The Sheikh's American Daughter (4 page)

Sheikh Joseph Boutros slipped into his navy-blue shirt and black trousers. He headed downstairs, as he had been told by one of his maids that Sheikh Solomon had come to see him. Sheikh Boutros made his way into the drawing room where Sheikh Solomon waited for him. The drawing room was just a room used for entertaining guests. It was beautifully furnished with white sofas and purple pillows. There was a low wooden table that sat on a grey mat in the middle of the room. Expensive paintings hung on the white walls.

“Sheikh Boutros,” said Sheikh Solomon as he rose from the sofa. He extended his hand for a handshake. Joseph shook his hand.

“Good to see you. Have a seat,” said Joseph. The two men sat down on the sofas. “Would you like anything to drink or eat?”

“Oh no, please do not worry. I will not be staying for long.”

“I suspect you came to see me about our last conversation.” Joseph leaned back on his sofa.

Sheikh Solomon smiled and nodded.

“My daughter Olivia, she was not part of –” Sheikh Solomon stopped speaking. He was clearly speechless about Joseph’s decision.

“I thought you only had two daughters. Olivia is from a different woman?”

“Yes. And I do not think your parents will be fine with you marrying an illegitimate daughter.”

“You are right but it is my decision.” Joseph was the type of man that did as he pleased. He never let others affect his decisions.

“If I may ask, why not Rania or Marina?” Sheikh Solomon asked.

“Upon seeing Olivia, I made my choice,” he said. He had seen her walking in the garden. He watched her strolling while lost in her thoughts. She was beautiful. Her long brown waves had so much character. She had an oval-shaped face and gorgeous skin. Her body was nicely shaped like an hourglass. She was not dressed in a way that he would have approved on a woman but that could be changed.

“I see.” Sheikh Solomon sighed. “I only just found out about her two days ago.”

“Is that so?” Joseph raised his eyebrows. It was an intriguing situation.

“The last time I saw her mother was twenty-three years ago. I was surprised when Olivia came to my house and told me that she was my child.”

“You believed her.”

“I did.”

“How is it that she only came to you now?”

“Her mother recently passed away. She apparently left her my details. The problem is that she wants to return to America. She does not want to have anything to do with me,” said Sheikh Solomon. Joseph raised his eyebrows again. He thought it odd that after coming all this way, Olivia did not want to have anything to do with her father. Also, if she returned, then he would not be able to marry her. He definitely did not want either one of Sheikh Solomon’s other daughters.

“That is not good news for me,” said Joseph with a half-smile on his face.

Sheikh Solomon let out a laugh.

“She is an American girl. She is not likely to agree to this kind of marriage,” he warned.

“I would like to invite her over for lunch,” Joseph said. After spending time with him, Olivia would agree to stay and marry him. No woman had ever refused him.

“I will talk to her but I cannot promise anything.” Sheikh Solomon sighed. There was no confidence in his words. He did not think he could convince Olivia to meet with Joseph for lunch.

The Boutros family and the Solomon family were close, especially Joseph’s mother and Daaliyah. It had been discussed that Joseph would marry either Rania or Marina for some time. It would bring the two families closer and it would also benefit their businesses. The Boutros family owned the largest oil company in Lebanon. The Solomon family had a much smaller company but they produced a good quality of oil that sold at a high price. The Solomon family did not have enough capital to expand their business and joining their company with the Boutros company would allow them to expand. Both families would gain extra profits.

***

“We finally get to talk,” Olivia said to her father. She had last spoken with him during what seemed to be a family meeting, even though she did not consider them to be her family. She had walked out after hearing that Sheikh Boutros wanted to marry her. So she had not gotten the chance to speak with Sheikh Solomon.

“Yes we do,” said Sheikh Solomon. He picked up the jar of iced tea and poured some into their glasses. The two of them were having lunch in the garden.

“I will leave after we talk.”

“You are so eager to leave. It hurts my feelings.” Sheikh Solomon smiled.

“If I don’t, my
sisters
will kill me.” She said sisters sarcastically. Just like they did not see her as their sister, she did not see them as her sisters.

“This is your home too,” said Sheikh Solomon.

Olivia raised her eyebrows as she picked up her fork. She started eating her lunch. She had to admit, the food tasted really good.

“I never knew that my mother studied engineering,” Olivia said to the sheikh.

“Really?”

“She worked as a receptionist during the day and as a waitress at night. She worked two jobs just so that I could go to school. I wanted to work after high school. I wanted to share the burden but she would not let me,” said Olivia. She felt sad thinking about how hard her mother had worked.

“You both lived a hard life.” Sheikh Solomon sighed again.

“So how did you meet?”

“She was on a placement at my father’s company just a few miles outside Beirut,” he began to explain. “I had just started working there. My father had been grooming me to take over the company.” Olivia listened as she ate.

“The first time I saw Ely, she was wearing rain boots that were too big for her.” Sheikh Solomon started laughing. Olivia was shocked at hearing him refer to her mother as Ely. It seems he even had a pet name for her. “It had rained the night before. Therefore, the fields at the oil rig were muddy. Her boot got stuck in the mud.”

“Then what happened?” Olivia asked. She was intrigued.

“She almost fell over but I caught her and helped her out of the mud.” Sheikh Solomon took a sip of his tea. “She was always clumsy.” He smiled.

Olivia laughed a little. 

“Unfortunately for me, I inherited that trait from her,” she said. The sheikh laughed. He spoke about her mother for a good twenty minutes. It was clear that he thought highly of her and never forgot about her. However, it still made no sense to Olivia how they had broken up. Why wasn’t he aware of her pregnancy?

“I have to be at the office soon,” the sheikh said to Olivia.

“You still haven’t told me how she left or why she left without telling you that she was pregnant. What had happened? If the two of you were as close as you say you were, then she should have told you,” Olivia replied.

“You will have to stay longer to find out.”

Olivia narrowed her gaze at him. “You cannot use that to make me stay,” she said to him. He smiled at her.

“It seems like this is the only thing I can do to spend some time with you. I have already missed out on twenty-three years,” he said. Olivia shrugged her shoulders.

“There is something else I wish to discuss with you before I head to work,” he added.

“What is it?” Olivia asked.

“Sheikh Boutros,” Sheikh Solomon said quietly.

Olivia started laughing. 

“We do not need to discuss him. There will be no marriage.” She was not going to marry a man she barely knew. She thought it strange that he wanted to marry her.

“I went to see him this morning.”

“You told him that I will not marry him?”

“He wants to meet with you for lunch.”

Olivia looked at the sheikh with a blank expression. “Do I have to?” she asked.

“It may be better for you to refuse him yourself,” said Sheikh Solomon.

“This is very strange to me. He saw me for a few seconds. We did not even speak beyond greetings, and now he wants to marry me.”

“I understand. However, he is a good man and would make a great husband.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. “He may be a good man but we are two different people from different worlds. I am not willing to even consider the idea,” she said. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. However, it did not mean that she wanted to marry him.

“I understand your position. Perhaps you could just meet with him and tell him yourself,” said Sheikh Solomon gently.

Olivia did not see why she had to. However, it seemed as though the Solomon family really valued and respected Sheikh Boutros. She had seen the way they all reacted when they heard that he was on the phone.

“I guess it would be polite for me to do so,” said Olivia. “Besides, I am curious why he chose me.”

Sheikh Solomon nodded. “I will have a driver take you tomorrow,” he said with a smile. He looked as though he had won a battle. However, he had not. Olivia was just going to go there and refuse his offer and then carry on with her life.

“I don’t even see why I should go,” Olivia complained as she rummaged through her suitcase.

“Just think of it as a lunch date with an attractive man,” said Daya. Olivia turned around and looked at Daya with a blank facial expression. “Well, you did say that he was good-looking, right?” Daya asked.

“He’s okay.”

“That isn’t how you described him.” Daya started laughing.

Olivia smiled and shook her head. She pulled out a short-sleeved, printed knee-length dress and quickly changed into it. She slipped into flat sandals. She untied her waves of hair and just finger combed it. 

“Here I go,” Olivia said.

“Okay, have fun,” Daya replied.

Olivia headed out of her room and rushed downstairs. Just as Sheikh Solomon had said, there was a driver waiting for her. She got into the car. It was strange having a driver take her somewhere. She was used to taking the bus or riding her bike to places. This was new for her. She just sat in the backseat and looked out of the window.

As they drove into the city, Olivia’s breath was taken away by its beauty. She wished she could explore Lebanon. She had never had the opportunity to travel to different countries. It was a shame that the first time she had left America, she was looking for a father she did not know existed.

Olivia arrived at the home of Sheikh Boutros almost twenty minutes later. They drove through large cast-iron gates. They drove up the driveway and parked outside a massive stone-colored mansion. It made Sheikh Solomon’s house look pretty small.

“Is this a hotel?” Olivia asked.

“No, miss, this is Sheikh Boutros’s residence,” said the driver.

“Oh wow.” Olivia was shocked. It was big enough to be a hotel. She just got out of the car and walked towards the house. She walked up the small flight of five stairs. A maid dressed in black and white opened the front door for Olivia.

“Miss Olivia Solomon?” the maid asked.

“No, Olivia Grant,” she corrected her. She had not taken her father’s name.

“My apologies. Come this way please.” The maid turned and started walking. Olivia stepped into the house and followed the maid. She gasped when she saw the imperial-looking staircase in front of her. The stairs were white with brown wooden railings. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. The floor was made of white marble.

The maid headed down the wide hallway and then turned right. There large white double doors led into a big living room. The room had a beautiful cream and beige décor. There was a nice sitting area with cream tufted chairs with cream cushions. There were beautiful paintings hung on the wall. All the paintings had the same light brown frame that matched the furniture. There were glass double doors to the left leading to a courtyard.

“The sheikh will be with you in a moment,” the maid said to Olivia.

“Okay,” she replied. He should have been waiting for her, she thought to herself. She walked over to the glass doors and looked outside. There was a patio made of wood. There was a marble table with wooden chairs. The courtyard was large and filled with neatly cut green lawn and colorful flowers.

“You like the courtyard?” a deep voice sounded from behind Olivia. She turned around and found the tall, handsome sheikh standing before her. He was wearing a navy-blue shirt and charcoal grey trousers.

“It’s not polite to make a lady wait,” Olivia said to him.

The sheikh smiled at her. 

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“There will be no next time. I am going back to Atlanta.”

Sheikh Boutros raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s a shame,” he said. He opened the glass doors and walked out onto the patio. “Lunch will be served in a moment.” He gestured for Olivia to come out also. Olivia walked out onto the patio. The sheikh pulled out the chair her.

“Thank you,” she said as she sat down. The sheikh sat opposite her. “What should I call you?” she asked.

“Sheikh Boutros,” he replied.

Olivia narrowed her gaze at him. 

“That is too long and too formal. What is your first name?”

“Joseph but only my family call me by my first name.”

“Okay, I will call you Joseph for the next hour,” she said. Joseph leaned back in his chair and just kept his eyes on Olivia. He looked amused. “What?” she asked. He just shook his head as if he had nothing to say but it was clear that he was thinking of something.

The maids walked out with trays of food. They carefully put the food on the table. They served traditional Arabic food and it looked quite appetizing. Olivia felt her mouth water. She was ready to start eating.

“So how come you are in such a rush to return to Atlanta?” Joseph asked Olivia. One of the maids poured them drinks before she left. Olivia reached out for her glass and took a sip. She did not know what kind of a drink it was, but it tasted good to her. So far, food and drinks were the only good things in Lebanon.

“Atlanta is my home and so I would like to return,” Olivia replied vaguely. She picked up her fork and started eating.

“You came all this way to meet your father. You might as well stay and get to know him.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. She was surprised that Sheikh Solomon had told Joseph about her only finding out about him just recently. “Why do you want to marry me?” Olivia changed the subject.

“You are straightforward,” said Joseph. He spoke so gently and his voice was so deep and alluring.

“I am.”

“I like that.”

Olivia was not sure how to respond to that. “My understanding is that you were to pick a wife between Rania and Marina,” she said.

“I was to pick one of his daughters to be my betrothed.”

“Betrothed.” Olivia started laughing. “That is such an old word,” Olivia added. Joseph did not respond immediately. He just ate and kept his gaze on her. “If I may ask, how old are you?” she asked.

“Are you curious?” he asked.

“I know nothing about you. That is the prime reason why I cannot marry you,” she said. He barely removed his gaze from her. It made her slightly nervous because he had such intense, gorgeous green eyes.

“You can get to know me.” He put a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed slowly.

Olivia found it a little seductive. She wanted to burst out laughing but she held back.

Instead, she said, “We are on different pages right now. I do not agree with arranged marriages. I am not even ready to be married right now.”

“Are you in a relationship with anyone?”

“No, but that is beside the point.” Olivia had actually never been in a proper relationship. Men had been interested in her but most only wanted to sleep with her. She had refused to sleep with anyone and therefore they had quickly lost interest in her. Others were not interested in her because she did not drink nor did she smoke. They found her to be plain.

“Perfect. I am not intruding,” he replied. He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

Olivia narrowed her gaze at him. Joseph was not exactly answering her questions. “So why an arranged marriage?” she asked.

“My mother and Daaliyah are close. So they wanted their children to wed,” he replied.

“Well, I am not Daaliyah’s daughter. So I do not count.”

“You are Sheikh Solomon’s daughter and the arrangement was to marry one of his daughters.”

Olivia sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She leaned back in her chair. “Why me then?” she asked.

“You are the most beautiful one out of the three and there is something intriguing about you,” he said so seductively.

Olivia pressed her knees together. She was thinking maybe it was her lack of experience with men that made her find everything about him so seductive. “There is nothing intriguing about me. I am just your ordinary plain Jane,” she said. She took a sip of her drink. “Thank you for the lunch, Joseph. I guess we will not be seeing each other after this.”

Joseph picked up his glass and slowly drank from it. He put the glass down.

“There is nothing plain about you,” he said.

Olivia was surprised that he did not think she was plain. She felt her stomach knotting up. It was crazy to her how he stirred so many emotions within her.

“There is. You just do not know much about me,” she said. She wasn’t sure what to say. It was unlike her to be speechless and yet in front of Joseph, it kept happening.

“I don’t. So you have to give me the chance to get to know you,” he replied.

Olivia was feeling very awkward. In a different circumstance, she would have wanted to go on dates with him. However, it was not like that right now. This meant staying in Sheikh Solomon’s house longer and she did not want that.

Olivia rose to her feet. Joseph stood up seconds after her. “Well, that is going to be hard when I am on the other side of the world,” Olivia said to him. Joseph grunted. He gestured towards the glass doors. He and Olivia walked through them.

“When are you leaving?” Joseph asked her.

“Hopefully tomorrow. I still need to speak to Sheikh Solomon. There is a side of my mother that he knew that I did not know. I’m also curious about how they split. Why did she not tell him about me?” Olivia replied.

“I understand but isn’t tomorrow too soon? You need to spend a few days with him at least,” said Joseph as they headed into the hallway.

“This is all too much for me at the moment. My mother passed away not too long ago and then I found out that I have a father. I don’t know how to deal with it. Going back home will be good for me. That’s my comfort zone,” said Olivia.

“Going back now will deny you the opportunity to get to know him.”

Olivia sighed. “I know you are right but it’s uncomfortable living in the same house as my new half-sisters that do not like me.”

“They probably feel as confused as you are,” Joseph replied. They stopped at the front door.

Olivia looked at him with a blank facial expression.

“I am in a worse position. They could be more sympathetic,” she said.

“Dinner tomorrow?”

“What?”

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow,” he said confidently.

“I will not be here tomorrow night,” Olivia replied matter-of-factly.

“You have a lot you wish to get off your chest. We can talk more tomorrow over dinner while I get to know you.” Joseph smiled. His smile almost melted her insides. Olivia just walked out quickly.