The Sheikh's Unforgettable Lover (The Sharqi Sheikhs Series Book 1) (7 page)

A couple of weeks later, Karim finally decided to take Kim’s advice and update the company’s accounts. While he should have done it when Kim told him; Karim did things on his terms and would not be ordered around by a woman.

Since that one night they had spent together as well as the incident at the pool, it appeared as if Kim was going out of her way to avoid him, which was probably for the best as he still had much work to do. But that didn’t stop him from thinking about her.

He still remembered how soft her skin had felt and how good she tasted. Every time he touched her, she had been so responsive to him. So much so that there were times that he could think of nothing else, but he had too much work to do.

Karim headed out of his home office and walked down the corridor. As he was walking, he spied Kim walking down the hall staring at her phone. She gasped when Karim stood right in front of her.

“You scared me,” she told him, clutching her chest.

“I updated my software,” he said with a smile.

Kim raised her eyebrows. “Well, it took you long enough.” She shook her head.

“Meet me in your room, in five minutes,” he said quietly to her. Kim raised her eyebrows in question. She looked at him and saw a dangerous and dark look. She had seen it in his eyes the night they had sex.

She should tell him no, she told herself, as her mouth answered, “Okay,” cautiously. Kim felt her body heat up and her fingers tingle as she watched Karim walk off. She so badly wanted to follow him straightaway, but Amare and his friends had been complaining about their upcoming exam.

She had told him that she would drop by to answer their questions, so she headed to his study room where she found them sitting around the room with their laptops and books. Kim stepped into the air-conditioned room and approached them.

“Hi guys, I’m here. Let’s get started!” It was only going to take a couple of minutes; she thought to herself. She might as well help them and then go meet Karim. He had not even said why he wanted her to meet him in her room anyway.

“Great!” Amare said to her. He looked so relieved to see her.

“So what do you guys need help with?”

“Here, take a look.” Amare showed her a past exam paper. Kim read the questions and started working through the questions with Amare and his friends.

***

Karim paced the room impatiently while he waited for Kim to come to her room. He had told her to meet him in five minutes and it had been much longer than that. He lay on her bed completely naked, his thumbs drumming against his chest. He was growing more and more impatient by the minute.

He saw the door opening. Finally, she had come to him. He was definitely going to punish her with a few hard spanks for making him wait for so long. He told her five minutes and it had been at least thirty. No one made him wait, they would not dare. What had she been doing anyway?

“Father!” Karim shouted and quickly covered his manhood with one of Kim’s pillows.

“Karim!” his father shouted and took a few steps back.

Karim got off the bed and quickly slipped on his trousers. What on earth was his father doing in Kim’s bedroom?

“What are you doing here?” Karim asked his father.

“That is what I should be asking you. Why is it that you are laying on her bed, NAKED?” the sheik shouted at his son.

“That is my business, father. Why are you sneaking into her room?” 

Karim was angry with his father. What right did he have to sneak into her room? It definitely warranted an explanation. Karim buckled his belt and placed his hands on his hips. He stared at his father and waited for an explanation; however, he did not receive one.

“So, you are sleeping with the American woman?” he asked. He shook his head in disappointment with his son.

“What does that have to do with you?”

“She is a westerner!”

“So what? I love her.” Karim could not believe that those words had left his mouth. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to admit it to himself and come to terms with it.

“You what? Don’t make me laugh,” Saeed Sharqi barked. “You are my eldest son! You must lead by example and be with a full Arabic woman.”

“I can be with whomever I choose to be.”

“Over my dead body,” Saeed shouted. Karim was not surprised that his father did not approve of him being with a Westerner. He too never wanted a western woman but Kim was different. She was a smart and beautiful woman. It was unlike him but he couldn’t stop himself from developing feelings for her.

“Father, you need to stop being so controlling and outdated with everything. What harm will Kim bring?” Karim shouted. He never shouted at his father but at the moment, he was so angry, he could not control himself.

“She is not Arabic! Those westerners have no culture. You cannot bring me a foreigner as a daughter-in-law,” Saeed said, pacing across the bedroom.

“All I said is that I love her.” There were those words again. He said them without even thinking. “There is no ring, so relax father.”

“Love? What do you know about love boy?”

“Probably more than you will ever know. You do not know how to love anyone, not even your children.”

The sheik shook his head. “Being with her has already changed you. When have you ever spoken to me like that?” he demanded. “That spoilt American brat!”

Karim could not believe the things his father was saying about her. She was one of the most humble people that he knew. He picked up his shirt and walked out of the room leaving his father standing there by himself.

“Don’t you dare walk away when I am still talking to you!” Saeed shouted after him but Karim ignored him.

Saeed summoned Kim to his home office the following day. She assumed that he wanted to chat about Amare’s progress. After all, Amare had informed her about how much his father was invested in his studies. She went with nothing but praises on her mind. Amare was a hard working young man and his father needed to hear how well he was doing.

One of Saeed’s maids ushered Kim into his office. Walking in, she found him scribbling away at some papers. Waiting for him to lift his head, she was unsure if she should sit down, so she remained standing as he continued with what he was doing.

Looking around, she found his office much like Karim’s but it felt darker, colder and more oppressive. Growing impatient, she coughed, but he continued to shuffle his papers. Finally, she spoke up.

“Good afternoon, sheik,” she said to him. 

“Please have a seat, Miss Atkins,” he said waving to the chair nearest her. Kim nodded and sat down opposite the sheik as he finished with his notes. She counted to ten in her head and then counted to ten four more times before he finally put his pen down and looked up at her.

“You wanted to see me?”

“I did indeed.” Saeed studied her for a moment. He had so much displeasure on his face that Kim wondered what he was thinking about. “So, you are sleeping with my son,” he said at last. Kim’s eyes flew open. She had not been expecting that at all.

“Excuse me?” Kim had only slept with Karim once, and even if she was, that was not Saeed’s business. Why was he asking her that and how had he found out?

“I know all about it and I must say that I am disappointed.”

Kim knew that she was not the woman for Karim but she did not expect his father to get involved. Besides, they had only slept together once even if she did relive it over and over each night before bed.

“I do not understand, sir,” she said, even though she did. She just did not know what to say to him.

“You are smart a girl. I am sure you understand my words,” Saeed said, his lips tight. “I need you to distance yourself from my son.”

Kim’s jaw hung open. “I don’t understand... why? I mean him no harm.” Saeed dismissed her with his hand.

“Listen, Miss Atkins, Karim is my eldest son and he will marry a full Arabic woman and bear me grandchildren appropriate to my station.”

“While I can understand your desire for grandchildren, it is Karim’s choice who he wants to be with.”

Saeed looked at her as if she was mad. “I do not care what you think; I will not have you poison my son against me.”

Poison Karim against his father? This was simply ridiculous. Kim almost laughed because that was how stupid the sheik was sounding. “I would never turn your son against you.”

“If you truly care for him, then you will leave him at once.”

She did care for him. More than she had yet to admit to herself. What had started as a little crush, had soon developed into much more than that. She had tried her best not to fall for him but she failed miserably.

“Sheik Sharqi, I cannot see what I have done to offend you,” Kim said calmly.

The sheik sighed. “I see, you won’t leave easily.” Saeed opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a chequebook. He picked up his pen, clicked it and started writing out a cheque. He tore it out and passed it to Kim. She frowned as she picked it up. He had written her a cheque for fifty thousand dollars. She gasped.

“Why are you giving me money?” she asked. She really hoped he wasn’t buying her off. It was insulting.

“I will give you this money if you agree to leave Karim alone and return to the states.” He said calmly as if he was speaking wise words. This was all just business to him. Kim was disgusted at how cruelly his father was behaving.

“I do not want your money,” Kim replied as she returned the cheque.

“I see, you want more money.” He wrote out another cheque for one hundred thousand dollars. “Is this enough?” he asked her.

“Sheik, I do not want your money. Please keep it.”

“Is this not enough? You western women are all so materialistic.”

Kim was growing increasingly furious that he was generalising western women who were not all the same. She certainly was not materialistic. No matter how much money Saeed was going to offer, she was not going to take it.

If he were not much older than she was, she probably would have slapped him across the face. Sadly, he was old enough to be her father, and she was taught to respect her elders.

“I resent the fact that you think all western women are the same. Please keep your money; I do not want a dime of it.”

“I know that you want more money. Stop pretending not to and take it. You are wasting my time.” Saeed was getting agitated and impatient.

“I think I will leave now.” Kim could no longer sit there and continue such a pointless conversation. She stood up and Saeed rose along with her.

“You do not leave until I tell you to,” he shouted and banged his fist on his desk.

Looking at him, she backed slowly toward the door, “I am sorry; sir, but I will not continue this conversation with you. I will happily leave you.”

“You spoilt American brat! You are so stubborn and disrespectful. I wish I had never hired you. You only came here to seduce my son and poison him with your western ways!” he shouted.

Staring at him, Kim’s back bumped against the door as she reached around with her hand to find the handle. Not wanting to turn her back on him, she managed to open the door and slide out, shutting it behind her. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths as she fought the urge to cry.

The man was completely insane; she thought as she walked quickly back to her quarters glad that she didn’t run into anyone. As she walked, she thought about all the things that she wanted to say to him but she knew that if she did, she would only somehow be proving him right.

She burst into tears as soon as she walked into her room. Was it so wrong for her to love Karim? It was 2015 for goodness sake. All the bullshit about races not mixing should have died years ago. To Saeed, she was not good enough to be with his son because she was not Arabic. Taking a shuddering breath, she realised that there was no hope for a relationship with Karim if his father was so adamantly opposed to her.

Kim flipped open her suitcase and began throwing her clothes in. She had to get out of that house as fast as her legs could carry her. If Saeed did not want her around, she was going to leave as quickly and as quietly as possible. While she would miss both Amare and Karim, no job or relationship was worth putting up with that man.

Amare was in his study room preparing for his English exam when he heard voices coming from his father’s office. His study was positioned between his father’s and Karim’s. When he heard the voices, he picked up a glass beaker and went to eavesdrop; the way he had seen Kim do. He listened to the entire conversation as he wondered how his father had found out about Karim and Kim in the first place.

He was shocked at what he had heard from his father’s office. He could not believe that his father disliked Kim being with Karim that much. Amare was aware of how traditional his father was but he did not think that he would try to pay her off.

Amare knew that Kim did not deserve to be treated that way. He waited for a few moments after he had heard her leave his father’s office before he went to speak with him.

Saeed was in the middle of venting to his friend, Kareef, when Amare walked in. Amare looked at Kareef and then at his father.

“Father, may I have a word?”

“Not now,” Saeed snapped.

“It has to be right now.”

“What is so important that it cannot wait?”

“I overheard your conversation with Kim.” Amare was not that bothered that Kareef was in there as he was his father’s closest friend and knew his personal business. He probably already knew about them.

“That does not concern you
.”

“Father, I think you are being too harsh.”

Saeed looked at Amare as if he had lost his mind. Kareef just raised his eyebrows.

“Are all my sons bent on disobeying me now? All because of a mere woman?” Saeed laughed sarcastically.

“It is not that I am here to disobey you. I simply think that you are being too harsh. Kim has done nothing wrong.”

“Given how quickly your sons jump to her defence, it seems that this Kim is special,” Kareef commented as he looked at his old friend.

“She really is. She is a great tutor and a great person. Ever since she moved in, Karim has been much happier,” Amare answered Kareef.

“If Karim loves her, given that he is your son, I do not see him readily giving her up,” Kareef replied, hoping that his friend would see reason.

“That is why she must leave,” Saeed demanded.

“Father that makes no sense; she is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Why on earth would you want him to give that up?”

“She is a western woman!”

“So what? Times have changed.”

“I know.” Saeed sighed and fell back in his chair. After a long few minutes he finally spoke. “This world is changing fast and I do not know how to handle it.”

Amare raised his eyebrows. He’d never expected his father to say something like that. He had been fuming when Kim left his office. Kareef looked at Amare. Even he was shocked at Saeed’s sudden change of mood.

“There is nothing you can do to stop the world from changing. You just have to accept it,” Amare said. Saeed looked up at him.

“Is Karim really happy around her?” he asked.

“Yes, father, he really is. He is a different man; he is the better version of himself.”

Kareef laughed, “I never thought I would see the day that Karim changes because of a woman.” Amare agreed. He had never thought he would see that day too.

Amare first teased Kim about Karim when he saw her watching him working out in the courtyard. He later saw Karim stealing glances at her when he thought that she wasn’t looking.

Whenever she was around him, even though he was not talking to her, he seemed happier. He had even taken her advice and computerised their accounting system because of her recommendation. The old him would have never listened to her.

“I never thought I would see that day either,” Saeed replied. 

“So, will you allow Kim to stay and be with Karim? Who knows, they might not work out but shouldn’t they be at least given the opportunity to try?” Saeed was silent for a few moments.

“Fine,” he said at last, exhaling loudly.

“What? You are really going to agree?” Kareef asked in shock. Saeed’s reputation preceded him. Everyone knew how traditional and rigid he was. He even had problems with the Tazeems because of it.

He had strongly disliked Adilah Tazeem for her western ways. She may have been born of Arabic blood but she behaved like a westerner, which had made Saeed’s blood boil. He had always expressed how grateful he was that she was not his daughter.

“Yes,” Saeed nodded. “He refused to part ways with her. She also refused, no matter how much money I offered her.”

“Father, offering her money to leave Karim was just wrong.”

“I am aware of that.”

“How much did you offer her?” Kareef asked her. Amare and Saeed both looked at him as if he was crazy. “I am just curious,” he told them as he shrugged his shoulders.

“One hundred thousand,” Saeed said quietly.

“You’re worth hundreds of millions. Is that all you could offer her?” Kareef demanded.

“This isn’t a situation to joke about.”

“Even in your attempts to buy her off, you are still stingy,” Kareef told him as he laughed. Saeed narrowed his gaze at him and Amare shook his head. Even he was smart enough to know that it was too early to joke about it. “Anyway, now that you are going to let her stay, I suppose you should go have a word with her.”

“I guess so.”

“And offer an apology. It is the right thing to do,” Amare added.

Saeed rose from his seat. “This woman must be an angel. I have never seen you and your brother defend one person so much.”

“She is an amazing person and she deserves it.”

Saeed nodded. He left his office and headed to Kim’s room. He had lost to both his sons. It was only right that he went to apologise to her for his inconsiderate and rude behaviour. He hoped that she would accept and agree to stay.

When Saeed reached her room, this time he knocked before he entered. The last thing he wanted was to see his naked son splayed across her bed again. Saeed walked into her room, but Kim was nowhere to be found. He quickly searched the room before calling out to the maid.

“Where is Miss Atkins?” he asked her. The maid bowed her head before she spoke.

“Sir, Miss Atkins has left the residence with her luggage.” the maid replied.