Stand by me

25. It goes around.

The title means that the way you treat others in a superior way, someone else will do the same to you, and you won't be able to stop it. Enjoy.

The other night.

After Old Xav dropped Safiyya at her apartment, he rushed back to Alfred's house. The boy he thought he had put to sleep was awake, hugging the blanket and sobbing.

"My goodness, Joseph. What's wrong?" Old Xav kneeled before the bed and asked concerned.

Joseph bit his lips and hiccuped. "I can't sleep Old Xav. I miss my mummy. I haven't seen her for two weeks, Old Xav. I want to go to my mummy."

Old Xav sighed and rubbed Joseph's hair.
"Don't worry boy. You will see your mummy soon," he said but Joseph shook his head and replied, "Daddy won't let me. I know that," that was what pained him even more and he was always kept in this house alone. To him, it was just a cage.

"What if I tell you that I met your mummy today?" Old Xav whispered and Joseph gazed at him inquisitively and hopefully. Old Xav smiled and told him, "I met your mummy just now and she gave me a message for you."

"Really?!" Joseph exclaimed and he clenched Old Xav's hands with watering eyes. The old man smiled and pulled the boy's cheek. "Yes, Joseph. Your mummy said that you should stop punishing yourself. She said that she loves you so much and will come to you soon. Very soon." he added.

Joseph blinked several times before a grin formed on his face. His mummy is still out there, waiting for him. The news made him so elated that he forgot his worries.
"She's coming to meet me. Mummy Sofiyya is coming!" he squeaked.

"Calm down Joseph, "Old Xav whispered and Jospeh quickly palmed his mouth. "We can't let your daddy know that your mummy contacted you. Just be hopeful okay?"

Joseph nodded with a smile and wiped his tears.
"Now sleep so that when your mummy sees you, she'll see a healthy son," Old Xav smiled and tucked Joseph into bed. The boy was in a good mood, so in just a few minutes, he fell asleep. It has been long since he slept this peacefully.

The next morning, Alfred was surprised as he saw Joseph laughing at the dining table while having breakfast with Old Xav but when he approached them, Joseph frowned and grabbed his bag to leave. Old Xav gave Alfred an apologetic smile and went after Joseph. They reached the car and even when Alfred spoke to his so, the boy didn't even spare him a glance and entered the car.

You don't want me to see my mummy, well, I don't want to see you either!

Back to the present,

Irene narrowed her eyes as she watched Safiyya. She left an important file for the meeting in Alfred's office and instead of sending Lucas, she came up herself but was greeted with this. She did tell Lando to report Safiyya to Alfred because she felt downgraded to deal with little problems but she never expected that Alfred would call Safiyya to his office.

"What are you doing here?" She asked coldly.

Safiyya thought quickly and answered, "Sir Alfred called for me,"

Irene took a glimpse at Alfred who lowered his head and lightly rubbed his beard.

Always disinterested! She hissed inwardly and glared at Safiyya.
"I heard of what you did today girl. You even had the guts to tell Lando to report you to the CEO," she said, watching Safiyya superficially. "I wonder if you take this company for a joke. You were given just a simple task and here you are complaining. It seems you are enjoying the company well."

Safiyya was speechless. Simple task? They made her work something four people did and now she had to deliver the files too. How was that small task? She just stayed quiet not giving any response.

Irene was satisfied by the reaction and smiled, glancing at the folded paper on the ground. She briefly glanced at Alfred and saw that his eyes were closed. She then turned to Safiyya and said, "I think that you are right. It's not your job to deliver files to offices and we'll see to it that we fix this."

Safiyya was surprised, not knowing what Irene was hinting at. She would be stupid if she believed what Irene was saying.

Irene flipped her hair and said, "Now before that, pick these papers. Will you?"

Safiyya blinked and glanced at Alfred but she saw that nonchalant man again. Why did she even look at him? If she argues with Irene now, who knows what the woman will do next? She nodded and bent down to pick them up.

Just like you deserve, Irene scoffed inwardly watching this.
"Now leave. I'll do something about it," she said. Safiyya nodded and walked out of the office. 

"So annoying," Irene rolled her eyes and turned to Alfred who now opened his eyes.
"I left this," she smiled and picked the files up. "I'm surprised you let that Muslim into your office. Be wary of her because they are more than you expect," she added.

"I know that," Alfred said. "How good is her job in the filing office?" he asked.

Irene remembered what Lando told her. Even with the pressure, Safiyya has been very efficient and hardly made mistakes.
"She still has a lot to learn and it seems she is stubborn. I might have been light-handed a bit," she returned.

"What are the Hollys getting at by arranging another meeting?" Alfred asked instead.

Irene took a deep breath and replied, "Apparently, they want to have members from their side participate in the design."

"Isn't that a confidential work of Hill Corp? I'm sure that it was stated in the contract, that only the designers here will work. They must be stupid if they think that I will let them," Alfred hissed. This is just an insult.

"They did agree to it when they agreed to be part of the investors but they suddenly gave this request yesterday saying that it will be beneficial to the deal," Irene said.

Alfred became thoughtful as he looked at her. "An agreement is an agreement. They must have another motive for making this request. Why didn't you tell me that before accepting to go to the meeting?" he inquired.

"You let me head this deal, so I want to deal with it myself," Irene replied.

"That doesn't mean that I should be kept in the dark. You know how serious this is Irene," Alfred said seriously.

"That's why I'm giving my best to it Alfred," Irene argued with a frown.

Alfred pinched his brows and sighed.
"I trust you to do a good job but just in case, inform me of such details. I can't take any risks. Taking advice from others won't hurt, you know," he told her.

She flexed her fingers before nodding. "I will be off now. I can't be late," she said and left the office.

Alfred shifted in his seat, still thinking of the Hollys. It seems he needs to get involved even if it's from the back.

Meanwhile, Safiyya went back downstairs to the filing office and was surprised by who she met there.

Any guess on who? Until the next chapter, Fi AmaniAllah.