some with automatic rifles and bullet proof vests, others with just large bulges under their suit jackets. The idea of this much security terrified her. Where had all of these men been when she and Rashid had been by the creek? She would have started asking questions if she’d seen so many armed guards surrounding him at that point.
And if she’d asked a few more questions, she might not feel as foolish as she did now.
“This way, ma’am,” the body guard explained to her. Someone else rushed over to the trunk of the limousine and pulled her bags out of the trunk, taking them to some sort of machine towards the back of the plane.
She was escorted onto the jet and her eyes widened as she looked around. So many people working, all looking extremely busy and professional, and yet still no sign of Rashid. Personally, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep so not seeing him now wasn’t such a problem. It was just that she wanted to know where the enemy was, she thought. She’d been planning sleep during the flight while she’d lain in her bed last night, but that wasn’t on the agenda if all these busy people were any indication.
“Ms. York?” a tall, pretty woman in a crisp navy blue uniform asked Sidra.
Sidra knew she’d been standing in the doorway, looking lost and alone. She was grateful for the other woman’s welcome guidance. “Yes. Where should I sit? Is there a seat out of the way where I can sit and not bother anyone?”
“His highness has requested that you join him upstairs,” the uniformed woman explained.
Sidra didn’t like that idea one little bit, but it made her feel better to at least know where the man was now. She looked behind her at the stairs. “Why?”
The woman blinked and looked at Sidra strangely. “I’m….” the woman stammered, obviously unused to people asking that question. Apparently, when ‘his highness’ wanted one’s presence, one presented oneself. Another rule Debra forgot to mention. Or maybe she had and Sidra just hadn’t remembered. “Sorry,” Sidra mumbled, hiding her amusement at the woman’s stunned expression. “Just use those stairs?” she asked, feeling like a recalcitrant child.
The navy blue woman looked relieved that she didn’t have to answer Sidra’s question and stepped to the side. “Yes. John will meet you at the top level.”
Sidra nodded and tucked her bag full of notes onto her shoulder. “Thank you. I’ll check in with….him..” she said awkwardly, not sure she could ever call Rashid ‘his highness’, “but is there a place I could work when I’m through?”
The woman smiled. “Of course. I’ll make sure there is a table for you as soon as you’re finished.” She waved up the stairs, as if Sidra really shouldn’t keep the great man waiting. “Take off is in approximately five minutes.”
Sidra absorbed that information as she stood in the middle of the entryway, completely stunned by what was happening. This wasn’t real, she told herself. She wasn’t really here, she wasn’t exhausted and she wasn’t flying halfway across the globe with a man she’d met three weeks ago. No, this was all a dream and she was really in her bed, snuggled under her down comforter waiting for the sun to come up.
She was startled out of her mental arguments when a man came stumbling down the stairs from the upper deck and looked around frantically. Sidra noticed the moment his eyes spotted her and he rushed over to her. “Are you Ms. Sidra York?” he asked, slightly out of breath and looking extremely frazzled.
Sidra looked back at the man, wondering why he appeared to be so nervous. “Yes. Why?”
The man visibly relaxed. “If you would follow me, His Highness has been waiting for you to arrive so we can take off. This way?”
Sidra simply stood there, wondering when her dream was going to wake her up and she should shower and….
“Ma’am?” he prompted anxiously when Sidra simply stood there, probably with her mouth hanging open in stunned silence.
She blinked at the man, ordered her feet to move forward, but she was stuck, her feet plastered firmly on the floor. She even noticed the others around her that had previously been rushing about their business, all were now finding seats and locking their seat belts into place, some even looking at her expectantly.
The man’s anxiety once again increased and he moved forward so that he could quietly say in her ear, “I