Chapter Four
The cure for pain is in the pain~ Rumi
Talha gazes at the woman before him, he feels a mix of emotions. He feels annoyed but joyful at the same time. Her cat eyed glasses are perched on her button nose, a half eaten Kit Kat bar peeks from clenched fist and the scowl on her face can't help but make Talha a little happy. Talha bites a smile, how can this woman remind me of my younger sister. Wallah, I can't even begin... Norman clears his throat and his eyes bounce between the his Boss and new translator.
'Leave us Norman,' the domineering man turns fully to face them.
'Yes Sir.' Norman does a small shake of his head and leaves the room. Bela can't believe her eyes, she's alone in this room with the man she despises. She bites her cheek and glares at the ground. What did I do to deserve this? Honestly! This man will ruin me. Why am I here?! As if sensing her dissatisfaction Talha saunters over to the front of his desk and leans on it whilst his hands creep into the pockets of his creaseless trousers. He notes her discomfort and thinks of a way to break the ice.
'It's nice to meet you again, Bela.' Hearing her name from this villain makes her feel uneasy.
'I don't wish to say the same for you, Mr. Jabir.' She grits her teeth angrily at the man's arrogance. He smirks and stands upright.
'There's the intolerable woman I know. You had me worried.' His teasing pushes all her buttons. Bela looks away, my Lord get me out of here please! Talha positions himself on his plush leather chair and points his index finger at a less comfortable one in front of him; these were for those clients that requested to meet him. Bela holds her head high and creeps over to the chair a few feet away. She sits gracefully and examines everything on the desk. He's a neat freak just like me, ha! Pens in a tiny holder, a couple of antiques, miswak and attar on the side, two files on his right- getting way ahead of myself!
'Why am I here?' Talha watches her expression morph from amusement to irritation in an instant, this woman is truly something else.
'To be my translator, interpreter, mediator or whatever you want to call it- officially.' Bela glances at the ruthless businessman.
'So this is my promotion?' She scoffs.
'Most people would consider this an honor.' Talha leans into his chair and plays with the ring on his finger.
'Yeah, crazy people.' Bela watches his actions, they both understand the obvious attraction but completely deny it. Mainly because they can't stand each other and their faith forbids any act between a man and woman outside of marriage. That's the last thing they both want right now. Talha stares into her eyes and Bela swallows, the room is quiet. Clearly he didn't like my joke, think of something to say!
'What do I need to do?'
'You'll sign a contract agreeing to work for me for six months, you'll be at my every beck and call; meetings, lunches, dinners and the like. You'll be at the office at nine o'clock and leave at no later than six, again this will depend on what I have planned for the evening. Wherever I go, you follow and a decent pay check will be on stand by at the end of every month, that is if you can survive.' Talha smirks as he adds the last part. Bela's eyes are as wide as saucers, she didn't expect this.
'Six months?'
'Yes.'
'That's a long time.' He wants me to work under him for that long? What?!
'It's the usual period for any temporary employee. Why does it matter?' Talha shifts his chair to an angle to watch her troubled face.
'We can't even have a proper conversation for less than an hour without wanting to kill each other, imagine me spending nine hours of each day with you.' Bela rubs her temples.
