Page 19 of The Sheik's Kiss

“I’m sorry,” she finally replied, shaking her head to get her focus back on work issues. “I was going through…something…in my mind. Could you repeat that?”

Mandy watched him and saw the flare of heat in his eyes. But it was quickly tamped down. What had just gone through his mind? Had she let some of her personal desires show through? Was he angry with her?

He remained silent in response to her unspoken questions, opting instead to reiterate his explanation. His voice took on a deeper tone as he spoke, emphasizing his point. "Regarding the files," he began, "at first glance, it may seem like I am considering a larger number of women for marriage. However, if you take a closer look at the initial pages, you'll discover that they are actually profiles of government officials who could be involved in spreading the rumors I've been hearing. Some of them hold positions of leadership or are deputies within various agencies. Others are officials engaged in suspicious activities." He scrutinized her expression carefully. "And there are also individuals whom I simply don't favor or suspect of holding grudges against me or my political policies." He swiftly flipped through the top file, displaying the contents to her. Mandy struggled to concentrate as he was sitting too close. Moreover, his fragrance was captivating, reminiscent of a blend of woods and masculinity, intoxicating her senses. When he looked at her expectantly again, Mandy had enough brain cells firing that she was able to nod as if she understood. “That sounds great, Your…Zahir,” she corrected quickly, smiling to apologize for her slip. “I’ll look at these files and will get back to you shortly.”

They both stood up and she took a step backwards. Being this close to him, Mandy had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. “The social events start tonight. The dinner that Astra has organized will be the first of a series of conferences that the palace is hosting in order to casually introduce you to the various ladies.”

“That’s good. I haven’t even looked at my schedule for today, but I had heard vaguely that the social events would start soon.”

Mandy stared at him, surprised that he wasn’t more interested. She started to open her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut. It wasn’t her place to demand that the man be more involved in the search for his new wife.

Nevertheless, his nonchalant approach to the search served as a warning, reminding her that he wasn’t the kind of man she should desire. It served as a reminder that affluent and influential individuals operated under different norms than the general populace, and that casual attitude could break her heart.

Ignore the attraction, she reminded herself for the millionth time. Ignore it and get the job accomplished, then go home and find a nice, comfortable man to marry and raise a family.

“I’ll have an update for you by the end of today,” she told him, collecting the files and pivoting towards the door. The recall of his casual attitude towards his prospective spouse, his lifelong companion, spurred Mandy's eagerness to return to the security of her desk.

“You’ll be at the dinner tonight, correct?” he called out just as she touched the doorknob.

She spun around, clutching the file folders to her chest. Dinner? Tonight?

Mandy looked down at the floor for a moment, then lifted her gaze. “I wasn’t planning on attending. I know that Raven was going to be there. She will be watching the body language and speaking to the candidates in order to glean more information.”

“I’d like you to be there as well. As I mentioned before, Raven will be talking with them, but they might also reveal something that would prompt more financial questions.”

Right. Yep. He’d said that. And he was right. It was amazing how much people revealed about their financial situations in casual conversation.

“I’ll be there as well,” she promised.

“Excellent. Save me a dance.”

Dance? There would be dancing tonight? She hadn’t heard that.

Still, Mandy nodded, forced her lips to smile politely, then gripped the doorknob and yanked the door open. She nearly stumbled when she turned around, her feet not following her brain’s orders. Thankfully, her tight grip on the door saved her from complete humiliation. She looked over her shoulder, praying that the man hadn’t noticed her stumble.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t that lucky. He was staring at her, one of those dark eyebrows lifted as if he wanted to ask her if she was okay.

“I’m fine,” she blurted before he could ask. Then she hurried out of the room, forgetting to pull the door closed behind her as she rushed down the hallway. She suspected that he was still watching her so she pulled her shoulders back, trying to appear confident even while her stomach was roiling with embarrassment.

And jealousy.

Tonight, he would meet several of the candidates. He would meet the beautiful women, one of whom would become his wife. Jealousy was such a miserable sensation! Even though she knew that Zahir wasn’t the man for her, the thought of him dancing with other women felt…awful. As she walked back to her office she shared with Raven, Mandy reminded herself repeatedly that Zahir had hired her, in part, to find him a wife. There would be no emotions involved with his selection. He was choosing a wife based on political expediency. And she was helping him do that! How could she be jealous of a man who would choose his wife without any sort of emotional commitment? Without any feelings at all?

And yet, she couldn’t deny the aching in her chest at the thought of him marrying one of the beautiful women that she and Raven were investigating. It was yet another mystery she was going to solve!

Zahir watched Mandy leave, wondering if she’d understood the meaning behind his words. She’d appeared startled by the statement, but did she grasp his intentions?

Probably not. There was something in her past that was holding her back from admitting an attraction to him. That incident with her father during her childhood? Mandy had brought it up last week, but hadn’t gone into detail. Perhaps it was time that he spoke with Raven about what might be going on in Mandy’s head.

Except…he didn’t want to violate Mandy’s privacy by going to Raven. Or his security team. Of course, his security team had already done a deep background check on Mandy, but he hadn’t read the file. Zahir was going on instinct with Mandy, trusting in his past interactions to guide him. If there had been something truly sinister in her past, his security team would have warned him. Or Levi would have given him a head’s up.

Now that he thought about it, Zahir acknowledged that his trust in Levi and Clarissa’s judgement and friendship with Mandy was what had allowed him to consider the lovely accountant as a romantic partner. His friends’ trust in, not just Mandy’s professional skills, but also their personal friendship with her, was what had first attracted him to Mandy.

No, that wasn’t true. It had been her smile. And her figure. And the sparkle in Mandy’s eyes every time she discussed numbers that had attracted him to her initially. Plus, she was so damn good at her job! He’d heard the stories about how Mandy had helped not just Clarissa fight off her father’s malicious accounting firm, but also when Matteo was struggling with a vicious attack by his narcissistic father. Mandy’s loyalty nearly eclipsed her beauty, in terms of her attraction.

However, there was still something more, something powerful, that kept drawing his attention to her. Something indefinable. And it had nothing to do with her financial skills or her loyalty and open honesty.

Zahir was relieved that Raven also thought that Mandy was a good candidate. The woman was an excellent judge of character!

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