2

“Ziniya!” Anya screamed at her sister, who was sleeping like a log.

Oh no! I’m late, was the first thought Ziniya had as soon as she woke up. The entire night went with her tossing and turning, and by the time she was asleep, it was already dawn. It was her sister who woke her up harshly when her alarm was ringing continuously, despite her being in a deep sleep. If not for her, Ziniya would still be sleeping, forgetting that she had a job. Although she was grateful to her sister for waking her up, she was still late for her office.

“Stop right there,” Fazal, who knew his daughter’s tactics, called her out before she could step out of the house. She was quickly putting on her footwear and pretending not to hear her father.

“You are skipping your breakfast and also your medicines,” her mother said sternly.

“Dad, I’m already late for the office,” Ziniya said, giving him a pleading look, the tension palpable in the air.

“No food, no office,” he said, his voice carrying the weight of his authority.

“But Dad, I’m already late, I’ll have something in the cafeteria, I promise,” she replied, giving out the best smile.

“I’ll drop you, but there is no way you are going without having your food,” he added, taking her bag from her shoulder.

Before she could protest, a raised brow from her father was what she got, and she sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping.

“I’m late,” she said to her father with a frown.

“A healthy daughter is better than a jobless daughter,” her father said, and the moment he said it, she gave him a bored look.

“Stop giving me looks, you said you are already late, go now!” he said, making Ziniya glance at her watch again.

“BYE!” her father shouted as she rushed inside the building.

She was going through various excuses she could use when her boss asked, and frantically searched her bag for her ID card to swipe at the lobby, which distracted her from noticing where she was heading. The next moment, she bumped into someone’s back and was about to step back when she stumbled on her foot. Before she would hit the ground, she vaguely saw a movement and heard someone’s voice, and an arm grabbed her before she fell.

She was still trying to grasp what had just happened when she heard a warm and concerned voice, “Are you alright?”

A pair of chocolate brown orbs were staring into hers while still holding her by her arms. She pushed his hands away, “I would have if you had not bumped into me,” Ziniya retorted, looking at a man in a formal shirt.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have eyes behind my head; otherwise, I would have seen you. And for your information, I’m standing at the reception desk, not in the way,” he replied with an amusing smile, crossing his arms around his chest.

It was then Ziniya gazed around to see he was right. If not for him, in her daze to find her card, she would have bumped into the desk. People, who were already gathered around the desk, were giving her weird looks, along with the lady at the reception. She noticed that all of them were holding their resumes, along with the guy who had saved her from falling. Embarrassed at her clumsiness and annoyed at his amused smile, she couldn’t help mutter, “Whatever,” and walked away.

“It was nice bumping into you,” he said with a raised voice, seeing her walk away without saying thank you, which made the people around them let out a round of laughter.

“Ass,” she cursed under her breath. She was already late and couldn’t spare a minute to give him a reply. She was sure he came for the interview by the look of his formal attire and the file he was carrying. She was sure she wouldn’t be seeing him again, and thus didn’t have to waste her energy on him.

As soon as she reached her floor, she sheepishly glanced around for her boss and tiptoed towards her desk, clutching her bag closer to her chest, praying inwardly for a miracle to save her.

“20 minutes!” she flinched, dropping her bag with a thud on the floor when she heard her manager’s voice from behind, “Care to explain for your late coming?”

Licking her lips anxiously, she turned to face him with a tight-lipped smile.

“You were not well, or the bus was late, or someone from your family needed urgent medical attention?” he questioned her with a raised brow.

“None,” she whispered before lowering her head. Her colleagues were looking at them, some hiding their laughter, some openly giving her a taunting look.

“None? This is your third instance in a month,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said, fidgeting with her bag.

“Come to my cabin,” was all he said before walking ahead of her.

Her boss, Zaid Hussain, was a man in his early 40s. He always admired Ziniya for her hard work, and that was why he would overlook her lateness to work; however, it had become a regular occurrence and had been brought to his attention by her colleague. As a manager, he had to treat everyone equally. As soon as Ziniya entered the cabin, she saw her boss working on his laptop and gesturing to her to sit.

“Ms. Jabri,” he started, leaning forward on his forearm and gesturing for her to sit, a clear indication of his authority.

“I’ll be clear with you, so far we have excused your late comings, and as your well-wisher, I want to let you know that soon this kind of misconduct will be taken seriously. The company is undergoing a transition, and new management will take over in the next two days. I suggest you pull up your socks and don’t give them a reason.

“You know when a takeover happens, employee layoff will be the first step, and it would be a loss to us if new management chose to lay you off for a petty issue,” he concluded.

“New management?” she asked.

“Yes, if you had come on time, you would have heard the announcement. The decision was abrupt, in my opinion, since our company is performing well financially. I don’t know why management chose to go ahead with the takeover,” he said, lost in his thoughts.

“Who is taking over?” she asked.

“It’s confidential. I can’t disclose details; however, I could inform you beforehand. Don’t give them a reason to notice you or don’t fall into the bad books of new management,” he said with a sigh.

“I hope you understood what I mean,” he added.

Ziniya was still lost in her thoughts, coming out of the cabin when her friend, Naila, nudged her.

“Why were you late?” she asked.

Nightmares, she wanted to say, but ended up saying, “I bumped into someone.”

“Oh, someone handsome?” Naila asked expectantly. The moment she asked, a pair of brown orbs flashed before her.

“Don’t start again,” Ziniya rolled her eyes.

“Ok, fine, what did he say?” she asked, pointing towards their boss’s cabin.

“About our company’s takeover,” Ziniya murmured, walking along with her friend towards her desk.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Naila said, surprising Ziniya, who immediately asked, “Why do you think like that?”

“Oh, for once be optimistic,” Naila said, making Ziniya roll her eyes.

“What?” Naila asked with a frown.

“I know your optimism, I bet you are thinking the owner would be a handsome hunk who would go head over heels for you,” Ziniya said, sitting on the chair, making her friend scowl at her.

“What’s wrong with that?” she retorted.

“Nothing is wrong, but the fact that those rich handsome hunks are nothing but losers who survive on Daddy’s money and, for enjoyment, use women like us. The day they are bored, they won’t think twice before dumping them away,” Ziniya said; however, her face couldn’t hide the pain.

“Zini, not every man is like that,” Naila said with a sigh.

“Correct, only rich brats, who have nothing to lose, are like that,” Ziniya replied.

“I hope you will find your soulmate soon,” Naila replied before taking her seat beside her.

“You can only hope for that miracle to happen,” she muttered under her breath while the same orbs flashed before her again.

The next day, Ziniya made sure to be on time for the office; however, what she was not expecting was to see the same chocolate-brown orbs looking at her with the same amused smile.

“Who are you? No, actually, I should be asking, what are you doing at my desk?” she asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

“Maybe expecting a thank you for saving you yesterday,” he replied with a shrug.

“How did you enter the floor without access?” she asked.

“Like this,” saying that, he got up from the chair and walked towards the entry door, and came back to her desk.

“See, that was easy, no,” he said, stifling a laugh, seeing Ziniya going red with anger.

“Listen—” Ziniya raised a finger; however, Zaid interrupted her, “Oh, I see you already met your mentee.”

“Mentee?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, we hired a new batch, and each of you has been assigned a new joiner. Since we are short of time to train them, management thought this way would be easier for them to learn,” Zaid replied.

“You are lucky to shadow one of our best,” he added, looking towards the man.

“Indeed, I’m,” he replied, making Ziniya curse under her breath.

“Ayaaz, I expect you to learn and be like Ziniya,” Zaid said before walking away.

Ziniya made herself busy, knowing well that Ayaaz’s gaze was following her every move. If the revelation about him being her mentee annoyed her, her friend didn’t leave any stone unturned to irk her more.

“How come you get to mentor a hottie like him?” Naila whispered as soon as she saw them.

“I would be glad to exchange him with your mentee,” came Ziniya’s reply.

“Oh, is it possible?” Naila squealed before forwarding her hand to Ayaaz, “Hi, I’m Naila.”

“Ayaaz, a pleasure to meet you,” he said, bowing his head and kissing the back of her hand, making her blush.

“Me too,” she replied shyly while Ziniya could only roll her eyes, seeing their banter.