Why are you so fascinating? He looked away, as though to train his mind to ignore her. Marian was linked to his wife—maybe irrationally so—and for better or worse, he had to ignore the former because of the latter. There was no other way.
The women wrapped up their conversation once Annabelle checked the time. “I’m on my way to a meeting right now,” she said, squeezing the sides of Marian’s arms. “I’ll text you about meeting up later. Love you, girl.”
They hugged again, and once Annabelle trotted down the hall, Marian turned to him with an ear-to-ear grin.
“I had no idea you two were so close,” he mused, pointing down the hallway. He led the way to his office, which was just around the corner. Her being close to Annabelle was…a relief. Somehow. Or at least exciting. There was something b
uried deep within that relationship that comforted him, made him distantly curious to see how things with Marian might develop.
“Oh, yes. We’re sisters, without the blood.” Marian snorted as he led her into his office. It was a corner office, significantly smaller than his father’s but well-lit and airy. “And you’re Imaad’s brother…so I guess that makes us in-laws, somehow.”
Omar laughed a little, sitting in front of his desk. “Yes, I suppose.”
“So, what about you, Omar? We haven’t gotten a chance to really get to know each other. I mean, I should know something about you, since we’re working together now.” She cocked a winning grin, propping her hands against the back of the chair facing his desk.
“Well, there’s not much to know, really.” He leaned back in the chair, trying to affect a relaxed air, even though this probing turn of conversation made him nervous.
“Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”
“Imaad and Zahir. That’s it.”
“The three heirs.” Marian grinned, flicking her hair back from her face. “What about family? Kids?”
“None of those,” he said, forcing a little laugh. Please don’t ask anything more.
“Married?”
He swore there was a lilt in her voice as she asked it, which both uplifted and devastated him.
“Uh…yes.” When he noticed she looked a little crushed, he added, “I was. My wife, uh…she passed away two years ago.”
Silence filled the room, and Marian’s face fell. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry to hear that. I didn’t mean…” She nibbled on her bottom lip, shaking her head, ringlets swaying. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
Omar tapped his fingers on his desk, crippled with indecision. Here it was—the elephant in his head. Impossible to avoid now. And maybe this was his cue to draw the line in the sand. Now.
“Well, I’m going to get to work on setting up another meeting with this company,” Omar said, reaching for some files on his desk.
“Great,” Marian said quickly. “I’ll draft a presentation, one that will address today’s horrible outcome and then how to move forward from here.”
Omar nodded, avoiding her gaze. “Excellent. Let’s meet tomorrow.”
Marian nodded and let herself out of his office, leaving a wake of confusion behind her. He stared at the door for a long time, combatting the “Wait” dangling on his lips.
5
After an invigorating lunch with Annabelle and a productive afternoon of business planning, Marian was ready for one more self-esteem boost.
She dressed carefully in her hotel suite while on speaker phone with Layla, a friend from NYC.
“You should wear the red one,” Layla said, even though she couldn’t see the options being considered.
“Yeah, but that might scream something I don’t want to scream in this male-dominated society,” Marian said, nibbling her lip as she looked at the three dresses lying on her bed. “All I want is to look sexy for myself and have a relaxing, exploratory night out in Minarak.”
“Are you sure you don’t need a sexy Almasi brother on your arm?”
Marian’s stomach plummeted to her feet. “Ugh. I didn’t tell you.” She relayed the awkward encounter earlier that day in Omar’s office. “That’s what I get for being forward with a business associate.”
“You weren’t forward, you were just curious.”