The Sheikh's American Daughter (11 page)

***

“Great,” Olivia mumbled as she walked through the front door. Daaliyah and her daughters were right by the stairs. Olivia tried to walk past them but Rania said something.

“Look who it is,” she said.

“I can’t believe she is still here,” said Daaliyah. Olivia turned to face her.

“I expect this immaturity from your daughters but not you,” Olivia said to Daaliyah. She was not in the mood for snarky comments because of Mrs. Boutros.

“What?” said Daaliyah.

“Did you just call my mother immature?” said Marina.

“I am tired of having to argue with the three of you every day,” Olivia declared.

“Then leave.”

“What is going on here?” said Sheikh Solomon as he walked through the front door. “This is getting old. Olivia is my daughter and she is not going anywhere. If you all can’t get along, then don’t speak to each other.”

“This is my house too and I do not want her here,” said Daaliyah.

“Is that why you have been talking badly about my mother and me to Mrs. Boutros?” said Olivia. Sheikh Solomon’s eyes widened.

“You did what?” he said looking at his wife.

“You crossed the line this time.” Olivia marched upstairs. She had had enough drama for the day. She rushed to her room and slammed the door behind her.

To her surprise, she heard a knock on the door moments later. “It’s me,” she heard Sheikh Solomon’s voice.

“Come in,” she called. He opened the door and walked into her bedroom. He sat down on the bed next to her.

“I thought things would have been better by now,” he said.

“I should have just stayed at a hotel, but now that I am here, I will stay.” She actually wanted to say that it was war. She was going to stay there just to piss them off.

“I am happy that you are here,” Sheikh Solomon said gently.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how does Daaliyah know my mother?”

Sheikh Solomon sighed before he responded, “When Ely and I were together, my mother did not approve. She arranged the marriage between Daaliyah and me.”

“Oh, it was like that?” Olivia was surprised and intrigued at the same time. Sheikh Solomon nodded.

“Daaliyah and my mother were very close. So they basically did everything they could to break us apart.”

“So my mother got sick of it all and decided to leave.”

“I guess so,” he said. Olivia started laughing. Sheikh Solomon looked at her as though she had gone mad. “What is funny?” he asked.

“You loved my mother and you still do, probably more than you love Daaliyah. That is why Daaliyah hates my mother and me so much,” she said. Now that Joseph wanted to marry her and not either one of Daaliyah’s daughters, it must be feeling like déjà vu for Daaliyah.

“Joseph, what is wrong with you?” his mother questioned when he walked back into the dining room. “You still went after her after I told you not to.”

“You did not need to bring up her mother. You crossed the line,” he said to her. Esther took a few deep breaths to compose herself.

“You agreed to marry one of Sheikh Solomon’s daughters.”

“Olivia is one of his daughters.”

“Joseph, don’t play games with me.”

“I am not playing games. I never play games,” he replied.

“Why not Rania or Marina?” Esther asked.

“I am not attracted to either one of them.” That was the truth. He was not attracted to them. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that they had awful personalities. Esther frowned at Joseph.

“Attraction? That is your excuse,” she said. She shook her head. “Grow up!”

Joseph narrowed his gaze at her.

“I have made my decision and I will not change my mind,” he said sternly. He respected his mother. However, he was not going to allow her to force him into marrying Rania or Marina.

“She is not even Lebanese!” Esther yelled out.

“She is half Lebanese and why does that matter?”

“I want full Arabic grandchildren.”

“What about what I want?” he asked his mother. She was too concerned about what she wanted. It was starting to annoy him.

“What?” She looked confused.

“You wanted me to get married and I agreed. You wanted me to marry one of Sheikh Solomon’s daughters and I agreed. At least let me choose which one.”

“The illegitimate one?”

“Yes, that one.”

“Your father is not going to be happy about this.”

“I know but that will not change my mind,” he said. Esther sighed loudly. She turned on her heel and left the room. Joseph had not planned on arguing with his mother when he told her about marrying Olivia but the situation had turned out differently. Esther had walked in on them kissing and so he had to tell her sooner. Then he had gotten annoyed at how she had spoken to Olivia.

Joseph let his mother leave. She needed to cool down. There was no reasoning with her when she was that angry. Joseph looked at his watch. Olivia should have been home by now, he thought to himself. He fished his phone out of his pocket. He called Sheikh Solomon’s house phone and asked for Olivia. He headed upstairs as he waited for Olivia to get to the phone.

“Hello,” said Olivia. Her alto voice was tantalizing.

“You’re home,” he said.

“No, I’m answering the house phone from the airport.”

Joseph smiled as he walked into his bedroom. Olivia often used sarcasm. It was cute. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just talking to Sheikh Solomon.”

“Father-daughter time?” Joseph sat on his bed and rested against the tufted headboard.

“Not really. I had a run-in with Daaliyah. So he came to see if I was okay,” she replied.

“How bad was the argument?”

“We did not argue for too long because Sheikh Solomon walked in.” Olivia sighed. “I am tired of the arguing. It’s endless.”

“Come live with me.”

Olivia started laughing. “What?” she said.

“That kind of hostile environment is not good for you,” he said.

“No it isn’t, but living with you is not the answer.”

“It is. You won’t have to see your stepmother or your sisters on a daily basis.” She would get to see him instead. However, Joseph was not serious about her moving in because he knew that she would refuse. In the past, she had refused simple things like having dinner with him. He just wanted to cheer her up a bit.

“That is true,” she replied. “But then I would have to see you every day.”

“You would like that.”

“Living with you?” Olivia started laughing. “I think you are the one that would like living with me,” she said. Joseph laughed gently in response.

Once again, Joseph found himself speaking to Olivia for hours. It was oddly easy to speak to her. It was new to him. He had never had the time nor the patience to speak to anyone for more than ten minutes.

***

Sheikh Boutros senior called his son for breakfast at his house. Joseph was not surprised that his father had summoned him. Obviously his mother had told him about their heated disagreement over Olivia. Joseph straightened his tie before he walked into the dining room.

“Good morning, Father,” Joseph said as he walked into the room. His father was sitting at the table. The maids had already set the table.

“Good morning,” his father replied. Joseph joined him at the table. He picked up the coffeepot and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Where is mother?”

“She is upstairs. She is still not ready to see you.”

For once, Joseph felt like rolling his eyes. He hated it when Olivia did it. It was rude. She needed to be tamed a little.

“She should not be upset,” Joseph replied. He had not done anything to upset her.

“She just found out that her only son wants to marry a non-Arabic woman, an illegitimate child,” said his father.

“She is half Arabic.”

“Half,” his father emphasized.

“She wanted me to marry one of Sheikh Solomon’s daughters and that is what I am going to do,” Joseph replied.

His father raised his eyebrows.

“Olivia is a beautiful girl but I am not sure that she is right for you.”

“Neither is Rania nor Marina,” Joseph pointed out. The two of them were right on paper but in person it would not work. Granted he did not know much about them but he saw the way they acted around him and how they treated Olivia. It was enough to put him off.

“What is wrong about the two of them?”

“I am not attracted to either one of them. I have seen how they carry themselves and I am not impressed.”

His father barely reacted. He just ate his eggs and swallowed. “It’s your choice,” he said. “However, you know that if you are not married by the time you are thirty, then I will recruit someone else.”

Joseph was irritated by the ultimatum. He was their only child and therefore, he should inherit the company.

“Who else would you pick?” Joseph asked. “You would give the company to a stranger?”

“There are options.”

“This is not right. I have worked in this company for fifteen years.” Joseph had started working for his father when he was fourteen years old. He started by being an errand boy and then graduated to doing small administrative duties such as filing.
He worked at  Boutros Oil during his studies at the university. He knew the company very well and he felt that he deserved to inherit it.

“I don’t question your work ethic. However, you need to settle down. Having a different woman every other week is detrimental to our reputation.”

“I have always been discreet about my personal life.” Joseph was quite particular about the women he invited into his personal life. He never wanted to have scandals or anything from his personal life affect his work life.

“You should have a family of your own by now,” said his father.

“You and mother both wanted me to settle down and I have agreed. Surely I should be able to pick my own wife,” said Joseph.

“Can you not change your mind on this?”

“No.”

His father was silent for a moment. “Your mother will not agree to this easily,” he said.

“I am aware.” Joseph could see his father starting to change his mind.

“I will need to sit down with Olivia. I need to see what kind of a woman she is.”

Joseph nodded. “Naturally,” he said. Now he just needed to convince Olivia to sit down with his father. Knowing her, she would put up a fight and say that she was not going to marry him.

Joseph really needed this to work. He needed to get married soon in order to gain full control of Boutros Oil Ltd. As much as he did not want to admit it to himself, he was also starting to care for Olivia. Seeing her crying had changed something within him. He was not happy seeing her cry. He especially loathed the fact that she was crying because of his mother. He was not going to allow any member of his family to upset her like that ever again.

“Have you talked to Sheikh Solomon about this?” his father asked.

Joseph nodded. “I have,” Joseph said.

“What did he say about this?”

“He was shocked as well but since I was not going to change my mind, he just accepted it.”

“He has not mentioned anything to me.”

“I wanted to tell you myself, after he had told you about Olivia being his daughter.” Joseph was going to tell them after they had gotten over the news of Olivia being Sheikh Solomon’s daughter. However, things had not worked out that way.

“I have to go to work.” Joseph wiped his mouth with a napkin. His father nodded.

“Tell Olivia that I want to meet with her on Sunday for lunch.” 

“So soon?” He was not sure that she was going to agree.

“Why waste time?” his father asked.

“No reason.” Joseph rose from his chair. “I will take my leave now,” he said. He buttoned up his suit jacket and then he headed out.