“Did I just see you speaking to my brother?” Amira asked suddenly in her ear.
Katie gasped and jumped. “Are you lurking?” she demanded, and then she managed a laugh.
“It’s my party. That gives me grounds to keep an eye on things without lurking,” the exotic beauty said with a smile. “The truth is, I’m glad you met him. I wasn’t even sure if he would show up. It’s so difficult to get him to socialize, sometimes. Especially now that Asad and Rashid are married. In any case, did you two get a chance to talk about work?”
“Work? No. I tried to compliment him on the artwork in the palace, but he didn’t seem interested.”
“Khalid owns an art gallery here in Dubai, and I heard that he’s thinking of expanding.” Amira cocked her head and gave Katie a measuring glance. “I think you should submit your resume.”
Hope swelled in Katie as she gripped the glass Khalid had thrust into her hand. “Really? I didn’t even get a chance to tell him that I was looking for a museum job. In fact, we didn’t really talk much at all, except that he was interested in my connection with Mila and Liyah. He also didn’t seem to want you to know that we’d met.”
A slow smile spread over Amira’s face. “Really? In that case, I would definitely recommend that you send him your resume, but don’t mention your connection to us. Let your work speak for itself.”
“I had planned on doing just that,” Katie said with a confused smile. “Is there something else that I should know?”
“Not at all. Now, come mingle!”
Happy that Mila and Liyah had talked her into this, Katie dutifully followed Amira around and let the princess continue showing her off. Her head was spinning with possibilities.
Maybe, just maybe, this trip to Dubai will work out, after all.
3
"Too bubbly," Katie overheard the sheikh telling his assistant, a nervous girl who clearly feared him. "Not enough qualifications."
Katie caught her breath as another piece of paper fluttered. “Oh, absolutely not,” she heard him growl. It was enough to make her wish the door to the inner sanctum was securely closed instead of open a crack.
Fingers drumming the tops of her knees, Katie stole a glance toward the door leading to the stairwell close to where she sat on the gilded bench in the waiting area. She could leave. She wasn’t obligated to stay here and endure an obviously impossible personality. Sheikh or no sheikh. Connection or no connection. If the other night had been any indication, the sheikh already didn’t like her.
Suddenly, her name filtered through the crack in the door, and Katie cursed. She’d waited too long, and now it was too late to flee.
Not that Katie was the fleeing type.
"Send her in!" Khalid snapped loudly.
Imagining bass notes of doom following that statement, Kadija rose as the assistant exited the office.
"He'll see you now,” the woman said in a wavering voice.
Katie infused warm enthusiasm into her voice. “Wonderful.” She thanked the poor woman, then took a deep breath and turned to the doorway into the lion’s den. Entering the inner office, she found it unusually spartan for one belonging to a sheikh.
He eyed her, and she felt a pulse of energy flash between them, a thudding of her heart. There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes, and she wondered if he was going to throw her out.
“Kadija,” he muttered in a low voice. “You failed to mention your work interest when we met.”
“You didn’t exactly stick around long enough to ask.” Her voice remained pleasant as she took a seat, but she kept her chin up. She wasn’t going to let him bully or intimidate her.
His jaw clenched, but he nodded. “I suppose that’s true. You have work experience in the West."
They were dispensing with the uncomfortable pleasantries. She was relieved that he was acting professionally. “Yes, I've curated several exhibits as a part of my work study in college."
He looked her over without a word and then turned his eyes to the resume in front of him. "And you take direction well?"
"I . . . do."
"Good. There's an assistant position in the gallery."
An assistant position? She frowned. “Does it include curation?"