I took the next two days off to take care of mom. Since I wasn't sure of the Maldives job, I did not share the news even with her. I felt suspicious. Something told me that it was a hoax in response to all the pranks I played on Arish.

However, when I returned to work, Arish cleared up a few things for me.

"How is your mom now?" was the first question he asked me.

"Feeling a lot better. She keeps thanking you," I said.

"It was nothing actually," he replied humbly. I smiled.

There was an awkward silence in the room and then he asked, "Were you able to check the email?"

"Yeah," I said softly.

"What do you think? If you are still dreaming of New York, don't take this up. Wait for some time and I will try to find you something there. But if you are okay with the place, let me know," he said with a smile.

"The place doesn't matter to me. I just want to move abroad. But— is this some kind of sick joke?" I asked awkwardly. I still couldn't trust him fully. He may have helped my mother. But I could not put away the misogynistic statement he made and the bad blood we had so easily.

He raised his eyebrows and replied, "I would never joke with you, especially not with regards to topics like this." He was clearly taking a jibe at my past dramatic behavior.

"But then—" I paused.

"What?" he asked.

"The job title says, 'Marketing Manager'. It doesn't feel real because of that," I said.

"Why not? Don't you think you have the potential to handle a role like that?" he asked. I felt like he was going to insult me towards the end saying that I was incapable.

"It's not like that. But it's too big of a promotion for someone at my level. Even the one I tried before — at New York was just a junior position. So, that's why this feels unbelievable," I replied.

"I understand your concern but then here's the thing. The Maldives office is much smaller than even the Sri Lankan one. In fact, you know that it was only recently put up. So, with your experience it's doable. At least, I see it that way," he clarified.

"Oh okay," I said reluctantly.

"And one more thing. Maybe it is still in its early stages compared to our other offices, but you will definitely get a pay raise matching the job title," he assured me. It almost felt like he read my mind.

"That's great. It is important to me," I said smilingly.

"Alright then. If everything is fine by you, I can speak to HR and proceed forward," he looked at me eagerly expecting a response.

"But don't you want to conduct interviews and choose the best candidate?" I asked.

"Uh— yeah, we can go about that route too. But then I clearly see potential in you. So, we need not even take it to an interview level," he replied.

"That doesn't sound right. What if there's a better candidate than me?" I suddenly started thinking of someone worthy of losing this opportunity because of an amends made for the sake of me. That would be unfair. So, I had to raise the question.

Arish laughed and then asked, "Zyva, let me just ask you one question. Do you consider this a good opportunity for you?"

I nodded.

"Then why do you have to bother about anyone else? Shouldn't you be happy about you getting it?" he asked with a thoughtful look.

"I should totally. I know that. I would have certainly done that if only I didn't know the pain of losing something that I very well-deserved," I said. Then after a pause, I added, "Also, I feel like you are doing this solely to compensate for what you did with the New York thing. I mean, it's a great gesture. I appreciate it. But what if you end up hurting someone else because of yet another half-baked decision?"

"Zyva—," he gave a chuckle and said, "I'm never the kind of guy to make business decisions for personal reasons."

"But you did it previously with my case," I reminded him.

"You need to understand something. What happened previously was wrong in one sense. Like you say, maybe I was influenced by an age-old belief, and I regret the unfairness it caused you. But then, my decision to choose Mahesh wasn't simply because he was a man. I liked the way he spoke at the interview. And I got to know recently that he is doing a decent job there. So, no matter how flawed my thinking might have been, my choice was still right for the company," said Arish.

I felt like he was making sense, but I did not want to look persuaded. So, I rolled my eyes at the mention of Mahesh's name. I hated that dude anyway.

"So, the same way, even here, I'm not offering you this position because of the rift we have. Of course, I have tried to make amends in other ways. But I would never put the company at stake to please an individual, no matter who it is. Truth is, in my experience in working with you for the past three to four months, I understand that you are a very capable employee. And I choose you solely for that," he added.

"Whatever!" I sighed and then continued, "I'm glad that you finally admit that you are misogynistic."

Since Arish was still trying to prove his point, I did not want to let go of mine so easily either. If he was right, then I was right too. I felt like the bad blood between us would never come to an end. We were somehow at each other's throats.

Arish started laughing and then he spoke, "Oh My! Zyva, you are unbelievable. You somehow want to use that term on me, don't you?"

Damn! Did I hear it right? Did he just say "my Zyva"? Okay, he may have meant it in some other sense. But why did it bring back that feeling of butterflies in the stomach? Ewww! Was I going back to my old state? I hoped not!

"I- I get no special happiness in calling that you that. I just pointed out what I felt." I lied obviously. Calling him a 'misogynist' gave me a whole new level of satisfaction each time.

"Okay, I believe you!" He nodded in a way that showed that he obviously did not.

"Anyway, let me do this right," he started, and I wondered what he was referring to. He then continued speaking, "Maybe I came on too strong. Maybe I played my cards wrong. I apologize for it. Sorry for everything, Zyva."

Well, now that felt like a proper apology unlike the one he did before. So, I decided to forgive him this time. "It's okay," I said with a slight smile.

"Finally! I hope you wouldn't use that term on me anymore," he said, pursing his lips.

"I will try to," I replied and added with a chuckle, "although I will definitely tell my children in the future that I once had a misogynistic boss who eventually changed because of me." Arish shook his head and broke into laughter too.

Then out of nowhere, another doubt crept into my mind. Was Arish doing this out of sympathy?

"I want to ask you something else," I said.

"Sure, go ahead," he replied.

"Are you trying to offer me this position because you pity me?" I asked.

"Why would I pity you?" he questioned me back.

"Because I ended up telling you my sob story, about my dad," I spoke with a look of self-disgust. Then I sighed and continued, "And people generally like to help someone with a sob story because that makes them feel good about themselves. Like doing charity for the needy. So, if that's the case, I don't want this. I don't want this at all. Because I'm not an attention-seeker and I absolutely hate people sympathizing with me."

"I get it. I don't like sympathy either," said Arish at once and added, "And of course, this has got nothing to do with that. I can vouch for it."

"Wait, wait, wait. What? You know about sympathy?" I asked with a disapproving look.

"Yeah, why not?" He made a strange face. It didn't look like he was lying although I strongly felt that.

"Because when have silver spoon babies ever experienced sympathy from anyone? So, that's why it sounds bogus when you say that," I replied with a chuckle.

"Maybe I was not always a silver spoon baby," he said smilingly.

I was confused. Something didn't add up. What was he even trying to say? As far as I knew, his family started Embark Apparels around fifty years back. So, obviously ever since he was born, he should have experienced the riches. It was not like they became recently wealthy or anything, right?

Arish must have noticed the doubtful look on my face because he said, "That's a whole other story. I will tell you when I feel like it."

Woah! So, he had a story too? I felt so inquisitive. I wanted to hear it right at that time. But then I didn't insist because that would have made me sound very gossipy.

Therefore, I only said, "Sure," and did not dig further.

"Right then. Very soon I will keep you informed about the other things – salaries and benefits," said Arish at the end and I left his office, feeling hyped up.

My dream was finally about to come true!

However, as days passed, I felt constantly anxious about what was going to happen with the Maldives plan. Of course, I saw it progressing, unlike the New York one. And even the relationship I had with Arish improved. I felt like the "bad blood" phase was finally coming to an end. But I somehow experienced the jitters no matter what. I guess it was the disappointing experience from the past that still haunted me.

This was why when Arish inquired one day about whether I had started looking into the visa and passport thing, I told him "not yet." Because I was still feeling unsure. And I didn't want to overprepare.

"Why not? Just a few weeks more and you would have to submit the relevant documents to HR for them to proceed with it," said Arish.

"I know. I'm just— uh—" I sighed and added, "waiting till I get the final confirmation".

"It is confirmed, Zyva. Why are you still doubtful?" he asked.

"Umm— I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking. But it's just that I get this feeling what if one of the other Ahmeds suddenly decides to have an interview or something and then the decision changes?" I replied.

Arish smiled and said, "No, that won't happen. The decisions with the Maldives office are solely mine. Nobody else would interfere with it because it's— well, uh— it's my investment. So yeah, even though it goes under the same umbrella, I reserve the right to decide things."

I gaped at him in awe. Then without filtering my words, I ended up saying, "You have your own company at this age? Wow! So cool!" I either sounded like a brown aunty or a gold digger. Ewww!

"Maybe that's all I have," he said with a chuckle.

"Ah, please, don't try to sound so modest now. You have these too," I reminded him about the other Embark Apparel offices.

"Okay, here's the thing. I have never told this to anyone before, but I don't mind telling you. None of this belongs to me," he paused and then added, "because like you guessed it right sometime back, I'm not blood-related to the Ahmed family."

"Say what?" I replied in shock. As far as I knew, he was a grandson too. This was confusing.

"My mother got remarried into the Ahmed family after my father's death. So, that's why I told you the other day, I did not always have the 'silver spoon life' as you claim it to be. In fact, I moved to New York only after that. My childhood was in Sri Lanka," he shed light on his previous statement.

That clarified a lot of doubts that I had about him. I had always wondered why he was much younger than the other kids of the Ahmed family and he also looked different from them. I mean, he looked better than them. Oh, and him having local contacts didn't sound so strange either like it did a few days back. After all, he had lived in Sri Lanka before.

"Oh, I didn't know that," I said. Then after a pause, I continued, "But then now you are part of the family, so, technically, all these belong to you too." I guess I again sounded like a brown aunty, talking about things that should not have been my concern at all. Silly me!

"Well, true enough. And my stepdad, the uncles, and everybody else in the family love me a lot and they do treat me like I'm one of their own. They have mentioned to me quite a lot of times that I will also get a share from the family property but then, I don't want any of this. It's rightfully not mine and therefore, I don't feel like it belongs to me. Or, if I am to say it in your words, I don't want to accept anything given because of sympathy. Whatever I have should be my own. That's why I set up the Maldives office with my earnings and I hope you will help me grow it big," said Arish with a wide grin.

"That's a big responsibility. I will try my best," I assured him.

Then he asked, "Super! By the way, is it just you and mom at home? You have no siblings?"

"Yeah, just us," I replied.

"Oh, I hope you are getting the visa and passport sorted for her too then," he said.

"No, I'm not. I can't afford to take her with me right now. Maybe I will consider doing that after I settle down a bit," I replied.

"Don't be silly. You must keep her with you. She's old. Who will take care of her when you are not around?" He raised a very valid question. Something that I had been thinking of too ever since she fell sick.

"Uh— she will be fine, I think. And I will also ask the relatives to check on her from time to time," I said.

"I don't think that will work. How about this—," he paused. I became a bundle of nerves. I felt like he would say that I should not go to Maldives because of mom. Something told me that I was going to lose yet another opportunity.

But to my surprise, his suggestion was, "You will be anyway provided free accommodation by the company. I will make sure that we sort out a place for two. I can't promise anything fancy but at least you both will get to stay together."

I remained silent because once again, he was trying to be overly nice and it made me feel that he was doing it out of sympathy or guilt.

"What? You don't like it?" he asked after a while.

"Arish, thank you. But— I think I made myself very clear to you the other day. I don't want to receive any extra benefits out of pity or because you want to compensate for a previous error," I said.

He laughed and then said, "No, no. It's not any of that. You deserve it solely because of your worth as a capable employee and your genuine work performance. Trust me."

"Not convinced," I replied. And I added, "because I have not heard of Embark Apparels doing this for any other employee."

"You haven't heard of any because you have worked only in the Sri Lankan one so far. I personally have witnessed extra benefits being given to certain employees if the management feels like to. Not just at Embark Apparels, that happens in most organizations globally. In fact, it's a tactic used by corporates to make talented employees stay around longer," said Arish. I didn't know whether he was speaking the truth or not. But somehow, he sounded very persuasive as always.

"Whatever! I will think about it and let you know," I said.

A few days passed and I realized that mom cannot be left alone because of her health. At the same time, I also did not want to give up on my dream. Therefore, after a lot of thought and with the greatest reluctance, I finally agreed to Arish's suggestion. It seemed like the only wise thing to do.

So, in the weeks that followed, I got fully prepared to leave for Maldives with my mother. Arish became helpful in ways that I never imagined him to be. At times, I felt bad about myself for calling him a 'misogynist' because he didn't seem like one anymore. He was genuine, kind, and respectful towards me at all times despite the bad blood we had in the past. The understanding between us grew and I particularly loved the care that he showed towards mom.

I guess all of it together created a special bond between us and I started liking him. I started liking him a lot. I mean, it felt more than a crush at one point. I feared that I was falling in love with him. But somehow, I didn't want to admit it because I knew he wouldn't feel the same about me. For him, I was just another girl, although, for me, he was special because he was the first man that I got close to. He was the first man that I fought with thoroughly. He was the first man that I trusted completely. He was the first man that made me feel like praying for true love.

On my last day at work in the Sri Lankan office, I felt incredibly sad about leaving my old life behind. I wasn't sure whether it was about the workplace or just Arish. I was supposed to fly the next day. So, I collected my documents from HR, said my goodbyes to all the coworkers, and made my way towards Arish's room to do the same.

"Hi," I spoke.

"Hey, Zyva! Come in, please," he said with a warm smile. Ouch, my heart! I knew that I was going to terribly miss seeing his face.

"Uh— so, I just wanted to say goodbye and— uh— thank you for everything," I said in a quavering voice.

"My genuine pleasure," he replied and then added, "It's going to be tough here without you." I knew he was only referring to work.

"I hope you find a better replacement," I said, forcing a smile. It was hard to pretend to be fine when there was so much going on in my mind.

"Hopefully," he replied with an awkward chuckle.

Then as I opened the door to walk out, he uttered my name as if he wanted to say something, "Zyva—" I turned around, silently wishing that he would speak the words that I swallowed.

"Wait, I'm coming down with you," was all he said.

"Oh, okay," I replied disappointedly.

When we reached the elevator, Arish said, "Finally, I get a chance to be on the same elevator as you."

"First and last," I replied, nodding my head.

"Why do you say last?" he asked.

"Because I won't be here," I replied sadly.

"Hmm...yes, you won't," he said with a sigh and then he added, "It's so sad to think about the good times, you and I—" I stopped him right there with, "But I never gave you good times. Only hard times. You must be actually happy that I am going."

"What I feel doesn't matter. Are you happy?" he asked. Maybe he wasn't bothered even a bit.

"I am," I replied bluntly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Uh— So, what time is the flight?" he asked as the elevator door opened at the ground floor.

"10:30 am. Okay bye," I replied and quickly started walking away. I heard him call out my name, but I did not turn back because I didn't want to stay there anymore. My heart was heavy, and tears were about to roll down any minute.

The next morning, mom and I got ready and left for the airport. Since we had no one to send us off, we handled everything on our own. While at the airport, I received a call from Arish's number. At first, I wanted to ignore it because I was already upset. But mom insisted that I answer. So, I did, and he told me that he was there and that he wanted to speak to me about something important.

My dramatic mind immediately suggested that he was there to inform me that the Maldives vacancy was given to someone else. I prepared myself mentally to accept anything.

He came and he started speaking to mom first. Then he asked whether he could speak a few words with me alone. I agreed and we started walking.

Arish sighed. At that moment, I knew it was definitely about the job.

"Zyva—" he paused.

"It's okay. Tell me," I said.

"I have traveled the world, there's no other girl like you, no one," he reconfirmed. I knew those were fake words he was using to console me before breaking my heart with the big news. So, I maintained a blank expression.

"I- I don't know how you would feel about this but—" he paused again.

Since he was finding it so hard to say it out loud, I asked, folding my arms, "The job?"

"Huh?" That was his only response.

"Did you have to do this? I was thinking that you could be trusted," I commented with a frown.

"I don't get it," he rolled his eyes.

"You are here to say that the job is gone and it's not for me. That's it, right?" I spoke angrily.

"Crazy!" he facepalmed.

"I know my guessing skills are crazy good," I smirked.

"Zyva, stop overthinking. What I wanted to tell you is that I like you. I mean, I love you. And I really don't know how we are going to make this work with the distance and all that, but if I miss the chance now, I might not ever get to do this. So, let me know the truth before I dive right into you." He spoke so fast this time, without a break, that some of his words didn't even make sense to me. I guess he was nervous. And I had never seen him act that way before. It was kind of cute.

"What?" I asked for clarification purposes.

"I love you, Zyva! And I could live, I could die, hanging on the words you say. I am willing to give my all, jumping in harder than ten thousand rocks on the lake," he suddenly started sounding very poetic. Or rather dramatic.

Somehow, the message was clear. And I couldn't believe my ears.

"I love you too!" I replied with tears in my eyes and I immediately took him to mom to convey the good news to her too.

A lot of words were exchanged after that, which made my heart flutter with joy. When I finally bid goodbye to Arish, I told him, "It's funny how it used to be bad blood, but now we got mad love!"

And then I hopped on the plane to Maldives happily, looking forward to a new beginning.

Thank you so much bigmadebrownie ❤️
Next story comes out on the
25th of February ✨