AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 16
Joseph yawned as he looked at the silver Rolex on his wrist. He was late for his meeting. He was to meet with some of the engineers working on the new oil rig. The elevator doors opened. He stepped out and headed down the hallway quickly.
“Good morning, Sheikh Boutros,” one of the secretaries greeted him. Joseph crossed his eyebrows.
“Are you new?” he asked her.
“No, sir. I’ve been working here for six months.”
“Hmm.” Joseph opened the door and walked into the conference room. Amir and the other engineers were already sitting at the table. The engineers stood up and greeted Joseph. He dismissed them with his hand.
“Excuse my tardiness,” he said to them as he sat at the head of the table. There was an oil geologiststanding by the interactive white board. He was about to give a report.
“No worries, sheikh,” said one of the engineers.
“Please begin,” Amir said to the oil geologist. He nodded and started his report on the land. The engineers needed an estimation of how much oilthey could get from the rig, and how deep they needed to drill.
As the presentation went on, Joseph’s mind started drifting off. He started thinking about Olivia. He had never spoken to a woman for that long. He never had time and desire to entertain a woman for that long, especially one that he was not sleeping with. It was her fault that he was late to the meeting. He had stayed on the phone with her until 1 a.m. and then worked after he had finished speaking with her. He ended up sleeping longer than he intended.
“Joseph,” Amir said. Joseph snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Amir.
“Yes,” Joseph replied. Amir raised his eyebrows.
“We need to change suppliers for the drilling machines.”
“Of course.”
The meeting finally ended. Joseph was glad that it was finished. He had not been paying attention at all. It was unlike him. He was always on the ball. Fortunately, Amir was there. He handled the meeting well.
“So what is on your mind?” Amir asked Joseph as they walked out of the conference office.
“Nothing,” Joseph replied. Amir raised his eyebrows again. He did not look convinced. Joseph stopped walking. “I don’t like these offices,” he said randomly. They were at their offices outside Beirut. Joseph had not been there in months. He was suddenly realizing that the offices were poorly decorated.
“What is wrong with these offices?” Amir asked. He stopped walking and looked around.
“Those fluorescent lights look awful.”
Amir looked at Joseph. “They look fine,” he said.
“You! Come here,” Joseph called out to the secretary that had spoken to him before the meeting. She rose from her desk and rushed over to Joseph.
“Yes, Sheikh Boutros,” she said.
“These offices are appalling,” he said. “Find someone who can repaint the walls.”
“Yes, sir.” She scribbled a few notes down.
“Change the lights, the blinds and this carpet. I want the carpet stripped off and replaced with wooden floors.”
The secretary nodded and scribbled again. Amir shook his head. “You are fussy,” he said.
“Our offices have to be up to par. It reflects on our reputation,” Joseph replied. He turned his attention to the secretary. “Find out how much it would cost and send me the details. You will be in charge of the renovations. Make sure it gets done properly.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. She looked a little bit intimidated. Joseph had just sprung such an important task on her.
“What is your name anyway?” Joseph asked her.
“Noor,” she replied. Joseph nodded.
