THREE

Yasmin followed up on the address to thank the man but almost turned back when she arrived at the gate. The unfathomable site before her had made her too ashamed that she almost gave up on her endeavour. She felt inadequate as she stood before neatly dressed guards carrying rifles. Standing behind a gigantic metal gate, in the distance; about two hundred meters stood a set of three large villas, one was painted in white, one in cream and yellow and the other one seemed like a glassy building. A pond with a fountain stood in the middle of the gate and villas about one hundred meters from the gate and the gravelled road split into three after the fountain. In the front of the first two story villa there were six cars parked, one a pink porch, two Toyotas one black, one white, the kind that sheiks rode in the desert, one a red Ferrari, one a Mitsubishi, and the last a silver-ish- black- ish Lamborghini. Not that she knew the names of these cars, all she saw was a bunch of expensive cars parked in front of really expensive houses. The next three-story villa, the largest standing in the middle had only eight Toyotas in black and some white parked in its drive way. Finally, the last glassy and fancy four story and smallest villa had the least number of cars only two Porsches one silver and one blue and a rolls Royce."Can we help you miss?"One of the guards shouted in broken Arabic his face sweating from the heat. He seemed to be foreign because he did not have the average middle-eastern look. He seemed to be Indian.She handed the note to the guard with her sweaty hand, flipping strands of hair from her face with the other. "What's your name miss?" The guard asked looking at her suspiciously."My name is Yasmin,"   she shyly replied looking down while digging her toe into the gravelled road." Yasmin!" The guard repeated in a mocking tone then smiled and winked at the other guard. "Ok I'll tell young master Ali you are here. Wait a few minutes." The guard left to his booth and seemed to make some phone-call because she saw him hold a black receiver to his ear, then motioned at the other guard to let her in. The guard directed her through a smaller gate and she was instructed to go to the first villa. She rang the doorbell and the door was opened by a young Thai woman about nineteen years old, dressed in a black and white maids uniform."Hello miss," she smiled, "how are you?""Come in!" She motioned with her hand inviting her in and she led her down a corridor to the Iiving room. The villa was decorated in fancy wear. Clearly these people were extremely wealthy, she thought. "You may take a sit miss, the maid motioned her hand towards one of the expensive white leather couches. "Young Master will be down shortly." She smiled through gaped teeth. "You may help your self to some snacks I brought for you.""Thank you!" Yasmin nervously replied. She really felt out of place. Just as the maid was about to leave a woman dressed in leggings and a vest with sports sneakers on, came down in to the living-room looking for her set of car keys. She was about to go to the gym. Jasmine would soon learn that this would be Ali's sister Amani whom they called Amy. "Chati, you didn't tell me Ali was hiring more help. Why is she here in the living room, on the COUCH?"  she asked with a snobbish look of disgust on her face while scanning Yasmin from head toe as she stood up straightening her long floral dress, with a hurt look on her face."She is one of young Master's guest Miss Amani." The maid replied." Oh," Amani exclaimed pacing towards Yasmin with a look of feigned marvel on her face. "You arent even that attractive you know…what’s her name, she turned to the maid seeking an answer. I wonder why my brother picked you," she muttered in fluent English which Jasmine failed to understand due to her lack of education she only knew how to speak Arabic, but the maid seemed to understand because she sluggishly forged a smile and  gazed  down at her feet in distress. Clearly this miss Amani must have plagued all her housemaids because the maid didn't really seem to like her. It was only the sound of fear in her voice that startled Yasmin.  "What's your name?"  Amani asked her." Yasmin," she replied with an    expressionless face. " Let me let you in on a little secret sis," Amani  continued, in Arabic, "my brother always brings all sorts trash off the streets to our home, spends the night with them, then chases them away like stray dogs, so if I were you I would kindly excuse myself and  escort myself out of this villa now,   leave, and spare yourself the humiliation, I'm truly  astonished he asked you to come here, he seems to have dropped his standards these days, I'm wondering which side street he got you from? Unless you're doing this for the money then okay!" She waved her hands bulging her eyes. She looked grave and ironic at the same time. "Judging by your appearance I don't think you'll get much though but it will be a lot for you I a guess..."Amani was interrupted by a deep husky voice  followed by a casual cough; a muscular man in casual jeans and a Tee-shirt walked down one side of the round-about stares into the living room.  Yasmin was now crying staring down, a few tears dropping on the tiled floor. Amani was cruel and Yasmins assumptions about her had been true. Even the maid was silently sobbing. "I hope you aren't upsetting my guest dear sister." The man said. "No were just having a little chat that's all," she replied leaving, after grabbing her car keys which had been laying on the expensive coffee table.The man drew closer to Jasmine lifting her face up with one hand on her chin. Her eyes met his, a greenish blue wish colour, slanted the most beautiful she'd ever seen. She compared them to her bulging brown eyes. She'd later learn that he wore contacts lenses. He had chiselled striking features, not just your average middle-eastern look but the man was painfully good looking. She remembered his noticeable features from the accident, of course she hadn't fantasised or imagined it. The man still had a bandage around his arm. "You came beautiful stranger! he uttered, his enthusiastic smile breaking into a emphatic laugh, feeling a little uncomfortable for invading her personal space. She saw his cheeks had turned  red. He sat next to her on the couch."I'm deeply apologise about that, my sister can be a little punitive and ill-mannered some times." He said smiling, revealing the most attractive smile she'd ever seen with a set of clean white teeth. Yasmin didnt reply, she nodded, abruptly feeling like a child again, she remembered those days when she used to fight with her sisters when they were younger and she'd cry. Harran her sister was most self-confident and the most fierce of all ands did not stand for any shenanigans or pranks her siblings played on her. Yasmin would cry like a toddler when challenged by her while her other sister cowered like frightened animal to the corner. Then she looked up at him. "You're the man I saved that night..."Yes!" He cut her short. "I asked the hospital staff to tell you I saved you because i did not want to get into trouble with my father for drunk driving, the story would have been all over the news."He pulled out an iPhone from his pocket and showed her an app with a title 'Gulf News Daily. Under one of the headlines read, 'Billionaires' s son saves young woman in distress from drowning. 'The title was in Arabic followed by English at the bottom. Yasmin was shocked that the news had travelled so fast, next to the title was a photo of him carrying her unconscious body, bridal style into a taxi, his white t-shirt heavily stained in blood. There were a few more longer titles of the story like'Young woman tries to end her life by jumping off a bridge, billionaire's son Ali Almasi saves her. '

"What about you Chati? Did Amani say something to you as well?""No young Master, it's just that I get a little emotional sometimes." She replied, but her silent weep had turned into loud sob this time. "Chati!" He said calmly, feigning annoyance, "did she threaten to fire you again like yesterday? I told you not to worry habibti., as long as I live here   you'll be here and I have no complaints about you , not just that but you're one of my best friends and you will always be."  Yasmin only listened in awe and bewilderment. Habibti? She hadn't expected to hear the rich man call his maid that.