The Sheikh's Green Card Bride Read Online Free Page A

let the boss man work you too hard, OK? You deserve a life, too.
     
    Love you,
     
    Ryan
     
     
    Nicole felt her stomach sink after she finished reading. Her brother had been born blind, but that hadn’t stopped him from succeeding at everything he’d wanted to do in life. When he’d gotten into Stanford, the family had been beyond proud. They’d assumed that his success would continue, but months after graduating he had had to move back in with their parents because he couldn’t find a job.
     
    Moving home had been hard on Ryan, and Nicole took some blame for that. Wasn’t her original intention to get him a job with Bahir’s company? Two birds, one stone, she had said to herself. Yet every time she was in Bahir’s presence he found a way to take over all her thoughts with unending lists of things to do and his maddeningly disarming gazes. She made a mental note to ask him about Ryan the next time they were together, no matter what.
     
    Hitting the Reply key, she was about to answer her brother’s email when Bahir stormed into the office, his gaze colliding with hers as he turned towards her.
     
    “Bahir? What are you—?”
     
    She wasn’t able to finish her question as he stormed about the room, pacing like a mad man.
     
    “You have no idea what I’ve just been through! I’ve been at the airport for hours fighting with airport security because apparently my work visa was canceled! I cannot comprehend the level of idiocy of these people who work in international governance. Don’t they see that I have a company to run? If I can’t do my job, how am I going to continue to employ hundreds of people?”
     
    Nicole watched in bewilderment as he continued to rant.
     
    “I have a contract signing with another startup in just a few hours that now I have to miss, because of their incompetence. It’s maddening! And there’s nothing I can do!”
     
    Bahir was breathing hard as he continued his frenzied pacing across Nicole’s office. She realized, then, that Bahir was very much not accustomed to not getting his own way. The son of a sheikh got whatever he wanted, and a billionaire businessman got the same. Bahir was used to living above the rules so that he could continue to do what he did best: conduct business. Nicole had never seen him in such a state, like a penned up bull ready to charge.
     
    Silently, she stood and moved to his side, placing a gentle hand on his arm to stop him. He froze, staring at her hand, then looking up into her eyes. She hoped her expression was comforting.
     
    “It’s all right, Bahir. Sometimes these things happen. They’re just hiccups, and we find ways around them by making calls and putting in some extra leg work.”
     
    “I don’t have time to go around fixing their mistakes!” Bahir said, not moving his arm from beneath her hand.
     
    But I certainly will, Nicole thought with a sigh, realizing that she would be the one doing the leg work to get things sorted out.
     
    “Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem like there is a choice in the matter,” she said, removing her hand when he seemed to calm down a little.
     
    Was she imagining it, or did he just look a little disappointed when she removed her touch? He was probably just upset about the situation. Yes, that was all.
     
    Nicole glanced at her computer, thinking of her brother. Why was there never a good time to ask Bahir if he had a job for him?
     
    Bahir plopped into one of the chairs, defeated. He stared off into space for a moment, a glare etched into his handsome features.
     
    Nicole found that she wanted to eliminate that glare somehow, but she didn’t know how to do it. Surely the US Embassy was closed at this time of night, and the mountains of paperwork between Bahir and the American border was enough to keep him away indefinitely. Visa issues were no small annoyance.
     
    Bahir’s face cleared as he glanced at her desk, then up at Nicole. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought I told you