Chapter 316: A Chance Encounter on the Streets of Riyadh
Having already prepared himself in his stepmother’s home, Alex stepped out of his hotel room, and entered the busy streets of Riyadh intending to make another subtle move on the wife and daughter of the American ambassador to Saudia Arabia.
Sure, it had only been a day, but Alex was rather impatience and short minded at times. However, he was blessed with a chance encounter, one which he was not the least bit expecting. While walking through the city’s streets, a woman wearing a hijab and veil accidentally bumped into Alex, and fell to the floor.
Naturally, because it was a woman, Alex felt the need to give a helping hand, whereupon doing so, he caught a brief glimpse of the woman’s face. It was none other than the Saudi Princess Aisha, who had, for whatever reason, escaped from the palace and was now walking around the city’s streets without escort.
Upon realizing that her face was uncovered, Aisha quickly fixed her veil. All the while Alex spoke to her in a far more charming tone than he would have otherwise done if she was just some random woman.
“Miss, are you okay? I’m terribly sorry about that. Do you need some help to get up?”
Aisha gazed at the handsome foreigner and was hesitant to take his hand. Perhaps he knew who she was after seeing her face, and was attempting to curry favor with her father. No doubt he would report her to the proper authorities after she disappeared.
Because of this, she rejected his offer and dusted herself off. That is until the Palace guards rounded the corner, clearly searching for her. When Alex saw this, he did not wait for permission, and instead grabbed the woman’s hands and started walking at a brisk pace in another direction, evading detection with ease, while Aisha chastised him, but only after they were out of sight of the guards.
“Unhand me, you filthy ruffian! Do you have any idea who I am?”
“You’re a fugitive, right? Relax, you’re among friends. I too have had to run from the long arm of the law at least once in my life…”
Alex knew Aisha had never met an actual criminal before. It was the whole reason she was attracted to him in the previous timeline. And like Alex expected, she blushed after pulling her hand away from him. Not able to say a word. Giving the man his chance to press forward with his plans.
“Those weren’t any ordinary guards. If the Saudi King’s own men are after you, you must have done something serious… I can hide you for a while if you want, but it’s going to cost you…”
Aisha had, of course, fled her engagement from Prince Ali of Oman. Just because her opinion of Alex had reset, that did not mean that she had a good opinion of Alex’s rival. She had, after all, caught the man popping pills and snorting cocaine when nobody was looking.
Something that she obviously did not approve of. It was one thing for a charming brigand like Alex to sweep the Princess off his feet, but a degenerate drug addict was another story altogether. Still, Aisha was hesitant to accept Alex’s offer. He was, after all, a stranger and a self professed criminal. Because of this natural caution, she asked what his price was before agreeing to his offer, all while making a gesture as if Alex was asking for something more than money.
“That would depend. What exactly would I be paying you with?”
Alex chuckled when he saw the way the woman was behaving before telling her what his price was.
“Relax, I’m not asking for your body. I mean, if you’re offering I won’t say no, but I’m merely asking for some cold hard cash. Judging by the jewelry you’re wearing, you’re either rich, or you’re related to someone who is…. Give me half a million USD, and I’ll keep you away from their sights for as long as you need…”
Aisha did not have long to contemplate the offer, because the guards found the corridor they were hiding in and immediately called out to his comrades.
“There she is! This way!”
Knowing that it was either taking a chance with this handsome stranger, or getting caught by her father’s guards, Aisha grabbed Alex’s hand and agreed to his offer.
“Lead the way!”
Alex did not hesitate to run off with the girl, his ample experience in evading authorities, and other pursuers, as well as his combat experience allowed him to completely out maneuver the Saudi Royal Guards as he and the woman ran through the streets of Riyadh.
Eventually they bought themselves enough time, where Alex paid a local bazaar to sell him a burka, and some more traditional male Arab robes, which he and Ayisha changed into, allowing them to no longer have to run and hide, and instead enter into the hotel that Alex stayed at in plain sight, without any one being any the wiser.
Aisha was surprised that Alex had such a luxurious suite in Riyadh’s most luxurious hotel. However, before she could ask just how wealthy he was, Alex made a comment to her the moment the door shut behind them.
“Make yourself comfortable. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. However, if you really need to flee the country, that’s going to cost you extra…”
Aisha stared at Alex in surprise before asking just who the hell he was.
“You can smuggle me out of the country? Just who are you?”
Alex smirked as he answered the question in the most shameless way possible.
“Oh right, where are my manners? I’m Alex Smith, billionaire playboy and professional fighter. Who just so happens to find himself on the wrong side of the law more often than not… And who you might you be, my dear?”
Aisha was stunned that the man she had run into was a billionaire and still struggled to believe it. I mean, judging by his features, he was no older than twenty. So how the hell did he get so much money?
Still, he had asked a question, and she refused to reveal her identity as a Saudi Princess in fear that Alex would revoke his offer. Thus she posed an Alias she made on the spot.
“Lina… Lina Aziz…”
Naturally, Alex knew the woman was lying, but decided to entertain her lie nonetheless as he reached out his hand and gave her a proper greeting.
“Nice to meet you, Lina… Now how about we get down to business…”
With that said, Alex and Aisha would have a long discussion about what exactly her plans were.