The Sheik's Pregnant Lover (Love By Accident) (8 page)

“Want to grab a bite to eat?” Mindy, one of the other associates asked as she poked her head into Sidra’s office. 

Sidra looked up and sighed.  “I’m not really hungry,” she said.

Mindy stepped inside and looked at her friend curiously.  “What’s going on?  You’ve been in a funk since you came back from vacation. 
You’ve lost probably a good five or more pounds because you never eat, or at least I don’t ever see you eat anything lately. 
If I didn’t know better, I’d say you met a guy over there
in glorious, old England,
”
she said that last part with what she perceived as a British accent and Sidra laughed, possibly the first time she’d done that in two weeks. 

She then stepped into Sidra’s office and plopped down into the only available chair in the small work space.  There was a flutter of purple and lavender ruffles and lace since Mindy was a more dramatic dresser than Sidra, who chose more conservative, classic designs.  Mindy was wearing a purple ruffled blouse with a lavender vest and purple, wool straight skirt.  While Sidra had slipped on a black sheath dress, only pausing to add a pearl choker and pearl stud earrings. 

Sidra
couldn’t help the blush that suffused her cheeks
and looked away
once the laughter died down
.  “I was only there for four days.”

Mindy gasped and
sat
up straighter
, watching Sidra more closely
. “You did!  You met someone!
  Was he hot?  Was he buff?  Oh, you’ve got to tell me all the details!
”

Sidra couldn’t believe she’d revealed so much in just seven words.  How had Mindy figured out what was causing her recent funk? 
“What are you talking about?”

Mindy
leaned forward in the chair
, her eyes never wavering from Sidra’s face.  “You’re blushing!  You never blush!  Tell me who he is and when are you going to see him again!”  She
moved to the edge of the chair, leaning her forearms against Sidra’s desk, eager for the latest gossip. 

Sidra knew she’d have to nip this in the bud or Mindy would have it spread all over the firm in a matter of hours that Sidra was pining for her lost love.  “Mindy, I promise you that
, besides my brother Ryan,
there isn’t anyone important in my life.”  That was the
absolute
truth, she thought
miserably
as she
considered that Rashid hadn’t even bothered to
call her or contact her.  He knew where Laura lived and Laura had explicit instructions to give him her contact information. 

Mindy frowned and sat back against the chair seat once again, deflated that there wasn’t an interesting story to hear.
“Then let’s go out tonight.  My boyfriend
, Jonas,
has a friend who has been looking for someone
interesting to date
.  Let me set you up with him.  He’s a really nice guy, very cute, about three inches taller than you so you can still wear heels when you get married,” she teased.

Sidra was already shaking her head. “No thanks.  I’m not ready for a blind date.”

Mindy clapped her hands together excitedly. 
“I knew it!” Mindy exclaimed, her eyes alight with
enthusiasm
.  “You did meet someone!   That’s why you’re not ready because some guy broke your heart and left you hanging!  Is that it?”

Sidra hid her exasperation.  How could Mindy have picked up on the true issue so quickly
?  She really had to watch what she said around this woman.  Mindy was a good friend, but also too perceptive.
  “Mindy, there isn’t anyone.”

“Good!  Then you won’t mind meeting Tom.  Tomorrow is Friday so you have no excuse to avoid a date since you can sleep in
on Saturday
. 
Jonas and Tom will
meet
us
at the Willard Hotel around the corner
which I think is convenient for the guys as well
.  It’s
suitable
, elegant and a block away from
the subway
which will make it easy for you to get home after you meet this fantastic guy, but hopefully you’ll want to stay out and party with us.  S
o there’s no way you can back out.”

Sidra thought hard, trying to come up
with
some way to avoid going on
this blind date.  They were never good, always awkward and she normally avoided them like the plague.

When Sidra still tried to figure out how to say no, Mindy nodded her head and crossed her arms over her stomach. 
“I get it,” Mindy said with a knowing look.  “You’re still pining over the guy from England.  I can understand and I’m…”

“Fine!” Sidra capitulated.  She desperately didn’t want the office gossip to be about how she’d found her soul mate in England and was now too upset to see anyone else.  She hated being
fodder
for any kind of gossip, much less the pity of her peers.  “What time?”

Mindy jumped up, clapping her hands with excitement. 
“Great!  I’ll stop by tonight before closing!”

She rushed out of Sidra’s office
before her friend could figure out another excuse
, almost skipping down the hallway.  Sidra thought about calling her back and canceling, genuinely not wanting to go out and see anyone tonight, but it was Friday evening and she was tired of spending her nights waiting by the phone for a certain horse trainer to call her. 

If only he hadn’t said he would call! 
She pulled her latest designs out from under a stack of vendor submissions and tried to focus on her work.  But she couldn’t get the note out of her mind. 
Those words were vicious and evil she thought as she spun her chair around so she was facing her drafting table.  She
had to finish these plans quickly if she was going out with Mindy tonight and she was so behind it was ridiculous. 

Because she was so angry and frustrated about the evening’s plans plus Rashid’s continued silence, she went a bit crazy with her thoughts on her current client’s living room and dining room combination.  As she stared at the end result several hours later, she wasn’t sure if she could submit this to the client.  It wasn’t nearly as conservative as she thought the client might want but it was definitely unique.

“Time to go!” Mindy sing-songed as she swept into Sidra’s office, plucking her coat off the back of Sidra’s door and bringing it to her.  “No more work for today.  It’s time to have a little fun.”

Sidra took the coat and started to come up with an excuse for the night but Mindy saw the look and raised her hand.  “
D
on’t even go there.  You’re coming, T
o
m
and Jonas are
already at the bar and you’re going to have a good time.  He’s handsome, a lawyer and interesting so give it up and let’s go,” she said and pushed Sidra’s purse into her arms with a grin.

Sidra sighed and nodded.  “Fine.  Let’s go.”

They walked the block and a half to the Willard hotel chatting about the clients they’d dealt with during the week.  Or more specifically, Mindy chatted, Sidra listened.  Mindy didn’t appear to notice Sidra’s silence and just kept talking and walking as if nothing were wrong.

Mindy walked right up to a very handsome man and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck as if she hadn’t seen him for years.  Sidra stood behind her, awkwardly watching and wishing she were anywhere else but here.  When Mindy finally pulled herself away from the man, she turned with a wide smile to Sidra and made the introductions.  “Sidra, this is my boyfriend,
Jonas
.”
  Turning to the man behind Jonas
, she said, “And this is T
o
m, the gorgeous and wildly successful lawyer who is going to marry you and take you away from all the tedium of dealing with our obnoxious
, demanding
clients.”

Sidra laughed self-consciously and shook T
o
m’s hand, wondering about Mindy’s introduction.  Personally, Sidra enjoyed dealing with the various clients, although there was always one or two that were a bit irritating and demanding.  The rest were genuinely nice people who just needed help creating their dream environment, which is why they hired a designer. 

Sidra turned to the man standing beside Jonas, glad that he was smiling and looking interested despite Mindy.  His light brown eyes were looking at her as if she
was
an attractive woman and it was a soothing balm to her bruised ego. 
“It’s very nice to meet you, T
o
m.  I apologize for Mindy’s introduction.  I guess she has a bit of a Cinderella complex.”

T
o
m laughed and took Sidra’s hand in his warm one and smiled back.  “She throws a great party so I guess I’ll ignore her for now.”

Both of them glanced at Mindy who was still smiling from ear to ear, watching the two of them closely.  “Let’s get a drink” she said and sprung up on her toes, spinning around and heading towards the bar. 

It took a while, but Sidra slowly started to relax.  Tim was a nice guy and handsome in a very wholesome way.  She could tell that he was very intelligent and enjoyed practicing law, getting excited as he discussed some of his cases.  If she was a bit bored as he explained the intricacies, she pushed that aside, trying to give the guy a chance since this was a blind date.  He was trying a bit too hard to impress, she thought.

Sidra glanced at her watch and was relieved that it was already nine-thirty. 
She was just about to tell Mindy that she needed to head home, feeling exhausted after having been up since five o’clock that morni
ng and in the office by six,
working almost non-stop
throughout the day
, minus her moments of staring into space
while thinking angry thoughts about Rashid
.  But something caught her eye and she turned to her left.  She gasped and a shooting stab of pain caused her to jerk when she looked across the bar and found Rashid walking through the
elegant lobby
with a woman behind him.  The woman was ultra sophisticated with gorgeous blond hair and a black suit that twisted around her body in some sort of elaborate button system. 
It made Sidra’s black dress feel gauche and childish. 

Sidra couldn’t believe the betrayal she felt and had to look twice to make sure it was Rashid.  When she blinked and saw him again, she wanted to stand up
, rush over to where he was walking
and slap him as hard as she could.  Even that thought shocked her because she had never condoned violence but she felt so much anger, she wanted to do physical harm to the man who had betrayed her so painfully three weeks ago. 

She felt sick and angry, hot and furious all at the same time.  Instead of acting on those feelings though, she carefully reached down and found her
black, clutch
purse.  “I’m sorry, but I have to go,” she said.  In the back of her mind, she knew that her face was stiff and the three others around the table were looking at her oddly, but she couldn’t help it.  She tucked her purse under her arm and stood up, turning in the opposite direction of Rashid and his latest lady-love. 

How had she been such a fool!  He probably had a different woman every weekend.  Possibly every night!  Perhaps she should be happy that she’d kept his attention for three mornings. 

And then a thought occurred to her and she felt sickened.  Had he been out with another woman the night before he spent his mornings with her?  Had she just been his wake up woman? 

Her hand automatically went to her stomach and she searched frantically for the bathrooms, afraid she was going to throw up at the thought of Rashid in another woman’s arms just hours before he made love to her. 

As she searched, her eyes collided with Rashid’s and she wasn’t sure, but was that surprise in his eyes? 

She didn’t dare look but hurried towards the exit, uncaring about anyone else.  She ducked her head to hide the tears of humiliation and just concentrated on walking forward, finding her escape so she could lick her wounds in the privacy of her own apartment. 

She was almost at the exit when her arm was grabbed and she was spun around.  When she regained her balance, she was staring at the middle of a massive chest covered in
a
silk-like cotton and an Italian red, silk tie. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Rashid demanded.  “And who the hell is the guy you just left?”

Sidra looked up into those crystal blue eyes, eyes she’d fantasized about for so many nights she didn’t even want to think about it.  “None of your damn business!” she snapped and tried to pull her arm out of his grip but he didn’t release her. “Let me go!”

“Not on your life!”   He stepped closer and looked down at her.  “So you just go from man to man, testing the waters now?  Was he better than I was?  How long has he lasted?  Longer than our little trysts?”

She couldn’t believe that he was saying things like that.  “Are you kidding me?  You’re the one who had an emergency!  Was it just your way of getting out of an awkward goodbye?  Or did you have another woman to shag that was more entertaining?”