Page 13 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“I’m fine, thank you.” After checking to make sure Kate and Miles had everything they needed, she crossed to Rashad’s table and sat across from him. Her head was still spinning.

“Are you sure?” Rashad leaned closer. “I hope you won’t be offended by me saying this, but you look a little pale.”

“I’ll be all right.” Nina tried a smile. “I think I’m just tired. Running a business and taking care of kids isn’t as easy as you might think.”

“I can imagine. If you’re sure you’re all right, we can begin.” Rashad slid the folder he’d had yesterday across the table to Nina. “If you need a break at any time, just let me know.”

“I will. Thanks.” Nina took the folder and began flipping through the documents. Apart from the research he’d mentioned yesterday on customer demographics, Rashad had information on her employees, her company’s history — even an approximation of her profits. Nina did her best to focus. Rashad had a lot of ammunition, and she couldn’t let her dizziness slow her down.

“All right. If you can tell me what your profits were last year, that would be a great start. I have an approximation here, but it’s hard to calculate since you aren’t publicly traded.”

Nina scoffed. “Right, like I’m just going to hand you that kind of information. How about we start withyourcompany, and what you seek to gain from this meeting?” Nina looked down at the figures. “I see here that you’ve written, um…”

“Are you all right?” Rashad asked again.

“Yes…” The words seemed to dance across the page in front of her, little black specks in a conga line instead of useful information.

“Nina.” Rashad’s voice was gentler now, and she felt a hand on her forearm, warm and firm. “It’s clear that you aren’t. How about you go back to bed for a little while? If you’re just tired, that should fix things.”

“I need to watch Miles and Kate,” Nina said. The table looked so comfortable that she half wanted to lay her head down, just for a moment. She felt herself sway a little.

“I’ll look after them,” Rashad said. That jolted Nina out of her exhaustion. She was not going to let a professional nemesis look after her babies.

“It’s really fine. I’ll just have some water and I’ll be okay.”

But Kate and Miles must have overheard the conversation, because they slid out of their chairs and came over to join them.

“Mommy’s friend is gonna watch us?” Miles asked. He turned to Rashad and looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “Can we drive the boat?”

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” Rashad smiled down at Miles. He appeared sincere, but that wasn’t enough for Nina to leave her kids with him. He hardly seemed like the kind of guy who’d spent a lot of time babysitting nieces and nephews or volunteering at the local preschool. There was every chance that he knew nothing about kids and had no idea what he was signing up for.

“Cool,” Kate said in a low voice. “I want to drive the boat, too.”

“We can all take a turn.” Rashad smiled at Kate then looked up at Nina. “Please, take an hour or two to rest. The three of us will be fine.”

“I really couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t ask. I’m offering.”

Nina hesitated. She didn’t want to feel like she owed Rashad anything, nor did she want to leave the twins with an inexperienced babysitter. Yet she also felt so dizzy she wasn’t sure she could stand, and a pounding headache had joined the fray. Nina was in no condition to hold a business meeting or even play with the twins until she had a little more sleep and some fluids.

“It’s okay, Mommy,” Kate said, taking Nina’s hand. “You can drive the boat later.”

Nina and Rashad’s eyes met, and they shared a smile, then Nina sighed.

“Okay. If you’re sure. But I’ll only sleep for an hour, and if you need anything at all, just come and wake me up.”

“I will, but I won’t.” Rashad urged her to her feet and towards the hallway that led back to her room.

“Kate doesn’t like food that isn’t the right temperature,” Nina said, already feeling groggy. “Like warm ice cream or cold French fries.”

“No one likes warm ice cream or cold French fries.” Rashad and the twins led Nina towards her room. “It’ll be okay.”

“And Miles will say that he’s had enough water, but he doesn’t always remember to drink,” Nina continued.

“I drink,” Miles said, his tone offended.

“I know, honey, just not always enough.” They arrived outside the rooms Nina had shared with the twins the night before, and Rashad opened the door. “If you have any questions?—”

---