Beyond Desire

17- Great Jalilah! Keep on adding to the list.

The meeting ended on a slightly awkward note.

The administrators almost immediately sent out the Turkish delegate who made that statement and they apologized profusely to Khalid and me for his remark.

Everywhere calmed soon after his exit, but the damage was already done. The awkwardness swirled around us in silent torment. Khalid didn't contribute a single word to the conversation again until we left. Not even in the car did he speak. He wasn't that much of a talker to begin with, but I was sure he would have at least made a snide comment about the way I was chewing my snack loudly on the ride back. He didn't even spare me a glance when we reached the hotel. So much for standing up for him. Not that I was expecting a thank you or anything, but the least he could do was be nice.

Ass.

I thanked the driver and walked into the lobby, straight to the elevator, and into my room when I reached our floor. The first thing I got rid of was my heels. Before I could even attempt to take off my clothes, my phone buzzed loudly from inside my bag.

I fished it out to see my assistant's name on the screen.

"Lilah?" Her voice sounded muffled, as though she couldn't quite manage to get the phone to her ear properly.

"Hello, girl. It's been a minute." I chimed, bringing the abaya over my head and tossing myself on the bed.

"I figured it would be great to give you a breather since you are on vacation." Her hyperactive voice stated.

"How thoughtful of you."

"How is your holiday going?"

"Not bad. What's the media saying? What's trending?" I inquired excitedly. I had decided to take a break from social media while I was away. This trip was supposed to be about relaxing, so I figured I might as well stay off socials too.

"Exactly why I called." I didn't miss how the excitement in her tone died down. "There is an uproar. Again."

"What is it this time?" I sighed, knowing whatever she was about to say would either ruin the rest of my trip entirely or roll right off me.

"It's about your father's case again." She sounded like she really doesn't want to be the one to break this to me.

"Let people talk, they will probably get bored at a point."

"No, you don't understand. They are really taking action this time around. Someone among our followers started a rumor that the contribution they made to our organization goes straight to your father's account to feed up his.......it's feral. Even cost us a handful of followers."

"So basically, I am the bad guy."

"Not necessarily." She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to alert you before you come back online. Plus, I have a suggestion. I think it might help get to the bottom of everything."

"What do you suggest?" I mumbled, sliding my bra out from under my bodycon after unclipping the strap.

"You know.....your father had been accused of so many things and it's getting ugly." Poor girl sounded so uncomfortable just talking about this. "I thought it would be great if you could get him to....you know....address the rumor on the national TV or something."

"Like defending himself you mean?" I hit the nail in the coffin.

"Yes. That would definitely shut a lot of people up." I could picture her nodding her head as she spoke.

"He won't, even if I bring it up and you know it."

"Well....it wouldn't hurt to try. The accusations are frankly becoming wild. It horrifies me to see some people actually pulling out proof from under their sleeves. All these because no one is standing up against these raids."