Chapter 15

Amira drove both Stan and Richard to the airport. She expected Stan to be quiet because it was the afternoon and he was always grumpy without his nap—that was a bear shifter for you. What she didn't expect was for Richard to be so quiet. He even allowed Stan to sit shotgun, so Amira didn't even have a chance to look him in the eyes to figure out what was up with him.

She'd hoped he'd be happy for her promotion. After all, it meant the two of them would still work together. Didn't Stan mention that to Richard? But Richard hadn't said he wanted to continue to work together. He hadn't said much of anything, really. And when he took his bags and walked into the airport without a second glance her way, she figured he wanted nothing to do with her.

It's fine. It's for the best, she tried to convince herself. He's a cheater, remember? And probably still hung up on his ex.

But she couldn't convince herself. Richard had nearly died because he felt so strongly for her that he put himself in danger.

Oh well, it's over now. She tried to push him out of her mind and focus on the rest of SHIT. She spent the next few days shadowing Treasure, observing the MILFs, and learning how Treasure had trained them. By the end of the SHITs, she was excited at the prospect of working for both FUC and BS.

Amira shook her head as she drove back to the palace's guest house. He really didn't have to be so indifferent on the drive, she thought. I guess I really wasn't anything special to him, after all.

Amira let out a sigh as she kicked off her shoes in the foyer and placed them on the mat. She plopped her keys on the credenza before walking to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine. Before she could open it, there was a knock at the door.

Once she opened it, Carol greeted her with a bright smile while holding a bottle of bubbles.

"Girl, we need to celebrate!" she said as she walked past Amira and headed for the kitchen. She looked over at the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and the single glass on the counter. "Okay, what did Dick do?"

Amira blinked twice before responding. "Why would you assume he'd done something wrong?"

Carol let out a huff before responding. "Because he's a guy and guys are usually wrong. I mean—not always. After all, Ray is married to me, so he was right about that one thing."

Carol poured out a glass of fizz and handed it to Amira. "Prosecco always makes a girl happy! Oh—that and strawberries. Let's see if the staff bought some because they'd go great with this."

"So, it's possible you aren't wrong, but I'm not sure if you're right either," Amira said with a sigh and crumpled her body onto a barstool by the kitchen island. The buttery vegan leather made her sink into it even further than her mood did.

"Why don't you start by telling me what happened, and then we can both make an informed decision about Dick?"

Amira rolled her eyes. "Why do you insist on calling him Dick? His name is Richard."

Carol choked on her Prosecco before placing the glass on the counter. "I guess I've been calling him that for so long that it's become a habit. Of course, I always side with my besties when a guy they love screws up, but that's not fair to him or you. I can see he's different when he's with you."

"Is he, though?" Amira threw up her hands in frustration. "Ever since he saw you again, he's been different toward me. At first, I thought it was because he was still hung up on you, but then I thought how could that be possible if he cheated on you?"

"Amira—" Carol tried to cut in, but Amira wasn't finished.

"Clearly, being here caused something in him to switch, because he hardly looked at me when he went back to the airport. And you want to know something really funny? I keep looking at my phone, hoping he's going to text, but guess what? We don't even have each other's cell numbers! That's how serious this all was to him. So serious that we didn't even exchange digits."

Carol looked at her thoughtfully before speaking. "First of all, you need to know that Erika was wrong."

"What?"

Carol took a deep breath. "I thought Richard had cheated on me. I believed it for a long time. It wasn't until Quinn came along that I started to see behind the curtain."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that Richard and I were together for the wrong reasons. You see, with Stan's help, Quinn and I pieced together that Richard's actions toward us were because of his llama imprinting."

"He mentioned that, but I don't get it." Amira shrugged. "If he imprinted on you, wouldn't that mean I'm right and that he wants you back?"

"No," Carol said definitely. "Because here's the thing. Richard and I didn't get along very well. He was always overbearing. It was never really right, but we also couldn't break up because I thought I was in love with him. The imprint did me in and I kept trying to make things work with him whenever he tried to break things off. It wasn't until I believed he cheated on me that I had the guts to get up and leave, finally."

Amira started to piece it all together. "He didn't cheat on you?"

"He only said he did because he knew, as well as I did, that we needed to put an end to us. It wasn't good for either of us. It wasn't going to get better. I wasn't his true mate. And that's because you are."

"You really think so?" Amira asked, too hopeful to look at her.

"Yes, I do. I know Richard really well, and I saw it the moment I laid eyes on the two of you together. You make a cute couple, and Stan was right pairing the two of you up because you both work so well together. I saw that at the briefing dinner."

"Then why was he being so weird toward me?"

"I can't know that. The only way you can find out is if you ask him." Carol picked up Amira's phone from the counter and tapped something into it. "Here, it's his cell number. Take it. Call him."

"And say what, exactly? I'm not even sure if anything is wrong. Perhaps he was just tired," Amira said as she took a sip of the Prosecco. The bubbles tickled her nose.

"Amira, you won't know unless you call him. And if you're anything like me, Treasure, Erika, or Harriet, you will let this fester for too long. Just call the guy! I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding because, from what I saw, the dude is head over heels for you, Amira."

"I don't know. Maybe."

"There's no maybe about it—call him! Better yet? FaceTime him and make sure you're wearing a sexy negligee when you do! That's an order from a superior FUC, by the way!" Carol winked before downing what was left of her Prosecco and heading for the door. "I mean it, Amira. Call the guy. If you don't, I'll sick Treasure on you, and then you'll have no choice but to call him before you leave for BC!"

* * *

"And that's basically all Stan wanted me to brief you on before you head back to BC."

"Thanks, Treasure. I appreciate it," Amira said as she gave Treasure a half-smile.

Treasure palmed Amira's shoulder. "What's wrong? Didn't you call Richard?"

Amira let out a sigh. "Don't tell Carol, but I didn't call him. And it's not because of chickening out! After Carol and I had a heart-to-heart, I thought about it some more, and I'm wondering if what we had was real. Perhaps I'm just overthinking good sex."

Treasure palmed Amira's hand. "It's real. And you need to face him when you talk to him. This is clearly a misunderstanding. Carol and I know about those. In fact, if we didn't talk to our significant others, neither of us would be married to them right now. Girl! You have to talk to him face-to-face when you see him. I truly believe you two are meant to be together. After all, Stan has that touch!"

All Amira could do was smile and nod as Treasure hugged her before opening the car door to her ride to the airport. She had Dayton drive her, and Amira was grateful for that. The only thing that was hard was the silence during the ride to the airport because all Amira was thinking about was Richard.

They were at the airport before Amira knew what to process. Dayton was opening her door and getting her luggage out of the trunk before she saw where she was.

"Wait. Why am I on the tarmac? What's going on? Don't I have a commercial flight?"

"Not this time, you don't."

Amira turned to the voice calling out to her.

"Carol? What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't make the mistake of your life. You didn't call him? Not even a quick text?"

Amira shrugged.

"Well, that's why you aren't flying commercial! With Rayan being a king and all, he's got a private jet. And since he never likes to upset me, he agreed to let you use it because you can't waste any more time. Go. Get. Your. Man!"

Amira smiled and gave Carol a hug.

"You're right! Thanks, Carol, for believing in us."

"Hey—you're part of the Scooby Gang now! It's the least I can do!"

* * *

"Here's a list of the rest of your assistant candidates."

"Thanks, Stan."

Stan rolled his eyes. "You've been mopey ever since we got home, Richard. Scratch that, you've been mopey since you woke up from your concussion! Why? Aren't you happy about Amira's promotion?"

Richard let out a sigh. He knew he had to face this head-on with Stan at some point. He just didn't want it to be this soon. "Yes, I'm happy she's happy in Greece."

"She's not in Greece," said a familiar angelic voice.

Richard's eyes immediately darted to his office door. "Amira?" Richard shifted his gaze between Stan and Amira, his mouth slightly agape.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Stan said, standing. "From what I've heard, you both need to." Stan exited the room.

"Carol told you, too? Who doesn't know I didn't call him?"

Stan turned to face Amira and shrugged. "Someone had to clear your flight plan. How was the private jet?"

"I thought you were leaving, Stan." Richard's voice came out a little sterner than he would have liked, but Amira was here, and he didn't want to wait a minute longer to apologize—even if that would be the last thing he'd say to her before she started her new life without him.

Stan put out his palms in Richard's direction. "All right, all right, I'm going."

Amira came in and closed the door before sitting in the chair in Richard's office.

"My promotion comes with a few perks. I get to come and go to Greece whenever my boss sees fit."

Richard's heart sank to his stomach. Just when he was trying to get used to Amira not being near him in BC these past couple of days, he realized it wouldn't matter. Stan could pull on his heartstrings like a puppet master anytime he saw fit by bringing her back and forth from WANC.

"Well, I'm glad Stan is doing that for you. It'll be nice to see more of Greece, I'm sure."

Amira gave Richard an incredulous look. "I'll admit I chickened out with calling you while I was in Greece the past couple of days. I wasn't sure where your head was. You were quiet when you left, but I kept saying to myself that you were just tired from that fight with Zagan and the concussion. However, I'll admit I was surprised you didn't call or text me with work. I was sure you'd need my help with CRAP. Then again, I wasn't sure you wanted to see me either." She let out a breath before continuing. "Richard, if you're having second thoughts about us, I'll understand. I won't like it, and it'll be hard getting used to the idea of us broken up, but I'll understand."

Richard got up from his desk and rushed over to Amira. He wouldn't let her think such thoughts. Especially since he was the one that screwed up. Once her reach her, he had her in his arms within seconds. And for the first time since his plane touched down in BC, he felt like he was home. Home in her arms.

"No, Amira. That's not what I want. All I want is for you to be happy, and I hope that happiness includes me in your life. Even if I almost screwed up while we tried to collar Zagan. The truth is, though, these past few days have been hell without you. I don't want us apart for that long ever again. But only if you will have me," he said, stroking her hair.

"Richard, I don't want to be apart from you, either."

Richard pulled away from her embrace slightly to gaze at her, instantly mourning the loss of the heat between them. But he had to apologize for his actions before he said anything else to her.

"Amira, I'm sorry for what happened when I fought Zagan. I almost killed him for hurting you, and I shouldn't have thought that way. I should always have a cool head as a FUC agent."

"Richard, you stopped yourself from doing so. That means you're a good FUC."

Richard pulled her into his arms once more. She didn't blame him for trying to be her white knight. In fact, she understood his need to protect her.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do," she said as her nose nuzzled the crux of his neck.

Richard pulled away from her again to meet her gaze.

"Amira, I love you."

"And I love you, too."

He closed the distance between them as he crashed his lips onto hers. And for the first time since they knew what Zagan had done to them, he was grateful that he couldn't remember their first date. They wouldn't have shared this kiss otherwise. A kiss so toe-curling and passionate that he never wanted it to end. But once it did, he was certain it would be a kiss he'd never forget for the rest of his life.

The End.