Susan Stephens - In The Sheikh's Service

Pulling herself together fast, she moved out of his way and stood stiffly to attention as he left. Her senses were in turmoil. Wherever life took her from here on in, the man in the club wouldn’t be easy to forget.

CHAPTER TWO

SINISTER HIGH-POWERED LAUNCHES announced the arrival of the Sheikh’s team. The lead launch was sleek and black, while smaller vessels swarmed like mosquitoes in attendance as they cut a foaming path up the River Thames. The vessels were all heading for the same pontoon, about a hundred or so yards from the café where Isla was working at one of several part-time jobs that helped to pay her tuition fees at the university.

‘Hey, Chrissie—come and look at this,’ she called out.

Staff and customers alike were held riveted by the sight of the fleet arriving. A sight like this was just what Chrissie needed to cheer her up. The family emergency had been resolved—sort of—but Chrissie was still worried to death about her father, who had been brought home by the police after being arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. The only blessing was that last night had ended so well for both girls, with a better than expected pay-out from the club.

A mystery benefactor had left the extra money, the manager had explained to Isla, to make up for the disturbance at the club. She guessed it must have been the man who had introduced himself. The money couldn’t have come at a better time, as she had been able to hand it all over to Chrissie to pay her father’s fine.

That wasn’t the only good thing about last night, Isla recalled, touching her cheek. It was the first time in years she’d come into contact with a man who hadn’t given her the creeps, and this was especially odd, as the man last night had been a paean to masculinity.

It was just a kiss.

Yes, but it was a kiss she would never forget.

‘What’s up?’ Chrissie said, joining Isla at the window. ‘Oh, wow...’

Isla rubbed her sleeve across the heat-misted window so they could both get a better view of the powerboats as they slowed in preparation for docking. She was glad to see Chrissie looking more relaxed as they crushed up comfortably against each other. Just dealing with the fine had been some consolation, though the problem with Chrissie’s father was unlikely to go away.

Men were leaping ashore to secure the ropes on a pontoon as new as the fantastic new development springing up next door to the café. This was all part of the same Thames-side university campus being funded by His Serene Majesty, Sheikh Shazim bin Khalifa al Q’Aqabi, a legendary philanthropic figure in a world weary of shallow celebrity. At thirty-five, the Sheikh was not just one of the richest men in the world, but was also practically invisible to the media. His immense power and wealth allowed him to remain beneath the avid radar of celebrity, which made any sighting of him all the more exciting. The new buildings he was funding included a veterinary science department, which Isla was particularly excited about as she had recently won the most amazing prize for her research project into endangered species. The prize included a trip to the Sheikh’s desert kingdom of Q’Aqabi to see for herself his world-beating nature reserve. And to work there one day, she hoped.

‘Isla! Chrissie! Stop daydreaming and get back to work!’

Both girls jumped into action as their boss, Charlie, yelled at them. Prize winner or not, Isla was still impoverished after so many years of study. She had yet to secure her first position as a veterinary surgeon and, like many students, her finances were precariously balanced. If she lost even one of her part-time jobs her future career could be in jeopardy.

The activity at the pontoon proved addictive, and Isla glanced repeatedly out of the window as she worked. The uniformed crew had moored up, and rain had begun to pelt down as a party of men disembarked. Dressed disappointingly in traditional western work clothes, rather than the flowing robes of her imagination, they strode up the pontoon in arrow formation towards the building site.

‘Do you think the Sheikh’s at the head of them?’ Chrissie asked, breaking Isla’s spell as she leaned against her.

‘Who knows?’ Isla replied, studying the figure in the lead. He was too far away to see his features clearly, but there was something about him—

‘Isla—Chrissie,’ Charlie called out sharply, reminding both girls that there was work to be done. ‘Get that order for the Sheikh’s team together now!’

Flashing a willing smile in Charlie’s direction, Isla hurried to obey. The Sheikh’s office had called ahead to make sure that an order of coffee was delivered to site as soon as the Sheikh’s team arrived.

‘I don’t think he’s with them,’ she whispered to Chrissie as she squeezed past her friend behind the counter. ‘I expect he has more important things to do.’

‘More important than supervising the building of his new facility?’ Chrissie’s expressive mouth pressed down with amazement as she shrugged. ‘Seems to me, he should be here, if only to make sure his billions aren’t wasted on coffee.’

Isla laughed. ‘They won’t be wasted. The new vet school is going to be amazing. I’ve seen the plans in the university library.’ And it was Isla’s dream to be part of those plans. Endangered species were her passion, and she was aching to do what she could to help out. The thought that very soon she would be flying thousands of miles to the magical-sounding kingdom of Q’Aqabi to visit the Sheikh’s nature reserve still seemed like a fantasy too far—

‘Isla!’

‘Coming,’ she promised Charlie.

‘I’ll take it,’ she added to Chrissie, grabbing the cardboard tray that was waiting to be loaded with coffee.

‘Knowing your luck, the Sheikh will be there,’ Chrissie complained, pulling a comic face. ‘I can just see the drama unfolding now: the fast-food flirt and the autocratic Sheikh. That should be a fun ride, shouldn’t it?’

‘After last night?’ Isla grimaced. ‘I’m all for the quiet life. I don’t want any more hunter-gatherers pushing me over the threshold from safe to insanity.’

‘It wasn’t so bad,’ Chrissie pointed out. ‘You met a great guy—’

‘I said, I met a guy—’

‘Don’t tinker with the detail. Main thing is, we got paid a fortune.’

‘Danger money.’ Isla laughed, hiding the fact that it had taken more than Chrissie would ever know for her to shed her clothes in front of a room full of men. The fact that Isla’s brush with the sickening danger of a sexual assault had happened years ago had left her no less wary. ‘And I’m not a flirt. I’m just friendly,’ she teased before Chrissie could see the shadow of that memory in her eyes.

‘Whatever,’ Chrissie intoned with a wry look. ‘You get bigger tips than me, that’s all I know.’

‘Which I share,’ Isla reminded her friend with a laugh. ‘And, as for the Sheikh—I doubt we’ll ever see him. If he comes to cut the ribbon when his new building is opened, I’ll be surpri—’

‘Will you girls stop gossiping and get back to work?’ Charlie rapped impatiently.

Exchanging glances, both girls quickly returned to their duties. Chrissie busied herself with the orders on hand, while Isla reluctantly shoved all thoughts of the exciting projects and sheikhs to one side so she could concentrate on finishing the coffee order for the building site.

‘Isn’t your shift almost over?’ she asked Chrissie as they bustled past each other.

‘Yes, Mum,’ Chrissie teased with a wink. ‘But I’m happy to stay on while there’s a rush and you’re taking that outside. I can’t afford to lose this job.’

‘I can’t afford to lose any of my jobs,’ Isla agreed.