Wayne Seldon warned Megan North that, with just the little bit of information she had, it might take him a while to discover the whereabouts of the person who'd supposedly worked with GM back in the 70's... if they were even still alive... or ever really existed at all! He mentioned to her the possibility that the phone call she'd received had been from some crackpot who just wanted to send her off on a wild goose chase!
Megan told him she'd already thought about that, but it was the only lead she'd gotten and she just had to check it out any way... if for no other reason than her own peace of mind. She promised Wayne that she'd pay him whatever he thought his time and effort were worth, whether he turned up any information or not.
He thanked her and told her that wasn't necessary... he liked to do this sort of thing just for fun... especially if it was something that might shed some light on dirty dealings! Wayne said he'd get to work on it as soon as he could and be in touch with her when he was able to find anything.
When they saw each other again at their New Year's Eve party the following week, Megan asked Wayne how things were going. "Well, I'm accessing all information that's legally available to me first, to see what I can come up with."
Megan's eyes widened. "Wayne... what do you mean by 'legally' available? Are you telling me there are 'illegal' ways that you can get information?!! I don't want you doing anything that's going to get us into trouble!!! Especially if it can get YOU into trouble! That's not why I asked for your help!"
Wayne laughed softly and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Meggie. I won't get into any trouble. I know how to access networked computer files in ways so that no one even knows I've done it." When he saw her worried expression deepen, he added, "Just forget that I said anything. I'll keep this above board... if nothing turns up from the search I'm doing now, I'll just let it go. I don't want you worrying that I'll get into trouble... OK?!!" he assured as he hugged her.
The doorbell rang and Wayne saw Jonnie opening the front door. In walked Megan's friend from Saudi Arabia that he'd met a few years back, Yosef Madani, followed by his son Nuri and a young woman whose exotic beauty immediately caught his attention. He released Megan as he asked dazedly, "Who is THAT?" Then he shook his head as he realized she must be Yosef's wife...
Megan turned around to see who'd arrived, and then she faced Wayne again, chuckling slightly at the expression on his face. He looked like a starving man sitting in front of a sumptuous meal... that he'd just been told he couldn't have! "Well, of course you know Yosef and Nuri. The woman is Jada Madani... Yosef's younger sister."
She smiled widely when Wayne's wide eyes shot to hers and he smiled broadly. "Yosef's sister?!!!" he exclaimed happily. "What is she doing here? I mean... why did he bring her with him? Any special reason?" He could hardly contain his curiosity about the beautiful young woman... he'd never seen a woman who so instantly captured his attention and fascination. He looked back and watched as their family and friends greeted her.
Her face was so delicate... her features perfectly proportioned... she was a... "perfect" example of symmetrical beauty. Her long, dark hair hung straight down her back to her waist, which he instantly noticed was tiny from the colorful skirt that hugged her hips and waist. His eyes traveled back up her body, lingering momentarily on the swell of her breasts in the tight white top that was tucked into her skirt.
When his gaze returned to her face, he watched in fascination as she smiled at someone, showing off her luscious lips and perfect, white teeth. But he noticed that her large, dark eyes did not reflect happiness... in fact, they seemed sad and he thought he also detected a hint of... fear. Wayne wondered why until he heard what Megan was saying...
"Jada has been here in the U.S. attending college on a student visa. But she's graduated and her visa is about to expire, so Yosef has come to escort her home... back to Saudi Arabia. But she doesn't want to go. She's gotten used to not being treated like a second-class citizen. Her family had hoped she'd meet a nice American man to fall in love with and marry so she could stay in this country. But Yosef said she had promised herself that she would not entrap a man into marrying her just so she could stay. She would marry only if she fell in love... and sadly, she hadn't been lucky enough to find her soul mate..."
At that moment, Jada looked straight into Wayne's eyes... they both froze. Time seemed to halt for them... all of the people around them disappeared... there was no sound... except for the pounding of their hearts in their ears. They walked toward each other, their eyes never wavering, not stopping until they were right in front of each other...
**********
Jada Madani had cried on her older brother's shoulder earlier that day as she begged him not to make her go with him to the New Year's Eve party at his friends' house in Beverly Hills. She hadn't understood why he'd dragged her with him from Boston to L.A. the day before... she just wanted to get it over with and return to Saudi Arabia... she'd resigned herself to accept her fate of living a life of oppression.
She was grateful that her family had gone against the wishes of the government. Yosef had proven to his boss, the Sheikh, that Jada had an innate aptitude with computers. It was the Sheikh who'd finally persuaded the government to allow her family to send her to M.I.T. if the school felt she was smart enough to attend their prestigious institution. M.I.T. had allowed Jada to take an entrance exam to demonstrate her knowledge and had offered her admission as soon as they'd received the results.
Jada had fit right in with life on an American college campus, having heard from her older brother what it was like to live in such a free environment. She hadn't started college until she was nineteen, and now she was twenty-three and facing a fate worse than death after having lived four years having more fun than she'd ever thought possible while hoping she'd also find her true soul mate...
Boston was a big city... M.I.T. was full of students from all over the U.S. and the world! Surely she'd cross paths with that special someone... somewhere... some time... in those four years. She'd even traveled with her friends to some of the bigger cities during the summer breaks... New York... Chicago... Washington D.C. But she'd never made it to L.A.! Until now...
"Why, Yosef?!!! Why did you drag me all the way out here when you know I have to leave in only four days?!! Why do I have to go to a party and meet these friends of yours only to turn around and go home to a life where I'll never get to party again?!! Do you realize how cruel you're being to me?!!" she'd cried as he hugged her and tried to comfort her.
"Jada... I know you don't want to go home, and I can't blame you! It was all our hopes that you would fall in love and marry so you could stay here... even though we will face a backlash when the government realizes that you aren't returning! But we want what's best for you... and, who knows? Maybe you will find Mr. Right at this party!" he'd teased her gently.
