Page 24 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“Finally, one doctor made the effort to run the right tests and find a diagnosis for her. Within a few weeks, we had the results that other doctors hadn’t found for years: Aunt Katherine had breast cancer. Stage Four. She didn’t live long after that. If one of the first doctors she’d seen had run those same tests, they would have caught the cancer at an earlier stage, and she might have lived. If she’d had a primary care physician, she might have been screened even sooner. It was such a clear failure of the medical system that I was able to see it clearly, even at just fifteen years old.

“I knew, right then, that I was going to dedicate my life to helping people like my aunt. First, I imagined I’d become a doctor, which is why I studied biology in college. Yet the further I went through my studies, the more I realized that the problem isn’t a lack of well-trained doctors — it’s a lack of resources for people to monitor their own health and find affordable healthcare when they need it. That’s why I developed Heartbeat.I never wanted another family to lose someone to a disease that could have been cured if diagnosed earlier.”

“Nina.” Rashad shook his head. “I’m amazed. Truly. I’ve heard dozens of company-origin stories, but never one like that.”

“That’s because it’s not just a story to me,” Nina told him. Those beautiful blue eyes met his again, full of sincerity. “It’s real. It’s my Aunt Katherine.”

“Katherine…” Rashad paused. “Like Kate.” Puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place: he understood now why Nina charged so little for her app, why she worked so hard to do everything herself, and why she didn’t want to stop working.

“Yes. I named my daughter after my aunt.” Nina smiled. “I know Aunt Katherine would be proud of her little namesake.”

“I’m sure she would be. And she’d be even prouder of you, for all the work you’ve done in her name.”

“I like to imagine that she would be.” Nina shook her head as though releasing the story from her mind. “Sorry, I know this story probably wasn’t what you had in mind when you asked for more details about my company. Whatdidyou want to know?”

Rashad opened his folder and, together, they began to go through the questions he had. Yet he couldn’t put Nina’s story out of his mind. He couldn’t stop imagining her as a young girl, losing a beloved aunt and swearing never to let history repeat itself. And he couldn’t stop thinking of Nina now, working tirelessly to make sure no one was denied the opportunity for quality healthcare.

Yet here Rashad was, trying to put Nina out of business so that he could have a higher profit himself. For the first time since hehad put Health Trackr on the market in Al Soub, Rashad began to doubt his work. Perhaps Nina was right; perhaps therewassomething that mattered more than profit.

As they spoke, Rashad noticed that Nina was more open today than during their other brief conversations. She shared about Heartbeat’s profits and earning potential, though Rashad was certain she was still leaving some information out. The more he knew about Nina’s company, the more impressed he was. If she’d gone into business purely for profits,shemight be the one trying to buyhiscompany right now.

“And this kind of crowdsourcing for app development is another way we manage to keep costs as low as we do,” Nina said.

“That’s great. Thanks for the details.”

“What other questions do you have?”

A glance at Rashad’s watch showed that they’d been deep in conversation for more than two hours. Kate and Miles were still playing together without any fuss, which was impressive — Rashad might not know much about children, but the last few days had taught him that kids their age needed a lot of entertainment.

“Actually, I think that was the last one,” Rashad told her.

“Great.” Nina folded her hands. “That was efficient.”

In truth, there were more questions Rashad should ask — like how much she’d be willing to accept as a buyout. But he understood now that buying Nina out of her company would be just as much of a betrayal as putting her out of business. Heartbeat was like her third child, and there was no way she’d give it up without a fight.

“Rashad?” Nina bit her lip. “You look so serious.”

Rashadfeltserious. For the first time in his business career, there wasn’t a clear-cut way forward. Unless… He almost dismissed the idea immediately, but he couldn’t quite put it out of his mind. What if he and Nina worked together? What if they could actuallybothbenefit from this meeting, instead of just Rashad?

“I want to make you an offer,” Rashad said. He knew he should take more time to consider this and talk to his investors, but he didn’t want to give himself time to back out.

“An offer?” Nina sighed. “I’m sorry, Rashad. I thought I was clear. I’m not interested in a buyout.”

“That’s not the offer I want to make.” Rashad leaned forward. In the clear sunlight, Nina’s blond hair seemed to glow golden, and her blue eyes sparkled — but her beauty wasn’t the reason Rashad was doing this. He was trying to do the right thing.

“All right, continue.”

“What if we can go into business together, as partners instead of rivals?” Rashad took a breath as more of his plan came together. “We could help each other. If we compete in the open market, one of us would lose. And one of our companies would probably go out of business, meaning the loss of years of hard work. But together… together, perhaps we can build something better than either of us could create on our own.”

“Are you really offering for us to work together?” Nina asked. She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know… I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, but our business styles are very different.”

“I’m much more ruthless and profit-oriented than you,” Rashad filled in. “I’m not ignoring that. If we work together, we’d definitely have a lot to figure out. I just think it might be worth it.”

“You might be right.” Nina took a deep breath, then glanced over at her twins. “Can I have a little time to think about it?”

“Absolutely.” Rashad swept the paperwork back into the folder. “We can both take a little time to consider. How about we have a snack and take the afternoon off? I’m sure by evening we’ll both have a lot more clarity.”

“That sounds great.” Nina got to her feet and held out a hand across the table. Rashad took it, feeling the warmth of her small hand in his own. “Thank you, Rashad.”

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