The Sheikh's Stolen Bride-To-Be(18)

 



Business never sleeps, as they say, she thought.



A lone security guard sat at a desk watching some monitors, and he looked up when Steph entered.



He asked her something in El Farahn, and Steph hesitated. Seeing her hesitation, the man switched to English.



"Can I help you, miss?"



Steph released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Yes.  I'm looking for Sadiq Al Jabal. Do you know if he's left the office  yet?"



The man's expression was blank as he stared at her. "That depends on what you need to see him for," he answered.



Steph's heart fluttered with nerves. The guard's answer indicated that  Sadiq was indeed still in his office. There was a small chance she could  get their meeting over with tonight, and then who knew what the next  day would bring?



"I'm his fiancée."



The man's eyebrows shot up at this. "Fiancés don't tend to see one another in El Farah, last I checked."



"This is a special occasion."



"If by special occasion, you mean you left him at the altar and everyone knows about it, then you are correct."



Steph winced at his words. They were said without heat, however, which led her to hope that all was not lost.



"Please. I need a chance to explain myself. He deserves to know why I  did what I did. I know it's not conventional, but I'm asking you to make  an exception."



The guard stared at her with imposing brown eyes, his round face  softening ever so slightly. He picked up a phone and paused, then a  voice spoke on the other end of the line. The guard began speaking in El  Farahn again, likely to keep her in the dark about the conversation.  After a moment, he put the phone down and stared at Steph once more.



"Mr. Al Jabal will see you. I don't think it is wise, but what do I  know? I'm just an old man full of wisdom that everyone ignores." He  pressed a button and a door behind him buzzed. "He's on the fourth  floor," he grumbled.



Steph thanked him and sped to the door, opening it before the guard had a  chance to close it and ruin her chance of talking with Sadiq. She was  met by a long line of shiny gold elevators, and she pressed a button in  the middle of them. A door on the end dinged immediately, and she rushed  over, pressing the button for Sadiq's floor before staring at her own  scared reflection in the golden doors as they closed.



A short minute and yet an eternity later, the elevator doors opened to a  series of sleek offices. There were no cubicles, just a large open  space in the middle with a big conference table set up and private  offices all around the perimeter.



Steph gazed around, not sure where to go next. Then a man stepped out of an office at the end.



He walked over to her, his expression cautious.



"Steph?" he asked.



Steph stared at him. He was handsome, it was true. He was tall, his hair  dark, though his eyes were blue, like hers. If one didn't know better,  they could have been taken for siblings, their coloring was so alike. He  was dressed in a sharp suit that perfectly fit his form.



Her parents had been right. He was rich, handsome, and had kind eyes. But he still wasn't Mehdi.



"Hello, Sadiq," she said.



She went to stick out her hand, realized that was probably an  inappropriate gesture to give the man she had abandoned before her  wedding, and dropped it.



Sadiq's eyes darted down, seeing the movement. His expression was maddeningly calm.



"Why don't you come into my office and we can talk?"



"I would like that," she said.



He led the way back to his office, which was immaculate. There was a  large bookcase with many old volumes on its shelves and a vast mahogany  desk in the center of the room. Behind the desk was a large window that  looked out at the city, which was glittering beneath the starlight.  Steph thought about how many more stars she had seen at Mehdi's palace,  then shook her head.



Mehdi could wait. Now she had to give time to Sadiq.



"You took quite the risk coming here this late at night. How did you know I would be here?"



"I didn't," Steph answered, taking a seat as Sadiq sat behind his own  desk. "But while we're on the topic, what are you doing here?"         

     



 



He gestured to an orderly pile of paperwork on his desk. "The finance district never sleeps."



"So you work in finance," Steph said.



Sadiq nodded. "It was a family business, and it's something I enjoy."



Steph swallowed. She was making small talk with the man she was meant to marry.



Seeming to pick up on her trepidation, Sadiq leaned in. "You've come to tell me that you're sorry, I take it?"



Steph nodded. "I have, though I imagine it will ring a bit hollow."



Sadiq stared at her for a moment. His blue eyes really were piercing.  Steph imagined had she not been whisked away by Mehdi, she would have  approved of her parents' choice. As it was, her heart seemed to have  been totally captured by another man.



"You really are very pretty," Sadiq said, apparently appraising her as  well. "Perhaps we could have had a good life together-though I suppose  now that we've seen each other, marriage would be impossible."



"Would you want to get married though, even after all this?"



As Steph listened to Sadiq talk, she realized he could have made a very  good friend. Given their circumstances, it seemed that would be  impossible now. Still, he deserved the full truth, and she would give it  to him.



"No. I only came here because I wanted to see if I could do better with a different life."



"Your family said that you worked in finance as well," he said.



"I did, and I hated it."



Sadiq's eyebrows shot up at that. "But what's to hate? The pace is fast, and the money is abundant."



It was clear to Steph that Sadiq was very passionate about his job. She  tried to imagine being home alone at night while he worked day in and  day out, doing what he loved. It sounded very lonely.



"Never mind all that," Steph said, changing the subject. "I came here to  apologize. The truth is, an arranged marriage isn't really what I  wanted, and I tried to be strong until the end, but … " She hesitated, not  wanting to give Mehdi away. "I just couldn't do it."



Sadiq was quiet for a moment as he stared at her with a curious  expression. Then, without warning, he burst into laughter. Steph watched  him in bewilderment as he worked to contain his mirth.



After a moment, he looked back at her, his expression apologetic. "I'm  sorry, Steph. I know how this must come off, but the truth is, I didn't  want to get married either."



Steph blinked. "I'm sorry?"



Sadiq's eyes sparkled with mischief, and Steph realized then that she might have just made a new friend after all.



"There is a revolution going on in this country, Steph."



At her surprised expression, he held up his hands.



"Not like that. A cultural revolution. As the world gets smaller, many  of us have traveled and seen how other cultures do things. We like the  way the world is different outside here. We don't think there's anything  wrong with adopting some of those practices ourselves. Marriage for  love is one of them."



"You want to marry for love?" Steph asked.



"I do," Sadiq agreed. "In fact, there is a woman I have very much been in love with for quite some time."



"Then why did you agree to this?" Steph said.



"You know exactly why. My parents wanted a girl they could approve of,  and you fit the bill better than she did. Her parents have another man  in mind for her, anyway."



"What are you going to do? Run away together?"



Sadiq stared out into space for a moment, considering that option. "No. I  don't think we'll run away. Now that I've been left at the altar my  status as desirable has been diminished. Not many other girls will be  brave enough to accept an offer from my parents."



Steph glanced down, feeling deep embarrassment for the harm she had caused.



"Oh, no. You shouldn't feel bad! You've given me the greatest gift of  all, Steph. Now there will only be one woman in the world willing to  accept me-the exact woman I want."



Steph looked up to find Sadiq beaming with gratitude, and she couldn't  help but smile back. "We're certainly an interesting pair, aren't we?"         

     



 



"You could say that," he chuckled.



"But you put so much effort into making us want you in our  family-upgrading us to first class, a luxury suite. Why didn't you try  to sabotage it?"



Sadiq shrugged. "I may have wanted something different, but I wasn't  about to let my future wife's family travel uncomfortably. That's not  how I treat the people close to me, and, for all intents and purposes,  that would have included you."



Steph's smile was warm as she stared at him with fresh eyes. "I'm glad that this could work out."