I took a minute to sit and take it all in. The view my office was beautiful. I was starting to get the feeling that every view from every window in every building was going to be beautiful in Dubai. I smiled a bit to myself because I was so proud of how far I had come. I won’t let you down Joshua. I dove into the research on the Jameson file so that I could prepare a spreadsheet for next Wednesday’s meeting.
The rest of day was grueling as I barely had time to get acclimated before diving right into work. By the end of the day I was exhausted. It had been a long nearly 24 hours and all I wanted to do was go sit in the bath and relax. I was just finishing up the first draft of the spreadsheet when Samira came to my door.
“The car will be here for you in five minutes to take you back to your hotel. Tomorrow is a day of shopping for you. Mr. Hunter would like for you to have a specific wardrobe while here in Dubai. Your personal shopper, Asima, will meet you for breakfast at the Sahn Eddar restaurant at the base of the atrium of your hotel at 8:30 a.m. Have a nice evening.” She smiled as she left my office.
CHAPTER TWO
My butler woke me at 7:00 a.m. and I dragged my exhausted body out of bed. Ugh. Do I really have to go shopping ALL day today? Most women would have loved to shop all day, but I would rather be in the office working. However, Joshua wanted me to have a specific wardrobe while in Dubai, so there would be no push back from me on this. But, I did ask him to cancel the glam squad for the day. I was more than capable of making myself look presentable and, thankfully, he agreed.
At 8:25 I went down to Sahn Eddar to meet Asima for breakfast. She was extremely lovely and we had a nice chat about the types of clothes I like to wear. Normally, I was told, a personal shopper gets a sense of your style and then does the shopping for you so that you can spend your time doing other things. Joshua wanted me to go with her and try everything on so that we would not have to waste any time sending things back for different sizes. Asima was able to decipher my style personality and we ended up having a nice time shopping together. It was a long day and most of our time was spent at shops in the Mall of the Emirates and the Dubai Mall. I think I purchased something from every major designer boutique in the malls, including jewelry. By the end of the day, I had to admit that I enjoyed myself. It was fun to be able to buy all of those expensive things without even blinking at the price tags. I had spent more in one day than I had made in the last five years. All of my new things were going to be delivered to my room the following day and Asima and her team were going to take care of putting everything in its place. I didn’t have to do so much as hang up a shirt. It was all going to be taken care of for me. This was the life.
That night I ate dinner alone at the Bab Al Yam in the lobby of the hotel. It was so peaceful to sit there and take in the gorgeous views of the sea. I still felt like I was in fairytale dream, and one day I would wake up and it would all be over. But until that day came, I wanted to live in the moment.
The rest of the week was arduous as I dove into my project. There was an urgency in the air as everyone worked to meet deadlines. Jameson was a huge client and the entire office was working on something for them. The big meeting was coming up and many people were a bit on edge. By Friday I didn’t even have the energy to go have coffee with Samira after work. I went straight to my hotel room and slept until Saturday without eating dinner. I did a bit of sight-seeing over the weekend. I didn’t feel strange walking around by myself,f but I would have much rather gone sight-seeing with Joshua. I had only seen him a couple of times at the office since we arrived. He was swamped with preparing for the big meeting with Jameson. Both Saturday and Sunday I took a bunch of pictures and went to a couple of souks to find souvenirs for my brothers.
On Monday it was back to the grind at work. Tuesday was even more grueling than the day before. I was working on a spreadsheet when Samira came to my office.
“I wanted to stop by and tell you your schedule for this evening.”
“This evening?” I hope I get to see Joshua tonight.
“Yes. You are scheduled to have dinner tonight with Mr. Hunter, his younger brother Jake, his companion Vivienne Worthington, and Mr. Hunter’s business associate, Conrad Winthrop III at 8:00 p.m. The attire is business attire. Something similar to what you are wearing is fine.”
She hesitated for a moment and then leaned in and whispered to me. “Mr. Hunter’s brother is a bit quiet and serious. He’s kind enough but he’s not overly talkative. That girlfriend of his is something else. I don’t want to fill your head with any pre-conceived notions, but you will see for yourself what I’m talking about. Mr. Winthrop is a bit of a ladies’ man. The eternal bachelor is what they call him around the office. He may be a bit flirtatious with you, especially since there is so much buzz about you around the office. But he’s very kind. He tends to be a bit competitive with Mr. Hunter. He’s the Vice Chairman and Global Head of Growth Markets and he is one of Mr. Hunter’s closest allies. So there is your mini summary of who you will be meeting tonight. Have a wonderful time at dinner this evening.” She shot me a mischievous smile before retreating from my office.
I was deep into compiling numbers when I heard a light tap on my door. I looked up to see Joshua casually leaning against my door, one hand in the pocket of his beautifully tailored suit, and I had a sharp intake of breath. Damn it, that man is gorgeous.
“You startled me.”
“I didn’t mean to. I see that you are submerged in a project. Jameson, I presume.”
“Yes, I am preparing the spreadsheet. It will be ready by tomorrow.”
“I know it will. I have no doubts about your work. I assume Samira told you about dinner tonight?”
“Yes, she did.”
“OK, good. You will meet my brother and his girlfriend. She is what is known as a busy body. She will probably try to get information out of you regarding the nature of our relationship. I trust you will remain discreet about us.” It was definitely not a question.
“Of course.”
“Good.”