The Sheikh's American Daughter (10 page)

Joseph yawned as he looked at the silver Rolex on his wrist. He was late for his meeting. He was to meet with some of the engineers working on the new oil rig. The elevator doors opened. He stepped out and headed down the hallway quickly.

“Good morning, Sheikh Boutros,” one of the secretaries greeted him. Joseph crossed his eyebrows.

“Are you new?” he asked her.

“No, sir. I’ve been working here for six months.”

“Hmm.” Joseph opened the door and walked into the conference room. Amir and the other engineers were already sitting at the table. The engineers stood up and greeted Joseph. He dismissed them with his hand.

“Excuse my tardiness,” he said to them as he sat at the head of the table. There was an oil geologist
standing by the interactive white board. He was about to give a report.

“No worries, sheikh,” said one of the engineers.

“Please begin,” Amir said to the oil geologist. He nodded and started his report on the land. The engineers needed an estimation of how much oil
they could get from the rig, and how deep they needed to drill.

As the presentation went on, Joseph’s mind started drifting off. He started thinking about Olivia. He had never spoken to a woman for that long. He never had time and desire to entertain a woman for that long, especially one that he was not sleeping with. It was her fault that he was late to the meeting. He had stayed on the phone with her until 1 a.m. and then worked after he had finished speaking with her. He ended up sleeping longer than he intended.

“Joseph,” Amir said. Joseph snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Amir.

“Yes,” Joseph replied. Amir raised his eyebrows.

“We need to change suppliers for the drilling machines.”

“Of course.”

The meeting finally ended. Joseph was glad that it was finished. He had not been paying attention at all. It was unlike him. He was always on the ball. Fortunately, Amir was there. He handled the meeting well.

“So what is on your mind?” Amir asked Joseph as they walked out of the conference office.

“Nothing,” Joseph replied. Amir raised his eyebrows again. He did not look convinced. Joseph stopped walking. “I don’t like these offices,” he said randomly. They were at their offices outside Beirut. Joseph had not been there in months. He was suddenly realizing that the offices were poorly decorated.

“What is wrong with these offices?” Amir asked. He stopped walking and looked around.

“Those fluorescent lights look awful.”

Amir looked at Joseph. “They look fine,” he said.

“You! Come here,” Joseph called out to the secretary that had spoken to him before the meeting. She rose from her desk and rushed over to Joseph.

“Yes, Sheikh Boutros,” she said.

“These offices are appalling,” he said. “Find someone who can repaint the walls.”

“Yes, sir.” She scribbled a few notes down.

“Change the lights, the blinds and this carpet. I want the carpet stripped off and replaced with wooden floors.”

The secretary nodded and scribbled again. Amir shook his head. “You are fussy,” he said.

“Our offices have to be up to par. It reflects on our reputation,” Joseph replied. He turned his attention to the secretary. “Find out how much it would cost and send me the details. You will be in charge of the renovations. Make sure it gets done properly.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied. She looked a little bit intimidated. Joseph had just sprung such an important task on her.

“What is your name anyway?” Joseph asked her.

“Noor,” she replied. Joseph nodded.

“I am counting on you, Noor.”

Joseph nodded at Amir. The two of them walked towards the elevator. They had to go to an oil rig for inspection. A normal inspection included checking the progress of the drilling. Joseph was quite hands-on. He wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly.

***

Joseph returned from his business trip on Thursday night. He sent his driver to pick up Olivia. He then rushed upstairs and took a hot steamy shower. After he was finished showering, he stepped out of the large marble-tiled shower and quickly towel dried his thick hair.

He changed into a pair of beige chinos and a white polo shirt. He headed downstairs to the dining room where he waited for Olivia. His chef was already preparing their dinner. Of course Joseph had a chef. He appreciated food cooked to perfection.

Olivia arrived almost ten minutes later. One of his maids escorted her to the dining room. She wore a pair of high-waisted navy-blue jeans and a grey tank top, and grey pumps. Her wavy brown hair cascaded around her shoulders. She looked adorable.

“Good evening, Miss Grant.” Joseph rose to his feet and approached Olivia.

“Hi Joseph,” she replied. He gently wrapped an arm around her small waist. She had a small waist and wide hips. Joseph liked the way her body was shaped. It was hard for him not to touch her. He leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks.

“This time you did not try to run away,” he said as he pulled away. When he tried to kiss her cheeks the last time he saw her, she tried to back away and ended up falling out of the car.

“I was too slow.” Olivia smiled. Joseph pulled out the chair for her. “Thank you,” she said as she sat down at the wooden table.

“Wine?” He gestured towards the wine bottle in the bucket of ice on the table. Olivia smiled and shook her head.

“I am not a drinker,” she confessed. Joseph sat down at the head of the table. Olivia was sitting to his right. “Why are you sitting there? Why not opposite me?” she asked.

“This way I will be closer to you,” he said. That and the fact that he was used to sitting at the head of the table. It befitted his position as a sheikh.

“How was your trip?”

“Productive.”

A maid walked in and announced that dinner was ready. Two more maids walked in after her. They carried in trays of food. They placed the food on the table. Joseph reached out for the plate of oysters.

“I’ve never tasted oysters before,” said Olivia. Joseph picked one up and used a small spoon to scoop some of the contents out.

“Here.”

“Are you about to feed me?” Olivia raised her eyebrows.

“Just open up,” he said. Olivia hesitated for a moment. Then she slowly opened her mouth. It was tantalizing being so close to her face. Her lips were nice and luscious. He suddenly wanted to kiss her. Joseph fed her and watched her taste it.

“It’s an odd taste,” she said. She crossed her eyebrows. “Fishy.”

“Have another.”

“I will feed myself this time,” she said and picked up an oyster from the plate. Joseph smiled and nodded.

After they finished eating their oysters, they started on their dinner. Joseph felt amused as he watched Olivia eating. She enjoyed her food.

“Has your mother healed from the Sunday lunch?” Olivia asked Joseph.

“Healed from what?” he asked. Olivia swallowed before she spoke.

“From the shock of finding out that I am Sheikh Solomon’s daughter.”

“I have not spoken with her since then. I have been busy with work.” Joseph sighed. He had been meaning to speak with her and his father also. He needed to tell them about marrying Olivia.

“That is another reason why we cannot marry,” she said.

“What is?”

“Your mother. She would not accept me.”

“Let me deal with that.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. Joseph reached out and touched her hand. She had such soft hands. He wondered if her lips were just as soft, and he intended to find out.

“I don’t want a marriage that begins with me coming between a mother and her son,” she said.

“She was in shock. She will come around after I speak to her.”

“I want a marriage built on love, trust and friendship.”

“We are friends right now, aren’t we?”

Olivia burst into laughter. “No, we are not. We just know each other and have spent time together on a few occasions. That is all.”

Joseph inched forward closer to her.

“I disagree. We more than just know each other.” His voice was suddenly deep.

“Okay, I don’t know you well enough to trust you.”

“You do. You are just being difficult.”

Olivia gasped and pulled her hand away from him. “I am not difficult,” she protested. Joseph grabbed the leg of her chair and pulled it closer to him. Olivia gasped because of the sudden movement. “Are you that strong?” she asked.

“I am very strong.” he replied matter-of-factly. He tugged on her tank top. “You shouldn’t wear clothes like this. I can’t have other men gawking at my woman.” Olivia frowned at him.

“So we are going to talk about my clothes again.” She sighed.

“You shouldn’t frown at me.”

“First of all, the only thing my top reveals is my arms. Secondly I am not your woman.”

“You are mine. The sooner you come to terms with it the better.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. He knew she was about to protest his statement. He leaned closer to her until their faces were almost touching. “Joseph, what are you doing?” she asked.

“I am about to kiss you before you start complaining again,” he said. She looked annoyed and nervous at the same time. He gently caressed her bare arm.

“Don’t do that,” she breathed. Joseph closed the gap between them and parted her lips with his. “Joseph,” she whispered. He groaned in response. He kissed her slowly and gently. He kept his eyes open so that he could see her reaction as he kissed her.

Olivia put her hand on his chest and tried to push him away but she was not strong enough. She gave up after the second attempt and kissed him back. Her lips were just as soft as he thought they would be. She smelled good. Joseph really wanted to take her upstairs to his bedroom but he had to suppress the urge. He pulled away and stared at her for a moment. She opened her eyes slowly.

“Your kissing is not too bad but we can work on that,” he said. Olivia pushed him away playfully.

“I am quite inexperienced on all things physical because I do not engage with every man that looks my way,” she replied. She was so feisty and defensive. It was intriguing and attractive.

“I don’t mind.” He stroked her bottom lip with his index finger. He liked that she was innocent. It was refreshing. “I’d rather be the only man to fully have you.” Joseph kissed her again, slowly and gently. Olivia wrapped her arm around his neck as she responded to his kiss. 

“What is the meaning of this?” a voice full of shock spoke. Joseph and Olivia stopped kissing and looked towards the direction of the voice.

“Mother,” said Joseph. His mother was standing in the doorway with a face as pale as a ghost.

“Mrs. Boutros,” said Olivia. She sprang up to her feet. She had not expected to see Joseph’s mother. She had just walked in on Olivia kissing her son. Such bad timing. Olivia was enjoying the kiss. Joseph was such a good kisser. His lips felt good. His chest was as hard as stone. Olivia ran her hand through her hair.

“What are you doing here?” Esther asked Olivia.

“I invited her,” said Joseph as he rose to his feet. He kissed his mother on the cheek. The elegantly dressed older woman did not look pleased.

Olivia noticed that Joseph’s mother was tall. It made her more intimidating. She was dressed in black and white. Her clothes and her jewelry looked expensive enough to cover Olivia’s yearly rent.

“Why?” Esther asked her son.

“For dinner,” Joseph replied.

Esther looked at Olivia. 

“I don’t want you around my son,” she said.

“That will be hard, since I want to marry her,” Joseph responded.

Esther’s facial expression changed from anger to shock. She looked like she was going to faint. Olivia whipped her head in Joseph’s direction. She wanted to shout at him for telling her. She had already told him that she did not want to marry him. Now that he had told his mother, things were about to get more complicated.

“You what?” Esther spat out.

“I should leave,” said Olivia. She did not want to be there for the fallout.

“Yes, please leave and go back to America.”

“Mother!” Joseph exclaimed.

“I heard about you from Daaliyah. You are nothing but trouble.”

Olivia was not surprised that Daaliyah spoke badly about her. That woman really did not like Olivia and it seems like she did not like her mother either. Olivia still needed to ask Sheikh Solomon how Daaliyah knew her mother. She could not believe that it had slipped her mind.

“Olivia has done nothing wrong,” said Joseph.

“She has clearly succeeded in seducing you,” said Esther.

Olivia almost burst into laughter. She could never successfully seduce anyone.

“I did not seduce your son,” said Olivia.

“I was not talking to you.”

“Mother, please stop being so rude. She is my guest,” said Joseph. Olivia was pleasantly surprised that Joseph was defending her.

“She is a jezebel,” said Esther. Jezebel? No one used that word anymore. Olivia certainly did not appreciate being called a jezebel. “Just like her mother,” Esther added.

“Excuse me?” Olivia’s temper instantly rose from zero to a hundred. “Please do not speak about my mother,” she warned. She did not want to disrespect Mrs. Boutros in front of her son.

“She seduced Sheikh Solomon, did she not?”

“Mother, that is enough. You cannot speak ill of the dead,” said Joseph.

“She did not seduce anyone and it’s unkind of you to assume.” Olivia was so angry and she knew she was not going to say anything nice to Mrs. Boutros. She turned her attention to Joseph. “Thank you for dinner but I have to go now,” she said to him and stormed out of the room.

“Olivia!” Joseph called after her.

“Let her go,” said Esther.

Olivia rushed out the front door. She was so angry she could punch something. She was willing to ignore almost anything Mrs. Boutros said but not when it came to her mother. That was crossing the line. Joseph walked out the front door. He quickly approached Olivia. He touched her arm.

“Olivia,” he said gently.

“She did not have to bring my mother into the conversation,” she replied. She started tapping her foot on the ground. She did that when she was angry.

“I know. It was not necessary. I am sorry.” Joseph gently rubbed her forearms. Olivia felt her eyes stinging. She blinked the tears away. She did not want to cry in front of Joseph. He searched her eyes.

“It’s not your fault. You should go back inside,” she said.

“Not until I am sure that you are okay.”

“I am okay.” Her voice shook. Joseph pulled her into his arms. Olivia just burst into tears. She placed her head on his shoulder and just cried. Joseph held her tightly and rubbed her back.

“It hasn’t even been two months since she died,” said Olivia between sobs. She cried for a few more minutes. Then she pulled out of Joseph’s strong and warm embrace. “Sorry,” she said. She had not planned on crying.

“Don’t apologize,” he replied. He wiped her tears off her cheeks with his thumb. He had taken her by surprise. He was being so gentle and comforting. It was nice.

“I am okay. You should go back in.”

He held her waist tightly. “My driver will take you home. I will call you,” he said.

“You do not need to check up on me.” 

“I do. You got upset while in my presence. I’ll never let you get hurt in any way while in my care.”

It was quite attractive how protective he was being. She was seeing a different side of him. It was quite appealing. Olivia touched his arm.

“Okay,” she said and nodded.

Joseph walked her to the car and opened the door for her. He kissed her cheek before she got in. He shut the door behind her. “Take her home,” he said to his driver.