The Sheikh Bear (4 page)

Chapter 7

Twenty minutes, as it happened, was exactly what Elle needed. Being a secretary to a powerful man meant that she needed to be aware of his every move almost every second of every day, which was hilarious considering that fact that she hadn’t even met him.

To her relief, Alliana and Priya had offered strict assistance in allowing her to do her job—even purchasing a new phone for her specifically to be used when she was working on matters involving the Sheikh.

It was somewhat overwhelming. Since she had started working here, she had gotten a full-makeover, gotten an entire new wardrobe and even a new phone. She felt both pampered and burdened with insane pressure.

It made no sense why they would put so much effort into her. That was the case, until Alliana barged in, just five minutes after Elle had woken up from her nap, to announce that the Sheikh was arriving.

“Straighten your desk, woman!” Alliana hissed, arriving to spruce up the otherwise immaculate office.

Elle organized her desk, watching the blonde woman scramble around back and forth, spraying a fine smelling mist around the office from a glass bottle and wrenching apart the curtains near the windows.

“The Sheikh is just minutes outside the door and you’re gawking like a simpleton!”

At the announcement, Elle felt urgency spur her just as swiftly, and when Alliana looked over her, she gave her a nod of approval, which was more than Elle had ever gotten since her make-over.

“Alright, he’ll be here soon, head over to the kitchen and bring a tall glass of Evian water and a slice of cucumber. The drink
cannot
be warmer than ice cold, do you understand? But so help me if I find an ice cube in that glass, I will personally
murder you.
Got it?”

Elle paled, nodding swiftly before escaping out the door, heading straight toward the stairs and making her way towards the kitchen.

At first, she nearly cried when she realized that the Evian water was bottled up near the back storage area, but she felt relief calm her when she noticed a stash of bottles in the very back of the immense five-star refrigerator.

Pushing aside vegetable trays and employee drinks, Elle snagged a bottle and grabbed a fresh cucumber.

As she sliced the vegetable, Elle couldn’t help but keep an eye out for Malik. It was usually when she was scrambling for stuff that he would show up to laugh at her or distract her with his idiotic—and incredibly attractive—voice.

In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if he walked in right then and there to watch her grab a slice of cucumber and stick it in the tall crystal glass.

Instead, Malik was missing and Elle felt strangely confused at his absence. She did admit that she wanted to thank him for allowing her a little rest, even though he could be an arrogant prick, he didn’t have to help her like that. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

Brushing thoughts of Malik away from her mind, Elle began to head back to the office, keeping her eyes fixed ahead even while she heard other employees whisper amongst themselves.

When she finally arrived, she was mortified to notice that she was practically shaking and that her palms were moist. Wiping them on her jacket, Elle proceeded to enter the suite and then toward the office.

As expected, Alliana was still there but she could be heard from behind the opened glass doors. The curtains were pulled aside somewhat and Elle spotted Alliana’s slim and sharp figure through the sheer fabric.

“Absolutely, I’ll be sure to pass the message along.” The woman was saying.

“Anything else, Your Excellency?”

“That’ll be all.” She heard another voice say and for a moment, Elle paused. That voice sounded familiar…?

Shaking her head, Elle disregarded the strange sense of recognition before approaching the door.

She heard Alliana offer a final phrase in Arabic and suddenly she was walking out the door. When Alliana pushed past the curtains, she glanced at Elle with a look of exasperation.

“Don’t just stand there, you twit. That should’ve been in there ten minutes ago!” She exclaimed quietly, pointing at the glass in Elle’s hands before urging her through the door.

“Remember the rules!” Alliana said before Elle was suddenly past the curtains.

The office was bright now that the windows were without their curtains and when Elle approached she noticed that there were three men. All of them were dressed in fine robes and suits, appearing regal and powerful.

Elle had no idea which was which, until she noticed the one in the center who was busy staring out the window behind him,

Do not speak to the Sheikh unless spoken to.

Do not look at the Sheikh directly.

Do not touch the Sheikh in any manner whatsoever.

The two other men, Elle guessed they were guards, watched her intently. With a meek bow, the young woman placed the tall glass of water over a coaster on the immense wooden desk. She was already spinning around to run off until she heard one of them speak.

“Just a moment,” and Elle froze in her spot, not daring to turn around. The sensation of being caught in the spotlight made her blood thrum in her ears.

The owner of the voice said a few other things in Arabic and Elle felt her skin become hyper aware when she heard a rustle of movement. The two men filed out of the room, not sparing her a glance before they closed the curtains and the glass doors.

“Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come here?” A huge wave of déjà vu washed over Elle, making her heart stop and disbelief bleed into her mind.

Slowly, her body spun despite her shock and when she finally turned around it was to see the last person she had expected to see.

“M…Malik?” Elle stammered out, not believing the sight before her for a moment.

The Sheikh’s face broke into an amused grin and the expression was so…
Malik
the doubt nearly left her completely.

“Miss Roberts, a pleasure to meet you finally.”

Chapter 8

I’m going to kill him.

It was a thought that constantly jumped into her mind for the next few days.

For the longest time, Elle didn’t know
what
to feel. She was torn between humiliation and complete mind-boggling outrage. That idiot man made a
fool
out of her!

He had sat by this entire time, laughing and poking fun at her, listening to her complain about the Sheikh when
he was really the Sheikh all along!

What kind of sick person thinks that’s funny?

And then another thought hit her—he had talked about her boobs, and then she had
shoved the man out of the office.
She broke one of the most important rules already!

With a wail, Elle buried her face in her palms, wanting to remain in the bathroom stall and just die in there because she had been
played
.

Yes, Elle wanted to kill him, but it’s not like she could now!

Considering he was one of the most powerful clients associated with her uncle. And all this time, she had been meandering about and talking to him as though he was just any other man.

Ugh.
She had even
fantasized
about him!

All of this was so wrong, so horribly wrong, and yet Elle knew she would have to return to her office and face Malik—no, the
Sheikh
—and hopefully try not to tackle him to the ground.

Then again, it was not like she would anyway. Sure she liked to talk big but she could never do anything, not even back in high school.

Alex had once laughed when she had cowered in her room one day after a fight with her best friend, Molly.

“Come on, little owl. Time to set things right.
” He had said.

The abrupt memory stopped her dead in her tracks and for a long moment, Elle just sat there waiting for the clench in her chest to disappear. It had been nearly a year since Alex broke up with her and left to go study in some university far away.

A year ago, she had been contemplating places where they would spend time together; she had even gone so far as to imagine how their wedding would be like.

A year ago, Elle had been perfectly happy living in a small little town with her boyfriend of three years and with her wild mane of brown curls to bounce over her head.

Now, she was in a large city, single, and her hair now fell down her cheeks in loose waves. She had changed… or she thought she did.

She had left that town and the comfort of her parent’s home to pursue a life of independence. A life without Alex, a life where she could be happy on her own. She looked different; everything around her was different…

All except for the single little fact that she was still hiding from the world.

Come on, little owl. Time to set things right.

Clenching her fists and taking a breath, Elle pushed herself off the women’s toilet.

When she came face to face with the long mirror, she fixed herself a look of determination.

“I may not look like the women out there, but I’ve got something none of them have.”

Malik rose a brow, “Oh, and what’s that?”

Elle fixed him a defiant stare, “Determination. So you can go tell the Sheikh that I’m not going to get beaten that easily.”

Squaring her shoulders, Elle walked out of the bathroom more than ready to face this challenge on her own, even if she was a little bit scared.

Chapter 9

For the following week, Elle followed orders and managed all the documents given to her with new found zeal. The Sheikh had become exactly what she wanted him to be: her employer.

No longer did he point and laugh at her whenever she made a mistake, instead he’d fix her a simple gaze that spoke of patience beyond his years. The man who would banter and spark silly arguments with her was no longer around and while a bit surprising that that same man now gave her eloquent orders and spoke to her clearly, it was sobering.

Still, there were moments where he infuriated her. Moments where he would pull stunts like decide to abruptly cancel a meeting even though there were only ten minutes to give a warning to all participants and Elle would make mad-dash calls to inform people of great status that the Sheikh could not attend and that he offered his apologies (yeah right).

Or sometimes he would appear, dressed completely like how she saw him the first time and she would almost greet him like she did, or she would almost respond to a comment he made with a snarky look.

She caught herself from snapping back when the Sheikh had told her to fix him a new cup of coffee.
Do it yourself, Malik.
She almost hissed before she paused, and was suddenly being stared at by the man in question.

“Problem, Miss Roberts?” He asked and it was so strange how he could be two different people at the exact same time.

“It’s nothing…” She said before taking a step back.

“Miss Roberts?”

He called and Elle could feel something start in her chest. He did not say her name like he usually did—stiff and mechanical as the Sheikh would, or mocking and probing like Malik would. No. He spoke her name gently and the tone of his voice made her feel something she hadn’t quite expected.

“Yes?” She finally spoke when she realized he was waiting for her to acknowledge him.

“I will be taking a trip to Bellevue this weekend for an important meeting with some clients. Specifically to handle the Baudelaire case.”

Elle recognized the name from one of the files and remembered that their firm would be doing taking the defense.

“I was wondering if you would come along with me.”

The request took her by surprise. Elle had never traveled, only doing so once before she moved to Seattle with her uncle.

“You want me to go with you?”

Malik nodded, “Yes. This is the sort of thing I would require of my secretary.”

And suddenly the whole tone of the conversation returned to that strained professionalism between them. What it was before… Elle wasn’t sure she wanted to give it a name.

“For how long?”

“A week at most.”

Did she want to spend time alone with this man? Elle wasn’t sure, but she hardly believed she had an option to say no.

“Alright.”

And then he nodded and waved her away.

Elle gave a short bow before she turned and walked off, hoping that the trembling in her hands wasn’t visible to his scrutiny.

Chapter 10

“We’re lost.”

“We’re not lost.”

For the twelve millionth time, Elle couldn’t help but curse the man sitting at her side inwardly. This man was gifted with a ridiculous amount of money. He had protection, he had prospects. But the bloody idiot had no sense of direction at all.

Of all the idiotic reasons to not take a plane out—Elle had even gotten excited to fly on a private jet—none would be enough to satisfy why Malik was allowed to take one of the company’s expensive cars and decide to drive the couple to the city.

Elle had hoped to a ride in luxury, considering all the stuff Malik had put her through since she had become his secretary, and instead she got hours of awkward silence and finally facing the fact that they had been driving for far too long.

“Bellevue was only a four hour drive, your excellency,” Elle said, trying to keep her voice at a respectful decibel.

“And yet we’ve been driving for nine. Please just face it, we’re lost.”

“Miss Roberts, for the last time, we’re not lost.” Malik stated firmly, yet whatever humor there was in his voice was completely depleted.

He was also steaming in frustration and the close proximity and growing tension was giving them both a high dosage of cabin fever.

“Look, with all due respect, could we just turn around and head back to that shack—“

“We are
not
asking for directions, Miss Roberts. So you can take that idea and shove it.”

Irritation blossomed through Elle’s nerves, making her see red for a split moment. Unable to handle his bitten words, Elle faced him with a simmering glare.

“Oh, wonderful. I never thought the stereotype reached your lands, but wow, you sure showed me.”

“What stereotype?”

Malik shot back, glaring into the open road ahead of them. This road didn’t look anything like the highway and honestly, those thunderheads above only promised dark omens.

“That egotistical men can’t handle asking for directions because they take it as a blow to their pathetic pride!” Elle finally snapped.

“Watch it, habibi.” Malik huffed.

“Or what, you’ll
fire
me?” Elle continued with a strange sense of daring.

“Well, by all means do so because after I stop working for you, I’ll find my own way back home while you continue driving in circles!”

“I’m tempted to just drop you off here so you can go and do that!”

He rolled his eyes and Elle let out a grunt of aggravation.

“Then what is stopping you?” She exclaimed.

“You can just as easily find another girl to do my job. And she’ll be much prettier and quieter and will just bow her head and fill all your needs!”

“You had me at the ‘quieter’ part,” Malik said coldly.

“Maybe I will do just that.”

He could have slapped her and it would’ve hurt less. Elle fell silent at that, feeling absurdly stung by his words.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and little specks of rain began to stick to the windshield. All around them were large trees that loomed like huge green giants above them and for a moment, Elle wished he would just drop her off so she could hide the tears threatening to burn down her eyes.

She felt ridiculous.

Why would that make her hurt?

There was no need to feel so wounded by such a selfish man.

“What’s this, the thought of losing your job actually registering in your head?” Malik continued.

Elle said nothing, sternly keeping her body tight against the passenger door, her gaze outside the window.

To her dismay, her emotions were not as invisible as she wished they would be and when she dared breathe, the sound came out with a slight sniffle that alerted the man.

“Miss Roberts?”

“Just leave me alone for once, would you? You’ve said enough.”

“I don’t understand—are you
crying
?”

Elle clenched her eyes shut, feeling the tears cascade down her cheeks before she brushed them away harshly.

“This whole thing was just a bad idea,” she muttered.

“What traveling with me?” Malik voiced.

“Taking this stupid job!” She finally admitted.

When she faced him, he was giving her a stunned expression.

“What kind of sick person tricks their employee like the way you tricked me? I don’t care where you come from, because where I come from that is a seriously wrong thing to do. You laughed at me, you mocked me, all the while you were the Sheikh, and I was making a
fool
of myself at
your
entertainment!”

Malik looked away to look at the road and to her mortification, she realized he was pulling over to the side of the road.

When he put the car in park, Elle found her chance to put some much needed distance between them. Without warning, she unhooked her seatbelt and unlocked her door.

The door gave with a push and Elle was stumbling out. A chilly breeze wrapped around her and she could feel icy drops of rain fall over her body.

“Hey!” She heard, before she heard Malik’s door open too.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you, obviously!” She called back, angry at the tears coursing down her cheeks, angry at the fact that even now she was running away to hide.

She heard his footsteps catch up before she felt him grab her wrist.
Do not touch the Sheikh in any manner whatsoever.
Yanking her wrist away, Elle whirled around to glare at him. That slightest touch of skin on skin had burned her. It had made her feel something she knew she couldn’t toward this man.

“Do not touch me!”

She cried, trying not to care about the vulnerable flicker in his dark eyes, the way his full lips parted and how his shoulders slumped at her rejection.

“I’m not allowed to touch you, get it? Ever!”

“Miss Roberts,” Malik began.

“Don’t—please just don’t,” Elle said, shaking her head.

The moisture in the air was making her hair frizz, and a gust of wind cast her brown locks around her face.

Hugging herself, Elle wanted nothing more than to become small and to be blown away with the wind.

“I didn’t ask for this, Malik. I don’t want to feel this.”

“Feel what?”

He asked and his voice was also small, and she was reminded that he was just a man. That far away from titles and gold and impressionable status, he was just a man.

“This!” She said waving her hands between her and him.

“You have infuriated me for these past couple of months. You tricked me, you
lied
to me! But you also made me laugh even when I wanted to punch you—okay? No one’s ever made me feel that way. And then I go and find out that you’re my boss, that you’re The Sheikh! That you’re fucking
untouchable
and that I’m just a white girl who can’t ever have anything to do with your world… And when I can finally say that I feel objective, you go and you hurt me again!”

He took a step toward her, and the look over his eyes was absolutely wretched.

“If it’s about what I said in the car—“

Elle didn’t give him the chance.

“It’s about literally everything you’ve ever done! I don’t know if I can trust you. I don’t know if I can trust myself around you! I can’t do this. I can’t because the last time I let myself—” she stopped herself short, feeling surprised even at the words falling from her mouth.

What am I saying?

“Let yourself what, Elle?” Malik asked, and she felt her name on his tongue as intimately as if he had touched her.

She didn’t like the look in his eye, the look that was somewhat hopeful, even wishing.

“Do you… have a crush on me?”

The way he said it made it seem too juvenile. It made her feel like she was back in high school. A huge wave of revulsion and embarrassment washed over her and Elle could feel herself recoil from him.

Did he think this was a joke? This was another game to him?

This can’t be happening.

“Just, leave me alone.”

She said and when she turned around, she could feel the rain fall with more definition around them. Elle wanted nothing more than to disappear. She wanted to fly away.

Instead, she felt his hand wrap around hers again, pulling her back with surprising force.

When Elle whirled around, she was more than prepared to shout at him, to hurt him with her hands for the wounds he had caused her with his words.

Instead, he was suddenly gripping around her jaw, and pulling her up towards his face.

His lips were hot against hers, hot and bruising. Hot and needy. Hot and amazing.

Elle’s mind was spinning, her knees felt shaky and wobbly, all she could do was cling to his shirt to keep from falling over.

Malik pressed kiss after kiss against her mouth, made her feel so strange and light, so confused and excited. What was going on…?

Finally he broke away and she could feel the icy rain dig into her skin and jolt her to reality.

Before she could push away, he was burning his dark eyes against her green ones.

“I like you too, Elle.” He said and the confession stunned her into another silence that he was more than happy to fill with another mind-boggling kiss.

I like you too, Elle.

I like you too, Elle.

And suddenly Elle realized that what she had been feeling wasn’t just a simple attraction, and now that Malik was kissing her, Elle realized with some disbelief that his words made her feel… happy.