Page 8 of Sheikh's Accidental Pregnancy

“You weren’t interested?”

“I was sixteen at the time, and to me, oil was simply the family business. I was not interested in pursuing that career path.”

“But everything changed when you spent more time here?”

“Precisely.” Amir’s tone was relaxed. He seemed to always make her feel at ease without even trying. Unlike some other people she could mention. She smiled to herself at the thought of Tariq and how easy it was to annoy him.

“Let’s begin the inspection,” Tariq said brusquely as he approached them, arms folded across his chest. The statement was more of an order than a suggestion, and Sara suppressed the urge to grin at him. Clearly, he did not approve of their chatter.

“Yes, sir,” she replied with as close as she could get to a demure smile. She couldn’t say what she really wanted to, so she tried to keep her answer respectful.I want to run my hands all over your body to see if those muscles are as solid as they look.No, she couldn’t say that. Not here, anyway.

Amir sighed, and Tariq started walking toward the white office building that looked less substantial than a house trailer. A man came out to greet them before they were halfway to the building. He was dressed in simple clothing with his sleeves rolled up and his trousers a bit dusty. He looked to be in his early thirties. His skin was darker than the Botros brothers’, probably thanks to hours in the sun, and his brown eyes sparkled. He bowed to Tariq and Amir as he greeted them. They both seemed happy to see him, and they immediately started speaking to him in Arabic. The man looked at Sara. She smiled at him and put out her hand.

“Sara Matthews, Sheikh Amir’s assistant.”

“Malik.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise.”

“You will be meeting him a lot more in the future,” Amir said to Sara. Tariq slid his hands into his pockets and began to tap his foot. “If you need anything regarding the oil fields, let him know. He’s our head of operations.”

“Really? You’re in charge of the company fields?” she asked him. A million questions immediately flooded her head.

“I am. I’m much happier out here than in that stuffy, crowded city office.” Malik gave her a warm smile.

“That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to see how things work in the field. I’ve read about it, of course, but that’s different from seeing it firsthand. I think most engineers learn better with hands-on experience.”

Tariq said something in Arabic, and Malik laughed softly. Sara stared from one man to the other. She had not understood anything they said, but she knew it was about her.

The three men went on in Arabic, Tariq looking angrier by the moment.

Sara awkwardly scratched the back of her head. She was definitely going to work harder on her Arabic lessons. Maybe she should hire a tutor. She looked into the distance and noticed men working on machines to set up an oil well. Her eyes immediately went moon-sized.

“Let’s go look at the oil wells,” Malik said when he saw Sara’s face light up. “We’re in the final stages of construction. We’re hoping to start drilling in a week,” he added.

Tariq shook his head, but apparently not in disagreement, because he started walking toward where the men were working.

“How long does it take to set up everything?” Sara asked.

“Months,” Malik replied. “As you probably know, drilling for oil is an extremely complicated process.”

“We’ll resume the question-and-answer session at a later date,” Tariq interrupted.

Sara rolled her eyes. “I thought you brought me along to learn.”

Amir buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

“I would like to familiarize myself with everything that goes on in an oil field,” Sara went on.

“Now is not the time,” Tariq replied.

“When is the time, then?” Sara paused, then added, “sir.” It came out a little snarkier than she intended. Tariq’s eyes flashed.

She didn’t understand why he was acting so brusque toward her, and she wasn’t going to let him treat her that way. She hadn’t done anything to him. She’d been raised to treat everyone well, and she was not going to be disrespected for no good reason.

“Malik, show us your latest data,” Amir quickly said before Sara could say anything else.

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