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Mila gasped and clutched at him. She’d planned on seducing him to get him into the room, but she hadn’t expected it to get this far. If she didn’t put a stop to it, she was going to come all over his finger.
“There are cameras in here,” she whispered, but she let him stroke her a couple more times before she reluctantly pushed him away. “Are you planning on giving them a show?”
“I’ll destroy the recording.” He cocked his head and grinned. “Or maybe keep it for later.”
“You’re terrible!” The doors opened, and she quickly danced out of his reach. Scanning the doors for the right one, she stopped at the closed double doors and knocked to let them know inside that she was ready. “Maybe just a quickie.” She winked at him and opened the doors.
As soon as he stepped inside, she flipped on the lights, and sensed rather than saw everyone in the room turning to greet them. Then Mila saw the shock in Rashid’s face and turned to take a look at the decorations.
Except that there were none. Instead of the big Happy Engagement banner that she’d planned, half-naked women were dancing on the tables. Televisions flashed with several games going at once, and some people groaned while others cheered. Money exchanged hands, and booze was flowing freely.
“Oh, no,” Mila whispered.
Karam and Arvio sauntered out from the corner. “Surprise, Rashid!” they crowed. “Happy engagement!”
Rashid barely looked at them as he stepped out of the room, back into the corridor, and pulled out his phone.
Mila stared at the two supposed friends. “I don’t understand. What’s happening?”
Karam winked. “We thought we might give you a taste of what Rashid’s life used to be like. Before this sports complex and diamond rings. This is how he spent every night. Women, booze, and gambling.”
Arvio grabbed her hand and kissed it while Karam crowed with laughter.
She snatched her hand away and wiped it on her dress. “He’s not like that anymore,” she whispered.
“Are you sure about that?”
Dread filled her, and she watched three men loudly placing bets on the football game. “You’re the ones who have been gambling? You’re going to get this place shut down! I thought you were his friends!”
“What? He doesn’t care. We are his friends. We’re just making a little money on the side.” Karam held his hand up and helped one of the dancers off the table. Openly caressing the woman, he grinned at Mila. “Table’s empty if you want to get up there and show us what you’ve got.”
“Leave her alone,” Rashid said coldly, suddenly reappearing.
Grateful that he’d returned, she reached out for him. “Rashid, I’m so sorry. This was supposed to b
e an engagement party. I thought your family and friends would be here.”
Instead of embracing her, he stepped back. “Stop talking,” he hissed. “You’re so naive. I had to call security—did you know reporters are swarming the parking lot? How long before one of them slips in and gets a picture of this? And I’m supposed to admit that while I had nothing to do with it, my fiancée orchestrated it? You didn’t think to ask me about these so-called friends that I never talked about? They’re the reason I had to get engaged in the first place! Of course, maybe this is your way of thanking them. If it hadn’t been for their reckless behavior, you’d still be a waitress at a bar instead of engaged to a sheikh, wouldn’t you?”
Numb with shock, Mila stepped back. Everyone in the room had quieted to stare at them, and she felt like she’d walked into someone else’s nightmare. Never in her life had she imagined that this might happen. “You don’t really think I did this on purpose, do you? I wanted to do something nice for you.” She was sobbing now. “I love you!”
Her confession did nothing but turn his eyes even colder. “I don’t know what’s worse. The idea that you did it on purpose, or the idea that you were stupid enough to fall for their lies. You want to be a world traveler? You don’t know a damn thing about how the world really works, do you, sweetheart?” His words were dripping with poison.
Mila was paralyzed, but when the doors flew open and the police arrived, reality came crashing down around her.
Rashid was right. She didn’t know how the world really worked. She’d thought that maybe, just maybe, he could fall in love with her.
She was a fool.
With the chaos inside matching that going on around her, she turned and ran from the room. In the privacy of the elevator, she let the first few tears slide down her face, but she struggled to keep herself together.
Police cars lined the parking lot, and the press were taking hundreds of pictures, but she ignored them all as she searched for a way out.
A car pulled up, and the window rolled down. “Mila?”
“Ori!” Relieved, she jerked on the door handle and slid inside.
The driver’s expression was full of concern as he gazed at her in the mirror. “Is Sheikh Rashid coming with you?”
