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“Shala, where have you been? I’ve been worried.”
“I was out.” She looked at him and she could admit, to herself at least, that he looked worried. It didn’t matter, not anymore. She was done caring about his feelings, caring about him. She needed to keep it professional because she liked her job, but his actions spoke volumes about what he really thought or felt about her.
“Out where?”
“On the island. Why are you asking so many questions?”
“I came back and you weren’t here.”
She shrugged and brushed past him. “I had the day off and decided to see the sights.”
“Oh. Okay.” Zadir followed her to her suite. “We closed the Sun Energy Makers deal! Now it’s up to the lawyers.”
Her heart ached at the bright smile on his face, seeking approval for a job well done. She wouldn’t disappoint. He was the boss, after all. “Congratulations, Zadir. The Sheikh will be pleased.” She took off her shoes and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to speak or leave.
“Let’s go celebrate!” He stepped inside her room and grabbed her hand, pulling her off the bed and into his arms.
Shala closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, slowly letting it go. She shouldn’t feel so good, so at home in his arms. But she did, god help her, she did. She took a few seconds to savor the warmth before she pulled back. “No thanks, Zadir. I’ve had a long day and the sun tired me out. I’m going to relax around here. You go…have fun.” She gently pushed him out of her room and gave him a sad look before she closed the door on him. And let the tears fall.
Six
Shala was mad at him and Zadir had no idea why. He couldn’t think of one thing he’d done that would cause such a drastic change in her attitude. Instead of celebrating closing the deal with SEM, he’d sat in front of the TV eating room service, brooding. Five. That’s how many times he stood up and went to Shala’s door intending to knock. Of course he’d knocked a total of zero times. A man had his pride, after all.
The next morning they rushed around the bungalow in silence, packing in preparation for their flight to Italy. This would be the last stop before he needed to return to Jovanbar for the family dinner. He needed to speak to a few local artisans he’d come across over the years about providing goods for The Crown Jewel resorts. He wanted specialty items that guests wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. It was all in service to getting what he’d worked for all his life.
If he had to endure a little tension on his way there, so be it. He had no idea what he’d done wrong, so he refused to apologize to Shala. If she wanted him to be sorry about something, she would have to tell him. As it stood, she said nothing to him other than a few one word answers. He’d offered to order breakfast for two before their flight, but she’d begged off, claiming a need to rush a few press releases about his acquisitions. So he’d eaten alone and in silence, listening to the light tap tap of her keyboard.
Now she sat as far away from him as possible while still being on board the jet. His frustration was turning to anger, and letting it show wouldn’t help matters at all. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of one thing he’d done that would give Shala cause to act like he was her enemy. She’d given him her virginity in the single best night of sex of his entire life, and stopped talking to him as though he had the plague.
“Dammit,” he smacked the seat in front of him, but not even his outburst could shake her icy demeanor. They’d been at cruising altitude for a while so he stood and went to the bedroom in back to make a phone call. “Sorry,” he practically spat when his knee knocked against her elbow. She said nothing.
He slammed the door shut, not caring that he’d nearly broken it or that it didn’t actually close. He punched his phone and quickly gave a gruff, “Hello? Sabrina I need to talk to you.” He could always count on his future sister in law to be the voice of logic and completely honest.
“Hey Zadir, how’s it going?”
He let out a long harsh breath. “Great. Horrible. How are you?”
Her laugh echoed down the line. “Sounds…confusing, mate. I’m well, even though it’s hotter than shite here!” She muttered a few unintelligible curses and turned back to him. “What’s got you all twisted up, Zadir? A girl?”
“Sort of, but not how you mean. It’s Shala. She won’t talk to me and I have no clue why.”
“Did you ask her?”
Zadir ignored the condescension in her tone. “No. Why would I do that?”
She laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No! If she wanted to tell me what was wrong, she would have come out with it. I am not a mind reader, Sabrina!” He paced in the small bedroom, but his long legs only made about four steps in either direction.
“Okay. Tell me everything that happened the day before she stopped talking to you.”
He was silent for a long time, trying to decide how much he wanted to reveal. “I’d rather not.”
There was a beat of silence before the line exploded with the sound of Sabrina’s laughter. “You shagged her! You totally did it with that sweet, sweet girl.”
Zadir frowned. “I didn’t say that. She’s not a sweet girl, she’s a woman. Dammit, Sabrina why is she mad at me?”
She laughed some more. “How the hell should I know? Jeez, you’re wound tighter than a guy who didn’t get laid.”
