4. Keira
CHAPTER 4
KEIRA
“ Y ou work very hard,” Kareem told her as he settled into one of the comfortable loungers that faced the window looking over the track. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day to play host to me. I know that must have been inconvenient for you.”
Keira couldn’t help herself. “You didn’t act as if you knew it was inconvenient.”
“You’re right,” Kareem said. “And the truth is that I owe you an apology for my behavior today. It was most unbecoming of me.”
Keira blinked. An apology at this stage was the last thing she had expected. “All right,” she said.
“I’m very sorry,” he told her. “I was so eager to come and see the Spritzer Cup — to learn everything about it. You see, I’m a big fan of racing. Of all motorsports events. I have been all my life. And if I’m able to arrange for a race to be held in Qalmar, I will have achieved one of my life’s greatest ambitions.”
“Is that why you were following me today?” It all made sense, suddenly. “You wanted to see what goes into the organization of a motorsports event?”
“So that I can arrange my own, yes. But it’s more than that. I’m doing my best to make connections with some of the biggest names in the field. I want to meet top drivers and pit crew workers and people such as yourself so that I can arrange for you to be a part of that.”
“I see,” Keira said. “You’re looking for help getting your own event off the ground.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, you’re going to need to start with an appeal to the government,” Keira said. “I don’t know how things work in Qalmar, but we could never have held this event without the proper permits from the city. I’m sure there’s something like that you’re going to need to navigate.”
“No, that won’t be a problem,” Kareem said.
He sounded so certain. Keira frowned. “That’s absolutely what you should be worrying about first and foremost,” she said. “I mean, way before you concern yourself with what kinds of foods you’re going to have available at the event.”
“No, sorry, I wasn’t clear,” Kareem said. “I don’t need government approval because of… my position.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“I haven’t introduced myself properly.” He held out his hand. “My name is Sheikh Kareem Nusaybah, of Qalmar.”
Keira felt the breath leave her lungs. “You’re— you’re who?”
“I’m sorry. Now I think maybe I should have told you right away. I didn’t want you to treat me differently because of who I am.”
“Well… you did want me to treat you differently,” Keira pointed out. “You wanted me to devote my whole day to giving you a tour.”
And then, instantly, she could have kicked herself. “I’m sorry, Your Grace— Your Highness—” She shook her head, confused. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to address you. I’ve never met a sheikh before.”
“Kareem is just fine,” he assured her. “And I know that I’ve imposed on you today. I’m sorry for that. This is what I meant, though — I don’t want you to feel as if you can’t be yourself around me. I can see you now, worrying about what you might have said today, worrying that you might have been inappropriate. Am I wrong?”
He wasn’t. “I wouldn’t want to show disrespect,” she said, shocked by how soft her voice was. She wasn’t used to knuckling under in the presence of anyone.
And he didn’t want her to, she understood. She squared her shoulders. “You’re right.”
“Am I? What am I right about?” He smiled complacently, and Keira thought, This is a man who is used to being right . Or at least, used to being told that he’s right .
“You’re right that you went too far today,” she said. “You asked too much of me. I’m here to do a job. I don’t care if you are the Sheikh of Qalmar — if that’s the right way to describe you?—”
“I’m a sheikh of Qalmar.”
“Whatever. You shouldn’t have made demands of my time the way you did, and you certainly shouldn’t have cheated your way into the event. I know you could afford a ticket. I could press charges if I wanted to.” She had no confidence at all that that was true. He probably had some sort of diplomatic immunity. She was probably doing herself more harm than good by even mentioning the idea of getting the law involved. Besides, she knew she wasn’t going to go that route. If she’d wanted to do that, she should have done so back at the very beginning.
Kareem made eye contact with her and held it for a moment. His gaze was soft yet penetrating, and Keira’s heart fluttered.
This would all be so much easier if he wasn’t so attractive !
“I apologize for that,” Kareem said. “In truth, my reason for not buying a ticket was simply that I had no American currency.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you come to America without changing your money?”
“It was a bit of a last-minute trip,” he explained. “The royal treasury has some US dollars, but my father didn’t know that I was coming, so I couldn’t exchange my money there. And… well, to tell you the truth, I don’t usually need money in my day-to-day life, so I didn’t think about it until I was here.”
“How did you bribe your way in if you didn’t have any money?”
“I gave the man at the gate my watch,” Kareem explained. “It’s worth much more than the cost of a ticket, but I couldn’t have used it to purchase a ticket. It seemed the most honest way to get in without leaving and going to a currency exchange.” He shrugged. “Perhaps I should have done that, but it did seem rather like a victimless crime. I’m happy to have the cost of the ticket wired to you once I return to Qalmar.”
Keira shook her head. “You don’t need to do that.” It was enough that he had conceded the fact that his behavior had been out of line — truly, she hadn’t even expected that much.
“Then perhaps I might take you out for a drink?” Kareem suggested. “You must let me do something to thank you for today, Keira.” He hesitated. “I’ve just realized that I never learned your last name.”
“Well, I’m not secretly the ruler of a country. My identity isn’t going to change anything.”
“I’m not the ruler of a country either,” Kareem told her. “That’s my father. I’m not even in line for the throne — or rather, I am, but both of my elder brothers are ahead of me in the line of succession.”
“And that’s why you have time to flit around the world setting up motorsports races?”
“Something like that.” For the first time, Kareem didn’t respond with a lighthearted smile, and Keira wondered whether she had struck a nerve. She had intended to give him a bit of a hard time, but she hadn’t meant to be truly insulting, and the fact that maybe she had done so made her feel a little guilty.
She returned to the safer waters of his original question. “I’m Keira Harding,” she said. “It’s nice to have met you.”
And, to her surprise, she found that that was actually the truth.
Kareem’s jaw dropped. “Wait. Did you say you’re Keira Harding ?”
“Oh.” She should have seen this coming. “If you’re a racing fan, you know my family, I suppose.” Kevin wasn’t the first driver in the family — far from it. Keira’s father, her Uncle Steven, and her Grandpa Joe had all raced in their younger days. The Hardings were an institution.
“Of course I’m familiar with your family,” Kareem said.
“I can probably arrange a meeting with Kevin for you.” Of course that was what he would want. And even though Kevin wasn’t always the most agreeable about the idea of sitting down with fans, Keira thought that for a sheikh he would probably make an exception.
“Oh, no,” Kareem said, waving a hand. “That’s all right. You don’t need to do that.”
“You don’t want to meet Kevin?”
“Well, of course I’m happy to if you’d like. I’m much more interested in being here with you , though.”
“With me?” This was new. Keira couldn’t remember a time a racing fan had had the chance to meet Kevin and had declined in order to spend more time with her .
“I just know that you’re the person who established the ProBar Cup in Oklahoma last year,” Kareem explained. “Right? That was you?”
“You know about that?”
“Sure I do. It was a big deal. The first motorsports event to feature solely female drivers. It really made a mark on the sport. You must be so proud of that.”
“Well… yes, I am,” Keira admitted. “Everyone in my family thought it was pretty stupid, though. They told me there were lots of races for women.”
“And there are, but the male drivers do tend to take up a lot of the spotlight, don’t they? They’re always the headlining attraction when it comes to things like endorsements and interviews…”
“Well, exactly!” Keira was impressed that he’d understood. Maybe he was less annoying than she had originally taken him for. “That was the reason I did it. I wanted to create an opportunity for female drivers to gain attention and sponsorship deals without having to compete against the men who always tend to get noticed more for no real reason.”
“I thought it was great,” Kareem said. “You know, I told my family about the ProBar Cup at the time, but they don’t really understand racing. But I’m so happy to have the chance to meet you now.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I spent the whole day with the Keira Harding and didn’t even realize it.”
It was Keira’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called the Keira Harding before.”
“Well, you are. The one and only. I’m so glad I met you,” Kareem said. “You’ve got to let me take you out for a drink, Ms. Harding, to thank you for everything you’ve done today.”
Though Keira had spent most of the day trying to get away from Kareem, looking forward to the end of their time together, she found that in the last few minutes, her feelings had changed rather dramatically. He did have respect for her and for what she did. He was genuinely interested in getting to know her better and in understanding her hard work. He was a true racing fan, not just someone looking to take advantage of her unwillingness to throw him out of the venue.
She could respect that.
“All right,” she agreed. “I know a nice bar not far from here. Once I’m finished for the day, we can go over there and talk some more.” She smiled. “Actually, I’d like that quite a lot. Like I said, I’ve never met a sheikh before, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know a little more about you too.”
“It sounds like we both have a lot to learn from each other,” Kareem said. “Though I don’t see how my life can be of any particular interest to you. As I said, I’m never even going to rule. I’m a sheikh only because of who my father is — nothing more. But even so, I’m happy to get to know you better and answer any questions you might have.”
“It will certainly be more exciting than spending the evening with my brother and hearing about how he almost won his race,” Keira said.
“You don’t think your brother is going to win his race?”
“He never wins. He likes to brag about his skill as a driver, but the truth is that he isn’t that talented. But let’s see if he proves me wrong.” She gestured to the track. “The race is about to begin.”
Sure enough, the cars were pulling up. Keira recognized Kevin’s car from here, bright yellow and emblazoned with the sticker of the men’s body spray that sponsored him — a product Kevin didn’t even use.
She found her eyes wandering, though, as the race began. She was unable to focus on the track.
Instead, her gaze returned again and again to the face of the handsome sheikh sitting beside her.