The Sheik's Accidental Pregnancy (The Botros Brothers Series) (2 page)

“Do what you want with it, it's yours.” He smiled at her and walked off. She thanked him but he carried on walking. Sara returned to her office. Amir had not given her any work, so she had some time to kill. She decided to rearrange the furniture to suit her taste.

Sara was struggling to push the desk. It was heavier than she anticipated. Doing it in a skirt and high heels was probably not smart either. She turned her head and saw a man looking at her. He was outside her office looking in. His face was expressionless. Sara immediately felt awkward. He resembled Amir but he was taller and had a bigger build. Sara stopping pushing the desk and straightened her skirt.

“Who are you?” he asked Sara. His voice was much deeper than Amir’s. While his presence intimidated her, Sara felt more awkward. She cleared her throat and walked over to the door.

“I am Sara, Sheik Amir's personal assistant,” Sara said and put her hand for him to shake it. He did not even acknowledge her hand.

“My brother has peculiar taste,” he said and walked off. Sara was left hanging. She frowned at him. He was very impolite.

“Brother?” She whispered quietly. It was Tariq! Her jaw dropped open. The first time he meets her and it is already a disaster. She shook her head and shut the office door, something she should have done when she decided to rearrange the room. Adiva walked in and gave her some work that Amir had requested for her to do. She also provided Sara with his diary. She had to familiarise herself with his appointments and meetings since it was going to be her responsibility to handle them.

Sara was sitting at her desk flipping through Amir's diary and files trying to understand and possibly memorise them. She did not want to forget anything if he asked her. She had to appear competent in every way possible.

“You met my brother,” she heard Amir's voice. She looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. Sara sighed before she replied. Something was telling her that Tariq wasn't so pleased with her already. Amir laughed. Tariq had questioned his choice in hiring her. “She was pushing the desk in a skirt and heels!” Tariq had said to Amir. If it were up to Tariq, he'd have fired her on the spot for not acting like a lady.

“It was not the best of time to meet him,” Sara said. As if there would ever be a more suitable time, she told herself. Sara was always the clumsy, awkward girl.

“Don't worry about it,” Amir said as if it was nothing, but he knew his brother would always remember that about her no matter what else she did. Tariq was particular about everything including women. He preferred women to behave in a traditional and lady-like manner. Sara having her skirt rising whilst pushing a desk across the room did not spell out lady.

Amir changed the subject and started talking about a meeting he needed Sara to attend with him. There was a large untouched field that needed to be drilled for oil. The purpose of the meeting was to have a rough estimate of how much the project was going to cost, how many workers needed to be transferred to that field, how many barrels they expected to fill up in a week and other concerns. It was a simple meeting but Amir needed Sara to start with the smaller meetings before she attended ones that are more important. She had graduated top of her class at University. He had requested a copy of her final paper and read it before he interviewed her. He knew she was intelligent and that she would be a great asset to him once she was trained. He was willing to take a chance on her.

“Any questions?” he asked after explaining everything to her. She shook her head to say no. “Good,” he added.

“But I am surprised you are training me yourself. A man of your importance usually has someone else do that for him,” Sara said.

“I want things a particular way.”

“Like your brother.”

Amir raised his eyebrows. No one had ever compared him to Tariq. Clearly, she did not know them both. “He'd beg to differ if he heard you,” Amir said with a mischievous smile. He spun on his heel and headed for the door. Sara chewed on her pen. She wondered what Tariq was like but she figured their next meeting was going to be an awkward one as well. She shrugged her shoulders. 

Sara was wearing grey pants and a baby blue, long-sleeved shirt and her hair was tied back in a bun. She was nervous about her first meeting, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She greeted Adiva on her way in. Sara twirled in front of Adiva.

“Do I look professional enough for the meeting?” Sara asked Adiva.

“You look fine. Do not be nervous, everything will be fine,” Adiva reassured her.

“I hope so,” Sara smiled and walked towards the office. She had managed to come in early. The last thing she wanted was to be late for her first meeting. She went to greet Amir. He was standing with Tariq.

“Good morning, sir,” Sara said to Amir.

“Morning, Sara, ready for the meeting?” he asked her.

“I think so,” she smiled nervously. She turned her attention to Tariq who was trying not to acknowledge her. He still had the image of her pushing the desk in her office in his head. She looked so unladylike with her skirt riding up and her bottom curled up as she arched her back. “Good morning, Sheik Tariq,” Sara greeted him. She knew she had to face him sooner or later and unfortunately, the day came sooner than she wanted. He did not offer a response; instead, he simply looked down at her. She was much smaller than he was.

Sara looked back at Amir. She was not sure what to do now. Tariq had ignored her and she was not sure what to do next. Amir gave Tariq a blank stare. His older brother was already giving the little girl a hard time. Amir tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at a seat. “Go sit over there,” he told her. She nodded as she moved to her chair.

“You could have greeted her back,” Amir said to Tariq in Arabic.

“She did not bow. Did no one teach her how to greet sheiks?” Tariq asked.

“She is new to the country, brother.”

“All the more reason why she needs to learn our ways.”

“Relax, brother, and give her a chance.” Amir patted his brother on the back, and then went to sit at the conference table next to Sara. He rubbed her shoulder to reassure her, as she seemed a bit nervous. She smiled at him awkwardly.

The rest of the Board members walked into the conference room. They all sat at the table. Sara noticed that as everyone came in, they bowed to Tariq. She was puzzled. She leaned in to Amir and whispered in his ear, “Am I meant to bow to your brother too?”

“Yes,” Amir whispered back.

Oops, Sara said to herself. Tariq must be thinking she is very disrespectful. She had been warned not to cross him, and already she was on his wrong side. She hoped that she wouldn't have to spend too much time with him.

Everyone else seemed to pay a lot of respect to Tariq, the way they spoke to him, the way they listened. When he spoke, his voice was filled with authority and his face was so stern. She could see why people were afraid of him but she was not easy to scare. She was intrigued and planned to learn more about him. Something told her that they were not going to get along easily. Sara took notes during the meeting in case Amir asked her something later. She had to be prepared. When the meeting ended, Sara bumped into Adiva on her way back to her office. Adiva stopped her to ask how the meeting went. Sara sighed before answering.

“The meeting was fine,” Sara said.

“But?” Adiva was sensing that there was a but in that sentence.

“But I think Sheik Tariq is not so keen on me.”

“Oh dear, that's not good.”

“I didn't realise I was meant to bow to him and Sheik Amir.” Sara shrugged her shoulders. It was not her fault that she was not acquainted with their culture. Adiva closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Perhaps, I should teach you a few things. You really do not want to be on his bad side. Next time you greet him, you must bow and show respect.”

Sara nodded and headed to her office. Perhaps she should have been taught these things in the beginning. She was lucky that Amir was not very formal.

*      *        *     *

Later that week, Sara had a working lunch with Amir. She organised her files before going to meet with him. She was starting to feel confident in her role. Amir had been teaching her about the business and she caught on quickly. He had taken a chance on her, so she wanted to prove him right.

When she called her parents and told them she was working for the Boutros Oil Company, they were in shock. Her father was impressed with her. Her mother was worried. She knew how clumsy her daughter could be. She also did not like the idea that her youngest and only daughter was living in a different country all by herself.

Sara knocked on Amir's door. He called for her to come in. When she walked in, she was surprised to see Tariq sitting at the table with his brother. She immediately bowed and greeted them both. Amir was surprised and amused to see her bow. Tariq simply looked at her with an expressionless face and grunted. Amir looked at Tariq out of the corner of his eye and whispered, “Give her a chance.”

“Come. Sit.” Amir said. The lunch was already laid out on the table. The sight of it made Sara's mouth water. If there was anything she loved most in the world, it was food. Food was second to none in her eyes. Living in a new country, Sara was enjoying trying the different delicacies and she had yet to try anything that she didn’t like.

She sat down across from Tariq. She put her files on the table and made herself comfortable even though inside she was squirming. Eating with the two of them was going to be extremely awkward.

Tariq leaned in and served himself. Amir was drinking and watching Sara. He could see how uncomfortable she was.

“Sara, are you adjusting to the country okay?” Amir asked. He had to say something to make her ease up a little bit.

“I am,” Sara replied and smiled. “I think I will like it here,” she added. Tariq chewed and watched her talk. He noticed that she was quite comfortable with Amir; she was not so formal with him.

“You did not think you would?” Amir asked her.

“I thought it would be really hard to start over in a new country, but it's proving to be a great experience and adventure.” Sara shoved a fork full of food in her mouth. “The food is great too,” she added and smiled. Amir laughed at her glee. It was obvious that food worked magic on her. Tariq was still analysing her. She did not eat slowly. Everything about her was neither graceful nor lady-like.

“You studied engineering?” Tariq asked Sara.

“Yes, sir,” She replied.

Amir frowned slightly. He was wondering what his brother was up to. He silently hoped that he would not be mean to her.

“What made you move here?”

“I wanted the opportunity to be in an actual oil field and the best oil companies are here in the Middle East.”

He did not reply to her as he stared at her blankly. He realised she was unaware of his importance; otherwise she would not speak to him in that manner. She would be more respectful and formal. She was simply enjoying her food and talking to him as if he was a regular boss.

“Right, the matter at hand,” Tariq said changing the subject. He started talking about the new oil field they were prospecting. Amir was relieved that he changed the subject without saying anything mean to her. He had no tact. He would say whatever he needed to say. Sara was also relieved when Tariq changed the subject. He made her nervous but she was not going to let him see it. He was watching her with a blank look and it made her wonder what he was thinking but she told herself not to lose her cool in front of him.

Tariq was doing most of the talking. He knew about the field and explained some of the plans he had. Amir often chipped in. Sara listened to them both talk. She could see how intelligent and knowledgeable they were. Both of them had studied engineering. That impressed her. They were from a rich and powerful family but unlike most children from wealthy families, they actually went through university and thrived in the family business.