Rainwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (15 page)

"Tiger here can be the
Cowardly Lion," Allie said, blowing the tiger a kiss as we began walking
back toward the wine tent. "I want to be Dorothy. Marissa, you're the
Scarecrow."

"Why am I the Scarecrow?"
Marissa pouted.

"Because you got no brain,
sweetie," Allie said matter-of-factly. I snickered as we turned the bend,
walking directly toward the penguin enclosure. My heart stopped as one of the
little birds waddled out and dove into the cool water.

"What about Kaylee?"
Marissa asked, oblivious to the fact that I had stopped walking and was staring
at the black and white birds.

"She's the Tin Man,"
Allie said softly, following my gaze and understanding immediately,
"because she's lost her heart."

Owen tossed a small sardine to
one of the penguins, the little bird catching it in it's mouth. Two more
hurried up to him, all begging and splashing for the fishy treats. Owen
chuckled and handed me the bucket of stinky fish. His eyes were bright with
amusement as he watched as the penguins waddle over like I was their new king.
He laughed, one of the black and white birds deciding my boot looked like a
tasty treat and pecking at it voraciously. They piled on top of one another,
their funny bodies wiggling as they asked for more. Owen smiled at me like this
was the best day of his life.

My lower lip started to tremble,
and tears gathered at the back of my eyes. I could practically see him there,
laughing in delight at the funny, flightless birds. They were his favorite
animal. A single tear broke through the dam, and suddenly I had buckets of
tears pouring down my face. The crack in my heart had finally broken wide, and
there was no pretending it was fine now.

Allie and Marissa exchanged a quick
glance before practically dragging me off to a park bench hidden behind some
trees where we wouldn't be bothered. I couldn't see the penguins anymore, but
it didn't matter. The damage was done.

"What have I done? I've lost
him," I sobbed into Allie's shoulder. She tucked her chin against my head,
holding me to her like a small child as she smoothed my hair. "I should
have stayed. I could have stayed and been okay."

"No, honey, you couldn't
have." Marissa removed me from Allie's shoulder long enough to make me
look at her. "You did the right thing. You couldn't have stayed
there."

"But...but.." I couldn't
find the words. My nose was running, and I couldn't breathe for crying. Marissa
waited until I was calmer before she continued being my voice of reason.

"Kaylee, you did the right
thing. You weren't meant to be a part of that desert world. And that's okay.
You belong here." She handed me a napkin so I could blow my nose.

"But I love him. I really
do."

"I know. Sometimes a fish and
a bird fall in love, but that doesn't mean they are going to build a nest and
have little fish-bird babies," Marissa said softly. Allie snorted at
Marissa's bad analogy, and Marissa gave her a dirty look. "You know what I
mean."

A strand of hair fell across my
face and Marissa gently tucked it behind my ear with a soft smile. "What's
important is that you were happy. I know the 'tis better to have loved and
lost' thing is cliché, but it's still true. I know it hurts right now, but it's
going to be okay."

I looked at her, tears still
streaming down my face. I felt so lost, even with my friends on either side of
me. Marissa sighed. "I can throw some more cliches at you if it will help
you feel better."

I knew she was hoping to get a
smile out of me, but I couldn't find one to give. Allie gave me a squeeze.

"It sucks right now. And it's
gonna suck for a while. It
will
get better though. You'll get your happy
ending someday, I promise." Allie gave me a hug. I knew they were trying
their best, but there were no magic words that could fill the hole in my heart.
I wished to heaven there were, but I knew it was just going to take time.

"I'm going to go get you some
more wine. I think you can use some drunk time," Marissa said, putting a
hand on my shoulder as she stood. She gave me a squeeze and headed off in the
direction of the wine tent. I leaned my head back against Allie's shoulder, her
blonde hair mixing with mine.

"After this, we'll head back
to my place and drink crappy wine, watch crappy movies, and eat good ice cream.
Okay?" Allie kept smoothing my hair with her hands, and I closed my eyes
to her soothing touch.

"No skimping on the ice
cream."

I felt her smile as she looked down
at me. "I would never even dream of such a thing."

I sat up, remembering all the
cleaning and baking I had done. There was no way I was going to eat all those
cookies myself. "How about we do it at my place? It's actually clean for
once."

Allie nodded and let me put my head
back on her shoulder. She resumed gently stroking my hair as she whispered,
"Sure, Kaylee, anything you want."

M
y head buzzed as I sat up, the
room unfamiliar. Slowly, I realized I had fallen asleep on the floor in front
of the TV. The menu of a DVD was on loop, the instrumental song starting over
every twenty seconds. I hit the power button, the pain in my head decreasing as
the annoying song went away.

I glanced at my watch, glad to see
it was a little past ten instead of hours before dawn. Maybe my jet lag was
finally wearing off. Marissa was snoring peacefully on the couch, the slight
wheeze and chuckle rather endearing. I looked around for Allie, finally finding
her curled up in the papasan chair, a blanket draped over her head. I smiled at
my friends, then frowned as I looked around at the mess they had made.

Pizza boxes littered the floor,
empty beer cans hiding among them. Three empty wine glasses sat on the coffee
table, a row of shot glasses lined up neatly beside them. How the shot glasses
got there was a complete mystery to me, but I was sure I would hear about it
once the girls woke up.

I picked up the pizza boxes,
stacking them in a pile by the door. I went to my room and threw on the first
pants I found, and a light blue shirt. I stepped outside, humidity hitting me
in the face like a wet towel. I was glad I had good air conditioning in my
apartment. It was already hot and muggy, the sky threatening to burst at any
time.

Back inside, Allie and Marissa were
up and putting the glasses in the dishwasher, moving slowly but nonetheless
getting things done. Allie gave me a big grin as I came back inside, then she
grabbed her stomach and looked a little green. Marissa laughed at her, but the
motion made her grab her bright red hair and grimace.

"I think the shots might have
been a mistake," she groaned.

"No kidding. How are you up
and moving around, Kaylee? You were slamming them back as fast as we
were," Allie groaned, closing the dishwasher. I opened the fridge and gave
them each a sports drink.

"I guess I just hold my liquor
better than the two of you. I don't remember doing shots, though," I
answered.

"That's because you didn't.
You were passed out on the floor when
someone
decided it was a good
idea." Marissa took a big sip of her drink and leaned against the counter,
glaring at Allie.

Allie blushed. "I guess I
really overdid it if I didn't realize Kaylee wasn't drinking hers. No wonder I
feel it today."

"You two look like you might
pass out or barf any minute now. Go sit on the couch and relax. I'll get the
rest of this. You guys took care of me last night. I can take care of you this
morning." I shooed them toward the couch, but Marissa stopped me.

"Honestly, I just want a
shower and to crawl into my own bed. Thank you, Kaylee, but I'm going to head
home. Besides, your shampoo sucks." Marissa gave me a weak smile to show
she wasn't trying to be mean.

"I'm with you on the going
home," Allie said quietly, holding her stomach like it might fall out if
she let go. "Thanks for the offer, Kaylee, but I want to be miserable in
my own bed."

"All right. How about I bring
you two soup later then? It's the least I can do," I said, helping them
gather the last of their things.

"That sounds fantastic. Make
that chicken dumpling one for me?" Allie asked, seeming to perk up a
little bit. I nodded and promised as the two of them staggered zombie like down
the hall. They were going to need a lot more than soup to make those hangovers
better.

Back inside my own apartment, I
cleaned up the last of our sleepover and organized the kitchen. It wasn't long
before my phone chirped with a message from Allie that they had both made it
home safe and sound.

I played with the phone in my hand,
toying with the idea of sending a message to Owen. I opened a message three
times, stared at the blank page with no idea what to say, only to close it
again. What could I possibly say to Owen that would make this better? I just
had to deal with the fact that there was no easy way to fix this. Owen was
gone.

Thunder rumbled outside, making my
neighbor's dog bark. Technically the building didn't allow dogs, but somehow
the dog was still there. I knew Emma would know how to calm the dog down from
the storm. I smiled at the thought of my sister, then looked down at the phone.
I was already on my speed dial page, my thumb poised over her number.

"Hey, Kaylee, how're you
doing?" Emma's voice was music to my ears. I should have called her first
thing when I got back instead of waiting this long.

"Crappy. I assume you've heard
all about it," I said, settling into the couch.

"Yeah, but I'd rather hear it
from you. I just had a meeting cancel on me, so I've got some spare time."
I could just see her in my head, spinning around in an office chair and smiling
at the phone.

I started by telling her about
Dubai, the skyscrapers and the hotel, then the dinner at the sheik's house. I
told her how uncomfortable the sheik's son made me, how he leered and made my
skin crawl.

"I should have known something
was off about Roger, but I thought he was harmless. Creepy, but harmless."
I sighed. "The next day he got in my hotel room, Emma. He just walked
right in like it was nothing."

"I heard about that. I'm glad
Dean got there in time. I'm so sorry this happened to you," Emma said
softly. I didn't trust my voice to answer right away.

"Emma, it's all so messed up.
I told Owen that we can't be together. His life is in Dubai and I won't, I
can't, ever go back there. That fucking prick messed everything up." I was
surprised at my own anger, especially since I almost never cussed, but it felt
good to call him a name.

"Well, I can completely
understand why Owen told the sheik off about it. What his son did was
completely inappropriate."

"What do you mean, 'Owen told
the sheik off?'" I asked confused.

"You mean he didn't tell you?
It's all Jack's been able to talk about for the past few days. Owen went
completely berserk on him."

As Emma told me what happened, I
could see it all clearly in my head.

O
wen clicked the phone shut. If
he could have slammed the receiver down like on an old corded phone, he would
have. His hands shook as he held the phone in disbelief. He'd heard news
reports of how Western ex-pats had been mistreated in Dubai, but nothing like
this. He walked out of the private room where he had excused himself to talk to
Dean, intent on giving the sheik one chance to make this right. One chance.

In another moment, he was back
at the negotiation table with the sheik. Owen's usual poker face was gone, and
the sheik noticed immediately. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, something's wrong
alright. Your son just tried to assault my girlfriend," Owen said.

A flash of anger crossed the
older man's face for a moment before it softened again. Anger at his son's
actions, Owen hoped. "That's a serious accusation, Mr. Parker. An
accusation that you shouldn't make lightly."

"I'm serious as a heart
attack right now. I have two witnesses, and probably the room service guy as
well. What are you going to do about this?" Owen's eyes burned like fire.

al-Saffar shrugged his
shoulders. "I'm sure the hotel staff will be more than happy to tell us
what really happened later tonight. In the meantime, let's get back to the
negotiations."

Owen slammed his hand against
the table. "We'll be dealing with this right now, before you have a chance
to get the hotel staff to change their stories, or these negotiations are
over."

The sheik turned red,
practically shaking with barely contained rage. "I'm not sure I appreciate
your tone, Mr. Parker."

Owen stood up, walking to the
window. The Burj Khalifa gleamed in the distance, a sand storm preparing to
engulf it from behind. "It's a beautiful sight, the tower. The tallest
structure in the world. The crown jewel of Dubai."

"Please, let's just return
to negotiations for now? We can talk about this later," al-Saffar said.

"But it wasn't able to be
completed by just Dubai," Owen continued, looking out the window.
"Dubai ran out of money and needed to be bailed out by the United Arab
Emirates, and so what was supposed to be the Burj Dubai was renamed the Burj
Khalifa to honor the Khalifa family for their support."

Sheik al Saffar remained silent.
This was a sore spot for all of Dubai, and both men knew it.

"But I'm not sure 'Burj
Khalifa' is the right name for it either. I think that you owe way too much to
the West and that it's time you recognized that. I was thinking, maybe you
should rename it the 'Burj British Petroleum'. Or maybe 'Wells Fargo
Tower'."

"How dare you..." the
sheik said from behind him.

Owen cut him off. "Or, you
know, maybe just convert it to a Marriott hotel. Either that or just let
Wal-Mart buy the whole thing; I'm sure their sign would look great on the 150th
floor."

"Listen here..." the
sheik started.

"No,
you
listen
here," Owen said, his voice rising as he turned around. His finger shot
out, pointing straight at the older man. "I've noticed your son flirting
with Kaylee, and I've noticed the looks he gives her when he thinks she's not
looking. You either get him under control, or these negotiations are
over."

al Saffar jumped to his feet,
his own voice roaring. "I think you've forgotten who you're talking to,
Mr. Parker. I think you've forgotten that your name isn't Daniel
Saunders."

Owen laughed. "Perhaps you
haven't heard, but the owner's name is Jack now." He walked to the table
and picked up his briefcase. "These negotiations are over. Either call me
when you've come to your senses and have your son under control, or call
Saunders and let him know that the deal is off." He walked toward the
door.

"You have no right-"
the sheik yelled after him, cut off by the sound of the door slamming behind
Owen.

***

"H
e really did that?" I
asked, flabbergasted. I knew Owen had been angry, but I had no idea that he
would go to those lengths.

"Yeah. The sheik was pissed.
He woke Jack up at 3 in the morning to tell him what Owen did."

"What did Jack do?" I
hoped that Owen wasn't going to get in too much trouble over this, but I had a
feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"Well, Jack was furious at
first. This could ruin years of business negotiations. Billions of dollars
lost. I've never seen Jack that angry." Emma paused for a moment before
continuing. "But when he calmed down enough to think straight, he realized
he would have done the same thing in Owen's position."

"What's going to happen to
Owen?" I asked, breathless.

"I'm not sure. The sheik
demanded Owen's immediate dismissal, but I don't know how Jack is going to take
that. Owen and Jack have been locked in Jack's office for the past two days. I
haven't even been able to bring Jack his hamburger today." I could
practically hear Emma shrug her shoulders. "I wish I could tell you what's
going to happen, but I don't have a clue myself."

"Will you let me know if
anything happens?"

"Sure, but won't Owen tell you
first?"

"Um, well, we haven't talked
since I got back to Iowa," I said quietly.

"What? Not even a text?"
Emma was shocked. I knew her eyes would be wide open and her mouth would hang
open just a little.

"I told him we couldn't be
together. I wish I would have known that he had confronted the sheik
though." I leaned my head back and looked up at the ceiling, trying to
figure out what I should do. I couldn't think of a good answer.

"Oh, KayKay," Emma said
with a sigh. "I'll tell him to call you next time I see him. I've gotta go
back to work now. Are you going to be okay?"

I grimaced and rubbed my eyes,
emotions tumbling around inside of me. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for
talking to me."

"Anytime. I'll give you a call
tomorrow, okay? Love you!"

"Love you too, Emma." I
hung up the phone and just stared at it in my hand.

Wave after wave of emotions washed
through me, each one pummeling the one before it until I wasn't sure what I
felt anymore. Awe that he had stood up for me like that. Love because he would
risk so much. Anger that he hadn't told me. Fear for what would happen to him.
Despair that he was gone. Hopelessness for what would never be.

I lay down on the couch, curling up
into a tight ball. I didn't know what else to do, so I just closed my eyes and
prayed for sleep.