Spinning scandal is what Sahr Youssef does best. When Zain Hashemi's father hires her to fix his playboy son's image, that's all he's supposed to be: another troubled client. That is, until the friction between them shifts - into chemistry.
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Zain was no stranger to getting in trouble.
Between his partying days in New York and his partying days at Harrow, he'd ended up in a chair waiting outside his father's, or the headmaster's, office more times than he could count.
He'd heard more lectures about image and responsibility than he could count.
He'd charmed and talked his way out of more groundings and suspensions than he could count.
But those times were nothing compared to this.
Because this time he was waiting in a chair in Sahr Youssef's office, and he doubted he'd be able to talk and charm his way out of this one.
You're a dead man Zain.
Before he could seriously consider the possibility of making a run for it, the door to the office opened and Sahr strode in.
Today is the day I die.
"Hi Sahr." he said, giving her what he hoped was his most charming smile.
"Hello Zain." she said, taking a seat across from him, not charmed at all. "So nice of you to finally come."
He laughed nervously. "Yeah about that." he said. "Listen I'm so sorry. I had no idea we were supposed to meet. And then I went out last night, and I didn't get to bed till waaaay later, and then Jude called me and........this isn't helping is it?"
"No it isn't." Sahr said. "But go on. I mean, you've already wasted an hour of my time, so what's the harm in giving you a few more minutes? You know Zain I spin for a living, and I wanna see if you can find a good excuse for your behavior."
"I didn't know about the meeting?" Zain said.
"You didn't know?
"Yes."
"I see." Sahr said. "And why didn't you know?"
Silence.
"Zain, did you call your dad's secretary like I'd asked you to after our meeting at Mango Street?"
"No." Zain said.
"No. So then she had no way of knowing about the several appointments and meetings we'd discussed. She had no way of knowing about what to put in your calendar. And she had no way of knowing what information to pass on to your new assistant. Did she Zain?"
More silence.
"You know I'd planned to take you out for breakfast this morning." Sahr said. "Anne called your dad's secretary to ask if you were ok with us switching meeting spots. She directed us to Jude, who then panicked when he found out there was a whole roster of appointments that you'd neglected to tell anyone about. It's the guy's first day and he's already stuck cleaning up your schedule."
Still silence.
"When are you gonna start taking some responsibility Zain?"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry." Zain said. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I'm sorry I didn't arrive on time. I'm sorry."
Sahr sighed. She walked over to her desk and picked up a folder. She flipped through and it and pulled out a piece of paper. She placed it on the table in front of Zain.
"This," she said, pointing to a picture of a man on the page "is Rahim Abad. He's part of the board at Hashemi Industries. Rahim makes 1.2 million dollars sitting on the board. This "she said, pulling out another piece of paper "is Waqas Qureshi. He makes 1.27 million."
Sahr set the rest of the folder down in front of Zain. "This is filled with details about the rest of the board members. They're busy men Zain, and they care about two things: time and money. They will not accept an apology from you for wasting their time, which is why the next five and a half months are crucial. You have got to work with me here, do you understand?"
"Yes." Zain replied.
"Well," Sahr said "I was expecting more of a fight. But ok. Now," she said, grabbing her bag "let's go."
"Uh, where?" Zain asked, getting up and following her out the door.
"Your apartment."
"My apar- you know what?" Zain said "I'm not even gonna bother asking you how you know I live in an apartment. Uh, why are we going there?"
"Because," Sahr said "there are a lot of places we need to go to today, and none of them are gonna let you in looking like that.". She gave him a quick once over, disapproval evident on her face.
"And what's wrong with the way I look?" Zain said. "This is Armani!"
"Rumpled Armani." Sahr said. "Now come on. You need a shower."
Zain's stomach grumbled loudly.
"And breakfast too." Sahr said. "I'm guessing you didn't get a chance to eat before you came?"
"No," Zain replied "but its ok I-"
"Sh." Sahr said, stopping by her assistant's desk. "Anne, could you have breakfast delivered to Zain's apartment please?"
"Sure." Anne said. "Mr Hashemi is there a place you're particularly fond of?"
"Yeah," Zain replied "my kitchen."
"I'm sorry?" Anne said, confused.
"My kitchen." Zain repeated. "Look," he said turning to Sahr "I'm really sorry about being late this morning. Let me make it up to you by making you breakfast at my place."
"I-"
"I'm a really good cook. We can go to my apartment, I'll shower, cook, we can talk over breakfast, and then you can take me....wherever it is you wanted to take me."
"I-"
"Please?" Zain asked, giving her his best puppy dog look.
"I- fine," Sahr said, figuring there was no harm in saying yes. "Anne, no delivery. Just tell the driver to get the car ready. We're going to Zain's apartment."
