Tim’s eyes snapped back to hers. He was about to say something, but Sidra forced a smile on her face and shook her head. “I’m sorry about that. I can’t believe I ran into him here of all places.”
Tom chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re telling me!”
Sidra sighed and pulled her purse closer. Although Tom was a very nice man, she knew that he wasn’t the one that was going to take her mind off of Rashid. Especially since he was in this very hotel now. Besides, Tom was handsome, but not nearly as strong or rugged as Rashid. She thought he was kind, but there was no excitement when he touched her, which told her that he wasn’t the guy for her. “I really need to get home. Thank you very much for the drink.”
She could see that Tom wanted to say something more, but she discouraged that by just turning and walking through the rotating doors. When she was back out on the street, she took a deep breath, then headed to the subway station. She walked quickly, unaware that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Chapter 6
Sidra had never been more grateful to have Monday morning roll around. She’d spent the weekend cleaning her apartment, strolling through as many showrooms as she could endure, making notes on various pieces that she thought were interesting. She wanted so desperately to forget Rashid, to push him out of her mind but no matter what she did, memories of the time they’d spent together kept rushing through her barriers. She wasn’t eating, she was barely sleeping and when she finally slept, she dreamt about him, about being in his arms and experiencing the same bliss she’d found that weekend in England.
She printed out several of the pictures she’d taken of light fixtures over the weekend and pressed them to the boards for a few of her clients’ designs. As soon as she did that, she knew she’d gotten a hit on the ideas and worked around those lights. She was grateful that she’d found something that would put the spark back in her work life. A part of her wondered if the spark was actually knowing that Rashid was in town, even if she wouldn’t be able to see him again.
“You’re wanted in the conference room,” Andrea, the assistant Sidra shared with several of the other junior associates.
Sidra glanced at the doorway where Andrea’s head had popped in and popped out, then swung around to her desk, pressing a few keys to get her schedule. Picking up the phone, she dialed Andrea’s extension. “Andrea? I don’t have a meeting scheduled. Are you sure you need me in the conference room?”
“Definitely. The request came directly from Debra so you’d better hurry,” Andrea whispered through the phone.
Sidra froze when Andrea mentioned the name of the head partner of the design firm. “Debra? You mean Debra Morovia? Our boss?”
“One and the same! She’s waiting impatiently and just looked out of the conference room door,” Andrea whispered frantically. “Hurry and get down there. I’ll try and find out what I can about the meeting while you gather your stuff.”
Sidra put the phone back in the cradle and tried to calm herself by taking a few deep breaths while gathering up her notebook and a pen. She dropped the pen twice on the way out of her office which only slowed her down even more. Debra was rarely in meetings. In fact, the woman was rarely in the office. She was the founder of the firm and she never attended meetings with the lower level associates. Debra Morovia’s designs were featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and her name drew in the big clients, but she never deigned to mingle with the lesser mortals of the firm.
Something was very, very wrong, Sidra thought as she walked past Andrea’s desk. Andrea shook her head, indicating that she hadn’t heard anything so Sidra just walked past, heading down the long hallway towards the executive conference room.
As soon as Sidra stepped tentatively into the room, she saw Debra, in all her sophisticated glory, standing up and smiling at her. “Here she is!” Debra said and walked towards Sidra as if they were old friends. The older woman put her arm around Sidra’s shoulders and turned to face the others that were in the conference room.
And that’s when she saw him! Rashid was sitting at the end of the elegant conference table, leaning off to the side slightly as his ice blue eyes watched the scene unfold. He looked at her with the most incredible expression, as if he’d somehow won the war!
Sidra stiffened with that look but quickly noticed Debra’s warning look. She allowed the head of the firm to lead her into the room and took the offered seat. Rashid was at the head of the table and Debra sat to the right of him, an interesting change of power positions, Sidra thought. She pushed the chair back slightly and crossed her legs as she smiled at Rashid, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong with this intimate little gathering. She suspected that she was about to be fired, but couldn’t for the life of her figure out how Rashid had accomplished such a feat.
Nothing was making any sense, Sidra thought as she sat stiffly beside Debra. Why was the head of the firm, the woman who only took the most powerful, most wealthy and well known clients, sitting down and gushing to a man who trained horses?
And who were all these other people? The blond woman Sidra had seen the other night at the Willard Hotel was sitting to Rashid’s left, prepared to take notes and looking exceptionally beautiful and efficient. There was a bulky man behind Rashid and several more in each corner of the conference room while one man actually stepped out and closed the conference room doors.
“Well, now that we’re all here, we’d be delighted to hear how we can help you.”
Rashid didn’t even glance at Debra, a fact that was really irritating her boss who was doing her best to entice the man. “As I said, I have a large project that needs your firm’s attention. I’ve seen Ms. York’s work before and she’s exactly the woman I want to work on the project.”
Sidra flinched as she heard the double entendres in his statement. He didn’t say that he wanted a designer with her special talents or perspective. He simply said that he wanted her on his project. What game was he playing at? She furiously thought through possibilities and tried to contain her anger at his rude staring.
Sidra glanced at the blond woman whose pen remained poised to take notes, but the page was blank.
Debra leaned forward and gushed more. “We’re extremely pleased that you’ve chosen our firm to help you. Can you describe this project?”
“My home in Tasain needs re-decorating. I’d like to hire Ms. York to come and give me ideas, oversee the project and follow up to make sure that everything works out the way I want it to.”