~Zee
Somethings never really made sense to me, like how I adored solitude yet a part of me desperately craved to belong, to be a part of something great and make my mark in the world.
That dumb and delusional part of me blindly accepted to travel across the world just to convince our Arabian investors to return to my father's company and save my family from bankruptcy.
I had spent all twenty-two years of my life in the shadow of my older sister, Lisa, and this was my final chance to prove myself to my family and prove to Stephen that he had made a mistake by calling off our engagement and choosing to marry Lisa instead.
I sighed heavily, my legs feeling cramped in my small economy class seat.
"Oh my God!" the man seated beside me suddenly grumbled loud enough to catch my attention. "Are you desperate for my attention or do you have a problem with your lungs?"
"I'm sorry, what?" I tilted my head towards his direction, my eyes meeting his strikingly blue eyes.
"Stop sighing like a broken radiator, it is extremely annoying," he responded coldly, his eyes immediately returning to the large tablet on his lap.
I shifted my eyes back to the screen in front of me, occasionally stealing glances at him. He had short dark hair that looked like it had an entire tub of gel in it and his dark blue suit matched his complexion beautifully. He
looked like a business man or some noble person and it made me wonder what somebody of his status was doing in the economy section.
"Keep starring at me and I will be forced to have you moved to the cargo section," he said, his eyes never leaving his screen.
My breath caught in my throat, my eyes immediately leaving him. I didn't realize I had been starring at him and I cursed myself internally for being so careless.
I kept my eyes on the movie and avoided him till the plane landed. As soon as the attendant announced we had landed, a group of men rushed towards us, one of them taking his tablet, another handing him a small phone.
The rest of us were instructed to sit back while this man was escorted out like he was some kind of royalty.
My hotel reservation was expiring in less than an hour and I was stuck because they wanted to offer VIP treatment to some jerk with over gelled hair.
From the windows, I watched as he was led into a dark SUV and immediately the car drove off, the rest of us were let out of the plane.
I felt beyond offended but the last thing I wanted was to attract the wrong type of attention.
Dubai was a strict city with lots of rules and if I messed up, I would ruin what I came for.
Check out went pretty smoothly and in no time, I was headed to the slightly affordable hotel I had found online. Since this was a company trip, I had thought the company would handle everything. Imagine my shock when father told me I have to pay for everything myself as a way to prove that I would be fine without his assistance.
Watching almost six figures disappear from my bank account almost gave me a heart attack but I managed to hide my annoyance. The kind receptionist gave me my keys and instructed a bus boy to take my small suitcase to my room.
For a hotel considered cheap, this place was luxuriously furnished with large chandeliers and beautiful Turkish rugs. Everything about it screamed money.
I almost got lost while admiring the artifacts and decorations but I managed to find my way back to my room. I had booked a small room since that was all they had available and the room before me looked nothing like the hotel rooms in America.
My jaw almost hit the floors as I took in the beauty of the sight before me.
"Please call the reception if you need anything," the bus boy said, shutting the door behind him.
I pulled out my robe and immediately went to the bathroom for a quick soak. I moaned out loud as the hot water hit my skin, the tension in my body immediately rolling off.
I put on soft jazz and remained in the tub until I slowly drifted into sleep.
The sound of my room door opening snapped me awake.
I hurriedly turned off the music, my heart pounding against my ribs.
I crawled out of the tub, throwing on my robe and tiptoeing to the bedroom, a large candle jar wrapped tightly in my palm.
Whoever it was had picked the wrong girl to rob and after I'm done, he or she would never rob again.
I walked into the bedroom and immediately, I froze, the candle jar falling from my hands and breaking into a million tiny pieces.
The man from my flight sat on my bed, his legs crossed as he casually loosened his tie while talking to someone over the phone.
The sound of the jar breaking caught his attention and he looked up at me, his expression shifting from shock to irritation.
"Are youn fucking stalking me?" the man hissed, his voice laced with anger.
I rolled my eyes, "You wish," I shot back, "You're the one that showed up in my hotel room."
His eyes narrowed. "This is not your room, leave immediately," he said coldly as he continued undressing.
"Leave?" I scoffed. "I paid for this room, I'm not going anywhere," I said, leaving no room for argument.
He sighed heavily, his slender fingers running through his hair in frustration.
"Can you get out already?" I snapped, my voice rising in anger.
"Not until you confirm that this room is mine," he said firmly, throwing off his coat like I wasn't even there.
I shook my head in disapproval, my annoyance tripling each passing second, "I reserved this hotel eight weeks ago," I said, shoving the confirmation email on my phone in his face.
He pulled out his too and it became obvious this was a mistake from the management.
I asked him to go clear things up but he accused me of wanting to rob him and insisted we went to the reception together. Even when I politely asked him to step out so I could change, he remained adamant and insisted on staying because he didn't trust me.
I eventually got tired of the bickering and stormed out angrily.
On our way down the stairs, I couldn't help but notice eyes were on us.
I was still in my bathrobe, my hair wrapped tightly in a towel while he was still dressed but the buttons of his shirts and pants were undone.
Everyone whispered and pointed at us like we were crazy people and by the time we got to the lounge area, we had an entire audience watching our every move.
Beads of sweat had began forming on my forehead and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong but the man from the flight didn't seem to care. He continuously spoke on the phone and only ended the call when we arrived at the reception.
The receptionist stared at us with wide eyes, her skin going pale like she had just seen ghosts.
"I've been forced to share a room with this strange woman, fix it," he ordered the receptionist.
My eyes hovered around, my mind sensing that something was horribly wrong.
"Sir, our establishment does not permit cohabitation of unmarried couples," the receptionist answered, her eyes still wide with shock.
"We are not a couple, " I said and immediately the words left my mouth, I regretted it.
"I do not understand you," she said, her eyes moving from the man to me.
"We have the same room and I would rather eat concrete than spend another second with this woman," the man retorted.
The receptionist's eyes narrowed and from where I stood, I caught her hands repeatedly pressing a bright red button.
"I think we should leave," I whispered but the man scoffed, "I am not leaving until they kick you out of my room," he frowned, turning his attention back to the receptionist.
Before we could realize what was going on, several uniformed police officers stormed into the reception.
They surrounded us and one of them handed me a large black scarf. Their commander spoke to the man in hushed tones and from the way he wiped his forehead repeatedly, I knew we were in trouble.
Suddenly, the man was restrained, metal cuffs slapped unto his wrists almost immediately.
It didn't take long for them to put me in handcuffs too.
"What the hell is this? We haven't committed any crime," I protested, my heart pounding relentlessly.
"You are both under arrest for indecent exposure and violation of UAE's cohabitation laws. Do you have a lawyer you can call?"