Accidentally Engaged(40)
“No, Saira. Why won’t you tell Mum and Dad?”
“Really? Give me some credit. You’re my sister. You obviously don’t want them to know, so I won’t say anything.”
Reena squinted at her sister, suspicious. “You told them when I snuck out of the house when I was dating Eddie.”
“That was a long time ago! I was a kid!”
“You were twenty-two. I was twenty-four.” Which was why Reena felt no guilt about sneaking out then. A curfew at that age? Ridiculous. The fight with Mum and Dad after Saira blabbered eventually led to Dad agreeing to rent one of the units in this building to her, so maybe Saira’s loose lips proved useful. That time.
This time, though? Reena couldn’t let them find out about her unemployment. Not now. The last thing she needed was pressure to work with Dad.
“This isn’t so I’ll share that eggplant recipe with you, is it?” Reena asked.
“Why are you so obsessed with eggplant?”
Reena snorted. “I’m just not used to you being nice to me.”
“I made you soup when you were sick, I came to run interference when Mum was being all…in-your-face like. I’m trying, here, Reena.” Saira frowned. “We have such an effed-up relationship. We should be more like sisters.”
Reena glared suspiciously again. They’d never had a close relationship, even as kids. Their personalities were too different. Not even complementary. Reena had been a shy child, and Saira’s anxious histrionics had always been too much.
Saira exhaled. “Are you still mad because of that blog thing?”
She shouldn’t be. It was months ago. Saira hadn’t meant that post against Reena specifically. And her sister had gone through such a hard time.
But it was a hard time for Reena then, too. And Reena had lost so much.
“Saira, why are you here?”
“Well first, to see how you’re doing. You looking for a new job?”
“Yes. I have two interviews this week. My employment counselor thinks I will find something quickly.”
“Oh, that’s good. They’re looking for a part-timer at Nourish, if you’re interested.” A job at Nourish would be torture for Reena. Surrounded by chia seeds, kombucha, and Saira all day? No.
“Anyway, let me know if you want me to put in a good word. The employee discount is really good,” Saira said.
“Sure. Will do.”
Saira smiled, seeming to be pleased with herself. “I also had some dirt to share. I know you hate gossip, but this might concern you. That guy, what’s his name…the one Mum wants you to marry. Nadir?”
“Nadim. What about him?”
“You going to marry him?”
“No! Of course not. I keep telling Mum to stop setting me up with men, but she won’t give—”
“So, there’s nothing going on between you?”
“No! We’re friends. Why?”
“At brunch he said a bunch of ass-kissing stuff about you. I think just to suck up to Dad, but just in case there’s more, I thought you should know.”
“Know what?”
Saira smiled as she curled her legs under her on the sofa. “I thought the guy looked familiar when I came by that day, but yesterday he said he used to have a beard, and I remembered I’d seen pictures of him on Rish’s Facebook.”
“What? How does Ashraf’s sister know Nadim?”
“She doesn’t. She was posting some pictures of her cousin in London, and Nadim was in them. With that whole posh crowd out there. You know the ones. The swanky, trust fund kids? I heard at least three of them have been bailed out of some mess or another by their rich daddies. These people are shady. Look.” She handed Reena her phone with a picture on the screen.
There were three people standing together on a boat, each holding drinks out, as if toasting the camera. And yup, one of them was Nadim. With his longer hair and precision-trimmed beard. He wore white pants, white deck shoes, and a lavender polo shirt with the collar popped up. The two people he stood near seemed to be a couple, with their arms around each other’s waists. The woman squinted at the sun, and the man mugged for the camera in a pose reminiscent of those boys on the Jersey shore. Yuck. Behind them were several other people, talking and holding drinks.
It was the douchiest picture she’d ever seen. What the hell was Nadim—her foot-rubbing, bread-eating neighbor—doing with the likes of these people?
“Where is this?”
“Probably somewhere in Europe. There are loads of these pictures. I think that chick next to him is Rish’s cousin. Oh, and you’ll love this.” She pulled up another picture, similar to the first. Douchey Nadim and about ten other people. “That skinny one there?” She pointed to the woman standing next to him. “That’s Jasmine Shah. Remember how she had to be rescued by her father when her fiancé stranded her in Egypt? Can you imagine if Dad knew his new employee was partying with his rival’s daughter?”
Reena looked at the woman in question. Ridiculously leggy, with perfect highlighted hair in loose curls cascading halfway down her back. She wore a short flowy caftan and rose-gold aviator glasses, and looked exactly like she belonged on this golden yacht over turquoise waters. Reena tried not to judge based on appearances, but it was kind of hard not to when her father had been low-key blasting the entire Shah family for as long as Reena could remember. Okay, maybe low-key was a bit understated.