Hannah swallowed hard. Nope, don’t go there, she thought. You already screwed up by getting involved with your last boss—pure, that was just a lousy nightclub gig, but this is an opportunity that could alter your future forever. Don’t go there, Hannah.
She smiled weakly, unable to quite ignore the intent of his comment. Then her better sense returned and she sat up straight. “Thank you,” she said curtly. “You look nice, too.”
Ugh, she thought. I am the world’s biggest idiot. Okay, Hannah. Just calm down. Think of something causal to say.
“It’s just,” she began as Sadiq turned toward her. “Well,” Hannah turned to face him. “You know how when you go on a long trip, there’s so much you have to take care of before you go? You have to remember to do the laundry, lock everything up, empty the fridge, water the plants, pay the bills.” Hannah’s eye’s flew open wide at that. “Oh no! I forgot to pay my credit card bill!”
Sadiq laughed. “Oh, yes, I understand. That happens to me all the time.”
Hannah looked at him and scowled. “Are you mocking me?”
Sadiq sat back in the seat and smiled. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
To Hannah’s relief, the exchange broke the tension, and she was finally able to sit back and relax as they made their way to JFK.
***
Around half an hour later, the limousine pulled in to a private part of the airport that Hannah had never been to before. When
the car stopped, Naasir opened up the door, smiling warmly as Sadiq got out and extended his hand for Hannah.
Hannah emerged from the limousine and found Sadiq instantly swept away by several Middle-Eastern men in black suits. Her bewildered expression left nothing to the imagination and Naasir quickly came up beside her.
“Not to worry, ma’am. Those are His Highness’ bodyguards. They are with him at all times. Except when he manages to, how do you say…ditch them?”
Hannah looked at Naasir and saw that he was smiling. She had a feeling they were going to get along just fine.
“Now, we need to get you through security so we can board the jet.”
“The jet?” Hannah said.
Sadiq returned, accompanied a few feet away by the group of bodyguards. “You didn’t think you would be flying commercial, did you?”
Hannah waved her hand as if she’d done all of this before. “No, of course not…”
“Good, then let’s get going.”
Hannah followed the Sheikh into a small terminal and up to a counter where two glamorous female attendants were waiting. After she answered all the usual security questions, showed them her passport and let them rifle through her purse, she was given the go-ahead to board the jet.
Sadiq led her outside to the tarmac where a gleaming white jet waited with the stairs folded down. Beckoning them over was a long, red carpet trimmed with gold thread. Alongside the carpet stood each bodyguard, holding their arms in a salute as Sadiq and Hannah approached.
Hannah wanted to pinch herself; she couldn’t believe this was happening. She knew, of course, that some people lived like this, surrounded by luxury, pomp and ceremonial fanfare, but she had never witnessed it outside of a trashy magazine or television show. And now, here she was, about to board a private jet with the heir to a royal empire—and a darned good-looking heir at that.
What the heck, she thought as she reached her hand under her sleeve and pinched herself. Yep, I really am awake.
“Come, let me show you around,” said Sadiq as he guided a mesmerized Hannah through the cabin door and inside the plane.
The cabin held a large white leather sofa and reclining chairs, all surrounding a gleaming marble table. They faced each other, but could also swivel to face an enormous plasma television mounted on the wall separating the cabin from the cockpit. Along one side of the cabin was a long mahogany desk complete with two laptops, two chairs and a table lamp.
Beyond the central cabin space was the entrance to the rear of the jet, which held a galley kitchen, a bathroom and two separate bunk rooms. One of the bunkrooms had a queen bed that folded out of the wall while the other held two twin beds.
“You can sleep in here if you need to,” Sadiq said of the compartment with the queen bed. “It’s a twelve-hour flight to El-Shakanish, so you might want to get some rest.
“Oh, thanks,” she said. Hannah looked at the room and wondered how many other women had slept in that bunk, with and without the Sheikh.
They returned to the main cabin and Hannah sat down on the leather sofa while Sadiq walked over to the bar and began to pour himself a drink.
“What would you like to drink, Hannah?” he asked from the bar.
“Um, nothing, I’m fine.”