Marrying the Sheikh

Karim rolled over to his side as he watched the palm trees bounce wildly in the wind. The lights from the resort cast long, crazy shadows across the lawn and Karim listened to the wind howl. He wondered how Ella was doing. She had jumped at every loud bang and he had to assumed that she was afraid of thunderstorms. And yet, he thought, she still ran out in the storm to try and stop him from leaving.

What did that mean? Karim mulled the question over in his mind. Maybe she liked him. Maybe she had the same feelings for him that he had for her. He couldn’t be sure. Unless… No. He couldn’t ask. He wouldn’t. He had already done enough damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had brought her down here and got her stranded by a storm. Ella had no reason to listen to him now.

Karim closed his eyes and thought about all of the work waiting for him back in New York. The thought of work always calmed him. He looked forward to returning and diving head first into his next investment plan. Within minutes, Karim was asleep, his usual dreams of stocks, gold and the market, pleasantly disturbed.

EIGHT

The knock woke Ella from a dead sleep. After hours of fitful tossing and turning, she had finally fallen asleep just minutes before dawn. She sat up and threw her legs to the floor when she heard the knock, but as she moved to stand, a stabbing pain shot through her ankle and she fell back on the bed, wincing as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Miss Jones?” the voice on the other side of the door called.

“Mmm-hmm,” she said through clenched teeth, as a wave of nausea rose in her throat. “Coming,” she said, getting to her feet with the help of the nightstand.

“Oh my gosh,” Ella said with every step. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”

She crossed the living area to get to the door and looked through the peephole to see Djaron’s smiling face. He raised a gloved hand and waved to her through the hole.

“Good morning, ma’am!”

Ella reached down and unlocked the door, wondering why Djaron was so darned chipper so early in the morning. She turned the knob and swung the door open, motioning for Djaron to enter the room.

“Good morning,” Djaron said as he passed by her. “Can I help you with your luggage?”

“Luggage?” Ella said, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. “What time is it?”

Djaron looked down at his watch. “It is 7:30am Eleuthera time, 6:30 NY time.”

“What time are we leaving?” asked Ella.

“The jet is ready now, ma’am.”

Ella nodded and smiled at Djaron. “Of course it is,” she said wryly. “Just give me a minute, please,” she said, and hobbled back into the bedroom.

She returned a few minutes later in a fresh pair of slacks and a light sweater, her hair neatly brushed and pulled into a simple ponytail.

“You look lovely, ma’am,” said Djaron as he took her suitcase.

“You’re a liar,” she said, smiling as she walked out in front of him. “But thank you anyway.”

Djaron smiled as he closed the door behind them. He liked this girl. He had met a lot of women since he had begun working for the Sheikh’s family, and in the decade he had been working as Karim’s assistant, he had met dozens, if not hundreds more. But none of them were like Ella. She was a breath of fresh air in a very stuffy environment.

Ella and Djaron walked down the hall of the hotel and through the front lobby. The sun was shining brightly through the glass entrance doors.

“Wow,” said Ella, stepping out into the warm sunshine. “You’d never believe there was such a bad storm just hours ago.”

“No, ma’am,” said Djaron.

Looking around, it seemed to Ella that the hotel staff must have woken up early and picked up all of the loose branches and debris created by the storm. The only tell-tale sign of any damage was the boarded up window and a few remaining puddles along the gravel drive. Even the fallen palm had been removed.

“Please,” Djaron said as he opened the door for Ella. She slid into the back seat of the limo to find Karim waiting on the other side. Djaron joined the driver in the front.

She nodded at Karim and he smiled politely back, before looking back down at the stack of papers on his lap. They drove to the airport in silence and boarded the jet with none of the fanfare Ella had witnessed in Miami. She felt her stomach tighten in a knot as she was escorted to a seat in the living area, while Karim walked past her briskly and disappeared into the conference room without saying a word.

Perfect, thought Ella. She hadn’t even begun the wedding preparations yet and groom was already pissed off at her. She sat back and waited for the plane to take off as Djaron told her how to operate the home theater.