Sold To The Sheikh Bidder

It upset him to see her so obviously sad. She knew as well as he did that when they got home to Anaheim, their time together would be over. He hated that the week had to end, though he most regretted the way it had begun. If he could take it all back, he would.

He cleared his throat, startling her. “Good morning. When you’re ready to go, we’ll head for the airport.”

Lauren nodded. “Let me get my things.”

Hakim waved a hand at her. “No rush. You have time to finish your breakfast.”

Lauren looked down at her plate like it was the first time she’d seen it. “It’s okay. I’m not hungry.”

Hakim watched her finish her coffee and stand up. She carried her dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink.

“I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” she said as she brushed past him and walked down the hall.

Hakim got his own bag and met her at the front door. The ride to the airport was quiet, since neither of them felt much like talking.

They boarded the jet and Lauren settled in, this time taking a seat much closer to Hakim’s. She was still mostly silent, simply looking out the window, until the steward served them lunch and she moved to sit with him at the small dining table.

Hakim offered to pour her wine and she shook her head. He asked the steward to bring her iced tea instead.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, halfway through the meal.

“What for?” Hakim asked.

“I don’t mean to give you the silent treatment. I just don’t feel much like talking right now.”

“I can understand that,” Hakim replied.

Lauren shook her head. “I hate that our last few hours have to be like this.”

“Me too. I understand how difficult it is, for both of us.”

Lauren nodded. “It is difficult. But I’m still sorry for not being more cheerful right now.”

Hakim decided to tell her about his first impression of her; he wanted her to know that he considered her one of the most positive people he’d ever met. He leaned forward to catch her attention.

“Lauren, when you walked into my office on Monday and learned who I was, do you remember what you did?”

She shook her head.

“You looked me right in the eye and smiled like everything was perfect,” he answered for her. “You acted like you couldn’t wait to get started. I was so impressed because I’d just thrown you for a wild loop and you acted like it didn’t faze you in the least. From what I’ve seen of you just this week, you meet everything with a positive attitude. It’s one of my favorite things about you. But with me, right now, you don’t have to smile and say everything’s okay if it’s not. You don’t have to be cheerful; I don’t think any less of you.”

Hakim could see his words get through to her. She gave him a faint smile. He reached out and lightly touched her hand, then sat back so they could finish their meal in silence.

After lunch, Lauren moved to her original seat and went back to staring out the window. Eventually, she fell asleep curled up in the chair and Hakim watched her. He had to find a way to make their parting easier on her. It was his fault she was in this position, so it was up to him to find a way to make her want to not see him again.

When Lauren woke up, Hakim was sitting behind a small table, using it as desk. When she walked up to the table, he barely looked up and said without any emotion, “Yes?”

“You’re working?”

“Yes,” he snapped off the word. “The world hasn’t stopped because I took a day off, and I need to catch up on things.”

He could almost hear her confusion, and it took everything he had to keep up the front. He continued to work, reading through the papers spread out on the table.

“Hakim?” She sat across from him. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Ms. Sanders. I’m simply trying to get some work done.”

“Okay, that’s it.” Lauren put her hand over the papers so that he couldn’t get to them and he finally looked up. She raised her eyebrows at him in question.

“Really, Lauren. I’d like to get this finished before we land.”

“See, if you’d gone with that first, I might have believed you.”

“Believe me about what?”

Lauren shook her head. “You’ve never once called me Ms. Sanders. Even when we first met.”

Hakim tried to sound annoyed, when in reality, he wanted to laugh. “Really, what does it matter what I call you? Our contract is almost over, so you needn’t worry about that any longer.”

“Sorry, no. Try again.”

He looked up and her and sighed. “What do you want?”