Dangerous Play

13 » luck of the Irish

Phew. Props to Ibtihal for steering the conversation back to a safer subject. "My top choice is the University of Virginia. I'm thinking about majoring in business, but I'd also like to continue playing soccer."

Qadir grunted. "UVA is an excellent business scho—"

"What position do you play?" Bakari demanded, cutting off his father mid-sentence.

"I'm a center back for Sporting Academy," Finn said. Qadir's eyebrows rose at this statement, and he saw Ibtihal smile approvingly.

Bakari's eyes widened. "No way! Do you know Kieran Valencia?" Finn wanted to laugh at the sheer admiration in the kid's voice. Bakari seemed to be warming up to him, at least, dropping the arrogant attitude he'd been greeted with.

"You idiot, they're literally best friends." Eden stabbed a stray piece of lettuce with her fork. "Maybe if you're nice enough, he'll get you an autograph."

Finn swore Bakari's jaw hit the floor. "He's your best friend? Pro teams all over the world are watching him! Everybody says he's going to be the next Messi!"

"He plays more like Ronaldo, to be honest," Finn said. "But yeah. I know him pretty well." He didn't mention how he and Kieran became friends because they were always the odd ones out in middle school; him because he was new and had just moved to Kansas City that summer, and Kieran because he still had a Spanish accent despite living in the U.S. for years. The two of them had connected over soccer, with Kieran teaching him some moves he'd learned in Spain and Finn helping him learn the English terms for the game.

Years later, even after Kieran had lost the accent and Finn had become one of the best defenders in the state, they remained as close as ever. Finn knew professional teams had their eyes on Kieran, which meant there was a high likelihood that his best friend would end up playing for a team overseas, and they would have to split up after this year. It was inevitable, but it wasn't something he liked to dwell on.

The conversation then turned to soccer, which significantly improved the mood of dinner. Finn found himself enjoying the company of the Sayeds, which was something he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams. Eden's sarcastic comments gradually lost their hostile edge, becoming more teasing than biting. Ibtihal was as welcoming as ever, and Bakari hung on to every word of his with rapt attention. For the most part, Qadir remained stoic, but Finn managed to catch the man smiling at one of his stories.

After a hearty seven courses, all of which had been absolutely divine—Finn would have plenty to report back to his father—Ibtihal smiled at Finn. "Thank you for joining us for dinner tonight."

"It was my pleasure," he replied, actually meaning it. What had he been so worried about? He'd had a great meal in pleasant company, and the Sayeds just seemed like another family. Granted, a family with enough money to buy a small kingdom, probably, but a normal-ish family nonetheless. 

"Before you go, Finn, there's something I'd like to discuss with you." Finn looked up warily and met Qadir's eyes, that eerie golden glow pinning him to his seat. Maybe he wasn't out of the clear yet. "I never gave Eden that envelope." Finn froze, but Qadir wasn't done. "I know you were returning the tip I left you at the restaurant. Why?"

He blinked a few times, scrambling to find words. Across the table, Eden looked like she was enjoying watching him flounder. "I, uh..." He cleared his throat. "I appreciated your generosity, sir, but it didn't feel right. I don't mean any disrespect, but I didn't think my service was extraordinary enough for that much of a tip."

Qadir gave a noncommittal grunt. "I see."

"I should have been honest about returning it," Finn continued. "So I'm sorry for lying. But I just didn't think I'd earned that money."

Everyone was quiet for a few moments. The room suddenly felt both unbearably small and suffocatingly hot at the same time, and Finn could feel a bead of sweat beginning to roll down his temple as Qadir mulled over his words.

He looked at Eden, who narrowed her eyes at him and raised one shoulder as if to say you had this coming. That did little to soothe his anxiety.

"I appreciate your honesty," Qadir said at last. His expression was still unreadable, but Finn thought he could detect a flicker of grudging respect in the hard lines of his face. "You seem like a bright young man with a reasonably good head on your shoulders, aside from the fact that you practically ran away from a well-deserved two thousand dollars."

Finn furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, thanks, I think?"

"In any case, I admire your work ethic." Qadir smiled suddenly, and the sight of it on his perpetually stoic face was so disconcerting that Finn nearly missed his next words. "How would you like to work for Sayed Atlantic?"

The question hadn't even sunk in when Eden burst into laughter. "Oh, that's good! That almost makes up for having to sit through this entire meal! Baba, I didn't realize you had a sense of humor."

Qadir's expression didn't waver. "It's not a joke. Finn, I'm offering you an internship with us. It's a generously paid position and would be excellent on your resume and application for UVA."

That much was true, but Finn was still trying to wrap his head around the idea. The fact that Qadir kept smiling at him was really messing with him, especially considering the fact that he hadn't thought the man was capable of producing such an expression.

Work for Sayed Atlantic? Sure, he wanted to study business, and had a vague idea of how running a company worked from observing his parents build their restaurants from the ground up, but he didn't know if he was ready to take a step into a multi-billion-dollar empire. Then again, it was just an internship; it wasn't like he was becoming the CEO.

Eden's face had darkened when she realized her father wasn't kidding. "You can't be serious. He doesn't know anything about business!"

"But, unlike you, he's willing to learn. I would rather have someone who works hard and becomes talented than someone who has been given everything and does nothing with it."

Her face flushed in anger. "That's not fair. Just because I don't want to be a business tycoon like you doesn't mean that I haven't done anything worthwhile!" She turned her fury on Finn. "Don't even think about taking his offer if you know what's good for you. You wouldn't last a day working at SA."

He felt his temper spike at her presumption. Who does she think she is?  "Yeah? Watch me." He stuck his hand out to Qadir. "I accept. I look forward to working at Sayed Atlantic."

Qadir's smile turned satisfied, like a cat that got the cream. He shook Finn's hand firmly. "Glad to have you, Finn." 

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AN: sorry for the later update! work has been super busy lately and I'm finishing up summer classes so updates will continue to be a little slower. hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy! 

xx, reina