Josie greeted Tariq who was on his way in as she was leaving. Tariq gave her a nod. He walked over to the sheikh and greeted him. The two got into a conversation and started walking. The sheikh changed the subject and said, “That woman left while I was still here.”
Tariq laughed softly. No one ever turned their back on the sheikh or left without being dismissed. No one would dare. Tariq knew this bothered the sheikh.
“She is a Western woman. She does not know of our traditions; do not mind her,” Tariq defended Josie.
“Seems like she does not know of my importance either,” the sheikh said flatly.
“Soon she will learn. I am sure she will behave differently in the near future,” he said.
“Her dressing is also a problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her legs were bare.”
Tariq laughed. “Clearly you studied her from head to toe,” he said. The sheikh did not offer a response. Instead he changed the subject back to the oil wells. There were changes that needed to be done. It was part of the reason why the students were interning there. It was Tariq's idea to have ten intelligent students full with potential interns at the company and see if they could bring new ideas. They'd also be getting a chance to work at one of the most prestigious and wealthy oil companies in the Middle East. It was a win-win situation.
They walked at a slower pace than the sheikh usually kept, his mind falling back to the Western woman.
* * * *
Josie was stuffing a burger in her mouth when Caroline walked in and hit her arm. “Ow! What the heck is that for?” Josie complained with her mouth full.
“Don't talk with your mouth open; that's unladylike. And you walked out on the sheikh?!” Caroline yelled out.
“Seriously? I'm being hit for walking out on a man who was not even talking to me, who probably did not even acknowledge my existence”
“Not just a man, Josie— Sheikh Zahid!”
“Okay then, because that means anything to me, Care.”
“What is wrong with her?”
Fiona and Jasmine started laughing. “Care, perhaps you're making too much of a big deal out of it,” Fiona said.
“You barely know the guy. Yes, he's hot—really hot—but calm down,” Jasmine said.
“Jaz, he's a sheikh. One that is related to the king! He's rich and attractive. If only he walked into my department,” Caroline said. She raised her eyebrow and pouted her lips. Her face was immediately stained with desire.
“Oh gosh, you'd try to jump him,” Fiona joked.
“Who wouldn't?” Jasmine said.
Josie was barely paying attention to the conversation. Her undivided attention was on her food. Personally she found the sheikh to be a little bit arrogant. She had noticed the way he had replied to the woman and the way he had stood there like he was too important to talk to anyone or the place was too unclean for him to sit down.
The other girls carried on talking about how attractive the sheikh was. Caroline even told them about him since she was so well educated in his upbringing and education. Creepily, she knew what size his shoes were. Judging from that, she assumed his manhood would be large too. Josie finished eating and cleaned up after herself. Then she went upstairs to surf the net. She had little interest in knowing the size of that man's anatomy.
The next morning came faster than Josie had hoped for. She was still too sleepy when she woke up. She had a quick shower and brushed her teeth. She got dressed and headed downstairs where Fiona already was eating breakfast.
“Morning, chica,” Fiona said. Her Mexican accent came through..
“Yo,” Josie sat down and rested her jaw in her palm. Jasmine opened the door and joined them at the table for breakfast.
“Orange juice, yum,” Jasmine said and poured herself some.
“You have your own lodge,” Josie said grumpily. She took the jar of orange juice and poured herself some. Jasmine smiled at her.
“Anyway! Looking forward to the day?” Jasmine said changing the subject.
“No, I want my bed,” Josie complained. Sleep was also one of her favorite things to do. She was a simple girl; simple things made her happy. She did not require a husband or lover who had a private jet like Caroline required. She only needed to eat, sleep and get her degree. The rest—if it happened, it happened. She never planned out her future and picked out baby names.
“The sun is very hot here. Am I already getting darker?” Josie asked.
“No,” Fiona replied and laughed a little.
“Charcoal,” Jasmine replied.
“By the time we leave, my face will be matching my boots,” Josie joked, and they all laughed. Josie had mocha skin color. She was five feet two inches tall. Her hair was long and curly, just a couple of inches past her shoulders. She was tiny next to Jasmine, who was five feet ten inches tall. Jasmine always took the opportunity to joke about Josie's height.
The rest of the day was not as bad as the previous day. Josie and Fiona quickly got used to what needed to be done in the office. Josie especially wanted to get things right, the faster she learned the theory, the faster she could get her hands dirty in the oil fields. One thing she did not count on was actually enjoying the paperwork. She had a brief idea of how things in the oil industry worked, but in those two days she had learned so much more.
Chris and Josh were walking back to their lodges when they saw Fiona and Josie walking out of the offices. They ran up to them so that they could walk together. The four of them made their way back discussing their day.
Chapter 4
The sheikh grimaced when he saw Josie. Her legs were bare again. The sheikh believed that women had to dress modestly, and Josie certainly did not. Moreover, she dressed like a blind man had picked the clothes out for her. She lacked style.
As she was walking, she tripped and nearly fell over. Chris quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from falling. Josie laughed at herself. It was nothing unusual.
“She does not even know how to walk,” the sheikh said.
“She really bothers you?” Tariq questioned. The sheikh responded with a grunt. “She is a smart one you know,” Tariq added. The sheikh whipped his head from her direction to face Tariq.
“Her?” The sheikh asked. He was not buying it.
“She did come here as one of the top students,” Tariq said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, I understand that, but for you to mention her out of all her peers means you think she is the most intelligent out of the bunch.”
“She is indeed.”
“How have you come to this conclusion in such a short time?”
“I have been dealing with experienced and inexperienced engineers for a long time. It has become one of my talents to spot talent.”
The sheikh frowned. He found it hard to believe that she had caught Tariq's attention in just three days. Tariq graduated second in the country, just behind the sheikh, who was first with the highest grades in the country. Tariq was a very intelligent man and was the sheikh's right-hand man. It was hard for anyone to just win his approval. The fact that she had already gotten into Tariq's good graces made the sheikh want to pay closer attention to her. He wanted to see it for himself.
“I would have to see that for myself,” the sheikh said after a long pause.
Tariq laughed. “Okay then,” he said. He knew the sheikh would try and give her some impossible task to complete or a hard problem to solve. He was interested to see the turnout of this. Josie did not seem like a simple girl who'd give up or admit defeat easily.
* * * *
The next day during lunchtime Josie and the others were eating lunch together. They were having freshly baked pita bread, salad and orange juice. Josie was complaining that there was no meat. Tariq arrived and halted at their table.
“Afternoon,” he greeted them. They all greeted him back. “Josie, if you could come with me please,” he said.
“Erm, okay,” Josie looked a little worried. Fion
a stared at her wide-eyed.
“Do not worry; you are not in any sort of trouble,” Tariq said to Josie when he saw her face. She sighed with relief. She stood up and walked off with him.
“How do you feel about working in an office now?” Tariq asked her.
“What do you mean now?” Josie asked him.
“At the beginning, you wanted to work in the fields.”
“Oh, that. It’s going well. I'm learning new things. It's going well so far. I haven't messed anything up yet,” Josie laughed. Don't jinx it now! her subconscious warned her.
Tariq smiled. “The sheikh is waiting for you,” he said when they had reached his office.
“Huh? Waiting for me? Why?” Josie instantly got into her panic mode. Her eyes widened. Tariq noticed his panic and almost laughed.
“You are not in trouble; calm down,” he said softly and put his hand on her shoulder. “Please do go in. He just wants to have a word with you.”
“Aren't you coming?” Josie asked and stared at him like a little child. Tariq nodded and walked in with her. From her facial expression he could tell that she needed him to come in with her for support. She did not believe him that she was not in trouble.
The sheikh was leaning on the desk when they walked in. His arms were crossed over his chest. She's really small, he thought to himself when Josie got closer to him. Josie was not sure if she was to curtsey or bow.
“Hello, Sheikh,” she said awkwardly. Tariq stood next to her watching the awkwardness unfold.
“Josie, right?” he replied.
His voice is so deep, Josie's subconscious called out.
“Yes, sir,” Josie replied and looked at the floor. The sheikh's gaze was fixed on her and was making her feel shy. He had no expression on his, so she could not read what he was thinking.
“I need you to work with me on something.” He picked up a file and handed it to her. His eyes dropped to her legs. She's in shorts again, he said to himself. He found himself staring at her legs longer than he had anticipated.
“Why me?” Josie asked. She thought it was rather odd for the sheikh to ask for her considering that they had never spoken before.
“Will you do it?” the sheikh asked avoiding the question. He was not about to explain himself to her.
“Okay,” Josie said and opened the file. The sheikh watched her read the documents in the file. He noticed that her facial expression changed frequently. She slightly narrowed her eyes. Then bit her bottom lip. Then her nose twitched.
The sheikh's eyes dropped to her collarbone where he noticed that she had a beauty spot. Strangely he found that appealing. He looked away, in hopes of getting rid of any unwanted thoughts.
“I'll let you take that for the night. Read through it, and we'll discuss it tomorrow,” he said. She and her legs needed to be dismissed from his sight.
“Are you sure?” Josie asked.
“I would not say it if I were not.”
Rude! her subconscious snapped. She forced a smile and walked out. Tariq nodded at her as she left. He remained in the office with the sheikh.
“You did not even say much to her,” Tariq said.
“I do not need to. You can do that.”
“Jamal, be a little nice to her,” Tariq said to the sheikh and headed for the door.
“I am being nice,” he tried to defend himself. Tariq turned around and raised his eyebrow.
“You're never nice.”
The sheikh started laughing. “I am fair and tolerant; it is enough. Am I supposed to sit with her telling each other our secrets and braiding our hair?” he said. Tariq started laughing too.
“Oh, friend, you never change,” Tariq said. The sheikh wore his blazer and walked to the door.
“You were always the nice one. You can do that for the both of us. Let us go; my mother wants to cook for you tonight,” the sheikh said and walked out. Tariq smiled and followed. It was always good when lady Zahid made dinner. She had many chefs, but whenever she decided to personally make the meal, it was special.
That night everyone gathered in front of Josie and fired questions at her. She stared at them like they were crazy. She never understood why they all obsessed over the sheikh. Even Macy was there asking about him.
“Why did he call you?” Caroline asked.
“How did you all even find out that it was the sheikh who had called me?” Josie said feeling confused.
“News travels,” Macy said.
Josie was feeling a little weird about having a gossip session with one of her lecturers. Fair enough, she was only about seven years older, but it was still very strange to her.
“Now tell us what he wanted,” Jasmine said.
“He wants me to work on something with him. He gave me a file to read overnight,” Josie said.
“What was he wearing?” Caroline asked.
“What did he smell like?” Macy added.
“Seriously? What is the big deal? He only asked me to work with him, and I agreed. He's not very nice though,” Josie said and headed for the stairs.
“He's very sexy—that's the big deal!” Caroline yelled out. “If only it was me working with him . . .”
“All the women here are dying to be in your position. You don't know how lucky you are, Jo,” Fiona said.
“Even you?” Josie was shocked to see Fiona act like that considering the fact that she did not even know what he looked like until a few days ago.
“Yes, the man is an Adonis,” Fiona replied and growled. Josie narrowed her eyes.
“He's got the height and body,” Jasmine said.
“The voice,” Macy added.
“Money and power,” Caroline said and flipped her blonde hair out of her face.
“Okay yeah, I can see where the attraction is, but you all need to calm down,” Josie said with her eyebrow raised. Maybe she was being biased because she thought he was arrogant, but still they were all being too much. She announced her exit and told them that she had to read over the file he had given her.
Chapter 5
The maids opened the doors for the sheikh and Tariq when they arrived at the Zahid residence. The maids and butlers greeted with a bow as they walked past. They walked outside into the courtyard where the rest of the sheikh's family was. Lady Zahid came to greet her son. She kissed him on each cheek. She did the same to Tariq.
“Tariq, how have you been?” Lady Zahid asked him.
“I have been well. I see you keep getting younger every time I see you,” Tariq said to her.
“Still flattering me, I see.”
Lady Zahid was in her late fifties but still had the face of a forty-year-old woman. She also had the body of one. Jamal was her first son. She had four altogether. She had adopted one girl since she had never given birth to one.
Leyla, Jamal's younger sister, ran to the sheikh and hugged him. He embraced her too with a big smile on his face. She was the only woman he was actually nice to, Tariq always said.
“You don't come here as often as you should,” Leyla complained.
“I know; I apologize,” Jamal said and smiled at her. She linked her arm around his.
“Soooooo . . .”
“Yesssss,” he knew what she wanted to ask about.
“Is there a sister-in-law lurking around somewhere?”
“That's a good question,” a voice sounded from behind them. He turned around with a grin on his face; it was his very nosey grandmother. He kissed her on both cheeks.
“I trust you've been well,” Jamal said.
“No, I haven't. I will die before I see you marry,” Adiva, his grandmother said. He linked both women on each arm.
“You know how I feel about marriage.”
“You still don't want to marry?” Leyla asked. Jamal sighed before replying.
“Find me a wife, and I’ll marry her,” he finally said.
“No love?”
“It does not exist.”
“Oh, my grandson, even though you are a
grown man, you still have so much to learn about life.”
He frowned. “Oh here, food is ready,” he said attempting to change the subject. The women in his family always complained that he had not taken a wife. He felt lucky that his mother was not in the conversation. It was always three on one.
“This is not the end of the conversation,” Adiva called out after Jamal had walked off. He always found a way to avoid the conversation, but she was determined to get her grandson hitched. He was thirty-one years old now and definitely at the marrying age.
They all gathered at the table. Leyla said grace before they started eating. Jamal's father was not in town, so it was just them having dinner. His brothers had not come over either.
“Do you not want children?” Adiva asked her grandson. Lady Zahid looked him with a that’s-a-good-question face.
“Mother, this dish is delicious,” Jamal said trying his best to avoid the subject at hand.
“I know,” Lady Zahid said. “I cooked it. It would not taste any other way. So, children, I need grandchildren,” she added. Jamal looked at Tariq for help. Tariq put his hands in the air and shook his head. He was definitely not getting involved in that one.
“He's wise not to get involved,” Adiva said.
“Like I said, pick a wife for me, and I'll marry her” Jamal said. Leyla rolled her eyes.
“It's a good idea” Lady Zahid said. Adiva and Leyla whipped their heads in her direction. “I do not want my son marrying just any girl who is either after his money or who will bring shame to the family,” she added.
“I disagree. He needs to find his own wife,” Adiva said as she sipped on her drink. Leyla nodded.
“You are still too young to understand,” Lady Zahid said to Leyla.
The Arabian Billionaire, Book One: Arabian Seduction Page 2
