His actions over the next few days hardly surprised her. He was gone when she woke up the next morning, and there was a note letting her know that a driver would take her home. He was also gone the next weekend, claiming that he was meeting with an appraiser for the collection.

She was hurt, but she tried not to show it.

When he returned to the gallery the following Monday, he could barely look at her. When she did catch a glimpse of his eyes, it was enough to make her stomach clench. He’d given her something precious that weekend, a little too much control, a little too much intimate knowledge of himself, and now he could barely face her.

Ticket sales dropped even further. She’d hoped that when people heard about the Greek collection, they’d make some inquiries through the website, but Khalid didn’t even want to advertise.

It made no sense.

“Sheikh Khalid?” she asked. She cleared her throat and knocked on his door.

He paused before looking up. “Yes, Katie?” There was a touch of annoyance in his voice.

“You didn’t mention whether you’d gotten the Greek collection appraised.”

He returned his attention to the stack of papers in front of him. “No, I did not.”

“You also haven’t mentioned anything about advertising. We should make an announcement on our social media pages. Now might be a good time to start a newsletter. We could mention that we have exciting news, and anyone who signs up for the newsletter will hear about it first.”

He looked up and glared. “Katie, you’re not seriously still pushing this email subscription idea of yours, are you?” he barked.

She wanted to turn and run, but her hesitation was quickly turning to anger. “Fine. No email. We could set up a virtual event about the opening day of the collection.” She paused and held up a staying hand to forestall the objections she could see forming on his face. “I’m not suggesting a huge event, but some food vendors outside, and maybe add something to the children’s wing so they can have something to do while their parents are viewing the Greek collection. I’m not sure it would be appropriate for anyone younger than a teenager, even if it is ancient art.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Katie? You are not a curator! Your job is to file my papers and look pretty at the host stand!”

He could have slapped her, and it would have hurt less.

He immediately closed his eyes and shook his head. “Katie, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” She held up her hand and slowly backed out of his office. Praying that she wouldn’t burst into tears in front of him, she hurried to her office and closed the door. Leaning against it, she took a few shuddering breaths.

How could he say that to her? After everything she’d told him?

“Katie.” He was knocking softly on the door. “Open up.”

Part of her wanted to lock the door and hide until he went away, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, she stiffened her shoulders and opened the door. “My apologies for stepping over my boundaries,” she said icily. “It won’t happen again.”

He reached for her, and she danced out of his reach. “I didn’t mean that,” he muttered. “I don’t even know why I said it.”

“I do. You discovered something personal about me, and you used it to hurt me because you’re afraid that I might take what I know about you and hurt you.”

“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “You’re not the type of person to deliberately hurt someone. I would never think that of you.”

“Oh.” She turned her back and closed her eyes. “So it wasn’t defensive. You just wanted to hurt me.”

“I . . .” his voice trailed off. “I don’t know what to do with you, sometimes.”

“You don’t need to do anything with me.” Eyes on fire, she whirled around. “I’m not a toy, Khalid. You can’t play with me when you want me and then put me away when you don’t.”

“That’s not what I think of you.”

“Then what?” she demanded. “What do you think of me?”

He opened his mouth before shutting it. Several seconds of awkward silence passed before he sighed. “We shouldn’t be discussing this here.”

“No, we shouldn’t. We can fuck here, but we can’t talk about anything important or intimate. I get it.”

“Katie . . .”

“No.” She held up her hand. “This is my fault. I heard the warnings about you. I knew how this was going to end, and I foolishly thought that I could make it work somehow. Not ego—just blind hope. It’s not the no-strings-attached sex. It’s not even the lack of respect when it comes to my work. It’s the constant back-and-forth. Hot and cold. It leaves my head spinning, Khalid. I come into work, and I have no idea who you’re going to be. And I can’t keep doing that.”

“What are you saying?” he hissed. “You don’t want to sleep with me anymore?”

Trembling, she met his gaze. “I don’t want to do anything with you anymore. Consider this my resignation.”

Khalid snorted and rolled his eyes. “If you think the dramatics are going to change things between us, you’re wrong, Katie. Don’t threaten me and think that it’s going to work.”

“It’s not a threat. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll type up my resignation and leave it on your desk. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.” On the verge of tears, she reached out her hand in hopes of leaving on a high professional note.

His face was cold as he stared at her. Without touching her, he walked out and slammed the door behind him.

Numb, she slowly moved back to her desk and typed up her letter to him. It was short and sweet. As she printed it, she also opened up the airline website.

She’d come to Dubai to find herself, and she’d found only heartache. Maybe it wasn’t just her father who couldn’t accept her.

Maybe it was men in general.

She wasn’t sure of anything much, but she did know that she couldn’t stay in Dubai.

There were plenty of other places in the world to explore.

Discover new art.

Hide.

Clutching the letter in her hand, she walked to his office, only to find the door locked and the lights turned off.

He was gone. It shouldn’t surprise her, but the lack of respect was too much for her.

Slipping the letter under his door, she burst into tears.