Sidra’s eyes popped open. Could he afford something like this? Sidra had no idea what a horse trainer makes in a year but perhaps the top trainers were wealthy. Rashid obviously commanded a great deal of respect if Debra was taking an interest.
She cleared her throat and placed a hand gently on Sidra’s arm. “We can definitely provide Ms. York’s expertise. She’s actually a junior associate so we’ll send over someone more experienced, just to guide Ms. York through some of the more difficult issues of such a large project.”
“Just Ms. York,” he countered, looking directly at Debra, his eyes challenging her to say another word on the subject of who would be going and overseeing anything with his project. “Ms. York and I are already acquainted and I have complete faith in her abilities. I know she’ll do exactly what I want of her.”
Debra blinked but didn’t miss a beat. She laughed and turned to Sidra, indicating that she should go along with whatever she was about to say. “Naturally, Ms. York is a very experienced and talented designer. But surely you understand that she’s only a few years out of design school. I’m more than willing to assist Ms. York personally to ensure that your project goes along smoothly.”
“Just Ms. York,” he stated firmly once again. Then he stood up and Blondie rose along with him, not even surprised that she hadn’t taken a single note during the whole exchange. The others behind him also jerked to attention. “A plane will be standing by to take her to my home. Make sure she’s on it. I’ve seen her talents and know she’s extremely capable.”
Without another word, Rashid walked out of the conference room, his entire entourage following behind him with Sidra looking on with wide, confused eyes.
She was actually hurt by his attitude, not sure what was going on or why he was doing this. Turning to Debra, she looked to her boss for guidance. “I’m not really sure what just happened.”
Debra put up her hand, telling Sidra to wait. Once the door to the conference room was closed, she turned with a patronizing smile to Sidra. “Okay, well that was interesting. Care to explain how you know the Sheik of Tasain?”
Sidra stared at Debra, swallowing painfully. “That man is the Sheik of Tasain?”
Debra leaned back in her chair, smirking with some sort of hidden meaning. “The one and only. Any idea how he knows you and requested you personally?”
Sidra was so stunned she couldn’t think. She shook her head and said, “I can honestly say that I don’t know that man.”
Debra watched her carefully for a long moment, then sighed. “Well, he knows you. And he wants you to redecorate his palace.”
Sidra stammered at that statement, her while mind reeling with the implications of wealth that one word had. “Palace? But he only said home.”
Debra glanced back at her with derision. “Dear, the sheik lives in a palace. Where on earth did you get the idea that he lives in a simple home?”
Sidra knew she was looking extremely foolish, but couldn’t help it. Her world was so confused right now and everything she’d thought she knew about Rashid was being transformed into something scary and dangerous. “Well, he said ‘home’.” Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest and she had no idea how she was going to deal with the new information that the man she’d made love to next to a beautiful stream was actually ruler of one of the most powerful oil producing countries in the world. As she looked down, her head was spinning and the thought crossed her mind that she could actually pass out right here in front of Debra.
It was only the realization that she would look extremely unprofessional if she passed out and her boss had to pry her off of the floor that she was able to pull herself together. Placing both of her hands on the table, she shook her head. “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “Why is he asking for me?” she asked, but deep down, she knew exactly why. He wanted to punish her for embarrassing him in the lobby of the hotel last Friday night. Maybe if she’d just gone with him that evening, he would have gotten his anger out of his system and she wouldn’t be in this horrible situation now.
“That’s a good question, but you don’t really have time to figure that out. His plane leaves tomorrow morning at ten and you have to come up with some ideas for him.” She pulled some papers that had been in the center of the conference room table towards them and flipped through several. “Here’s what you have on your plate right now,” she said and used her perfectly manicured finger to point to the outlines of Rashid’s palace.
Sidra forced her mind to focus on the upcoming issues but Debra was going through so many items and cautions that Sidra was having problems.
“Are you getting all of this?” Debra asked sharply when Sidra felt like her eyes were crossing.
Sidra nodded, but she really wasn’t. “I got it,” she lied. Quickly, she came up with several suggestions for some designs and watched Debra’s facial features. When the older woman relaxed and nodded, agreeing with Sidra’s ideas, she continued to explain various aspects of the project, issues that needed to be considered. There were political problems, economic, and social gatherings that took place in some of the rooms. She would be redesigning even the sheik’s private areas and Sidra swallowed at the realization that she would be in Rashid’s bedroom, decorating his private space and making sure that it was decadent enough for his liaisons. She hated that idea and considered several subtle ways that might make the area less conducive to seduction and more geared towards sleep. It would serve him right if all he wanted to do in the room was sleep!
Debra’s firm voice broke into her malicious thoughts, getting her back to the present. “Okay, it sounds like you have some great ideas for these areas, but you have to understand palace protocol as well.” Debra sat down at the conference room table and drilled palace etiquette into Sidra’s mind. She was never to address the sheik under any circumstances. All questions must go through his assistant, with appointments to be set up the day before. Sidra must always be mindful of the sheik’s limited time and never disturb him. Any inconveniences needed to be kept to a minimum so bathroom remodeling needed to be done during the day with all materials finalized and back in working order by the time he finished for the night. The sheik could come and go as he pleased and she should vacate the any area in which he entered with a bow, or nothing at all if she could get out of that room without being seen first.