The Oil Prince (Contemporary Romance) (8 page)

Emily heard her phone vibrate. She growled as she rolled on her side to see who it was. She was just about to sleep. She picked up and unlocked the screen. It was a text from Basil. She wondered why he was messaging her.

What are you doing?
the message read. Emily wondered why he was messaging her. She was contemplating not replying. She ended up waiting a few minutes before she replied.

Sleeping, who is this?
she replied. Even though she knew full well who it was, she still asked since she had told him that she was not going to need his number after the meeting.

That message was not meant for you–

Emily frowned. Was he trying to text one of his lovers and accidentally sent it to her? It annoyed her. She wanted to just ignore him and not reply but then another message came in.

What do you mean who is this? I am sure you know full well who this is.

Emily giggled to herself. She flipped open her laptop that was on the nightstand and started browsing the internet. She wanted to leave him hanging. She felt like a teenager again, the excitement of getting a text message from a guy and playing all hard to get. She so badly wanted to message him back instantly but she waited.

Basil was a complicated man. When she thought of him, she felt different kinds of feelings. She started off disliking him. He was just pretentious and rude. He still was but kissing him had left her thinking about him often and wanting to kiss him again. There were moments when they got along but they had argued more than they had gotten along.

I do not have this number saved. Why would I know who it is?
Emily messaged after about half an hour. She giggled as she waited for a reply.

I see you like to play games, Miss Gibson.

It’s midnight, I have no time for games.

Hmmm.

Hmmm…?

Emily waited for a reply until she fell asleep.

**
*

Emily was grateful as the weekend approached, and soon it was Sunday again. The day Emily loved and hated the most in the week. After church, Emily and her family all returned to their grandmother’s house. The older women went to the kitchen to start cooking immediately. Emily watched television with her brothers and her cousin Mathew.

A little later on when the food was ready, Emily’s mother came to the living room where her children and nephew were. “Emily, you go set the table,” she said as she walked into the room. Emily did not even hear her. She was too focused on the television. Her mother tapped Emily on the shoulder.

“Huh.” Emily snapped out of her thoughts and turned around.

“I said set the table. You should be in the kitchen with the other women,” her mother said and frowned at Emily.

Emily grinned. “Okay, Mom,” she said and deliberately avoided commenting on her mother’s statement. She was always trying to get out of doing any chores.

“Don’t be sarcastic,” her mother said and tried to hit her playfully but Emily was smart enough to run off. She went to the dining room and started setting the table. Her aunt brought in different dishes one by one. Suddenly the doorbell rang.

“Someone get that,” Emily shouted to her brothers. She was not willing to go get it. Moments later, her brothers walked into the dining room. “Who was it?” Emily asked as she set the cutlery.

“It’s just me,” she heard a very familiar voice speak. She looked up and saw Basil standing there. He was dressed in casual navy blue trousers and a white polo shirt. Emily’s mouth hung open. What was he doing there? She knew that her grandmother had invited him over for dinner but she did not think it was going to be at their weekly Sunday lunch.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

Basil was seeing a different Emily. She was wearing a knee-length pencil dress with a pattern on it. Her long curly hair was not tied up nor was it straightened. She wore it down and it actually suited her. It made her face look rounder and more adorable.

“Emily, don’t be rude,” her grandmother said as she walked into the room. She smiled at Basil and greeted him. She told him to sit down and make himself comfortable. He nodded and did as told. The rest of Emily’s family sat down.

“This is Prince Basil, he works with our Emily,” said her grandmother.

“Ohhh,” Emily’s brothers and cousin chorused.

“So you are
the
Basil,” said Jake.

“You know of me?” Basil asked softly.

“A little,” Jake replied with a smirk on his face. Emily closed her eyes from the embarrassment. She had planned not to be there when her grandmother and Basil had dinner. However it had not worked out because her grandmother was too sneaky. She refused to tell Emily when the dinner was going to be, and had invited him over without telling anyone. Her grandmother was always trying to find her a boyfriend because she felt that it was time for Emily to marry. She was already 24 years old. She should at least have been in a committed relationship.

As they were eating, Emily’s brothers and cousin were analyzing Basil’s every move. It did not surprise Emily that they were like that. Growing up, her brothers and Mathew were so overprotective when it came to Emily. She was younger than them and she was the only girl.

“Which country are you from?” Mathew asked Basil.

“Al-Bisha,” Basil replied.

“This food must be different from what you eat in the palace,” said Sandy.

“It is different in a good way. It’s quite delightful and rich in flavor,” said Basil with a smile on his face. Emily shook her head in amazement. He was being so polite and smiley. He was not like that to her when they had first met and he still was not like that to her.

“Are you seeing my daughter?” Emily’s mother asked Basil. Emily almost choked on her juice.

“No, he isn’t, Mom. We are just working together,” she defended herself.

“Look her cheeks turning red,” Mathew pointed out.

“My cheeks aren’t red,” Emily snapped. She just wanted to die of embarrassment.

“Emily has a crush,” said Sandy. She smiled as she placed her hand on her heart. Emily’s family teased her for a little while and laughed at her. Basil barely reacted, he just smiled. Emily just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

“Even though you seem like a nice guy, you have to treat Emily well. It doesn’t matter whether you work together or if you are dating,” said Jake.

And there it was! Emily was expecting her brothers to say something like that. “Please stop talking,” she said to him but it was pointless. James and Mathew joined in the conversation. Basil agreed politely.

When they were finished eating, Emily was thankful that Basil left straight away. She made sure to walk him to his car. “Why did you not tell me that you were coming?” she asked him as they walked out of the house.

“How would I tell you?” he asked her.

“Text message or phone call.”

“You expect me to communicate with you when you pretend not to have my number?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Emily tried to pretend as though she did not know what he was speaking about but she started smiling.

“You can’t even lie with a straight face,” he said to her.

“Well, why were you messaging me at night?”

“It was not meant for you.”

“For one of your lovers then?”

“I am not even going to answer that question.”

Emily smiled and looked up. The weather was great. It was nice and sunny. There was a cool breeze. She loved summer days. Basil turned to say something to her and found her looking at the sky with a goofy look on her face.

“What are you so happy about?” he asked her.

“The weather is great today,” she replied.

“That’s it?” Simple things made her happy.

“Yes, that’s it.” She looked at him. He was staring at her with a blank facial expression. “Go home,” she said to him. Basil laughed and he walked off. He crossed the street to where his car was.

The next day was very busy for Emily. She had left her house thinking she was going to work as normal but that was not the case. Basil had come to pick her up. “How did you know where I live?” she had asked him. He told her that he had gotten her address from work.

The whole day, they had spent going to meetings with Natural Gasses Limited and seeing their wells. Basil had said that Emily was the only person who knew about him wanting to buy the company. So he needed her to come with him. Emily was surprised but she happily accompanied him. It had been a long and exhausting day for her but strangely she had enjoyed it. She was now glad to be back home and in her bed. Before she closed her eyes, her phone vibrated.

What are you doing?
read the message. It was from Basil.

Was this meant for me?
she replied.                                                                      

I can detect your sarcasm in the message.

Detect what you want. Why are you messaging me at night?

So you know who it is now?

I might.

What size are you?

Size for what? And why are you asking me that?

Answer me.

No.

Must be extra-large.

Go away!

Emily was tired but apparently not too tired to be messaging Basil. She stayed up talking to him. Of course he teased her and was rude to her in the messages. It was what he did. She was curious as to why he had asked for her size. Did she seem big to him? She wore medium dress size, and her waist was small. He must like extra-small women.

*
**

Basil woke up just around noon the following day. He had been messaging Emily until 5 a.m. He could not stop messaging her. Even though they had spent the day together, he still wanted to speak to her. He enjoyed teasing her. She always reacted to him. She never knew when he was serious and when he was joking. It was adorable. He also strangely found himself ignoring messages from other females. He never focused on one woman, it was unlike him. He had even stopped dating altogether.

Basil got out of bed and went to take a shower. As he was coming out of the shower, a knock sounded on the door. He wiped his hair as he went to answer it. His jaw dropped open when he opened the door and saw his mother with a small security detail. She was standing there in her traditional djellaba, a long-sleeved Arabic dress. It was made of turquoise silk and it had silver embroidery on the chest. Her jet-black hair was styled into a beehive. She wore diamond earrings.

“Mother?” said Basil. He was so shocked to see her.

“Are you just going to stand there looking at me or will you let me in?” she asked him.

“Sure, come in.”

His mother gracefully walked into his deluxe suite. She sat on one of the comfortable expensive sofas.

“I will go change,” said Basil as he quickly disappeared to the bedroom. He pulled on a polo shirt and a pair of shorts. He rushed back into the living room, where his mother waited for his return. “So what brings you by?” he asked her.

“Since you were not reciprocating my calls, I had no choice but to come,” she replied.

“That is because I do not wish to discuss my marriage.”

“You could still call me to see how I am. I see you still have not even greeted me properly.”

Basil stood up and approached her. “I apologize for my impertinence,” he said before he kissed her on both cheeks. He sat down next to her. “I trust that you have been well,” he said.

“I have. Congratulations on being successful on your project. Your brother told me all about it.”

“Yes, well, I am grateful it is over.”

She stroked his cheek before she slapped him. He flinched at the sudden impact. “Your father was serious this time. I do not want you to be stripped of your title. You must come to your senses, Basil,” she said to him.

“Mother, that slap hurt,” he complained.

“Good! I was attempting to smack some senses into you.” She sighed. “You are a 26-year-old man. You should be married. Come back with me so that we can start looking for your bride.”

“I do not want a bride.”

“In order to keep your father off your back, come back and work with him. You also need to be married.”

“I am not going to do any of those things.” Basil rose to his feet. “Let’s have lunch.” He held his hand out for her. She took his hand and rose to her feet too.

“At least call your father and let him know how the project went.”

“I am sure Fady has already told him all about it.” Basil was not bothered to call his father. They never got along. They saw things differently, which made them argue constantly.

Basil and his mother headed out of his hotel room. They went to the hotel’s restaurant on the rooftop. The weather was just right for dining outside. A waiter greeted them and escorted them to a table.

“Are you seeing anyone?” his mother asked as they were looking at the menu.

“No, I am not,” he replied lazily. Coincidentally, his phone vibrated. He pulled his phone out and looked at the message. A little smile tugged at his lips when he saw that the message was from Emily.
“Falling asleep at work,”
it read.

“Then who is making you smile right now?”

“Mother, I am not with anyone.”

“That is strange, since you always had a female companion or two in Al-Bisha.” His mother frowned. She never approved of it. Basil laughed in response.

“Well, none at the moment.” 

It’s your fault for staying awake for so long,
he replied to Emily and sent the message.

“You need to stop that. This is why I insist on you getting married. I don’t want incidents like the last with Ms. Omar to happen again,” she said.

Ms. Omar was the ex-wife of the minister of defense. A photograph of her speaking to Basil was taken and printed in the tabloids. They were only talking but the media suggested that they were seeing each other, especially since Basil had a history of being photographed with different women. The story soon turned into a big scandal, one which was not good for the royal family or the minister of defense.

“That isn’t my fault that people twist things,” said Basil.

“It was because of your history that this happened. That is why you have to turn over a new leaf.”

Basil looked at his phone. Emily had replied,
I was not the one that messaged first.

Leave work early tomorrow,
he replied

Why?

Just do it.

No, I have a job and need to do my work.

I’ll have the car pick you up at 2 p.m. and I’ll tell Fady that you are leaving early.

Why? To go where?

“Who do you keep messaging?” Basil’s mother asked. He cleared his throat and put the phone down.

“Nobody,” he replied.

Chapter 18

“It isn’t that amusing,” Basil said to Fady, who was laughing uncontrollably.

“See, this is why you should have called her back when I told you,” Fady replied. He found it hilarious that their mother had surprised him like that.

“It did not mean that she had to fly all over just to speak with me.”

Before Fady could reply, there was a knock on the door. Rachel opened the door and walked in. “Sorry to disturb, but your father is on line 1,” she said to Fady. He nodded and dismissed her.

“Enjoy that phone call,” said Basil.

“No, you are not leaving,” said Fady. He answered the phone and put it on loudspeaker. “Your majesty, I trust that you have been well. I am here with Basil,” he said. Basil frowned at him. He had wanted to walk out of the room so that he did not have to speak to their father but Fady spoiled that plan.

“Basil is there?” said the sheikh in his husky voice.

“I am here, Father,” said Basil.

“What are you still doing in Dallas? You should have returned when the contract was signed.”

It was so typical of their father to issue demands. He had not even properly greeted either one of his sons, especially Basil whom he had not spoken to since he left Al-Bisha. They did not have the best relationship but he could still say hello.

“I am not yet ready to return,” said Basil.

“Why not? You are worrying your mother. You need to return with her and find a wife.”

“But, Father, I do not want to get married.”

“Until when will you live your life like this? You want to play around and drag our name through the mud. I will not have it! You may have been successful with the contract, but I can still revoke your title at any time.” It was clear that their father was getting angry.

“Father, please recant your anger,” said Fady.

“I blame you for never reprimanding your brother. You are always supporting him and letting him make bad choices.”

“Father, I am a grown man. I do not need Fady to father me,” said Basil. He too was getting a little angry with his father. His father’s controlling nature caused him to stray.

“Then act like a grown man! Come home immediately.” The sheikh hung up the phone.

“Basil,” said Fady.

“I will go when I am ready. Father wants me to return so that I can be where he can control me and force me into marriage,” Basil said as he rose to his feet. A little voice inside of him reminded him that if he returned, he would not be able to see Emily. That did not sit well with him. Their relationship or whatever they had was a crazy one. He could not even explain it but it had grown to mean a lot to him. He walked out of Fady’s office and headed down the hall.

Basil reached Emily’s office a few moments later. He opened the door without knocking. She was sitting at her desk when he walked in. She looked very shocked to see him. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“I told you to leave work early today,” he said flatly.

“And I told you that I had work.”

“Fady knows you have to leave early. Let’s go,”

Emily raised her eyebrow. “And just what exactly did you tell him?” she asked him. Basil shrugged his shoulders.

“That you need to leave early,” he said. Emily still sat in her chair without any intentions of getting up. “Emily, let’s go,” he said. She laughed a little.

“No, I don’t even know where we are going and why,” she said.

“If you do not stand up, then I will pick you up.”

Emily knew that he was not bluffing. Last time he had picked her up when she tried to block the door. She stood up instantly and tidied up her desk. She picked up her bag and walked to Basil. “Fine,” she said. He opened the door and let her walk out first. Emily walked skeptically. He had never opened the door for her. He always walked through first and never held it for her.

“Look at you being a gentleman today,” she said.

“I know, being in this place has sadly changed me,” he replied. Emily laughed but Basil didn’t.

“But what is wrong with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem down.”

“I am not.”

“But you are.”

Basil was a little bit surprised that she was able to see it. The two of them walked out of the building. His car was already waiting for them. “My parents,” he said as he opened the door for her. She got into the car, and he got in afterwards.

“What about your parents?” Emily asked him when they were in the car and driving off.

“My mother decided to drop by yesterday.”

“What? She came to Dallas?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Basil told her why his mother came. Then he told her about his earlier conversation with his father. Emily was surprised to learn that he did not want to return Al-Bisha. She thought that he was going to return after the project. Emily took his hands into hers. She did not know why she did it. It just came natural to her. Basil looked at her.

“After you buy Natural Gasses Limited, what then?” she asked him.

“Since my family has been trying to get into the methane business, it will be easier with this new company. We will now be in charge of their wells and methane. I could stay here and manage the methane projects,” he replied. Emily smiled.

“In three months, you have matured.”

“However, my father wants me to return. He still threatens to strip me of my title.”

“Can you live without your title and allowances?”

“Of course, I will just move in with your nana. I am sure she will be happy to have me around.”

“You do not want to be around my family. You’ve seen them, they’re crazy.”

“But you sit and eat together. We do not do that.” Obviously they did not. Everyone had their chambers and could dine alone. They also had different commitments, so they did not dine together often. When they did, it was rather formal. Basil did not know Emily’s family but he felt warm around them. They argued and teased Emily, but it was all for fun. It was clear that they got along and were very close. He strangely felt at home. And the food was really good. It was just everything that he hadn’t experienced at the palace.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said. Sometimes her family was too much to deal with. They were always so nosy.