Back inside my own apartment, I cleaned up the last of our sleepover and organized the kitchen. It wasn't long before my phone chirped with a message from Allie that they had both made it home safe and sound.
I played with the phone in my hand, toying with the idea of sending a message to Owen. I opened a message three times, stared at the blank page with no idea what to say, only to close it again. What could I possibly say to Owen that would make this better? I just had to deal with the fact that there was no easy way to fix this. Owen was gone.
Thunder rumbled outside, making my neighbor's dog bark. Technically the building didn't allow dogs, but somehow the dog was still there. I knew Emma would know how to calm the dog down from the storm. I smiled at the thought of my sister, then looked down at the phone. I was already on my speed dial page, my thumb poised over her number.
"Hey, Kaylee, how're you doing?" Emma's voice was music to my ears. I should have called her first thing when I got back instead of waiting this long.
"Crappy. I assume you've heard all about it," I said, settling into the couch.
"Yeah, but I'd rather hear it from you. I just had a meeting cancel on me, so I've got some spare time." I could just see her in my head, spinning around in an office chair and smiling at the phone.
I started by telling her about Dubai, the skyscrapers and the hotel, then the dinner at the sheik's house. I told her how uncomfortable the sheik's son made me, how he leered and made my skin crawl.
"I should have known something was off about Roger, but I thought he was harmless. Creepy, but harmless." I sighed. "The next day he got in my hotel room, Emma. He just walked right in like it was nothing."
"I heard about that. I'm glad Dean got there in time. I'm so sorry this happened to you," Emma said softly. I didn't trust my voice to answer right away.
"Emma, it's all so messed up. I told Owen that we can't be together. His life is in Dubai and I won't, I can't, ever go back there. That fucking prick messed everything up." I was surprised at my own anger, especially since I almost never cussed, but it felt good to call him a name.
"Well, I can completely understand why Owen told the sheik off about it. What his son did was completely inappropriate."
"What do you mean, 'Owen told the sheik off?'" I asked confused.
"You mean he didn't tell you? It's all Jack's been able to talk about for the past few days. Owen went completely berserk on him."
As Emma told me what happened, I could see it all clearly in my head.
Chapter 22
Owen clicked the phone shut. If he could have slammed the receiver down like on an old corded phone, he would have. His hands shook as he held the phone in disbelief. He'd heard news reports of how Western ex-pats had been mistreated in Dubai, but nothing like this. He walked out of the private room where he had excused himself to talk to Dean, intent on giving the sheik one chance to make this right. One chance.
In another moment, he was back at the negotiation table with the sheik. Owen's usual poker face was gone, and the sheik noticed immediately. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, something's wrong alright. Your son just
tried to assault my girlfriend," Owen said.
A flash of anger crossed the older man's face for a moment before it softened again. Anger at his son's actions, Owen hoped. "That's a serious accusation, Mr. Parker. An accusation that you shouldn't make lightly."
"I'm serious as a heart attack right now. I have two witnesses, and probably the room service guy as well. What are you going to do about this?" Owen's eyes burned like fire.
al-Saffar shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure the hotel staff will be more than happy to tell us what really happened later tonight. In the meantime, let's get back to the negotiations."
Owen slammed his hand against the table. "We'll be dealing with this right now, before you have a chance to get the hotel staff to change their stories, or these negotiations are over."
The sheik turned red, practically shaking with barely contained rage. "I'm not sure I appreciate your tone, Mr. Parker."
Owen stood up, walking to the window. The Burj Khalifa gleamed in the distance, a sand storm preparing to engulf it from behind. "It's a beautiful sight, the tower. The tallest structure in the world. The crown jewel of Dubai."
"Please, let's just return to negotiations for now? We can talk about this later," al-Saffar said.
"But it wasn't able to be completed by just Dubai," Owen continued, looking out the window. "Dubai ran out of money and needed to be bailed out by the United Arab Emirates, and so what was supposed to be the Burj Dubai was renamed the Burj Khalifa to honor the Khalifa family for their support."
Sheik al Saffar remained silent. This was a sore spot for all of Dubai, and both men knew it.
"But I'm not sure 'Burj Khalifa' is the right name for it either. I think that you owe way too much to the West and that it's time you recognized that. I was thinking, maybe you should rename it the 'Burj British Petroleum'. Or maybe 'Wells Fargo Tower'."
"How dare you..." the sheik said from behind him.