And You became my Dawn

Chapter# 3

~*~

After dinner and praying Isha (night pray), I lied on the bed beside Hareem. Areeba and I decided not to let Ami and Hareem sleep alone and I guess we both also didn't want to be left alone anymore.

Don't know for how long I have been staring at the ceiling. Suddenly my attention was caught by the sound of running footsteps from the living room. I silently got up from the bed so Hareem won't be disturbed. When I entered the living room, I saw Areeba standing in the middle of the room, out of breath. She must have been praying as her head was still covered with a dupatta.

She saw me standing and mumbled Sorry.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Areeba?"

"It's nothing, bajjo! I thought I heard Papa calling me." She said in a low voice, looking at her feet.

I massaged my temples for not knowing what to do.

"Go to sleep Areeba, it's getting late."

" You too, bajjo. Shab-a-khair (good night)"

"Shab-a-khair"

I gave a glance to my peacefully sleeping Ami before going back to my room. I lie down next to Hareem and gently put my arm around her, cautious not to nudge her injured arm.

Papa, Shoaib! My first day of work wasn't that bad...

I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping that tonight's sleep won't shun me away.

~*~

As I enter the building, I was greeted by the smiling face of Mr Ali.

"Assalam o Alaikum!" He said in his usual happy voice.

"Waallaikum Assalam." I answered as we both reached the elevator.

"Ladies first." He stepped aside and let me in first.

"Will Mr Ahmed be coming today?" I asked him out of nowhere.

It's my second week on the job but I barely see him. He always seems to be on outdoor work.

"Yes, he will. The work on site has almost ended, the only thing that's left is a few formal meetings. So he will be here from now on and you'll be attending all meetings with him."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're his assistant, remember?"

"Oh!" I said, looking at my feet.

"Don't worry. I'll guide you through the meetings, okay?" He smiled at me.

Mr Ali is the only one whom I can talk to without hesitation. It wasn't like I don't talk to everyone else, it's just that he was more easygoing than others. As I enter my office, I found Mr Ahmed standing there. When he saw me he looked at his watch, I also copy his movement and look at the time on my watch.

I am on time!

I sighed in relief.

"Sandal, I want all the files of the last three months on my table in fifteen minutes, and my tea also, strong with one teaspoon of sugar." He said in a strict tone and rushed back to his office.

Always in a rush.

In the last few days, I had rearranged all the files and documents of the office. So it didn't take me long to search for the files.

Within ten minutes, I was standing in Mr Ahmed's office. His tea was now on his table along with the files he asked for. He looked at me with a somewhat surprised expression but didn't say anything. Then his eyes landed on my feet.

"Tell me Sandal, are you here to run a marathon?" He asked, frowning at me.

"Pardon?"

"Don't wear sneakers on the job again." He said, combing his light brown hair with his right hand.

"But it's..." I tried to tell him that I am not used to wearing sandals while travelling by public transport, but he cut me off.

"Don't argue and do as I say." 

" Okay!" I nodded, remembering Mr Ali saying 'don't say no to the boss'.

"Here! Take this file and read all the details about this project and arrange a meeting tomorrow with Arshad Farooq. His card is in the file, you can get his number from it." He said as he handed me the file.

I nodded and took the file from him. As I was about to leave, he called me again.

"You will be going into a meeting with me tomorrow, so try to look like a normal girl. But if you're clueless about how a normal girl looks like, then I can arrange a makeover for you." He said, making a disgusted face.

What the hell...

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Hi there and Assalam o allikum!

Please don't hate Ahmed for his comments on Sandal. He has his own reasons for hating girls like her.
Vote and comment, how is the story going and what are your expectations?

Take care :)