The Oil Prince (Contemporary Romance) (5 page)

“No, you can't leave!” Emily said to Basil as she blocked the door with her body. There were only a few days left before their meeting with Magenta Oils and she wanted to prepare with Basil but as always he wanted to leave early. They needed to be in sync, know what they were going to talk about at the meeting. Emily had had enough of Basil not caring. He was too relaxed. She figured that she would do everything in her power to stop him from leaving and at that moment, it meant blocking the exit.

“And why not?” Basil asked Emily.

“Because we have to prepare for the meeting.”

“What is there to prepare? We are going to meet with the company and hand them methane samples. It’s not rocket science.”

Emily rolled her eyes. Basil was really testing her patience. He was the worst person to work with. He had basically done nothing. She wished she could stop working with him but it was not an option.

“Would you get out of the way?” Basil asked her.

“No. You can’t leave, not yet,” Emily replied with her hands on her hips. Basil was a little bit amused by her. Did she think that she could stop him from doing whatever he wanted? She was half his size. He moved closer to her and looked down at her.

Emily felt a little intimidated by his physique. He was much taller than her and quite muscular. He towered over her and he looked at her with a blank gaze. She could not imagine what he was thinking and it made her nervous. All of a sudden he grabbed her by the waist and picked her up. “What are you doing?” Emily cried out.

“Moving you out of the way, since you refused to get out of the way,” he replied. He turned around, holding her up in the air, and then he put her down. “You are very heavy,” he teased. She did not weigh much to him. He lifted weights heavier than her in the gym.

“I did not ask you to pick me up.” Emily frowned and pushed him away.

“You are so aggressive.”

“And you are so annoying.” Emily pushed him again. It was pointless because it made no impact. Basil barely moved an inch, which frustrated her even more. He held the back of her neck and pulled her face closer to his. He pressed his lips firmly against hers. Emily protested by attempting to push him away, which did not work. Basil only kissed her even more.

Emily hit his chest softly before she gave up and just kissed him back. He deepened the kiss by allowing his tongue inside of her mouth. He kissed her so gently and passionately, as if he was exploring her mouth.

Realization sunk in and he broke off this kiss.
This was Emily,
for goodness’ sake
,
he thought to himself. It was the same woman who spoke rudely to him and constantly nagged him about the damned project. She was annoying and she was definitely not his type. However her lips had been so tempting, and she had an alluring scent. Basil turned on his heel and left the room.

Emily was left feeling rather confused. She could not figure out why Basil had just kissed her. Emily touched her lips, where his lips had been. Although the kiss had happened quickly, it had affected her greatly. Just that one kiss had set her body on fire. No one had ever kissed her like that. Her hands were still shaking. But how could that be? She disliked him, he was arrogant, lazy, and rude. She should not have enjoyed the kiss, she shouldn’t have even allowed him to kiss her. Emily just sighed and sat down at the table.

***

Emily was attempting to have a peaceful dinner with her family but it was impossible since her mother and grandmother were always arguing. Her aunt tried to be the peacemaker but it never helped. Emily and her brothers were wise to stay out of it. All of a sudden Emily’s grandmother turned her attention to Emily.

“How is that handsome young man?” she asked her. Emily crossed her eyebrows.

“What man?” Emily asked.

“The handsome prince we met at the country club.”

Emily narrowed her gaze at her grandmother. She did not want to discuss Basil. Talking about him would only remind her of the last time she saw him, when he kissed her. Thinking about it still made her nervous and shy.

“Who is this guy who is making you turn red?” Sandy, Emily’s aunt, asked her.

“What? No, I am not turning red!” Emily protested.

“You are,” said her brother Jake.

“Shut up.”

Emily’s grandmother started laughing at how defensive Emily was. “But what is wrong with him?” she asked Emily.

“He’s just so arrogant and lazy. I would rather not work with him. I just want to enjoy my food, can we not speak about him?”

“She seems like she hates the man,” said James, her other brother.

“Hate is the opposite of love. They’re both strong emotions to feel,” said her grandmother.

“I do not hate him,” Emily said as she stood up with her plate. There was no point in eating. Her family would not allow her to eat. First it was because of her grandmother and mother fighting, now it was all of them teasing her about Basil.

“Well, you seem like you really dislike him,” said Sandy.

“You have not finished your food,” said Tina, Emily’s mother.

“I am full. I am going home to prepare for my meeting tomorrow!” Emily replied. She was grateful that this family Sunday lunch was not being held at her house. They normally did it at her grandmother’s house. If they were in Emily’s house, she would have not been able to leave. She would have had to stay until everyone left.

“No you are not leaving, young lady. This is family time!”

“But, Mom, I have a very important meeting.” Emily didn’t have one but she was running away from talking about Basil. When her family started speaking about a certain topic, they did not give up. They would keep on talking about it until they reached the bottom of the matter.

“She is old enough to do what she wants. Let her go,” said her grandmother. Emily rolled her eyes. That was the beginning of yet another disagreement between her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother was her mother’s mother-in-law. They had never gotten along from day one. Now that Emily’s father was not in the picture, after her parents’ divorce, they no longer pretended to like each other.  

Emily arrived at the Tadros refinery where the company refined their oils. She and Basil were coming separately. The businessmen from Magenta Oils were coming to meet with Emily and Basil at the refinery and to collect the methane samples. It was also an opportunity for them to see where the methane was going to get converted into liquid and then packaged for transport.

As Emily waited, she wondered where Basil was. He was not late yet but he was unpredictable. Emily was worried that he might show up late as he always did at the office. He had just showed how uninterested he was. She could not help but expect the worst. Emily just took a deep breath and kept on waiting. She had no choice but to wait.

Basil finally showed up right on time. His car parked just next to hers. Emily sighed with relief and got out of the car. She saw the businessmen from Magenta Oils arriving also.

“Where the heck were you?” Emily said to Basil as soon as he got out of the car. If Basil had been just a minute later, he would have arrived later than the Magenta Oils people and that would not have looked good. He looked at her with a cold gaze as always.

“I am here, aren’t I?” he asked her. Emily was not surprised. He did not even care.

“Let’s just go now.” She wanted to yell at him for his laziness and lack of motivation. However, this was not the time for it. They had a meeting to conduct. Afterwards, she was definitely going to speak her mind. She could not hold it any longer.

Basil and Emily walked towards the people from Magenta Oils together. Emily smiled at them when they approached, as if she was not annoyed because of Basil.

“Good morning, I am Emily Gibson,” she introduced herself. “And this Basil Tadros,” she added.

Basil was shocked that Emily had introduced him as just Basil Tadros. Was she out of her mind? He was a prince and had to be referred to as one at all times. It was so disrespectful of her. Back in his home country, everyone referred to him by his rightful title. As much as Basil wanted to correct her, he kept a poker face on. It was a business meeting.

“Good morning, Miss Gibson,” one man said and shook her hand. He introduced himself as Mr. Johns. He also shook Basil’s hand. He then introduced the other two men to Emily and Basil. The three of them had met with Fady previously to discuss the business deal between Magenta Oils and the Tadros Oil Company.

“How is your father?” Mr. Johns asked Basil. One of the things that had made Magenta Oils people want to work with them was the Tadros name. They were well-known in the oil industry. Tadros Oil Company was quite successful.

“The sheikh is well,” Basil replied.

“We know of his work when he first started the business. His legacy is quite impressive.”

“I assure you that Fady and I follow his footsteps.”

Emily completely disagreed. She did not know the sheikh but she knew Basil. And he had a poor work ethic.

“I hope so.” Mr. Johns smiled.

“If you sign the contract with us, we will provide the methane at a good price. We will convert the methane into liquid at 10% discount, and if you need our technicians to change it back to gas, that will be free of charge,” he said. Mr. Johns nodded and laughed. He was definitely interested and impressed by what Basil was saying.

“Sweetening the deal just like your father,” he said. He looked impressed. Emily was surprised. Basil was actually speaking sense. He was doing well. She had not expected that from him.

Basil and Mr. Johns kept on talking. The other men listened and spoke a few words. They too seemed impressed by Basil. When they had finished touring the refinery, they returned to the entrance where Emily and Basil bid them farewell. Their methane samples had already been loaded into the truck. Emily waited for them to leave before she turned to Basil.

“Just what is wrong with you?” she asked him. He looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

“What now?” he asked her.

“You should have come a bit earlier, and not at the same time as the clients. You just turn up late like it is okay.”

“That again.” Basil narrowed his gaze at her.

“Yes, that. You are seriously playing around and it has got to end.” Emily had kept quiet all along because he was her boss’s younger brother. However she could not tolerate it any longer.

“Get off my case. I came, I delivered–” Before he could finish speaking, Emily cut him off.

“Yes, you delivered, surprisingly. It shows you are capable which makes things worse. It means that you are just lazy,” she said.

Basil slid his hands in his pockets and just looked at her. Since she was so feisty and was going to cut him off, there was no point in speaking. He just thought to let her continue speaking until she was done.

“This is an important project, for the company and for you. I believe you should at least put some effort in,” she added. So many thoughts were rushing through her mind. She wanted to yell at him for his lack of caring and she wanted to praise him for doing well with Magenta Oils.

“Are you finished?” he asked her.

“You are so rude,” she said with her hands on her hips.

“I believe you are the one who verbally attacked me first.”

“With good reason.”

“You need to remember who I am,” he said. Emily crossed her arms over her chest. “You will address me as your highness or Prince Basil,” he continued. Emily burst out laughing.

“You are full of yourself,” she said. There was no way she was going to refer to him as your highness.

“Have your opinions, I do not care. I am still a prince and you need to acknowledge that.”

“Have you ever worked in the methane business or do you have relevant education?” Emily asked. She had been curious as to how he had so much knowledge regarding the methane business.

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked with a frown on his face.

“Just curious.” That she was and also she did not want speak about his title. She was never going to address him the way he wanted her to.

“I should not have to explain myself to you,” he said and started walking off. Emily walked with him.

“So it’s just by chance.” Emily sighed. Basil stopped walking and looked at her. Normally he did not justify himself to anyone but he felt the need to with Emily.

“Not that it’s any of your business but I have a PhD in petroleum engineering,” he said to her. Emily raised her eyebrows. She did not expect that at all. Maybe a degree but not a PhD. It was quite impressive. She had never been so impressed by him. He was appearing more and more attractive in her eyes. Yes, she had noticed that he was handsome but did not pay attention to it because of his rudeness. However right now, finding out that he was intelligent and seeing his potential, and having him staring at her, made him very attractive in her eyes.

Basil started remembering the kiss they had shared. He had enjoyed it more than he had expected. Standing there and staring at her made him want to kiss her again. She was so short and fit in his arms perfectly. Her hourglass figure was enticing. He crossed his eyebrows and walked off. He could not trust himself not to kiss her again. The best thing was to walk away.

Emily exhaled with relief when Basil turned to walk away. The way he had been looking at her had made her feel nervous. She could not figure out what he was thinking. It was the same look he had given her before he kissed her the last time, but he was not possibly going to kiss her again. Part of her wanted him to kiss her again. She could not understand what she was feeling. She couldn’t possibly be attracted to Basil, that cold and rude man. There was no way. She shook the thoughts away and headed to her car.