“Well,” Karim asked, beaming down at Ella. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” Ella said, following him through the lobby as he waved briefly at the clerk. Karim's staff members stayed behind and chatted with the hotel staff as the Sheikh kept moving through the hotel.
“Really,” Ella continued. “The grounds, the old-world charm. It’s all truly lovely, Karim. But…”
She was about to express her concerns about the size of the venue when they arrived at the back room of the hotel. After walking through two large cherry doors, Karim and Ella entered what might ordinarily be called a ballroom. Except this was no ordinary ballroom.
If Ella could think of one word to describe it, she would have said atrium. Except that it didn’t have a glass roof. Instead, each side of half of the room was built with floor-to-ceiling windows that opened like French doors. The back of the room also had a wall of the same windows, but these folded together like an accordion, opening the entire room up to a flagstone patio and the beach and ocean beyond. From where Ella stood at the entrance to the room, it appeared as if the room led straight into the deep blue water of the Caribbean.
“Oh my gosh,” she said, blinking several times to make sure
she wasn’t seeing things. “This is incredible! I mean, this…” Ella paused as she attempted to take it all in. “This is absolutely magnificent. The use of the wood and stone and how they play off the natural lighting. And the ocean… oh my goodness, the ocean!”
Ella had planned many weddings in her short career. She had organized events at some of the swankiest locations in the world. But none had the appeal of this. The simplicity of the venue combined with the natural beauty of the little island made this location ideal.
“I’m impressed,” Ella said turning to Karim. “I think this will do just fine.”
Karim smiled. He knew Ella would love it. And now that he had her approval, he could leave her to handle the arrangements and get back to New York and his busy schedule.
“Great!” he said, walking over to her. “Nadia was here last month with her family and approved of the venue as well, so I think we're good to go.”
Ella flinched at the choice of words Karim used. Bride’s don’t approve of venues. They fall in love with venues. They see a location and just have to have it. That’s how it is with brides. But apparently, not with this one.
“So,” Karim touched Ella’s elbow lightly and directed her back out of the room. “I’ll leave you to get the information you need from the staff, and I’ll be heading back to New York.”
Ella looked at Karim with a confused look on her face, and he saw her concern and stopped her before she could speak. “Don’t worry about a thing Ella. You can reach me by cell or email at any time.” He kept walking, ignoring her attempts to protest. “I’ll have the jet return this evening to take you back to Miami or New York, your choice.”
Finally, she mustered up the courage to interrupt his Highness. “Um, I'm sorry but I don’t feel comfortable about this. I'd prefer that you stay with me so we can go over the arrangements together.”
Just as Ella spoke, a strong gust of wind picked up and the palms trees outside danced wildly, banging their fronds against the window. Ella jumped and Karim reached out a strong arm to comfort her. She pulled away sharply, remembering that she needed to keep her professional distance.
Ella knew that her job was to plan the wedding for Karim and Nadia. But she needed their input. Leaving her here to handle all of the arrangements without either one of them to provide approval would just be a disaster waiting to happen. She had tried that once with a Hollywood couple that was too busy to help with the arrangements, and she wasn't about to make that mistake again.
“That’s not how I work,” said Ella, standing her ground while trying maintain a level of respect and courtesy to Karim. She didn’t care if he was royalty. And good looking royalty at that. She wasn’t about to let herself get bullied into a situation that could backfire on her.
“Listen,” Karim said, rolling his eyes as he turned to face Ella. “I know you may not have done things this way in the past, but this is different.”
Ella tried not to let her anger show. How dare he roll his eyes at her?
“We are not ordinary clients,” Karim said, as Ella felt her blood boil. “And,” he went on, “this is not an ordinary wedding.”
Ella had to agree with him there. They certainly weren’t ordinary clients. Even the most difficult of her clients had treated her with a modicum of respect. And Karim was right about it not being an ordinary wedding. Aside from Karim and Nadia holding each other’s arms as they descended from the jet, Ella hadn’t noticed one ounce of affection from either of them. Now that she thought about it, the few times that Nadia had joined their phone conversations, it had been from another line; she hadn’t even been in the same location as Karim during those calls. Ella began to wonder if these two ever spent any time together at all.
She shrugged off her thoughts, reminding herself that their culture was completely different from hers. Maybe they bride and groom were not allowed to spend time together before the wedding. Ella decided to let it go, realizing that she might never know the answer to her questions.
“Karim,” she said slowly as the wind picked up outside of the lobby. “I appreciate that you and Nadia are special clients and I respect the enormity of responsibility that brings with it. And I assure you that my only goal is to accommodate you both and make this wedding exactly what you want it to be.”
A large palm frond banged against the window causing Ella to jump again. She looked outside and saw the bright blue sky had turned to an angry gray.
“But, in order for me to do my job to the best of my ability,” she continued, “I absolutely have to have active input from my clients. Or,” she said, smiling in vain, “at least one of my clients.”
Karim looked down at Ella with concern on his face. He wanted to stay, there was no denying that. There was something about Ella that made him want to abandon his responsibilities just for one day, even though that went against everything that he believed in. Karim always put work first. Perhaps, he thought ruefully, that’s why he hadn’t met the perfect girl and settled down. Perhaps that’s why he ended up with Nadia. Perhaps that’s why he was so excited at the thought of abandoning everything and spending a whole day on a paradise island with a woman he barely knew but couldn’t stop thinking about.
Karim shook himself out of thought and slipped back into his professional demeanor. “Listen,” he said, not wanting to offend Ella any more than he already had. “I know your job is very important and I understand that you need our input.”
He paused as he stared into her emerald-green eyes. He knew he could get lost in those eyes so easily. Again, he forced himself back to reality.
“But I cannot make that commitment to you,” he paused and motioned toward the window. “At least not today.”
Ella looked outside and saw the rain start to come down.
“I have engagements in New York that I must attend to. But I promise you,” Karim said, his face softening as he spoke. “I promise you I will make time to come back here with you and work out all of the details.”
Ella was about to speak when a staffer ran over, soaking wet from the rain. “Your highness,” he said, out of breath from running from the waiting car.
Karim looked at him and spoke. “Djaron, tell Stephen to ready the jet. We will be heading back to New York momentarily.”
The man opened his mouth to say something but Karim dismissed him and turned back to Ella. “Okay, so we’re agreed? We go back to New York today and schedule another trip back here in, say, a week or two?”
Ella flinched at the sound of thunder cracking overhead. The storm had picked up and the wind was causing the shutters to bang loudly against the wood siding of the hotel.
She nodded at Karim, unable to answer. Ella had always had a fear of thunderstorms. She loved warm weather and had even contemplated moving to Florida when she started her business. What better place to plan weddings than a state where it's summer all the time? But deep down she knew she couldn’t live in a place that was at risk for hurricanes six months out of the year.
Karim grabbed Ella’s hand and led her out the front door of the lobby and into the waiting car. They closed the doors and sat inside, waiting for Djaron to start the engine, when the radio went off.
The pilot’s crackling voice came over the line, saying something in Arabic, and Ella watched as Djaron and Karim looked at each other, not saying a word. When the radio went silent, Karim sat back against the lush leather of the limo.
“What is it?” Ella asked, sopping wet from the heavy rain.
Karim looked at her and spoke. “It’s too late. The storm has already closed in. We can’t get off the island until it breaks.”
“What?” Ella asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. Couldn’t leave the island? For how long? She knew that spring storms could last a day or more on the tropical islands. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.
Well, she thought. It seemed like she might be stuck on a tropical island for a day or two with Karim. Things could be worse. Thing
s could be much, much worse.