The Sheikh's Stubborn Assistant (The Sharif Sheikhs 3)

She shrugged and perched on the table. Swinging her legs, she took some pains to arrange her gold gown for the best effect. His sister always seemed to need to loo

k good, even in the presence of family. “I’m your favorite sibling. I don’t need an invitation.”

“I wouldn’t say favorite.”

She pouted as he shrugged out of his dress shirt and grabbed a t-shirt. “You’re meaner than usual. Someone from dinner get under your skin?”

Khalid glared at her. As a matter of fact, someone had gotten under his skin, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to discuss it with his sister. She had a reputation for sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. “I’m cranky because your two friends were throwing themselves at me all night. When are you going to leave my love life alone?”

“You don’t have a love life, Khalid. You have a string of one-night stands, and I would never foist a friend off on you. Not unless I wanted you to break her heart.” She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you hire Katie?”

“I offered her an assistant’s position in the gallery, and she wanted a curation position. I don’t have a need for a curator,” he grumbled as he walked to the bar. He poured a glass of whiskey for himself and a shot of vodka for his sister.

She tossed her drink back easily and eyed him. “She would have taken the assistant position. She’s not afraid of hard work.” Arching her eyebrows, she slid off the table and walked to the bar.

As she reached for the bottle, he grabbed her wrist. “No more,” he said simply and put the bottle away.

“Since when did you start caring how much I drink?”

Khalid could see the growing frustration in his sister. She wanted more than they were able to give her at the palace, but she couldn’t voice it. Their parents gave her complete freedom inside the palace, but it wasn’t enough. He worried about her.

“It’s late, Amira. You should go to bed.”

“Why don’t you want to give her a chance, Khalid? And don’t lie to me. I can tell.”

It was true. His sister had a talent for looking beyond the surface. It was easier to turn his back than to face her. “She’s a pretty girl with an excellent education and an impressive internship experience. She’ll find a job.”

“She’s a female looking to break into the art world, Khalid,” Amira said sharply from behind him. “So far, the only jobs she’s been offered are from managers who want to sleep with her.”

Khalid immediately clenched his jaw. The thought of someone taking advantage of Katie, someone putting hands on her, filled him with a strange sense of rage.

Amira was right, of course. The men in the art world loved to collect beautiful things, and even in a country with gorgeous women, Katie was an exotic beauty. He’d never seen anyone like her.

But she was more than just beautiful. She was . . . unique.

Intimacy implies passion.

She was dangerous.

“Fine. I’ll hire her. As an assistant in the gallery. She’ll take my direction, Amira, or she won’t last long.”

“Yay!” As Khalid turned around, his sister launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug. “I think you two are going to be great together.”

“I’m her boss, Amira. Don’t get any ideas.”

His sister snorted as she pulled away. “Please. I know you too well to have any expectations.”

As she walked away, he wanted to ask what that meant, but he was almost too afraid of the answer.

The call from Khalid’s secretary came first thing in the morning and shook Katie to the core. She fumbled as she got ready and was thankful to find that Sahaar had gotten up earlier and was already at the market. She’d just try to push breakfast on Katie, and Katie was too nervous to eat.

Pulling her portfolio together, she left early and headed to the gallery. Heart beating rapidly, she walked through the glass doors and swallowed hard. As her heels clicked on the tiled floor, she wondered if she shouldn’t have just turned him down flat. It was obvious that he had no interest in hiring her. Was he just calling her back to see her face when he told her he didn’t think she was good enough?

“Collect your things. You’re done.”

His cold voice filtered through the opened door of his office, and a moment later, a young woman rushed out into the anteroom with tears in her eyes. Katie frowned. He hadn’t just fired someone to make room for her, had he?

The pretty woman sitting at the receptionist desk—Nadira, Katie remembered—cleared her throat. “Katie? The sheikh will see you now.”