Page 32 of The Lamb and the Llama
"Then why was he being so weird toward me?”
“I can’t know that. The only way you can find out is if you ask him.” Carol picked up Amira’s phone from the counter and tapped something into it. “Here, it’s his cell number. Take it. Call him.”
“And say what, exactly? I’m not even sure if anything is wrong. Perhaps he was just tired,” Amira said as she took a sip of the Prosecco. The bubbles tickled her nose.
“Amira, you won’t know unless you call him. And if you’re anything like me, Treasure, Erika, or Harriet, you will let this fester for too long. Just call the guy! I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding because, from what I saw, the dude is head over heels for you, Amira.”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“There’s no maybe about it—call him! Better yet? FaceTime him and make sure you’re wearing a sexy negligee when you do! That’s an order from a superior FUC, by the way!” Carol winked before downing what was left of her Prosecco and heading for the door. “I mean it, Amira. Call the guy. If you don’t, I’ll sick Treasure on you, and then you’ll have no choice but to call him before you leave for BC!”
* * *
“And that’s basically all Stan wanted me to brief you on before you head back to BC.”
“Thanks, Treasure. I appreciate it,” Amira said as she gave Treasure a half-smile.
Treasure palmed Amira’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you call Richard?”
Amira let out a sigh. “Don’t tell Carol, but I didn’t call him. And it’s not because of chickening out! After Carol and I had a heart-to-heart, I thought about it some more, and I’m wondering if what we had was real. Perhaps I’m just overthinking good sex.”
Treasure palmed Amira’s hand. “It’s real. And you need to face him when you talk to him. This is clearly a misunderstanding. Carol and I know about those. In fact, if we didn’t talk to our significant others, neither of us would be married to them right now. Girl! You have to talk to him face-to-face when you see him. I truly believe you two are meant to be together. After all, Stan has that touch!”
All Amira could do was smile and nod as Treasure hugged her before opening the car door to her ride to the airport. She had Dayton drive her, and Amira was grateful for that. The only thing that was hard was the silence during the ride to the airport because all Amira was thinking about was Richard.
They were at the airport before Amira knew what to process. Dayton was opening her door and getting her luggage out of the trunk before she saw where she was.
“Wait. Why am I on the tarmac? What’s going on? Don’t I have a commercial flight?”
“Not this time, you don’t.”
Amira turned to the voice calling out to her.
“Carol? What are you doing here?”
“Making sure you don’t make the mistake of your life. You didn’t call him? Not even a quick text?”
Amira shrugged.
“Well, that’s why you aren’t flying commercial! With Rayan being a king and all, he’s got a private jet. And since he never likes to upset me, he agreed to let you use it because you can’t waste any more time. Go. Get. Your. Man!”
Amira smiled and gave Carol a hug.
“You’re right! Thanks, Carol, for believing in us.”
“Hey—you’re part of the Scooby Gang now! It’s the least I can do!”
* * *
“Here’s a list of the rest of your assistant candidates.”
“Thanks, Stan.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “You’ve been mopey ever since we got home, Richard. Scratch that, you’ve been mopey since you woke up from your concussion! Why? Aren’t you happy about Amira’s promotion?”
Richard let out a sigh. He knew he had to face this head-on with Stan at some point. He just didn’t want it to be this soon. “Yes, I’m happy she’s happy in Greece.”
“She’s not in Greece,” said a familiar angelic voice.
