Page 1 of The Sheikh's Temporary Girlfriend

Chapter One

Amber Clayton hurried back to the bar and picked up yet another drinks tray holding ten crystal flutes of champagne. She swallowed hard as she walked carefully through the crowd of rich and famous, the men in formal suits and the women in dazzling evening gowns and priceless jewels.

She wasn’t practiced in the art of drink carrying and had no idea how heavy ten glasses of champagne could get in a very short time, or how precarious they became as partygoers pushed past her.

Why was she doing this again?

Oh, yeah.She desperately needed the money to help bail out her brother, Zach from his latest gambling disaster. His wife had threatened to leave him and take their five year old child Katie with her if he didn’t find a way to pay his accumulated debts…and soon.

Not that Amber blamed her sister-in-law, Rachel. She must have been shattered when she’d discovered how deeply Zach had gotten himself into debt. Rachel had been completely unaware of her husband’s gambling problem, her trust now as broken as Zach’s addiction.

Amber’s daytime gig at the local surf school might be her dream job, but it was far and away from the best paying and wouldn’t even put a dent in what her brother owed. Not even his skill as an accountant would save him from financial disaster.

A soap opera star in pearls and a tight gold sequined dress plucked a flute from off the tray, making two other flutes wobble. “Finally!” she complained in an aggrieved voice, her brunette hair long and perfectly straight and her blue eyes glacial.

Resisting the need to pat down her barely restrained blonde riot of curls, Amber sent the woman a strained smile and continued to weave around the glittering throng of Sheikh Basam’s guests, all the while heading in his direction. He was, after all, the man paying for the get-together.

Though he was renowned for paying his wait-staff well, the icing on the cake was the nice fat bonus he dished out if the party was a success. She only hoped and prayed that itwas.

Anything to help keep Zach and his family together.

Her stomach clenched. She and Zach had already lost their parents in a car accident five years ago. If Katie disappeared from their life too, it would kill them both.

It’s Zach’s stupid fault. Maybe losing Katie will teach him a lesson once and for all.

She scrubbed the thought from her mind. He was her brother, and despite his ghastly gambling addiction, she loved him. She wouldn’t stand by and see him lose everything, including the woman he loved along with his precious daughter.

Amber’s supervisor waddled through the crowd toward her, his face flushed and his shirt too-tight for his bull neck. “What are you doing? Get those drinks to Sheikh Basamnow!”

She smiled tightly. If she didn’t need this job so badly she’d tell the rude, bullfrog of a man to go to hell. But shedidneed this job and she’d put up with a lot worse to get her pay and a bonus. “I’m heading over there now.”

“Hurry up, then. And see to it that you give him your prettiest smile.”

She bit back a retort as she continued to weave through the crowd. She wasn’t here to look pretty. She was here to do a job and do it well. A shame the heeled shoes she’d borrowed from Rachel were half-a-size too small and were already killing her feet. Between that and her aching shoulders and arms she was ready to kick off her shoes, throw down her tray and subside against the nearest wall while giving into tears of self-pity.

“Careful!”

The word of warning came too late. A clearly drunk, careless young man lurched heavily against her before he disappeared into the crowd. Her drinks tray tilted one way, the champagne glasses teetering. She managed to rebalance the tray, but it was too late for the flutes of champagne. They toppled sideways, splashing the dark gray business suit and immaculate white shirt of the man in front of her before crashing to the floor in an explosion of crystal glass.

Amber froze as the crowd audibly gasped. She slowly lifted her eyes.

Sheikh Basam.

His eyes narrowed and her throat restricted, becoming so tight she couldn’t have issued an apology if she tried. If his infamy wasn’t clear enough, his height and silent strength most certainly were. Add his predatory dark golden eyes that made her feel like prey, along with his dark designer stubble that highlighted his aquiline nose and high cheekbones, and she couldn’t help but take an involuntary step back.

Her supervisor appeared from out of the crowd. He sucked in a horrified breath before it spluttered back out again in a rush. “I’m so very sorry Sheikh Basam. Amber is new, a substitute for another staff member who came down sick.”

Sheikh Basam ignored her supervisor. All Basam’s attention seemed centered entirely on her. “Amber,” he murmured with a speculative gaze. He glanced down at his soggy jacket and shirt. “I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I’m not yet sure that’s entirely true.”

She gulped, his accented voice and fathomless regard pulling at her despite her anxiety. “I-I’m so sorry. I’m not usually so clumsy.”

Her confession had her supervisor puff up like a rooster condemning one of his hens. “Let me reassure you, Sheikh Basam, the dry-cleaning will come out of her pay.”

She wilted at his words, her lashes sweeping low as tears sprung to her eyes. Such an expense would cost her hundreds, perhaps even thousands. Her night here was heading toward a complete disaster and might well see her having a bill instead of a much needed wage.

“That’s not necessary,” Sheikh Basam refuted coolly. “I can afford my own dry cleaning.”

“Thank you,” she said in a tremulous voice. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”

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