Everything about this office had a dark undertone. The dark colors seemed to scream to whoever paid attention that this was the dragon's lair. Moving her gaze here and there, Mia placed it more carefully on the large dark brown desk that sat in the middle of the room. His attention was drawn to the two neatly arranged stacks of files that were arranged on either side of the cabinet as well as the neatly compartmentalized pen holder with blue, red and black pens and pencils. Her laptop sitting in the center and the state-of-the-art cell phone lying next to it completed the tidy desk table. It only confirmed that the Viking-looking man of centuries past sitting with his chin resting on his two crossed hands supported by both elbows resting on the desk staring at them impassively was a control freak he should be avoided at all costs.
- So if I understand correctly his Majesty invites us to his country for a stay! Cam started right away when the first moments of discomfort related to the imposing stature of the king had passed. She didn't even seem to sense the dangerous aura emanating from this man!
"Oh my God I'm the only reasonable being here!" Mia cried inwardly, thinking of a way to abort this exchange.
- That's it indeed. The king's warm, deep voice sent shivers down his spine, reminding him of his first feelings at his touch the night they met. What did that mean?
- Because you want to have more time to get to know my sister here… Continued Camille with starry eyes.
Hackim nodded, doing his best not to ask him to shut up. Indeed, he hated chatter and this girl was a chatterbox. But she was essential to him to bring Miss Khelani to his territory, who today, like the day before, had locked herself in a silence that would have passed for approval if each of the features of her face did not express her desire to leave her office and more so his disapproval with the idea of traveling for the Khahazan. Oddly enough, he wanted her to talk, to express her disapproval so he could better submit her to his will. Her pride as a king was touched when the mention of the name of her country did not make her quiver with joy as for her friend. She is the only foreigner since he had revived the economy of Khahazan and had made it a land of covetousness that would not die of desire to set foot there. Her indifferent expression left no doubt as to the fact that she was unaware of the very existence of the country before he presented himself as the king. Normally it didn't matter to him that foreigners knew his country since he refused to let them in anyway, but with this girl it was different. Was it due to the conditions of their meeting or her reaction when he officially introduced himself to her? He couldn't say, but being a man who hated mysteries even though he was one himself, he promised himself to find out what this girl was hiding behind this disinterested appearance. more on the intentions of the young stranger, he put them on his friend and adviser who, standing near the door in the discretion that has always characterized him, watched the scene without saying a word. What did he think of all this? It wasn't hard to tell from his slight frown, but Hackim always trusted his instincts, which never lied to him. This stranger was to come with him to his lands. And this even if he had to put up with his talkative friend who continued to rant about his country.
- Isn't it Mi amore? Asked the talkative stranger to her friend who, like him, had certainly heard nothing of her amazed speech. But the latter hastened to answer in the affirmative with a nod.
- Well in this case I see no more reason not to participate in this more than welcome trip. Anyway, I was thinking of giving us a vacation so that you could heal from all this drama you went through, my beautiful.
Who ? …. But how ? Had she unknowingly agreed to this madness while locked away in her little bubble? Mia got up suddenly, knocking over the chair she had been sitting on since the beginning of this meeting, which had no reason to exist. Her gesture did not fail to draw the attention of those present in the room to her. One always with his dark and frightening face, the other the surprised look and the last the always impassive look.
-No no ! Cam I know how much you dream of going to this country or I don't know what it is but it will be without me. Those were his last words before running out of the office with tears in his eyes.
- Amore wait. But… Camiille followed her friend, whom she thought had gone to the elevator but did not find her there. Was she down? Nothing suggested it. Running back to the office to find an angry Hackim standing by the window and Amid still in the same position as when she left, she panicked and asked them if there were any stairs to access the hotel lobby. . To which Amid replied in the affirmative with a nod. Camille then grabbed her bag and headed for the stairs after Amid who had walked past to show her the way. She was so angry with herself for being so selfish. She wanted to visit this country so much that she had forgotten her friend's torments.
What kind of friend did she make? Why had she let this prospect of travel blind her to the point of not seeing the despair of her friend whom she took for fear of the new? What kind of friend pushed her friend into someone else's arms barely three months after she got dumped outside the hotel by her fiancé on their wedding day? "Please don't let anything happen to her or I'll never forgive myself" she begged desperately as she ran up the stairs in a hurry to pass her friend to give her a hug and tell her that they didn't. would go to this country anymore.
Mia spun around looking all around her with a lost gaze. She had apparently gotten lost. She thought she was heading for the elevator they had taken when they arrived, but she had taken the wrong way. She didn't have her cell phone on her, having put it in the wolf's office in her hasty departure and didn't know which path to take to get back there. What an idea also to make a hotel room with so many maze of corridors! Suddenly a smell reached his nose, causing him to pay more attention to his surroundings. It was a spicy smell like a men's perfume but mixed with another smell she couldn't identify. This smell came from everywhere in the room where everything, absolutely everything, was either black or dark brown. An odor that she only had, to the great misfortune of her senses, smelled on this alpha male from whom she had just fled. Oh God how did she end up in his room ? Of all the rooms that were in this vast hotel suite? How was she going to leave here without a phone to call for help or a reliable sense of direction ? Camille would certainly be so worried! She regretted leaving like this, but she had to. She intended to suffocate between the intimidating gaze of the sheikh, that of the silent man with the air of aristocrats and that of her friend who were all expecting something from her. Something different for each person. Why did he want to invite them to a land that was forbidden to foreigners ? Surely not to know better, she did not believe it for a second. At no time had he expressed any interest in her. He had another idea in mind. But she didn't know which one and nothing in her expression allowed her to guess it. "If only you were on my land, you'd be less clever " she suddenly remembered that threat uttered in the form of a promise when on their second meeting she had closed the door in her face. Swiping a finger down her throat at the memory of the stories about executions in his country that she had briefly traveled around, Mia almost had a heart attack. What if he wanted to kill her for disrespecting him ? After all, in countries where royalty rules, there is no justice except that of the rulers. She would therefore not even have a trial before seeing her throat slit in the public square. Shaking her head vivaciously to remove from her mind the rather precise images of her execution that were imposed there, she plopped down on the luxury carpet that covered the floor of the hotel room, praying that her guardian angel would come there. get her out of here to take her away from this psychopath who had hatched a plan to bring her to his territory as a hunter would lure his prey to him with traps. What was she going to do now? What if he found her here ? Panicked, scared, sad, tired both emotionally and physically, Mia was. It was not long before she succumbed to it and, against her will, fell into a dreamless sleep, lying on the carpet curled up on herself and her face streaked with tears.
The tension emanating from Hackim's body was so palpable that Amid said nothing. He wanted to give her time to calm her down even though he was sure it wouldn't come so soon. Where had this young woman gone ? He was really worried about her because even if the king, blinded by the hatred and anger that had always inhabited her, tried hard to believe that she had a plan, he had been able to read in her a young woman who had had her lot of suffering and who longed only for peace of mind. Why was he picking on her ?
- Where the hell did she go? Questioned for the n-th time in two hours Hackim in a furious voice.
None of the 20 people he had hired on American soil had been able to give him even the shadow of a clue. Let alone the LAPD ( Los Angeles Police Department ) . How useless! This time more than the others, he regretted not being at home, this place he mastered at his fingertips more than anyone in the world. It wouldn't have taken him long to find the runaway and give her the good spanking she deserved for having worried everyone like that. Hackim was slowed in thought. Was he worried about her sudden disappearance ? Absolutely not ! How could it be otherwise ? She represented for him only an insolent foreigner whom he wanted to punish freely on his lands. Nothing more . So why was he staring at his phone every second expecting a call or text letting him know he was back ? All of this pissed him off. He couldn't take it anymore. He then gave a violent punch in the wall leaving a big trace. Accustomed to the excesses of anger of her Highness, Amid did not even jump and contented herself with going to get a bandage and the necessary to treat the sow he had just made, but Hackim refused his help and went to his room. He needed a good cold shower to get his head straight. It was therefore with his face distorted by a dull anger that he walked to his room to take a shower and take care of his wound.
Barely entering inside, he took off his shirt and wanted to do the same for his pants when something caught his attention. He had the impression that there was a presence in the room, a feminine presence judging by the scent of perfume that mixed with his. Believing at first that it was about one of the employees who had, in the hope of seducing him, exceeded his order not to see any cleaning agent in his suite as long as he was there, he began to furious gait in search of the intruder praying to the Heavens not to do anything dramatic when he caught him but neither the shower, nor the dressing room, nor his bedroom, nor the small living room adjacent to his bedroom revealed anyone. Yet he was certain that there was someone. He could feel her presence. Was it a djinn* ? Impossible. Where was the intruder ?
-Whoever you are and wherever you are hiding in this room, do yourself the favor of showing yourself before I find you. Like the rumble of thunder on a stormy evening, Hackim's voice had a threatening intonation that would chill anyone's blood. No matter his courage rating. But no one showed up. Whoever it is, it obvious that she don't like her life enough.
So he was going to go back to his room to look more carefully when his foot tripped over something… Or rather someone. Indeed, curled up on herself, Mia Khelani, whom they had spent the last three hours actively looking for throughout the city of Los Angeles and the surrounding area, was there, asleep on the carpet of his living room.
Surprised at first, Hackim went out shirtless to call his adviser. This one relieved, went to see her and carried her like a princess to drop her off in the third bedroom of the suite before calling her friend and all the people they had hired to find her to inform them that she had been found. After which, he called a doctor to consult her since he had noticed that she was feverish when he carried her. He prescribed her rest and left before Camilla, relieved and happy although worried about her state of health, came to pick her up to bring her back.
An hour after this incident, while Hackim was still thinking about the invisible vice that had run through him, discovering her on the floor in his room when Amid joined him.
- I wanted to inform you that Miss Khelani is better. I just spoke to her friend.
- Good. Was his only response. But as Amid after bowing opened the door to withdraw, he asked him the question that tormented him.
- You think I'm picking on her unfairly, don't you ?
- That's what I thought indeed, but after witnessing the concern you exceptionally showed at his disappearance, I have my doubts. I wonder if your reasons for wanting her in Khahazan despite the political turmoil it will cause and all the implications on the people of Khahazan are not other than what you claim.
-What are you implying here Amid ? That I have ulterior motives for wanting this young woman in our land ? Hakim asked to his friend
- I did not insinuate anything of such your Majesty. But who are you trying to convince otherwise? You or me? Amid asked in an enigmatic voice to answer the king before leaving without asking permission leaving Hackim with his thoughts.
- Why did you scare me so much Camilla ?
Sitting on the small table installed on the balcony of her friend's beautiful and large room where she had been staying for three days, Mia shrugged her weary shoulders to tell her friend that she did not want to talk about it, but she didn't budge.
-What do you want me to tell you ? That I panicked ? That my reading about executions in his country is chilling me? That I had and still have except desire to find myself in this country? Well it is. I was terrified. More than you can believe. She ended up losing her temper under the insistence of Camilla, who straightened her up immediately, taking her in her arms before explaining to her in a soft voice.
- But let's see my beautiful. The arbitrary executions took place when his father, a great dictator and an ignoble character who had no regard for his people, was still reigning. Today and this 5 years after his takeover which took place during the neck of state that he fought against his own father to save his people, Khahazan is a country of a thousand and one wonders. If it is true that the death penalty has not been abolished, it is also true that its application is subject to very strict laws that he himself has put in place. Today to be executed in Khahazan, one must either be a war criminal, or have brought murder against a person of royal blood, or have endangered the lives of the people. You who hate fake news so much, why didn't you take the time to confirm these stories before scaring people unnecessarily?
-How do you know so much about his country ? The last time I checked, your degree you got me in international business and not in history. Mia inquired surprised that her friend even knew the laws of the Khahazan.
-It's true, but you know it was to please my parents. You know that I have always been passionate about history and even more so that of exotic countries. Explained Camiila
Mia smiled sadly. One of the disadvantages of being born into a wealthy family was that children's lives were planned in great detail from birth. What education they would get, what kind of spouse they would marry, and sometimes what kind of people they would date. Camilla was no exception and had to study international business when she wanted to make history. However, she was doing well. She was delighted that in addition to having obtained her diploma with the congratulations of the jury, she had not given up her passion and found time to devote to it.
-However, I have the impression that there is something in your meeting with the sheikh. Something you don't tell me about. It was her way of asking for the details of her meeting with this man.
-That I know you didn't ask me anything before insinuating a beautiful budding love story between the two of us. Mia replied smiling as her friend sheepishly apologized. Then she added
-As I'm nice and I'm a good friend, I'm going to tell you everything but beforehand tell me what it is in fact. A sheikh or a king ? Besides, is there really a difference ?
Camilla gently mocked her friend's ignorance before explaining to her.
- Well, in fact a sheikh is generally the leader, the chief of a tribe within a kingdom. He is one of the top leaders of a kingdom ruled by a king. There are often several sheikhs in a kingdom but never several kings. To transpose, sheikhs are like mayors but more powerful and kings like presidents. Each sheikh has his council like the mayor has the municipal council. Understood ?
- So Mr. Hackim El-Hassan what is he, A sheikh or a king? He presented himself to me as king but you called him Sheikh. Asked Mia again curious.
- It is I who am at fault. Hackim El Hassan is a king. A real and authentic one with a power that extends beyond his country. Well now I want to know everything about your meeting in great detail.
- Well, I'm going to tell you everything, but don't interrupt me otherwise I'll stop. Mia warned as she and her friend left the balcony for the bedroom where they settled on the bed facing each other.
And here we go for the story of the incredible encounters between Miss Mia Khelani and His Majesty Hackim El Hassan.
-Wow… That was the only word Camilla said at the end of Mia's story. She couldn't believe her ears. She better understood her friend's reluctance but still laughed at her theory that he wanted to slit her throat once landed on the ground of Khahazan to the chagrin of her who displayed a sulky face.
- However, now that you say so and that I know better the history between you two, I must admit that I agree that his desire to invite you is rather suspicious. What was he planning to do. I'm curious to find out.
-No, no and no Cam. Tune won't find out because we won't go anywhere. Mia warned, seeing a flame of curiosity light up in her friend's eyes. She knew that flame too well.
-Don't worry darling, I'm not going to try to convince you to accept this trip. Anyway even if I got there it would be too late, his private jet leaves in two hours according to the press. You will no longer have to face his sexy and penetrating gaze. Unless you agree to go. Explained Camilla
Curiously, this information did not have the expected effect on her. Indeed, instead of relieving and delighting her as she expected, she felt a terrible emotional emptiness that she blamed on fatigue and the emotional tsunami through which she had had to pass lately.
*Djinn In Muslim beliefs, genius or demon, generally hostile to man.