The Sheikh’s Christmas Fling: Christmas With The Yared Sheikhs Book One Read online

  She yawned, lowering the brim of her sun hat. Linh was out with the nanny at a kid’s park near the palace, allowing her much-needed adult time. Even though life was about as awesome as it could get, she hadn’t had a chance to just sit without a baby nearby in what felt like ages.

  This was going to be nice.

  “Well, I told him he might as well wrap me up in the tapestry and hang me with it because I wasn’t going to back down.” A distant voice reached her—definitely female and distinctly American. Ana grinned, knowing immediately who it was. Her recently-acquired Girl Squad was en route.

  “And what did he say to that?” Another woman’s voice. Also American. Ana’s grin widened.

  “He said he’d rather wrap me up in his sheets.” A giggle. The voices were getting nearer.

  A moment later, two twenty-something women entered the pool area. Both of them wore sunhats and bathing suits and carried large bags slung over their shoulders.

  “Ana!” The blonde one exclaimed. “You’re early!”

  Ana lowered her sun hat, relaxing back onto her lounge chair. “I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed the sunshine. Did you bring mimosas like we agreed?”

  Maia, the interior decorator hired for the season, plopped onto the lounge chair next to Ana’s, rummaging through her bags. “I didn’t bring them physically, but I did tell the kitchen we needed them stat. So they’re coming.”

  Sondra, event planner extraordinaire, sighed, easing down onto the other chair beside Ana’s. “Is this possible? A full afternoon without kids?”

  “We’ll have to wait and find out,” Ana said, grinning over at her new friend. The three of them had met early on in the palace and formed a union born of both necessity—a girl needed her squad—and sheer compatibility. Back home, they all would have been friends. So what luck it was that they’d found each other here, of all places. All three of them had young kids, too, so they could vent and share in peace.

  And curiously enough, all three were involved with one of the Yared brothers.

  “So what’s new with Noel?” Maia asked. “I barely see him. He always seems so serious when I do, though.”

  “He can be,” Ana said with a laugh. “Leave it to me to find a man who barely likes to eat, too. Although, I wouldn’t say we’re seeing each other. It’s just…for now. You know?”

  “Yeah.” Sondra nodded, taking a sip from a water bottle. “But Robel makes me think about what might happen after. Even though he’s such a hard ass.”

  That was the problem for Ana too. Something about Noel made her want to consider what “after” might look like, even though she thought she knew exactly how it would go. Return to LA, make her grand re-entrance, snag that Michelin star, rake in the cash.

  But after being in Maatkare for so long, it was hard to imagine leaving some of the softer parts of her routine here. The morning runs with Noel might be the hardest. But beyond that, she loved visiting the city center and seeing all those familiar faces. Her stilted conversations in French were sometimes the highlight of her week.

  Back in LA, that never happened. Everyone was too busy, traffic was too heavy, the sun was too hot.

  But here…she actually got out. Saw the country. Saw the people. Felt like she lived life in a way that she never could fully achieve in the bustle of LA.

  “Once this gig is up, Linh and I are traveling back to LA,” Ana said. But her voice sounded hollow. Part of her doubted that…though she couldn’t say why.

  After over an hour of excited conversation and sharing, Ana’s phone lit up. It was Charlie. Except he didn’t say what she’d been expecting.

  “Hey, Mr. Yared came looking for you, says he needs to talk about something. Can you go to his office?”

  Ana’s stomach flopped, and she responded with a quick “Sure.” She packed up her stuff, slipped on loose linen pants, and gave both Maia and Sondra a quick hug before excusing herself. At the very least, she’d found her girlfriends at the palace, and that was beyond her wildest dreams.

  Ana didn’t bother stopping by the bedroom first. She went straight to Sheikh Yared’s office at the northern end of the palace, where she and Charlie had formally been introduced to the royal family on day one. She rapped her knuckles against the beveled wooden door and waited.

  A few tense moments later, the door swung open. Sheikh Yared’s round, shining face was impassive. His black eyes lingered on her a moment before gesturing for her to enter.

  “Thank you, sir.” As soon as she stepped inside, she knew there was trouble. It wasn’t just the tightness of the air or the warning signal of anxiety in her belly.

  Behind the desk, across the room, Segal stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

  Staring at Ana like he’d finally caught the career-making fish.

  She spun to look at Yared as he lumbered back toward his desk. “What’s going on here?”

  “Your tactics have been discovered,” Shiekh Yared said to her in stilted English. “With the help of Segal, your ruse has come to an end. This is your final day in the palace. You are dismissed. In one hour, a car will come to take you, your sous chef, and your daughter to the airport, where you can make your own arrangements home.”

  Silence stretched thick across the room, his words bouncing around in her head. Sheikh Yared bent over his desk, writing out a check. She heard the scribbling of the pen as he signed his name. The tearing of the paper. He offered her the check without looking at her.

  “This is for the work you’ve done thus far. Thank you.”

  Ana blinked dumbly, rooted to her spot. Her gaze bounced between Yared and Segal. This had to be a dream. Maybe she was still at the pool, had fallen asleep in the sun. Maybe this was just a sun nightmare. It had to be.

  “I don’t understand,” was all she could say.

  “I’m disappointed that you would betray my trust in this way,” Sheikh Yared said, offering the check once more. “But even more disappointed that you cannot own up to it. Reselling the kitchen ingredients for a profit in the market—it is despicable. Those imported ingredients are expensive, and my home is not a tool for your own black market.”

  Her mouth parted, heart pounding as the realization filtered through her slowly. Segal. It had to be him. Lying, stealing the tempeh, probably siphoning off other ingredients.

  “This is a lie,” Ana blurted. “A ridiculous lie. Whatever he’s told you! I haven’t resold anything, I swear to you. I’ve worked my tail off for this palace, and never once have I done anything but try to bring the greatest success to your events.” She balled her fists, emotion slamming through her, making it hard to find words, to think, to even stand up straight. “Sheikh Yared, I swear to you. I never resold ingredients to the market.”

  He waved his hand in the air, dismissing her. “You must leave now. It has been taken care of. We have the proof that we need, and there is no further discussion. I will not tolerate deceit in my palace.”

  She protested further, but this time Yared spoke to someone on his phone, and a moment later, guards appeared in the doorway. Rough hands grabbed her by the arms, guiding her out. She gasped, too stunned to protest, too humiliated to fight back.

  Ana allowed them to lead her away for a few feet until she jerked her arms out of their grip. “I’m fine. I’m fine! I won’t fucking bother anybody, don’t worry.”

  She hurried back to her bedroom, where Charlie sat on her four-poster bed with Linh. Her little girl was looking at a book while Charlie looked half asleep.

  “We need to leave,” Ana spat as she stormed inside, the tremble in her voice signaling an emotional shit storm that was about to descend. Charlie jerked upright, alarm sharpening his features.

  “What are you talking about? Did you have the meeting with Sheikh Yared?”

  “Yep, and we’re being kicked out.” Ana stormed to the closet to pull out the suitcases. Linh screeched with excitement, bouncing around at her feet. “Turns out they have proof that I’ve been stealing pr
oduct and reselling it at the market.” She scoffed, turning back to look at Charlie. “Isn’t that interesting?”

  Charlie’s jaw flexed, and he shook his head slowly. “Segal. That bastard.”

  “Exactly.” Ana tore clothes off hangers, tossing them into the open suitcase. Linh plopped down beside it, digging her hands in the growing pile of clothes. “He didn’t even hear me out. Didn’t even care. And if that’s how it’s gonna be, then fine.”

  Charlie watched her gape-mouthed for a few moments. Her anger burbled over again, so she added, “We have an hour to get out. They’re sending a car to take us to the airport.” She shook her head, tears clouding her vision as she tore a dress off a hanger. “What a load of crap.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Charlie said in a far-off voice, tugging at his hair as he paced the far edge of the bedroom.

  “You got that right.” Ana frowned, scooping up her underwear from a closet shelf. “Falsely accused of theft. Never saw that one coming. I must be cursed or something.” She dropped to her knees, trying to stuff in all the disorderly clothes, made even more disorganized by Linh playing in there. “Baby, let Mommy shut this.” Ana grunted as she shoved an elbow into the clothes, to flatten them. The zipper ripped through the air as she closed the suitcase.

  “First the divorce. Then the lost business. Now we’re getting kicked out of a country. I better just give up now, Charlie. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do without it turning to shit.”

  He sighed from across the room. “Ana…”

  “Don’t try to pick me up from this one,” she warned, heading into Linh’s room. She grabbed her smaller suitcase, then started packing up clothes and toys without even seeing what she was grabbing. “I need to stew! This is bullshit!”

  “Bullshit!” Linh repeated.

  “Oh, no, honey!” Ana groaned, rubbing at her face. She tried to wipe away her bad mood as she got down onto her knees and faced her daughter. “Mommy just says that because she’s upset. Okay? Baby doesn’t say that. It’s just for mommies.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Linh nodded and skipped off to the bathroom. From inside, Ana heard Linh say, “Bullshit!”

  Charlie fought a grin as Ana let her head drop into her hands.

  “That helped,” Ana remarked dryly. “It’s a nice topping to this shit cake we’re building.” She pushed to standing, wiping her hands off on her linen pants. “An excellent topping. Now my daughter is swearing.”

  Charlie went to his room to get packed up while Ana fumed and finished gathering her and Linh’s things. She was so angry she could barely see straight, but at the same time she saw all her favorite details of the palace in vivid clarity. Her favorite teal and gold throw pillow with the tassels; the ivory elephant statue on the mahogany dresser; her favorite corner of the room where the morning sunlight hit just right, making the whole place feel even dreamier than it already was.

  She wanted to be happy to leave. Relieved. Justified. But all she could feel was hurt and betrayed.

  And Noel hadn’t answered his damn phone for the past thirty minutes. After ten unanswered calls, she was giving up for now. Maybe she could call him from the airport. Tell him it had been nice knowing him, but his daddy had kicked her out like a common thief.

  Charlie showed up at her room again with his bags packed and a thin face just minutes before their hour was up.

  “The car is already out front,” he reported grimly. “They’re waiting for us.”

  “Just great.” Ana grabbed for Linh’s hand, then rolled one of the suitcases behind her. Charlie grabbed the other one, following them from behind. Their footsteps made soft scuffs on the floor as they headed toward the front doors of the palace.

  Tension choked the air, and she couldn’t stop herself for searching for Noel. Waiting for the Hail Mary pass, the final revelation that would make all of this an enormous mistake. Voices wafted down the hallway; Ana and the rest rounded the corner into the grand foyer. Sheikh Yared was there, speaking in a gruff tone with Noel. Her heart pounded at the sight of him. She paused in her tracks, waiting for him to notice her, to intervene, to stop this horrible injustice from fully unraveling.

  “Noel,” she began.

  Noel turned to her, his face drawn thin and hard. Whatever he was feeling, it wasn’t compassion or injustice. Her stomach shrank to ice. Linh yanked on her hand.

  “Bullshit!”

  Linh’s expletive drew her out of her misery. Ana pinched her eyes shut, counted to three, then took a deep breath. Noel was watching her, but he hadn’t drawn nearer.

  “Noel,” she said quietly, hurrying over to him. Shiekh Yared sent her a disapproving look and headed out of the foyer. Charlie took their bags to the car, leaving them in relative solitude. “This is a huge mistake. Your dad thinks I’ve been reselling ingredients, but that’s ridiculous.”

  Noel’s expression didn’t change. “Ana, I’m disappointed. There are other ways to get money.”

  “This was a setup,” she hissed. “I might need money, sure, but not to the point where I’m going to sell the palace’s food on Maatkaran Craigslist.” She scoffed. “Come on.”

  “But we have proof, Ana.” His voice broke, the resignation seeping out.

  “It’s Segal,” she said, reaching for his arm. He didn’t return her embrace, but he didn’t pull away either. “He’s done something to make it look like this is my fault, I swear to you.”

  “Oh, please,” Noel said, and now he sounded exasperated. He yanked his arm away, taking a few steps backs. “Segal has worked here for thirty years. Do you understand that? He’s practically family.”

  The intensity of his defense felt like a blow to the head. Ana blinked a few times.

  Charlie appeared in the doorway, looking tense. “Ana, come on.”

  She looked at Charlie then looked at Noel. This was her last chance to see him, to plead her case, to make things right here in Maatkare before she flew away and never returned. And just hours ago she’d been lounging at the pool, talking about how Noel was just for now. What an idiot. What a fool. She’d actually thought things might go her way for once.

  “I thought we…had something,” she said in a low voice. “That you had feelings for me.” Her voice broke, and she swallowed to clear the thickness of emotion from her throat. She’d wanted to add more. To say that she’d felt the prickles of long term. That the word “love” had flitted behind her eyes more times than she cared to mention. “How could you not trust me?”

  “I can’t be with anybody who would go behind my back to steal from my family,” Noel said, his nostrils flaring. “Not even for a little while. Now goodbye.”

  Noel turned on his heels, his angry steps echoing down the hallway as he strode out of her life. Linh yanked on her hand, looking up at her with worried eyes.

  “Are we going bye bye?”

  Ana looked down at her daughter, her precious, innocent daughter. This girl who had flown across the world to accompany her mother on this stupid journey.

  What was she doing with their life?

  “Yes, honey,” Ana said quietly, moving slowly toward the front door, her steps scuffing sadly against the black and white tiles. “We’re going bye bye.”

  14

  Noel pushed back from his work desk, eyes tired from staring at the funding proposal for hours on end. He’d buried himself in work in order to not think about the disturbing turn of events regarding Ana, but all he could really think about, even while buried in work, was Ana herself. It was hopeless. And none of it made sense.

  He checked his watch. Just before seven p.m. The perfect time to check on the kitchen. To pop in and see Ana. He chided himself—no, there’d be no more of that. Not now, never again.

  He’d been stupid to get involved with a palace employee who had an end date. Even stupider that he’d chosen someone so deceitful.

  Questions and incongruencies still swarmed him. He’d seen the evidence—the lost tempeh had been found in the city cent
er. The markings matched that of the palace’s inventory system; there was no denying it. But part of him just didn’t want to believe it.

  That was the mark of an artful thief. Making their targets believe the ruse. Noel walked slowly, morosely, to the kitchen, his hands stuffed in his pockets. As he pushed into the kitchen, calamity greeted him.

  Grandma Zehra was in the mix this evening, his eighty-two-year-old grandmother who was partially deaf and loved to oversee without actually helping. She was leaning over the workspace where Segal’s daughter Dina, the new head cook, was cracking eggs into a bowl.

  “Uh, this dinner is vegan,” Noel said as came up to the work station. Dina sent him a stricken look.

  “I know that,” Grandma said, waving her hand in his direction, as though dismissing him. “I want her to make the meatloaf anyway.”

  “Meatloaf?” His brows shot up. “Grandma, we’re not having meatloaf tonight. That is so far out of the traditional line-up of foods.”

  Grandma Zehra scoffed, and Dina looked trapped in the middle. Across the kitchen, Segal shouted Noel’s name.

  “Make it for her if she wants,” Noel said to Dina, “But this can’t be on the menu.”

  “And that tofurkey thing can be?” Grandma Zehra challenged. “Let’s just eat the real thing. The real American turkey. That’s what I want!”

  Noel worked his jaw back and forth, moving through the bustle and fray of the kitchen to see Segal. He was beaming, working some dough into a ball.

  “Things are better around here, aren’t they?” Segal looked around the kitchen, as though it might all suddenly look different to Noel too. “I told you that American would ruin everything. You’re lucky I found out before it was too late.”

  Noel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. That American. His American. “This turn of events has been surprising, to say the least.”

  “You’re lucky you have my eye on your side,” Segal said. “Sometimes, getting involved can make us blind. When matters of the heart are concerned.”