“Is he?” Claire asked. Kim nodded. “It isn’t surprising. You would expect that from rich people. I bet he is a player.”
“I heard that he is. He does not date women for very long and I’ve been told that he doesn’t believe in love.”
Claire raised her eyebrows. “I am going to search for him on Google.”
Kim laughed. Of course, Claire would do that. She was a curious one but so was Kim. She too had searched for the Sharqi family online. Moments later, Claire gasped.
“Well, this Karim dude is quite handsome,” she said.
“He is average, I guess.” Kim said. She did not want her confused feelings for him to show. So, she tried to down play it but she could not fool Claire. She knew her too well.
“Kimberley Atkins, this man is not average! And you do not think he is average, I can tell,” Claire said narrowing her eyes. Kim laughed guiltily.
“Okay, he is not average.” He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was just the right height and had a body that you wanted to reach out and touch.
“Exactly, you know he is very hot and you drool over him.”
“Okay Claire, no one is drooling here.”
“Wet dreams even.”
“What?!” Kim started laughing. “You are ridiculous.”
Claire giggled. “I bet you do.” She winked. Kim shook her head as she briefly wondered if daydreams counted if she was awake.
“So what are you up to?” Kim asked, changing the subject. There had been too much of Karim in her life especially since he appeared to be purposely avoiding her. At the orphanage, that was all the other teachers could talk about and then, there was that moment in the storm shelter. Now Claire was talking about him.
“I am going out tonight to celebrate,” Claire said. “What are you doing?”
“Hiding in my room.”
“Wait. What? Why?”
Shrugging her shoulders, “Things got a bit awkward about a week ago.”
Sliding closer to her webcam, “Oh? Spill it.”
Sighing, Kim replied, “I kissed Karim. Or rather he kissed me. Oh, we kissed each other.” She cringed at the squeals of laughter coming from Claire.
Just as Claire was about to respond, her phone beeped. Checking the message, she looked at her best friend apologetically, “Dammit, you should have lead with this, Kim, because I have to go. I’m going to be late, but we will be talking about this again,” she told her ominously before laughing.
“Alright, bye love.”
“Bye.”
Kim signed off and put her laptop back on the nightstand wondering if she should have said anything to her friend. She still didn’t know what the kiss meant. She lay on her bed facing the ceiling wondering what to do with herself. She had already planned her lessons.
Kim contemplated going downstairs to watch television but worried that she might run into Karim. Moments later, she heard the sound of a car engine. She got off her bed and went to the window to see whom it was.
She watched as a gorgeous woman in a tight fitting blue dress and black heels got out. Her long curly black hair cascaded down her back in waves. Middle Eastern women were very beautiful. Kim’s jaw dropped when Karim got out of the car as well.
He was dressed in a fine black suit and he looked handsome as always. He said something to her, kissed her on the cheek and walked into the house while she waited outside. Kim could not help but feel a little jealous. It seemed as though he was going on a date with her.
Karim re-emerged moments later, they both got back into the car and Kim watched them drive off. A plain Jane like herself could never be with a guy like him. It was best for her to rein her emotions in and get a hold of herself. She sighed and walked away from the window. She sat on her bed, still confused about what to do. She was not tutoring Amare that day, so she had plenty of time on her hands.
Chapter Ten
Karim returned home late after a long date with Zainab. She was Sheikh Mufasa’s eldest daughter and one of Sharqi Jewels biggest clients. Since taking over for his father as CEO, Karim had been working hard to build their client base since his father pulled that ridiculous stunt with a member of the royal family.
If it hadn’t been for Taleb’s quick thinking and the Tazeems desire not to cause further anguish for the family, they might well have lost everything. Since becoming CEO, Karim worked to blend many of his father’s traditional ways with more modern expectations and so far, he had been successful. He hoped that by taking Zainab out and making sure that she was happy with him; her father would be as well. It was good business really.
As tired as he was, he still had work to do. When he walked into his office, he was surprised to find Kim sleeping at his desk with mounds of paper surrounding her.