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“I don’t want to go anywhere with you.” She started to pull away, but he refused to let her go. She glanced around and lowered her voice. “All these people are looking at us.”
“You will want to see this, I promise. And do not worry about them. With the exception of a few words, most of them do not speak English well enough to know what we just discussed. Do not be embarrassed.”
“I’m not embarrassed. I’m pissed off.”
After a perfunctory bow and a mumbled excuse to the board members, he led Janna out into the lobby and over to the elevators.
“Just let me show you this one thing.” He pushed the Up button then waited. “If what I show you does not change your mind, then you are free to go.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” The elevator dinged and he escorted her on board, then pressed the button for the rooftop level.
“It better be one spectacular something, whatever it is.” She eyed him from where she stood beside him, arms crossed.
Nassir nodded. For his sake, he prayed it would be enough.
Chapter 12
The elevator doors opened again and Nassir led Janna out onto a glass enclosed balcony. All around her were blue skies and fluffy white clouds and the sparkling city below. It looked like something out of a fairy tale and she couldn’t help her delighted gasp, despite the situation. “The view is beautiful, but it isn’t going to change my mind.”
“Yes, isn’t it?” He moved in beside her at the railing and pointed toward the horizon. “What do you see?”
“Well, I see buildings, factories, parks and homes. A hospital over there. All the stuff that makes up a city, I guess.”
“My family and this company helped build this city. Adjalane Oil owns a majority of the buildings. We help fund the schools. Helped build the hospital. We do it all to help the people of Al-Sarid. This is why my marriage is so important. Many people in this country depend on my family’s generosity. Without our help they would not survive. My uncle would see an end to all these endeavours. That is why I cannot allow him to take over control of the company.”
She turned to face him and waited for him to continue, more interested in his explanation than she cared to admit. She’d come here with the full intent of telling him where he could shove his phony invitation and be on the next flight back to the States. But now she stood captivated by his story. He leaned his forearms on the railing and gazed around at the skyline. “Go on.”
He looked over at her. “When the board first told me I must marry an American or lose my position, I was…upset, to say the least. I’d never met a Western woman I wanted to have dinner with, let alone marry.” Nassir gave a rueful smile and her heart tumbled to her toes. “Then I saw you at Amare’s wedding. You seemed happy and so in control. I envied you.”
“Envied me?” Janna snorted. “Why?” He had everything and she had nothing.
“Because you seemed to enjoy your work, your life.”
“Well, you like your work too, right? You certainly do enough of it.” She still felt hurt, betrayed, vulnerable. She didn’t like it and wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easy. What he’d done was wrong and now it was time to make him suffer for it. “You told me that night at the treehouse it was some kind of escape for you. Or was that another one of your lies, too?”
“No.” He had the decency to wince. “That was not a lie. My work is an escape. But escape and enjoyment are two different things.”
Her heart pinched at the desolation in his voice, despite her anger. “So, your work doesn’t fill that part of your life. Surely, with everything you have, you’ve got something else that lifts your spirits and makes you feel alive.”
“When I saw you at the wedding, you spoke your mind freely to Karim and I. You didn’t hold back, nor did you apologize for your opinion, yet you handled all those under your authority with respect and efficiency.” Nassir stared at her, his dark gaze unreadable. “I knew from the moment I spotted you in that service hallway that you were the woman I wanted for my bride. A woman who could help me run my company. A woman who could teach me to smile and laugh again.”
“The service hallway?” Janna couldn’t help but laugh. Figured she’d meet the man of her dreams in some hotel kitchen. She stepped closer to him, and cocked her head. “Why do you work so much, if you don’t enjoy it? And don’t give me that ‘escape’ crap again, either.”
Nassir took a deep breath and inched closer to her as well, his forearm brushing against her elbow. She shivered from the contact and he smiled. “When I broke my leg, that summer, the doctor’s weren’t sure the bones would heal properly because the fracture was so severe. That’s why they put me on total bed rest. There was a very good chance I’d never walk properly again.”
“Oh.” She reached out and placed her hand on his arm, squeezing reassuringly. “But everything turned out all right, yes?”
He shrugged. “At first, I felt quite sorry for myself. Then, of course, my father helped me realize I could direct my energies to other pursuits. In the end, I was proud of my academic accomplishments, but somewhere along the way, I stopped enjoying life.”
“You were only seven. That’s awfully young to become a cynic.”
“It was easier, I suppose, then dealing with my emotions. Until I met
you. Then I realized I wanted to enjoy my life again. Not just for a night, or for a few hours, but every single day. Like you.”
“Well, you obviously have never seen me on a bad day.” She nudged his shoulder with hers. “After my mom’s accident, I had no choice but to grow up fast.”
