Two

The present

The ringing of her phone brought her out of her reverie, she reached out reluctantly and picked the phone from the bedside table, she stared at the screen for a while, stared at the caller ID which read 'Raysham', few seconds before the ringing stopped she answered the call and raised the phone to her ear.

"Did I wake you?".  Came his calm and smooth voice.

Her heart mourned.  After a quiet inhalation of a deep breath she answered;

"No, I was already up".

"How are you?".

How was she? How was she??

"Good, as always". She lied smoothly.

"Mind if I stop by later?".

She rubbed her temple wearily and pulled herself up to a sitting position suppressing a groan as the pain in her head hit mercilessly.

"That'd be nice". She began. "But I won't be free today, I have a meeting and several other appointments". She said.

Silence.

She bit her lower lip as she waited for him to speak, finally he said;

"Take care of yourself then".

She simply nodded though he couldn't see her.

"I'll call you back later". He said.

"Alright". Was her simple reply.

They both remained quiet after that, both remained on the line, both listened to each other’s breathing patterns, the quiet inhalations and exhalations, it may have been over the phone but both if them could feel the uneasiness, the presence of a thick and intense tension, unsaid words lingered in the air, words that would probably solve everything.

After a full minute of saying nothing she decided to hang up. She tossed the phone aside whilst blinking back the tears that threatened to spill, she had made this decision and she would live with it, with that thought at the back of her mind she climbed out of bed and headed to the adjoining bathroom, it was time to freshen up, time to take the cruel world head on.

***

He sat alone staring into space, staring at nothing in particular, the loneliness was consuming, the emptiness was overbearing and the silence was deafening. His mind drifted to the first time he had set his eyes on her, how different she had seemed from every other woman he'd met, how much she had stood out ,how she had proved all of his suspicions wrong, how she had surpassed all of his expectations, and how he couldn't understand how things got so messy, so complicated.

3 years ago

Several waitresses had come to take his order and had flirted with him in the process, he had politely refused to order saying he awaited someone.  He glanced at his wristwatch again, he had set the meeting to 9.pm, he had been here thirty minutes earlier because he had been in the area and had decided to stop by earlier. He expected her to be here by 9:15pm; women and tardiness and all.

The hush hums of posh people talking quietly hung lightly in the atmosphere as did the soft music playing, he sighed and pulled out his phone, hence he was bound to wait for the Tardy Ms. Bilal he might as well get some work done while he waited.

On tapping the screen of his phone he recalled an overdue phone call he had to make, it had slipped his mind completely, his mind had been occupied with strategizing and planning how the meeting would go, no doubts that Ms. Bilal was a smart woman ,one which excelled in a game of manipulation and calculation, one who was his top rival. To get to the top he needed to get close to her, learn how she worked, her strategies, strengths and weaknesses, he needed to know where to strike in other to bring her down, what better way to do all that than to propose a terminal partnership?

He'd learn her game and soon enough he'd play better than her.

He dialed his secretary's line and raised the phone to his ear, it wasn't long before she answered the call.

"Evening Sir". She greeted warmly.

"Evening Safa, I'd like those files transferred to my resident, I want them to be there when I get back". He said.

"Yes sir, on it".

He hung up and looked up when he heard the approaching footsteps of another waitress, he mentally rolled his eyes. Did they not get tired of trying? Weren't there other eligible young men they could flirt with?

"Sir". She said softly, she almost purred. "Ms. Bilal is here".

He arched a brow questioningly. She was here already? That was quite unexpected.

"Lead her here, please". He said.

She smiled and nodded before she turned around and began walking away, swaying her hips wantonly, now he did roll his eyes think that could have been done so much more gracefully.

He dragged in a deep breath to ready himself to meet Ms. Bilal, it wasn't long before the waitress returned with a lady gracefully trailing behind her, their gazes met and he found it hard to look away, not that he hadn't seen countless pictures of her, just that she looked different, she didn't have the dark and bold make-up plastered on her face, she looked a lot younger than she did in the pictures. She was dressed casually yet she appeared elegant and graceful. He blinked quickly and stood up, it was unprofessional to harbor such thoughts, she was aware of her good looks and she would most definitely use them to her advantage.

He walked around the table and pulled back the chair opposite his for her to sit.

"Please". He said gesturing to the chair.

She smiled courteously before gracefully settling down with a quiet

"Thank you".

He returned to his seat, once he was settled and ready to begin he said;

"Good evening, Ms. Bilal" .

"Good Evening Mr. Muhammad". She replied .

"Did you have a pleasant drive here?". He asked out of decorum and courtesy, he was a gentleman after all.

"I did". She said with her softly smile still in place. "Thank you for asking".

Her voice sounded soft and sophisticated, it was laced with a slight English accent which he found appealing. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was also at Oxford during his time there.

"My pleasure". He said simply, the subtle English accent in his tone also ringing out. "Would you like to order now? I've been here for a while".

He slid the menu across the table gently.

"Oh I see, I believe I'm not quite late". She said glancing at her wristwatch. "In fact I am on time, Mr. Muhammad".

She cast a smile his way, he saw right through it, he tried not to scoff. He had meant no disrespect when he said he had been here for a while, she was obviously in her professional character, or perhaps that was her default setting.

He smiled subtly.

"That you are". He said, darkness edging his tone.

He watched her slender fingers pick up the menu and open it, she scanned through it before she picked up a pencil and marked something, she closed it, set it down on the table and slid it over to him like he had done.

"Done". She said.

He signaled for a waiter and one of the ladies he'd so never wanted to see again came to take their order.

"I'll have what the lady's having". He said handing her the menu.

She smiled Sleazily and collected it. He cringed mentally.

"Your order will be here soon". She informed before she turned around and walked away .

They waited quietly for their order to arrive, he took in her composed features, an air of nonchalance lingered around her, she appeared as though she was on a casual date with some dude with loads of cheesy pick-up lines, her small smile never for once faltering.

Irritation set in as the waitress returned and set down their 'order, his eyes scanned the plates of vegetable salad quickly, he raised his gaze to meet the waitress's at once.

"Your order, sir". She said softly.

She carefully set the plates before them and filled their glasses with water.

"Will that be all?". She asked.

"I'd like a bottle of your richest wine". He said.

He needed more than just a plate of chopped vegetables to get through the evening.

The waitress nodded and walked away.

It hadn't been part of his plan to have a plate of salad for dinner, but he had no right to complain, after all it was he who said he'd have what the lady ordered, he picked up a fork from the set of arranged cutleries and dug into the salad.

"Vegetarian?". He asked her after he'd forced the awful salad down his throat.

She shook her head.

"No, why?". She asked as if she really didn't know why he was asking.

He shook his head.

"Never mind". He said.

He was more than glad when the waitress finally returned with the wine, she set it down along with two glasses and expertly filled them up before she walked away.

He picked up his glass, raised the rim to his lips and took a sip of the wine, the taste was rich and delectable, just as he liked it.  He was about to pour himself another glass when he realized she hadn't touched hers.

"You don't drink wine?". He asked.

She took a small sip from her glass of water before she dabbed at her lips softly with a napkin.

"I do, but not on business meetings". She replied. "I prefer to do business with a clear head".

He resisted the urge to snicker. So she got tipsy after a few glasses?

"Of course, that's very smart of you Ms. Bilal". He said. Even a deaf man could hear the sarcasm in his tone. "It’s no wonder you're at the level you are today".

She nodded once.

"You don't like the salad?". She said as she cast a glance at his barely touched plate.

He shook his head.

"It’s great, but I'd rather not have it right now"". He said.

He could swear he saw a smirk flash on her lips but it was gone almost immediately.

They both remained quiet after that, they finished eating quietly and the table was cleared and ready for business.

After an hour of discussion he was not only impressed by her intelligence but was also swayed by the soft melody of her voice, it was indeed no wonder she was at the level she was, she was a woman, a smart and attractive one at that, she was beauty and brains personified. She stood out, he was determined to see more of her, how great it would be to watch her loosen up, to watch her drop her professional demeanor, how great it would be to actually get to know her.

"So Ms. Bilal, do we have ourselves a deal?". He said.

His eyes never left hers; it felt as though he was staring into a sea of melted brown marbles.

She nodded and said. "Yes, we do have ourselves a deal, Mr. Muhammad".

With that they both stood up so that they could seal the deal with a handshake.

"I look forward to working with you, Ms. Bilal". He said as their hands locked in a handshake.

"Likewise". Was her simple reply.