squealed as the seat fell back. “There are some who might try,” she giggled as he tickled her with his tongue.
“They wouldn’t dare,” he whispered against her neck.
