Page 8 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

“I do?” Kareem asked, cocking his head at her. “No one told me that.”

Keira took him by the arm and dragged him away from the pit. Kareem allowed himself to be dragged, but he was laughing the whole time — a fact that only made Keira feel that much more infuriated.

“I’m really getting under your skin, aren’t I?” he said as they stepped back out onto the concourse.

“You’re keeping me from doing my job,” she told him. “I have work I need to get done today. I really don’t have time for whatever this is.”

“You could have left me with your friend. She was happy to show me around.”

“She has work to do too. I’m not going to inflict you on anyone else.”

“That’s a little harsh.” He laughed again. “Are you really going to take me to your office? I’d love to see documentation of everything you did to get ready for the Spritzer Cup.”

“I’m definitely not going to show you all our documentation,” Keira said. “In fact, maybe it’s time to cut this tour short. I do have work to do, papers I need to look over before the race begins.”

He fell into step alongside her once again. “I’d love to see that.”

Keira thought she might be about to lose her mind. It wasn’t that he was incapable of taking a hint, she thought — it was that hewas refusing to take one. She had indicated to him any number of times that she was ready for this to be over, and he refused to hear her. Until she faced him down and told him that she flatly refused to play tour guide to him any longer, there would be no getting rid of him — that much was obvious.

It shouldn’t have been such a problem for her. She had never had trouble telling vendors that their prices were too high or insisting to her employees that they needed to get back on the job. She had grown up with Kevin, who had always tried to hog the spotlight, and had learned from a young age how to advocate for herself. Getting rid of Kareem should have been easy for her.

Why couldn’t she seem to just tell him to go away?

And how could it be that there was no shaking him?

Keira made her way up the stairs that led from the concourse to the mezzanine level, where there were doors leading to club boxes and to a few private offices. Her own had a large picture window that looked out over the racetrack, giving her a quiet place from which to watch the race.

She sighed. If there was no getting rid of Kareem, she might as well embrace the inevitable.

She turned to face him. “Would you like to come inside and watch the race with me?”

CHAPTER 4

KEIRA

“You work very hard,” Kareem told her as he settled into one of the comfortable loungers that faced the window looking over the track. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day to play host to me. I know that must have been inconvenient for you.”

Keira couldn’t help herself. “You didn’t act as if you knew it was inconvenient.”

“You’re right,” Kareem said. “And the truth is that I owe you an apology for my behavior today. It was most unbecoming of me.”

Keira blinked. An apology at this stage was the last thing she had expected. “All right,” she said.

“I’m very sorry,” he told her. “I was so eager to come and see the Spritzer Cup — to learn everything about it. You see, I’m a big fan of racing. Of all motorsports events. I have been all my life. And if I’m able to arrange for a race to be held in Qalmar, I will have achieved one of my life’s greatest ambitions.”

“Is that why you were following me today?” It all made sense, suddenly. “You wanted to see what goes into the organization of a motorsports event?”

“So that I can arrange my own, yes. But it’s more than that. I’m doing my best to make connections with some of the biggest names in the field. I want to meet top drivers and pit crew workers and people such as yourself so that I can arrange for you to be a part of that.”

“I see,” Keira said. “You’re looking for help getting your own event off the ground.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, you’re going to need to start with an appeal to the government,” Keira said. “I don’t know how things work in Qalmar, but we could never have held this event without the proper permits from the city. I’m sure there’s something like that you’re going to need to navigate.”

“No, that won’t be a problem,” Kareem said.

He sounded so certain. Keira frowned. “That’s absolutely what you should be worrying about first and foremost,” she said. “I mean, way before you concern yourself with what kinds of foods you’re going to have available at the event.”

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