Page 3 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

If Fatima was fazed, she didn’t show it. She was a wonderful assistant. “Very well,” she said. “I’ll make sure everything is in order.”

“Thank you, Fatima. I knew I’d be able to count on you.”

Kareem ended the call. In spite of how poorly the day had gone, he found a smile threatening to take over his face.

He was going to the States. He was going to see the Spritzer Cup.

And what was more, he was going to achieve his lifelong dream of bringing motorsports to Qalmar. With or without his father’s approval.

Feeling considerably better than he had when the meeting had ended, he drove the rest of the way to the estate where he lived — smaller than the homes of either of his elder brothers, much smaller than the palace, but perfect for Kareem’s needs.

He had preparations to make and packing to do. And he needed to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s journey — he never did sleep very well on planes, and he wanted to be rested so that he would be in good shape when he landed in Las Vegas.

Kareem knew he was being bold, but he had never been more certain of anything in his life — this was going to be a great success.

CHAPTER 2

KEIRA

“Make sure the press area is set up,” Keira called to the members of her staff. “They’re going to want a place to interview the drivers, and I’m not going to have them trying to grab people for interviews in the middle of walkways and disrupting foot traffic — that’s right, over there is great. Has anyone checked the merchandise stands? I heard they were out of T-shirts.”

“I don’t know how you always stay on top of three things at once,” her intern, Meghan, said, grinning at her.

“Well, I’ve been doing this a long time,” Keira said. “It probably seems harder than it is because this is your first year working for me. But I’ve got it down by now.”

“What should I be doing?” Meghan asked. “I feel like I’m not being useful right now.”

That was probably a fair read of the situation, though it was far from being Meghan’s fault in any way. Keira always found it difficult to rely on interns knowing how new they were to the racing scene.

Still, Meghan was good, and Keira owed her a chance to learn the ropes of event management. “Why don’t you go check with merchandise?” she asked. “See if they still need those shirts, and then when you’re done with that?—”

“Did I hear someone was looking for a task?”

Keira closed her eyes briefly and forced herself not to groan aloud. “What are you doing out here, Kevin?” she asked. “Don’t you have a race to prepare for?”

Her older brother sauntered into view. His race suit was unzipped to the waist and hung loose, revealing the fitted tank top he wore beneath it. He carried his helmet under one arm.

Keira found it difficult not to roll her eyes. He always had to show off. This was classic.

“Well, it’s a while until my heat,” Kevin said. “It seemed like a perfect time to meet with some fans.” He smiled at Meghan. “Are you one of my fans?”

Meghan beamed at him.

“She’s my intern, Kevin,” Keira said sharply. “Believe it or not, not everyone is here to fawn over you. She has work to do.”

“Well, maybe I can help out.” Kevin grinned at Meghan. “Did I hear something about merchandise?”

“I’m supposed to go make sure they have the T-shirts they need,” Meghan said, her voice distinctly more high-pitched than it usually was.

“I’ll go with you,” Kevin said with a smile. “I can sign some product. That will be fun, right? I’ll even get them to give you a free hat.”

“Kevin, you’re not allowed to give away merchandise,” Keira called after him, but the two of them were already walking away. She gritted her teeth. Meghan getting a free shirt was fine, but it would be just like her brother to start passing them out to every pretty girl who came by, and they couldn’t have that.

It was her family’s fault that Kevin had such an inflated sense of his own importance, she thought as she made her way back over to the press area. It was Keira’s own choice that she had always been involved in racing — the family passion — in a behind-the-scenes capacity. She loved event planning and had no interest in getting behind the wheel of a car. The trouble was that a hallmark of a great event organizer wasnotbeing noticed. Her brother was the flashy one, speeding around the track. Keira’s role was, and would always be, far more subtle.

For the most part, she was content with that. But it wouldn’t have killed them to recognize her hard work once in a while, and it might have deflated Kevin’s head a little bit.

“Excuse me, are you in charge here?”

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