Sheikh's Ex-Girlfriend (Khayyam Sheikh Series #1) by Sophia Lynn Page A

again.”
    “But, my job needs—”
    “Your job needs you,” Emmaline said crisply. “I have a feeling that when it comes to jobs, you can basically write your own ticket with Quill Publishing right now, and that ticket might take you to Dubai, to Abu Dhabi, maybe even to Arana.”
    In spite of her own grief, Ella's ears perked up at the mention of Arana.
    “That's quite a list,” she said slowly. “I don't suppose you have any ulterior motive for mentioning Arana?”
    “I …of course I don't. I was reeling off UAE cities where you might want to work.”
    “And it has nothing to do with a certain sheikh who managed to get under your skin so badly five years ago?”
    “Him? Oh god, I've not thought about Marid in years!” Emmaline said fiercely, but to Ella, it sounded more than a little overdone.
    It made her smile a little, to think of her serious, workaholic sister's fluster over Marid, who had flirted and to his shock, been turned down by the spitfire Emmaline. It didn't please her that her sister might be mooning over someone who was so far away and so untouchable, though, and that brought her mood straight back to the ground.
    “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease,” she said regretfully.
    “Don't worry about it. The fact remains that I'm right though. When you're in a situation like this, remember. You can decide to do a thing, you can decide not to do a thing, or you can just avoid deciding, and that's what it sounds like you're doing. And you know that is painful, sis.”
    Ella agreed, and her sister's words stayed with her for the next few days. She could decide to stay in Dalal, or she could decide to leave. Refusing to do either meant living on a trapeze made of tension and heartache, and that in turn meant that she would never move her life forward in any significant way.
    Or she could decide to accept Nasim's offer. The thought came back and played at the edge of her consciousness. It reminded her that there was a life here waiting for her, even if it wasn't one that she had anticipated. She knew that Nasim would take good care of her. She could pursue her work. Most importantly, she could have him.
    But that wasn't the truth, and she knew it. It would be creating a shadow of the life they could have had together, one that would only grow more bitter and more hard once he married, as he had so callously informed her he would.
    She shivered. That she could see so easily. She could see the passion of the next few years. She could see him marrying and she could see herself growing more bitter, more furious with every passing moment. It would be a kind of living hell, and she knew instinctively that she both needed and deserved better.
    Make a decision , she whispered softly to herself. Make a decision, dammit !
    Still the days rolled on, and still she couldn't.
    ***
    Marid dodged the man stalking out Nasim's office with alacrity, but he couldn't fail to see the man's furious looks.
    “Went through another secretary?” he asked, and the look of black fury on his friend's face sobered him at once.
    “Incompetent. I'm beginning to think that they send me idiots just to make me angry.”
    “Or perhaps you're heartbroken over your Ella, and you are taking it out on anyone around you who can't fight back. Very commendable.”
    “I fail to see what you are getting at when you cautioned me against forgetting where the relationship was going,” Nasim snapped. “You were the one who told me to look ahead to what needed to happen.”
    Marid shrugged. “And you did, and it fell apart. It was going to do that sooner rather than later.”
    Nasim seized his temper and held on tight. It was too easy for Marid, who had always treated romance like some kind of game that he could play without effort.
    “Did you come in to do something useful, or are you going to just run your mouth until I throw you out?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do want to go out. There is an art opening downtown, and as it does include some