The Sheik's Secret Twins (2 page)

Chapter
2

Four Years Ago

Siri glanced once more at her date for the night, wondering what in the world she possibly could have seen in him.  She was in her second year of university and he was in his last so when he’d asked if she could accompany him on a dinner with his new boss, she’d eagerly accepted, thinking it would be nice to spend some time with people who might be intellectually stimulating. 

Not to mention Gary was a very handsome man.  She wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, and maybe something could grow.  They’d spent some time together at coffee shops and study groups although she’d been too intimidated by everyone else to speak up much. 

As she listened to him now, she couldn’t believe how stupid he was.  If he mis-quoted one more philosopher, she might have to say something.  Looking at their dinner companions, Gary’s new boss
and his extremely patient wife
, she wasn’t sure if they were just bored out of their minds by Gary’s monologue on why he’d adopted various aspects of some philosophers’ doctrines, discarding other parts as “superfluous” or “redundant”.  
Or if they were thinking of something else just to keep their minds off of what Gary was saying. 

When he once again ascribed Aristotle to the introduction of Forms to philosophy instead of Plato, Siri looked away, unwilling to see if their dinner companions, and Gary’s future employer, agreed or were showing contempt at the man’s blatant abuse of the great philosophers. 

As she glanced to her right, her eyes collided with a pair of dark, amused ones.  The man was exceptionally handsome with dark, wavy hair and a strong jaw, and a half smiling mouth that showed he too had overheard Gary’s comments.  This man, whoever he was, understood the differences between Plato and Aristotle and wasn’t impressed with Siri’s dinner companion. 

Siri glanced away, feeling s
omewhat odd with that man’s gaze
.  She placed a hand over her fluttery stomach and picked up her ice water, taking a long draw to cool herself down. 

Trying hard to focus on the conversation, hoping she might be able to liven it up a bit, she waited for a break in Gary’s diatribe about Durkheim.  How had they gone from philosophy to sociology?  She really must have missed a great deal of the conversation. 

Their food arrived and she picked up her fork, hoping Gary would also take the hint and start eating.  His boss appeared to be moving out of the bored range and into the irritated. 

“Gary, that looks delicious.  What did you order?” she asked, only to be polite. 

It didn’t work and Gary shifted back to philosophy after declaring emphatically that agnostics, like he claimed to be, shouldn’t limit their world after rejecting the existence of a divine being. 

Siri actually choked on her water with that one and her eyes went once more to the man at the next table.  Sure enough, he was looking right back at her with an eyebrow raised in question.  She tried very
hard to smother the amusement at Gary’s confusion with agnostics versus atheists, but she kept quiet and just prayed to the divine being that she sincerely believed in, that this dinner would end quickly and their dinner companions were unaware of Gary’s gaffes. 

When the meal was finally over, Gary’s exuberance over his performance was astounding.  The four of them were walking out of the restaurant and Siri pulled her wrap closer around her.  It wasn’t that it was chilly so much as she didn’t want Gary to touch her bare skin.  She was so repulsed by his ignorance that she couldn’t deal with any kind of affection from him. 

She turned to the side and once again, she found herself caught up in the stranger’s gaze.  He was surrounded by his dinner companions, but he wasn’t paying any attention to them, just as she was in an island that seemed to contain only herself and the man standing ten feet away.  He was much taller than she’d originally have guessed and in the brighter light of the valet area, she could see that his eyes were genuinely
a light grey
and weren’t a factor from the dim lighting of the restaurant.  He was handsome, in an off-hand kind of way.  It wasn’t so much his looks though, but something that was alluring about his appearance, something that drew one’s eyes towards him. 

He wouldn’t release her eyes and she felt captured, unable to look away, unable to hear anything that was going on around her and she wasn’t sure if she was standing or sitting, just too transfixed to do anything other than stand there until he released her. 

F
ortunately, she didn’t really mind
the hold he had over her
.  This stranger’s gaze was much more enjoyable than anything that was going on around her. 

Until Gary realized that she wasn’t paying attention to him.  He grabbed her arm and nudged her.  “Are you okay?” he asked in an almost angry tone. 

Siri blinked and that seemed to break the magic.  She looked away, noticed where she was, that three pairs of eyes were waiting on her expectantly.  “I’m sorry, I dazed out for a moment.  Did someone ask me a question?”

Gary puffed up like some angry cave man.  “I asked if you knew that man over there.”

Siri glanced back, but the tall man was getting into a large, black sport utility vehicle, disappearing from her sight. 

“No.  I’ve never met him before,” she replied honestly.  “He was sitting at the table next to ours during dinner.”

“Then why were you staring at him like that?” he demanded.

Siri glanced away, feeling slightly guilty.  “I apologize.  He was just….” She shook her head, unable to explain what had gone on between herself and the stranger.  She couldn’t explain it in her mind, so putting words to her feelings and reactions wasn’t really possible. 

Gary cursed under his breath and turned back to his future boss.  “I’m sorry, Mr. Meyers.  Siri isn’t usually this rude.  I suppose I simply made the wrong choice in companions for the evening.”

Siri looked at the man who had been boring her all evening, her mouth falling open in astonishment.  “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Gary replied, shaking his head in disdain.  “You’re rude and inconsiderate and I don’t think we’re going to work out well together.”

Siri laughed and took a step back.  Turning to the other couple, she smiled brightly.  “Mr. Meyers, Ms. Meyers, I appreciate the dinner tonight.  The food was exceptionally good.  Unfortunately, the man you are considering hiring doesn’t know the difference between Plato,
who’s
primary doctrine was about Forms and their abstract meaning, to put a great mind in a nutshell,” she s
aid turning to glare at Gary, “a
nd Aristotle, who was a student of Plato.  And how on earth you thought Durkheim was a companion of Socrates is beyond me, since the man was born in France
several centuries after Socrates died
, over thirteen hundred miles from Athens, Greece.  Not only that, Durkheim studied sociology.”  She was just about to turn away when she thought of one other subject.  “Oh, and one other stupid comment?  Atheists don’t believe in a divine being.  Agnostics accept the existence of a divine being is unknown.  A subtle difference, but one your mind is too small to understand.” 

She turned to the other couple, surprised to see their amusement at her comments.  “Well said,” Mr. Meyers replied, the first time he revealed that he was fully aware of all the unintelligent comments Gary had mouthed during the dinner.  “Please give me a call when you’re ready for a job.  I’d like to talk to you about possibilities,” he said, handing her his business card.  Looking back at Gary, “
I don’t think that position we
discussed is going to work out after all.  And please don’t blame this young lady.  I was going to tell you this in the morning, but since you pushed the envelope by speaking to her so poorly a few moments ago
, I decided it was pointless to pull my punches since you set the tone
.”

Ms. Meyers was already nodding and tucking her hand into her husband’s elbow.  “Would you like a ride back to your apartment, Siri?  I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you going back with this young man.”

Siri glanced up at Gary and stepped back.  “Thank you.  That’s very considerate of you.”  She thought about catching a cab back to her place, but Gary was red enough in the face to be a problem so it was probably better to get out of the area.  Besides, she didn’t really have the funds for a cab ride.  The dress had cost her a great deal, not to mention the shoes that were biting into the tender flesh of her feet. 

The valet arrived at that moment, handing keys to both Gary and Mr. Meyers.  Siri followed the couple, slipping into their back seat and refusing to glance at Gary the whole time.  She was relieved when the older couple pulled away from the curb, both of them chatting away at some of Gary’s more idiotic comments during the meal. 

The next day, Siri was in her tiny apartment that she shared with another student.  Both of them were studying, relaxed
on the battered sofa and chair
that made up their den area.  Both pieces of furniture had seen better days but were covered with blankets
or sheets
that hid the worst of their wear.  Siri had
gone to her two classes
for the day
already and was propped up on the chair with her legs hanging over the side, her
brown, slightly curly
hair piled on top of her head
, held there
with a couple of pencils and a pen.  She had a highlighter in one hand and was flipping the pages of her Art History book, making notes in the margins with the pen and highlighting anything that might be pertinent in the text. 

When the doorbell rang, her roommate, Linda, jumped up and answered the door, dumping her calculus book onto the floor eagerly.  “Expecting someone?  Maybe an agitated, unemployed idiot perhaps?” she joked, referring to Gary.  Siri had told her all about the meal as soon as she’d gotten home last night, both of them laughing at some of Gary’s comments. 

“Not for me,” Siri said, focusing on the history of Renaissance paintings. 

In the back of her mind, Siri heard Linda answer the door, but the mumbled greetings didn’t break her concentration. 

“Uh, Siri?” Linda called out.

“Tell them I’m not here,” she called back, knowing that whoever it was could hear her comments but still hoping they would be discouraged. 

“Um…I’m not sure this guy is going to take no for an answer.”

That got through to Siri and she glanced up from her book.  When she saw the tall man in the dark suit standing in her kitchen, the only other area besides the den and the two bedrooms which were on opposite sides of the den, Siri jumped up, dumping her books and notes all over the orange, shag carpet. 

“Oh!” she cried out and looked down at the papers, then back  up at the gorgeous man who was looking at her with a blank expression on his face.  He looked scarier
, more intimidating,
i
n the bright afternoon sunshine.  And much, much
taller! 

She pulled the pen out of her hair, wishing she’d pulled on something better than leggings and an old tee shirt which had definitely seen better days and only came down to her waist.  “Sorry,” she said and grabbed Linda’s boyfriend’s shirt which was draped over the back of the only other chair in the apartment.  “I wasn’t expecting anyone today.  We were just studying.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the man replied with a slight accent which Siri couldn’t place immediately.  “I thought perhaps we might be formally introduced since we had such an amusing evening last night.” 

Siri had to laugh despite her nervousness at this extremely large man in her apartment.  “It wasn’t so funny towards the end, but he did serve as a good amusement factor, didn’t he?”

Malik took a step forward, his eyes looking over her beautiful skin for signs of abuse.  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?  I know that yo
u confronted him at the end, and
I apologize for not being there to stop him if things became physical.”

She looked up at him curiously.  “It wasn’t your responsibility to ensure my safety, but I appreciate the thought.  I can take care of myself,” she claimed.

Malik stopped his laughter, but only just in time. 
This woman
who barely reached his shoulder thought she could handle an angry man with his pride wounded in front of his future employer? 
“I’m glad to hear it.”  He stepped back and smiled.  “I would like to take you out to dinner myself, if you have the time.”