JENNY
The sun streamed through the window and hit Jenny through the face rudely. She sat up and look around, feeling disorientated for a few confusing moments. She turned and looked behind her, The bed was empty.
He was gone! Was he ever there, or had it all been a crazy dream?
She looked closely at the pillow next to her, the dark black hair clinging to it made her realize that it had not been a dream. It all came flooding back, in all its full, glorious detail.
The Jacuzzi, the sex, the hot, hot, amazing sex, the midnight feast on the bed, the necklace. She held her head in her hands. She couldn't believe she'd done that. This was so out of character for her. What a ridiculous fool she'd been. And no doubt Zayn was thinking the same thing too this morning. He'd probably snuck out of bed as fast as possible. Last night had probably been nothing more than an opportunistic fuck for him. She was there, he was there... that was it. She felt mortified all of a sudden.
She knew at some stage she would have to see him, not just that, but she would have to play the dutiful, doting fiancé too. She wondered if he still wanted her to wear that necklace at his birthday, probably not.
Fuck! She'd been a moron. This was the reason she never cut loose, the reason she didn't throw caution to the wind and listen to her heart over her head. It got her into trouble and embarrassing situations... like the last time. She gazed at her watch, 7 am. He must have left really early. Another bad sign. Slip out before the woman wakes up.
She threw open the bed covers and walked to the other end of the room where a large jug of water was calling her name. She couldn't wait to drink it down, to quench her thirst and get that taste of him out of her mouth. She could still taste him. She could still smell him, and worst of all, she could still feel his hands all over her body. It had been an amazing night, no doubt about it. But now it had all come crashing down around her like some kind of hellish nightmare.
Oh well, what had she excepted? Breakfast in bed, a little hand written note left... a note left next to the water jug?
A little note with her name on. She didn't know what to make of it. There were only two possible things it could say.
She opened it with shaking hands, inside she found a coin and a short sentence.
'Tails you meet me for lunch? Heads, you meet me for lunch?'
She felt a wave of excitement wash over her. He wanted to see her again. And if she was truly honest with herself, so did she. Not to say that that wasn't totally crazy and ridiculous and insane. This was supposed to be a job, and she was supposed to dislike him. And it was so much easier when she had disliked him. When she'd thought he was nothing more than an arrogant asshole... but he wasn't.
He was funny. Fun. He was gentle, the way he'd held her as they'd fallen asleep. He was passionate; she could still feel the tingling between her legs. He was...surprising.
In the corner of the note was a little arrow, indicating she turn over the page.
"I'll meet you in the ballroom at 12:00. Can't wait to see you."
It was just a simple little note, and yet it held such power and meaning. He still wanted her. He still wanted to kiss her. He still wanted to... would he make love to her again? Just as her mind was wondering and flashes of his naked body started running rampant through her mind, she heard a sound at the door and saw another note being slipped under it. She ran to the door wondering if he was outside it, but the handwriting on the note was different.
She opened it. "Let's go shopping! Meet me downstairs at 8:30. Rana." Wow, these guys loved notes around here. What was wrong with texting or talking?
She looked at the old clock on the wall, an hour and a half to freshen up and wash the traces of last night off her body, so she jumped to it.
**
She was standing outside at exactly 8:30. Her stomach was rumbling, she was starved and hoped that breakfast was part of this morning's equation.
"Ready to hit the town?" Jenny turned and saw the elegant Rana walking towards her. She was so effortlessly stylish. She looked like the kind of woman who threw a plastic bag over their shoulders and looked amazing. "Come." She gestured for Jenny to follow her and led her outside, once more the early morning heat assaulted her. Jenny immediately fanned herself with her hand, trying to get some cool air into her lungs.
"You never get used to the heat." Rana looked over at her with a sympathetic look.
"I bet." The air felt thick, as if it had mass and coated her skin like a warm blanket. A black limo was waiting for them on the driveway and a man jumped out and opened the door for them.
"Do you always travel in such style?" Jenny said as she slid into the back of the limo, this was the third time in 48 hours she'd ridden in a limo. Also only the 3rd time in her life.
Rana smiled. "That you do get used to!"
Jenny shook her head, "I'm not sure I could."
Rana's smile grew, "Well, you're going to have to when you marry my brother. He'll only want you traveling in the best."
Jenny's heart plummeted. In the heat of everything that had happened last night, she'd almost forgotten that this was all a deception. She looked over at Rana, she seemed so nice. So kind and generous. Jenny hated lying to her.
"I thought we could have something to eat." Rana said pulling open a bar fridge that was disguised into the interior of the car. Those words were music to Jenny's ears right now. Rana then poured orange juice into two champagne flutes and held hers up for a toast-
"To the first of many sisterly excursions." Their glasses clinked together and Jenny forced a smile, but inside her heart was breaking. These people were so welcoming and she was deceiving them in the worst way possible. And to make it worse, they seemed to genuinely like her, except for the king and Amir, that is. This was the worst thing she'd ever done in her entire life.
"I cant' wait to help you plan the wedding," she said but quickly paused, "If that's okay I mean. I wouldn't want to step on your toes or anything."
Shit! Jenny forced another even bigger smile. "I'd love that. Nothing would make me happier." Her heart had plummeted so far down it had nowhere else to go.
The drive there was a quiet one, they ate in silence and Jenny looked out the window, taking in the scenery. She couldn't help wonder what her fictions wedding would be like. It would probably be a grand affair. She wondered what she'd wear, she'd never been one of those girls that had dreamt of a wedding dress and a big bouquet and bridesmaids and a three-tiered cake. In fact, she'd barely thought of marriage, not in years anyway. And when she had, she'd always imagined a small affair on her parents farm, looking out over the African bushveld. But now she let her mind wonder.
The dress would probably be white, she did like that sense of tradition. Maybe it would be off the shoulder, a sweetheart neckline? Maybe it would have a long train, a veil that billowed out behind her as she walked. She imaged a hundred different versions, and she imaged what it would be like to try them on and buy them. The princess would probably be the perfect person to help her choose, with her impeccable sense of style. Or Rafiq, who seemed to have an uncanny eye for fashion, unlike most men.
And her bouquet? She imagined pink roses, to go with the pink necklace she would no doubt wear, maybe even-
Crap! She cut herself off. What the hell was she doing? Was she crazy, imagining her play-play wedding. The car stopped suddenly and Rana opened the door. Jenny climbed out and the heat immediately slapped her through the face like an angry lover. She looked around and saw a helicopter waiting for them, a pilot quickly ushered them inside.
"Where are we going?" Jenny had never been in a helicopter before and was feeling tentative.
"The mainland, that's where the shops are."
The propellers quickly sprung and Jenny tried to remain calm. Once she'd gotten over her initial nerves, it really was quite beautiful, to see the country like this. They flew over the large white cliffs that surrounded the island and then across the azure blue ocean. She could see the shapes of coral reefs where small waves broke against them. And then she saw the mainland coming into sight.
Not at all what she'd expected. Massive colorful skyscrapers shaped the horizon. Tall and modern and strangely shaped. One looked like it had been inspired by the shape of a sailing boat, another one had a massive bronze ball floating on the top of it, almost as if by magic. She'd never seen such strange buildings before; orange, blue, mirrored and even gold. They all glinted in the hot sun creating a constant flashing that made them look like they were alive.
She could see they were headed towards the largest building, and as she got closer she could make out a landing pad on the roof. The helicopter touched down effortlessly, and she was soon running towards the roof door, her hair blowing in the wind of the propellers.
"Welcome to the capital city." The princess said while pressing the buttons to a lift.
The lift was impossibly fast- even faster than the one in the Nelson hotel- and before she knew it, they were climbing out of the lift and walking into a giant reception area.
"What is this place?" A large portrait on the wall caught her attention, it was the king. God he was so intimidating, even when on canvas.
"It's one of my dad's many offices." Rana said striding through the reception. She pushed her way through the massive glass doors and stepped onto the street. Jenny turned when she noticed two huge men in black suits following them.
"Don't mind them. Bodyguards." Rana said casually. "Pretend they don't exist."
Jenny nodded, although she wasn't quite sure how it was possible to ignore the six foot seven muscle bound men that were trotting behind her talking into their sleeves. She tried and looked around. They were in a street, a very busy one. Pedestrians in traditional Arab clothing walked up and down, black limousine's were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and every now and then she would saw a pop of color in the traffic as a red Ferrari, a yellow Lamborghini or what looked like an actual gold plated car pushed their way through.
Judging by the cars, there was no shortage of money here, that's for sure. Directly across the road she saw a Chanel store, then on closer inspection, she noticed that every shop on the street was a famous fashion house, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Victoria Secret and so it went on as far as the eye could see. This was obviously why they were here. She followed the princess as she walked through the bumper-to-bumper traffic, stopping to wave back at the people who were waving and smiling at her. Clearly everyone knew who she was. They didn't really seem surprised to see her out either, she obviously mingled with the 'common folk' a lot.
Once across the road, Rana ducked into a coffee shop, which couldn't have come at a better moment, as the heat on the street under all the towering buildings was almost unbearable. The coffee shop was cool and Jenny felt the instant relief of cold air rushing over her body.
"Can't start shopping without a good strong cup." Rana said as her bodyguards jumped the queue and ordered her two coffees. It looked like they did this a lot.
Jenny was stunned as she glanced out of the massive windows. It was so exotic here. Palm trees dotted the side of the roads, glittering shop fronts were the perfect backdrop to all the beautiful people walking around with expensive handbags. As she looked around something familiar caught her eye. Someone familiar.