“I will give you this money if you agree to leave Karim alone and return to the states.” He said calmly as if he was speaking wise words. This was all just business to him. Kim was disgusted at how cruelly his father was behaving.
“I do not want your money,” Kim replied as she returned the cheque.
“I see, you want more money.” He wrote out another cheque for one hundred thousand dollars. “Is this enough?” he asked her.
“Sheik, I do not want your money. Please keep it.”
“Is this not enough? You western women are all so materialistic.”
Kim was growing increasingly furious that he was generalising western women who were not all the same. She certainly was not materialistic. No matter how much money Saeed was going to offer, she was not going to take it.
If he were not much older than she was, she probably would have slapped him across the face. Sadly, he was old enough to be her father, and she was taught to respect her elders.
“I resent the fact that you think all western women are the same. Please keep your money; I do not want a dime of it.”
“I know that you want more money. Stop pretending not to and take it. You are wasting my time.” Saeed was getting agitated and impatient.
“I think I will leave now.” Kim could no longer sit there and continue such a pointless conversation. She stood up and Saeed rose along with her.
“You do not leave until I tell you to,” he shouted and banged his fist on his desk.
Looking at him, she backed slowly toward the door, “I am sorry; sir, but I will not continue this conversation with you. I will happily leave you.”
“You spoilt American brat! You are so stubborn and disrespectful. I wish I had never hired you. You only came here to seduce my son and poison him with your western ways!” he shouted.
Staring at him, Kim’s back bumped against the door as she reached around with her hand to find the handle. Not wanting to turn her back on him, she managed to open the door and slide out, shutting it behind her. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths as she fought the urge to cry.
The man was completely insane; she thought as she walked quickly back to her quarters glad that she didn’t run into anyone. As she walked, she thought about all the things that she wanted to say to him but she knew that if she did, she would only somehow be proving him right.
She burst into tears as soon as she walked into her room. Was it so wrong for her to love Karim? It was 2015 for goodness sake. All the bullshit about races not mixing should have died years ago. To Saeed, she was not good enough to be with his son because she was not Arabic. Taking a shuddering breath, she realised that there was no hope for a relationship with Karim if his father was so adamantly opposed to her.
Kim flipped open her suitcase and began throwing her clothes in. She had to get out of that house as fast as her legs could carry her. If Saeed did not want her around, she was going to leave as quickly and as quietly as possible. While she would miss both Amare and Karim, no job or relationship was worth putting up with that man.
Chapter Seventeen
Amare was in his study room preparing for his English exam when he heard voices coming from his father’s office. His study was positioned between his father’s and Karim’s. When he heard the voices, he picked up a glass beaker and went to eavesdrop; the way he had seen Kim do. He listened to the entire conversation as he wondered how his father had found out about Karim and Kim in the first place.
He was shocked at what he had heard from his father’s office. He could not believe that his father disliked Kim being with Karim that much. Amare was aware of how traditional his father was but he did not think that he would try to pay her off.
Amare knew that Kim did not deserve to be treated that way. He waited for a few moments after he had heard her leave his father’s office before he went to speak with him.
Saeed was in the middle of venting to his friend, Kareef, when Amare walked in. Amare looked at Kareef and then at his father.
“Father, may I have a word?”
“Not now,” Saeed snapped.
“It has to be right now.”
“What is so important that it cannot wait?”
“I overheard your conversation with Kim.” Amare was not that bothered that Kareef was in there as he was his father’s closest friend and knew his personal business. He probably already knew about them.
“That does not concern you.”
“Father, I think you are being too harsh.”
Saeed looked at Amare as if he had lost his mind. Kareef just raised his eyebrows.
“Are all my sons bent on disobeying me now? All because of a mere woman?” Saeed laughed sarcastically.