Patrick generally leaned towards sullen and unpleasant in the morning, but today, he was as bright and chipper as a bird.

Eloise, on the other hand, felt like she was walking through fog. She definitely hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night. She’d stayed with Masoud until almost one-thirty in the morning, and it had been nearly two by the time she’d gotten back to her hotel. The lack of sleep, the days of built-up anxiety, combined with the extra strain the babies placed on her body, left her feeling completely wrung-out.

Please let Masoud find us a way out of this mess.

He had promised he would. He had reassured her, over and over, that everything would be all right. But it was so hard to trust that. What could he possibly do? Patrick had all the power. He had the information that would ruin Masoud. He had the money Eloise needed. What could they possibly do to turn the tables on him? There was no way.

“So, when we arrive at the office,” Patrick said now, “I don’t want you to speak. Okay? If this goes according to plan, you won’t have to speak at all. But if I do need you to speak, you’ll know, because I’ll say your name. I’ll say, ‘isn’t that right, Eloise?’ and you’ll agree with whatever I’ve just said. That way, Khan will know you’re working with me. Do you want to practice that now?”

“I don’t need to practice,” Eloise bit out.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Patrick nudged her a little.

“Don’t do that,” Eloise said. “I might throw up.”

She was enjoying her ability to lean on that lie as a means of keeping Patrick at a distance. It was the one good thing about their current dynamic.

Patrick looked put-off and scooted away from her, leaving Eloise in peace.

The partition between the driver and the two passengers began to roll down.

“Pardon me, sir,” the driver called back to them.

“What is it?” Patrick asked.

“I’ve received a message instructing me to proceed to a different location.”

“What?” Patrick said. “That’s a mistake. Ignore it.”

“Sir, the message is from Sheikh Khan.”

Eloise’s heart soared. So he had done something! She had no idea why he would want them to go to a different location—being at Khan Capital wasn’t the source of the problem—but this was still encouraging. It meant he had a plan. It meant Patrick was no longer in control of the day, and that could only be a good thing.

Patrick sounded frustrated. “Where does he want us to go?”

“I’m directed not to tell you,” the driver said. “But he plans to meet you there.”

Patrick sighed heavily. “Fine. Do it.”

The driver made an abrupt left turn and veered off into the desert.

“This is just like him,” Patrick complained. “Two-faced. Hypocritical. Acts like he’s all about rules and discipline, and then does something that flies in the face of all that and proves he’s just an impulsive kid. I don’t know why I even want to do business with him, honestly. He’s lucky he has money, or we wouldn’t even be meeting today.”

Eloise closed her eyes. Patrick was so full of crap.

The car ferried them deep into the desert, finally pulling to a stop in the bottom bend of a long, U-shaped driveway. Stepping out of the car, Eloise recognized where they were at once, but for a long second, she couldn’t quite believe it.

Then, Masoud came walking down the steps.

“Welcome,” he said. “Welcome to my family’s palace.”

Patrick snickered into Eloise’s ear. “He’s trying to impress us. Act like you don’t care.”

Eloise nodded. Of course, the harder sell would be pretending to Patrick that she hadn’t seen this place before. She was sure he imagined her affair with Masoud as a tacky encounter during which he hadn’t shared anything personal with her. If he knew that Eloise had been to Masoud’s family home, that she had been his princess for the day and danced with him in his ballroom, he might begin to suspect the truth that Masoud had revealed to her last night—that he did care what happened to her, and that he would be unwilling to see her and the babies used as bargaining chips.

Masoud directed them into the palace. They passed by the door of the ballroom, and Eloise tried not to glance at it. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on his back as he led them through a series of corridors she hadn’t seen before, into the depths of the palace.

Finally, they approached the door Eloise had seen on her last visit here, the one that she’d noticed was locked and that Masoud had seemed eager to pass by. Today, he pulled an ornate key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.

Eloise stared as they emerged into a mahogany-paneled office space with a table and chairs at its center. This must be Masoud’s late father’s office. That would explain why he had kept it locked all this time. But why was he choosing to open it to them today? What was going on?

Patrick clearly had no idea of the significance of the moment. He stomped into the room as if it were just another conference room at the Khan Capital offices. Masoud indicated that they should sit and joined them at the table.

“Would anyone like tea?” he asked.

“We should get down to business,” Patrick said.

“Very well,” the Sheikh said coolly. He withdrew a manila envelope from his briefcase, resting both hands on it as he spoke. “I’ve spent the past twelve hours considering your…proposal. And I’ve come to a decision that I believe will provide the greatest mutual benefit for all involved parties.”

A grin spread over Patrick’s face. Eloise knew he was imagining what the offer would contain. How many millions more did he stand to gain from the partnership deal? She could practically feel him itching to reach over and grab the envelope from Masoud’s hands.

Eloise was nervous. This was it. What was Masoud going to give to Patrick? She breathed deeply, trying to keep calm. Would it be enough to keep Patrick from throwing her out in the cold?

Patrick accepted the envelope as Masoud passed it over. As subtly as she could, Eloise leaned over his shoulder to read:

Sheikh Khan,

It is with deepest regret that we accept your resignation as CEO of Khan Capital. You have been a vital member of our organization, and while we embrace the challenge of moving forward, we will be hard-pressed to equal your guiding presence and innovative way of doing things.

We thank you for your time with the company and wish you luck in your future endeavors—

The letter carried several signatures. Eloise realized it had been signed by the entire board of directors.

Patrick stared at the letter for what felt like several minutes. Then, he looked back up at Masoud. “What does this mean?”

“I resigned from Khan Capital first thing this morning,” Masoud said calmly.

“What!” Patrick jumped to his feet, tipping over the chair he had been sitting in. “Why would you want to do that?”

“It seemed to me that my value to the company had become compromised,” Masoud said. “I was a liability, now that I could be blackmailed. I thank you, Mr. Gainsborough, for bringing that to my attention. It really was the kindest thing you could have done for my company.”

“But…but…” Patrick sputtered.

“Besides,” Masoud said, “this will give me time to devote to my true passion. I’m going to dedicate my time to being the best father I can be. To my way of thinking, that’s much more important than a job.”

Eloise felt warm all over. He was going to be involved in their children’s lives? If that was true, her worries were over. They would be taken care of. The twins would have two loving parents. What else could she have asked for?

“You told him something, didn’t you!” Patrick snapped, turning his attention to Eloise. “You disobeyed me!”

“She didn’t do anything,” Masoud said calmly.

“You’re cut off,” Patrick said. “You hear me? No severance. You get nothing.”

She didn’t care. He couldn’t threaten her anymore.

“I don’t work for you anymore,” she said to Patrick. “If you haven’t worked it out already, I resign, too.”