Chapter Two – Habibi in White
722 Words
Two years had passed since Reina Alvarez arrived in Dubai with a suitcase full of clothes and a heart full of disappointment.
She had grown since then, emotionally, professionally, and definitely fashionably. At 24, she had her own apartment, a routine she could call her own, and a steady job at one of the most prestigious jewelry houses in the city. Not bad for a girl who once cried herself to sleep under a worn blanket in Madrid.
Today was her birthday.
She’d worked her usual shift with a bounce in her step, knowing Lola had planned something special. A dinner at Al Qasr Blanc, a restaurant where she could barely afford a glass of water, but tonight she’d be a guest of honor.
She had everything timed perfectly. Her shift ended at 5:30, the bus left at 6:00, and she needed at least an hour to turn herself from “work mode” into I-belong-here glamour. Influential people would be there, business moguls, celebrities, possibly royals. She couldn’t show up looking like a tired sales assistant.
Just as she clocked out, grabbing her small purse and heading to the back room, her manager’s voice sliced through her daydream.
“Reina, could you please attend to one last client?”
She paused mid-step. “I just finished my shift.”
“Aliya’s in the bathroom, and he’s already inside.”
Reina sighed. She glanced at the time. 5:34. She had six minutes to wrap this up.
“Fine. But tell her to hurry.”
She smoothed her black dress and adjusted her name tag, walking briskly to the front.
Then she saw him.
He stood near the Van Cleef showcase like a man who owned time itself, tall, maybe 6’2, wearing a clean white jalabiya that draped over him like liquid confidence. On his wrist sat a platinum Rolex Daytona glinting with diamond accents. His beard was perfectly trimmed, skin sun-kissed, and his eyes –God, those eyes –were as dark and sharp as obsidian.
“Habibi,” she thought. “That’s what Gen Z calls a man like that. A whole problem.”
“Good afternoon, sir,” she said, straightening her posture. “How may I help you?”
He turned his gaze to her and it stopped her cold.
Just one look. One second. And something in her chest stumbled.
“I was told by Señor De La Vega that the Van Cleef diamond bracelet would be available today,” he said, voice like silk wrapped in steel, low, commanding, with a hint of impatience already.
Reina kept her smile professional, but something fluttered in her stomach.
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s currently in transit. It will be available next week.”
He blinked. Slowly. Then:
“What do you mean by that?”
Rude. Direct.
Reina didn’t flinch. “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir, but…”
“I don’t want apologies,” he snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. “I want the bracelet. I was told it would be here.”
His voice rose. Heads turned. Reina felt the pressure like a slap to her pride. Still, she held her expression. Calm. Professional. Unbothered–at least on the outside.
Before she could speak again, the manager rushed over. “Sir, is there a problem?”
“This is unacceptable,” the man–who Reina now suspected was very important–said without looking at her. “I scheduled a meeting around this. I don’t have time to waste.”
While they talked, Reina stood there, half embarrassed, half irritated. Why yell? You’re rich, not royalty. She’d dealt with entitled customers before, but something about this one stuck under her skin.
“Reina, you’re dismissed,” the manager said quickly, sensing the tension.
She didn’t argue. She walked away with her chin high, but the second she got to the back room, she exhaled sharply. That man–whoever he was–had ruined her perfectly good mood.
It was her birthday. She wasn’t going to let a loud, spoiled millionaire ruin it.
She checked the time again. 5:48.
If she was lucky, she could still catch the bus. She just needed to forget that baritone voice, that chiseled face, and that rudeness dipped in charm.
Too bad her heart hadn’t gotten the memo.
- Writer
