Page 9 of Sheikh's Accidental Pregnancy

“Good idea,” Malik replied.

They walked closer to the wells. Malik led them to a workstation and opened a heavy-duty case to reveal a laptop computer. With a few clicks, he pulled up a cross section of the strata beneath their feet—layers of rock shaded in different colors. Sara let go of her annoyance with Tariq to listen to Malik explain.

“This is the geologists’ latest projection of what’s down there.” He pointed to a place below about five layers of rock of varying thickness. “They believe this is the most likely place for a good deposit, so that’s where this equipment has been positioned. Of course, it will be some time before we know if the geologists are correct.”

Sara turned her attention to Tariq. He stood at about six feet four inches, easily a foot taller than she was. Even through his clothes, she could see that he was well-built with muscles in all the right places. Sara briefly wondered what his full lips would feel like to kiss. What it would feel like to have those strong arms around her.

Shaking her head, she reminded herself that she didn’t like him. Sara frowned and looked away. He could do with being a bit kinder. Amir resembled his brother in appearance, but not at all in personality. His easygoing nature made him easy to be with, and he treated her more like a little sister than his assistant.

Malik shouted something in Arabic and ran toward the construction. Sara looked for what had caught his attention and noticed one of the workers climbing the drilling structure without a hardhat. With the geology lesson paused, the silence between Amir, Tariq, and her was tense. Sara hated awkward silences.

“I’m craving shawarma,” she said. It was the most random thing she had ever said around Amir, and he burst out laughing as Tariq narrowed his eyes.

She had no idea why she’d said it. Sometimes heavy silences became overwhelming, and she would say the first thing that popped into her head. And it was true—she was hungry, and shawarma sounded perfect at the moment.

“Well,” Amir said, “that was random. I don’t think anyone has set up a shawarma stand out here. We can stop for something on our way back to the city. And some mint tea.”

“Mint tea sounds wonderful,” Sara said.

Malik jogged back to them. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I cannot allow workers to ignore our safety regulations. One man does it, and soon everyone will be going around without the proper equipment. That’s how people die on a site like this.”

He returned to the data on the computer. Sara asked a few questions here and there, doing her best not to bombard him with too many. The geologists were confident that there would be enough oil here to justify the start-up expenses, but Malik was not optimistic that this well would do much more than break even. He showed them the rest of the oil field, and they took a tea break in the office. It didn’t offer them much relief from the desert heat, but it was good to get out of the sun.

After they’d finished their tea, Tariq declared it time to return to the city. The two men headed to the car, but Sara hung back for a moment to thank Malik for his time and patience.

“Any time. And don’t let Tariq bother you. He’s a grump with almost everybody. Sometimes I think the more someone annoys him, the more he likes them. Eventually you’ll break through to the other side, and he’ll be more friendly.”

“What makes you think I want him to be friendly?”

Malik just smiled. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Sara Matthews.”

As Sara approached the car, she realized that Amir was in her seat. He gave her a slight smile and a shrug, and she sighed before climbing into the back with Tariq. As she entered the car, her leg brushed against his before she settled herself with the proper amount of distance between them. Rubbing her leg absentmindedly, she tried to brush off the tingles that had spread across her skin when they touched. Giving him a sidelong look, she wondered if he felt it too.

9

The sun was setting by the time they arrived back at the office, and Tariq would never admit it, but Sara’s shawarma sounded like the perfect end to the day. Sara, unnaturally silent the whole drive, got out of the car, bowed to him and Amir, and took her leave. As she was walking, she tripped over her own foot and stumbled.

“Dammit,” she cursed just loudly enough for him to hear.

He had to work to keep his mouth from curling into something Amir might interpret as a smile. Tariq put his hands in his pockets as he looked at his brother, who was making absolutely zero effort to hide his chuckle. This was the second time Tariq had seen her trip over her own feet. He turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator. A quick trip up to his office to grab a few things, and the day would finally be over. That girl was too strange. She was not a suitable assistant for any member of the Botros family.

Amir caught up with him a moment later, and they rode up to the office together.

“Brother, take me up on my offer to hire you an impeccable assistant,” Tariq said somewhere around the fourth floor.

“What’s wrong with the one I currently have?” Amir asked.

“She’s inappropriate, clumsy, awkward, untraditional, doesn’t speak Arabic, and she carries a backpack. She’s not a student. Why doesn’t she have a handbag like a normal woman?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be so hard on a person. Why are you so dead set against her?”

“She falls below standards.”

“Mine or yours?”

“You should raise yours.”

“She is competent, intelligent, and adorable,” Amir responded with a grin.

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