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“Oh, yes.” She nodded vigorously, looking at each man except Zahir. “Travel is in my blood. I recently left the corporate world in New York to begin traveling but, uh,” she licked at her lips, the imagine of Zahir hoisting her against her door flashing sinfully through her mind, “I could be willing to make Minarak my official destination for the next period of time.”
“We should talk salary.” Imaad shuffled some papers, glancing at his brothers. He ran through the job description, and she mentally ticked off each point as one of her areas of expertise. As if they’d designed the position just for her. “To be honest, we’re keen to hire you. And we’ll offer you the money to stay here for a while.”
“Furnished apartment, relocation benefits, and a starting salary of one hundred thousand US dollars,” Omar added.
Layla blinked, the words circling bulkily in her head. She’d made that much in New York City. But with almost zero spending required of her here in Minarak, the majority of that income could be banked. Marian had been right. A one-year trip could easily turn into two…or more. And better yet, she’d have options for afterward. That amount of money was worth postponing her trip by a little bit. A year would fly by.
Her stunned silence must have been enough of an answer.
“Shall we start with a year?” Almasi Senior rumbled with the suggestion, looking at everyone in turn. “Thirty days probation, though I doubt you’ll need it.”
Layla nodded, feeling like her head might topple right off. Let’s wrap it up so I can get out of here and start breathing again. “Sounds great. I’m very eager to begin.”
Zahir looked down at some papers in his hands. “Then we should sign.”
Layla rolled her lips inward as she watched his perfect, masculine hands set aside her contract. Even the act of him clicking a pen was somehow sexy. She swallowed hard. She was in trouble. She’d already had a taste of this man. How was she supposed to ignore that delectable flavor from here on out?
He slid the contract her way, his dark gaze meeting hers for a scorching moment. “Have a look. Make sure everything seems fine. And then sign on the last page.”
Layla nodded, feeling dazed. He could have told her to dance around the room with maracas, and she would have mutely agreed. She flipped through the pages, trying to make sense of the words, making it only a line or two before her nerves rattled and distracted her again.
Working here couldn’t be like this all the time. She’d have her own office. Her own space. Her own ways of avoiding Zahir during work hours. She flipped to the last page, skimming the articles. She just needed to process the shock of walking into her big meeting to find her Parsian lover at the helm, and then she’d be fine.
Totally fine.
She signed the last page with a flourish, and satisfaction rippled through the room. Almasi Senior nodded while Imaad and Omar looked pleased. Zahir stared at some unknowable spot on the table, tapping a finger against the finish.
“Welcome to Almasi-Thomas,” Omar said, grinning ear-to-ear.
Everyone shook hands again, and she made her handshake with Zahir as limp and efficient as possible. He was her boss now. They had to scrap everything that had come before, rewrite the entire rule book from scratch. And with her as the Human Resources Director of Cultural Integration, she actually would write the policies.
“Let me show you to your new office,” Zahir blurted, stepping forward while his brothers shuffled toward the door. “Then you can start getting settled in.”
Layla’s stomach sank. Couldn’t she request Omar show her the way? But no, this was just something she’d have to get used to—staring this sex god in the face and doing nothing.
“Great.” She tried to sound cheery but it just came out strained. Maybe even a little crazed. Layla followed Zahir out of the board room and down the hallway. Toward the end, he pushed on the second-to-last door, revealing a spacious office with wooden floors. Empty bookshelves lined one wall. The windows overlooked downtown Minarak and, far in the distance, rolling dunes.
“Wow.” She walked to the desk, already imagining ways she could fill this space, make it hers. But more than that, Zahir’s presence crowded her mind, making it hard to think about nearly anything else. After a few tense seconds she heard the door click shut. She turned to see Zahir leaning against it, his gaze dark and heavy.
5
“Well, this is a surprise.”
His own words sounded foreign to him, resonating strangely in the empty office. Layla’s expression was torn between indecision and something else he couldn’t identify. She sank into the office chair.
“Yeah. You’re telling me.” She gnawed on her thumbnail, worried gaze studying something across the room. “I had no idea.”
“Me, neither.” He cleared his throat, stepping forward tentatively. Moving deeper into her space was dangerous. He wasn’t sure if he could trust himself, not after wanting her so desperately all yesterday and this morning.
Her appearance in the board room had felt like the result of wanting her too hard, as if he’d thought her into existence but at the worst possible moment. After their incredible night of phone sex last night, he’d woken up with a hard-on and a rapidly unfolding plan for what they’d do that night. Dinner plans were in the works.
But now…
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, clenching his jaw. “What happened between us should stay there. Between us.”
“Well, obviously.” Layla huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m not so excited about walking straight into the biggest HR shit show of my entire career.”
“It won’t be a shit show. I promise.” He came up to her desk, his gaze traveling o
