Marian fumed in the taxi to the hotel as she searched for last-minute flights on her phone. She’d be returning to NYC that evening, come hell or high water. She was sure Mr. Thomas wouldn’t mind, since in his eyes she’d been merely an accessory to the deal.

As she searched, Mr. Thomas called. She answered, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. “Hello?”

“There you are. So, are you preparing for your return?”

“Yes, I’m looking for flights now.” She swallowed a knot in her throat, looking out the window as the sights of Minarak breezed by.

“I’m glad to hear negotiations are finished. Very pleased to see that email from Mr. Almasi.” Mr. Thomas cleared his throat. “But why weren’t you mentioned?”

She pinched her eyes shut. “I assure you sir, I was there. I was at every meeting, save for today’s.” She swallowed a surge of anger. “Omar can vouch that I was there every step of the way.” And if he doesn’t, then he deserves to have his balls removed.

Mr. Thomas harrumphed from across the world. “Well, I’m sure you did a fine job. Kept everything organized, as you always do.”

Her heart sank. She’d done more than a fine organization job. She’d carried this deal…and received none of the glory. “Of course.”

Back at the hotel, she purchased the earliest flight possible and packed as quickly as she could. Peace, Parsabad. She’d be back in NYC by the following day, and it couldn’t be soon enough. In just under an hour, she was airport-ready. She breezed out of the room and down into the reception area, leaving her key at the front desk.

During the ride to the airport, she wavered between torturous memories of Omar’s sweet kisses and recalling Annabelle’s story about being detained in the name of love. Or so the story went, now that Annabelle and Imaad told it as if it were legend. How he had security hold her up at the airport so he could offer his private jet, to get her back to her sick mother sooner.

She smiled sadly. Her story with the Almasi middle brother had turned out significantly different. Though deep down, a part of her was desperate for that romantic gesture. Maybe he’d be waiting at the airport—or maybe he’d already called the guards to refuse her passport.

You’re thinking like a crazy woman. Yet it was hard not to be hopeful. She wanted so badly to be wrong about him. But her own parting words cycled like a tornado in her mind. He’d used her for a business deal and for sex, while all along she’d thought him to be an equal, even potential partner material.

It was the greatest let-down of her life. No, worse. The greatest embarrassment of her life. She’d failed on the romantic front and the professional front, all in one blazing downfall.

Check-in at the airport went smoothly, since she was about five hours early. Nobody stopped her through security, and the longer she waited in front of gate B27, the more convinced she became that her disappearance from Parsabad would likely not even register with Omar.

She’d been a blip, when she’d thought it was a boom.

* * *

After one excruciatingly long direct flight to New York City, Marian stumbled through the JFK airport like a zombie, unsure if it was very early Parsian time or super-late NYC time. She wobbled as she went through customs, the week and a half away from home feeling more like a full month. The vowels and consonants of her fellow Americans rang strangely between her ears. She rolled her luggage glumly through the baggage claim and picked up the first taxi she could. Home sweet home.

The low point came when she got back to her studio apartment in Brooklyn. Just before pushing open the door, she stilled herself, wondering if maybe Omar was waiting for her on the other side. How would that even be possible? She pushed it open, finding a dark, stale apartment waiting for her. No Omar. Not even junk mail under the door.

Was she that desperate to hear from him? Not even a peep since she’d left his office the afternoon before. And now, halfway across the world, even yesterday in Parsabad felt like a distant fantasy. One that she was unable to even fathom from within the confines of Brooklyn.

Marian quickly fell asleep, back in her own bed. Strange dreams plagued her, but when she awoke around nine the next morning, she felt refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Back in the swing of things in New York. Exactly like before. Pre-Omar.

She shuddered. There’d be none of those thoughts now that she was back. She needed to banish him from her mind. Even though part of her wilted on the inside at the concept. They’d been so good together. And he’d been so sweet. How had things ended this way? Why had he done that to her?

The confusion irritated her almost as much as the lack of caffeine. She called Layla for an impromptu welcome-home coffee date on her self-declared transition day. She needed a day to decompress, buy groceries, and take excessive naps before heading back to the office the next morning. They met at their favorite spot in Brooklyn, just ten minutes from Marian’s building.

“It’s so good to see you!” Layla wrapped her in a tight hug, her sparkling strawberry blonde hair smelling of flowers, as always. Marian sighed into her friend’s embrace, grateful for the familiar contact.

“God, it’s good to be back.” Marian collapsed into a wrought iron chair on the back patio of the coffee shop, thankful for the bright sun and light breeze. A waitress came for their order and they got what they always did—two red eye coffees.

“So tell me. How did the deal go?”

Marian leveled her with a look. “It went. But not so well, for me.”

“Oh no.” Concern creased Layla’s face. “What happened?”

Marian gave her the CliffsNotes version of how Omar had sealed the deal without her, making her own boss think she’d had little to do with the success.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Layla said. “You two were so good together. You worked so well, I thought.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.” Marian scoffed. “He hasn’t even called or anything since I left, so I guess that’s my answer. It was just a fling for business purposes.” She scoffed. “And the worst part is, I really thought we had…something between us. You know? Like, I felt that spark. And I thought he did too.”

Layla frowned as the waitress set down their coffees, her eyes on the table. “Some guys just aren’t…ready, I guess.”

“Yeah, and he was the least ready of all.” Marian shook her head, stirring a spoonful of sugar into her mug. “I should have known from the start that I could never compete with his dead wife.”

Layla grimaced. “Was it that bad?”

“Jesus, it was practically a chastity belt!” She paused, sipping at her coffee. “That’s a lie. If he tried to be chaste, he failed. Miserably. We couldn’t stop having sex.”

Layla squeezed her arm. “Was it at least good?”

“Ugh. The best.” Marian crumpled into her seat, memories flooding her. “That’s the thing. Everything seemed so good. Like, within three days, I was already thinking about a future with this man.”

Layla widened her eyes. “Wow.”

“Yeah. Except, not wow. Major letdown, in fact.” Marian sighed tersely, the cup of coffee steaming in front of her lips. “I dunno. I’ll get over it. Or maybe I won’t.”

Layla pouted. “Honey, you will. I promise you. You’re made of steel. You’ll bounce back.”

“Maybe I’m tired of bouncing back.” She took a contemplative sip of her coffee, sullenness making her limbs heavy. “Maybe I just want to not fall over and over again and have no one there to pick me up but myself.”

“But you’re stronger for it, honey.”

“I dunno.” Marian felt a dark cloud overcoming her. “Because now, at work, I’ll have to work even harder to prove to my boss that I even do anything. He thinks I just took notes and kept everyone on track, but I carried a solid half of the deal. All I can do is go back to work and keep hoping for another opportunity to arise. But if I stay there, I might run into Omar again. And how horrible would that be? It might be better if I just quit.”

Layla let out a low breath. “Wow. You sure about all that?”

“No. But that’s how it’s looking right now.”

“Listen, girl, you need to finish that coffee before you make any rash decisions. And then just go to work tomorrow and see what happens. I’m sure this isn’t as bad as you think. And really…I think you just have a broken heart.”

Marian frowned. “Yeah. Stupid dumb heartbreaking guys from Parsabad.”

Layla wrapped her in a hug. “It’ll get easier with time. And until it does, I’ll take you out to forget.” She kissed the top of her head, and then clinked her mug against hers. “Partying helps everything.”