View A Photo Of The Wiki Warm Spring Above.

Photo by: Hanifah Abdulmalik

*****

FATAL ATTRACTION

★★★★★

Who didn't know Prince Khalifa? The Instagram sensation, a talented billionaire, a fashion model, and a gym and workout addict. He was the talk of the town, his name was on the lips of almost half of the people in the country. Anytime he wasn't at the gym or his office, he was always out there running from the paparazzi or some crazy Fans, but seated there in his luxurious office in front of Hannan he felt like no one. She sat there, collected and you could see dignity radiating from her every move.

There was something about her that made his heart twinge painfully in his chest. Was it her lush eyelashes that flickered gracefully under her fascinating brows? Perhaps her refined confidence and manner of speaking?

He had never seen anyone quite like her. She wasn't one of those fangirls who usually went crazy just at the sight of him. To him, it was either she didn't know who he was or she was putting on an act. Unlike everyone he had interviewed that day, she was quite different, maybe because she was the youngest candidate. He remembered that he had also interviewed another Young girl of her age that day, that one knew everything in detail about him down to his date of birth, and because she was a staunch supporter and a die-hard fan of his, he didn't interview her. He just gave her a position as his personal assistant.

Hannan flashed her lashes with a bold expression as she stared eyeball to eyeball with him. That was the same look she had on her face when he had offered her a ride that morning. Although she had been absurd enough to refuse his offer earlier, it was unsettling to him how she wasn't even moved by his presence. When she had mentioned that morning that she was heading to Bremin Tech, he was well aware that she had been one of the candidates for the interview. That was why he had deliberately mentioned the phrase 'little Miss' to see if he could stir up something in her, but the girl sat firm, not reacting the way he wanted her to.

For so long Omar had enjoyed the spotlight being one of the top celebrities in the country, but today the presence of that girl in his office was doing strange things to his ego, but he had to be professional in his disposition even if it meant domineering. And if she was pretending to be oblivious of the caliber of the man in whose presence she was, he should find out shortly.

This isn't a game that requires much intelligence, this is a game of mental fortitude. Let's see for how long you would keep up the act. Omar thought to himself as he swiveled on his seat with a sly smirk on his lips. A deafening silence played in the air. He was waiting for her to speak but it seemed she was doing the same as well. So, he crossed one leg above the other and repeated his question for the second time. He assumed she didn't hear him the first time:

"So what brings you here? A nursing student would logically want to take up a job in a hospital, not in a facility such as this one." He saw her expression soften as she looked away from him. She seemed hesitant to talk. He thought perhaps he had gone too far by inquisitively prying into her affairs.

Meanwhile, Hannan was busy organizing her thoughts, searching for the best way she could present the words in a way that would not make her look pitiful. She finally settled on one, where she had to tell him the plain truth while burying any form of sadness in her tone.

"My father.." she began to say. "Ever since he passed away my mother has been overworking herself. I'm looking for a way to support her financially, that is why I applied for this job, sir. I know it's going to be a little stressful to work as a student but I believe I can do this." She finished saying and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"How thoughtful of you. It's a good thing to know that you care so much about your mother. I mean, women who make such sacrifices for the sake of their parents are hard to come by." He commended her and she smiled at him.

Since the very moment he set his eyes on her, he knew there was something special about her. Aside from the fact that she appeared very modest and undeniably beautiful, he was already impressed by her performance in the previous interview which gave him the feeling that she was very intelligent. They both talked at length about their school lives with each of them telling stories of their bad experiences at university.

It was almost time for his lunch break but Omar didn't want to end their little conversation just yet, he was already enjoying it as both of them were beginning to get along. Wait! Wasn't this supposed to be an interview? He hadn't even interviewed her yet. It was his first time talking to a random stranger that was not even a fan of his and he was already getting his feelings tangled up. What was that triple somersault his heart did each time she flashed her pearly whites at him? Was it love at first sight?

*****

Twelve Years Ago...

Zayn stood on the top of an elevated miniature rock in the middle of a Sahel savanna at the Yankari game reserve where he was on a Safari with his family. The view from there was captivating as he watched some of the animals wrestling, others mating, and some just ruminating like the dazzle of Zebras he was now looking at.

The soft dance of the eastern wind rustled the almost leafless trees around him and he felt more alive, just acknowledging that the sun and the wind like the trees in the forest were all alive and breathing. It was his wish to stay always like that, quietly watching nature displaying an incredible sign of wonder.

He thought It was not just beautiful, but also unfathomable how everything including the ground beneath him, all observed the sovereignty of The Creator.

Because life is a beautiful thing, there's so much to smile about, nature is simply captivating.

He elegantly scripted that within the center page of his thick diary as he descended from the rock and headed towards an old oak tree that stood on the foot of the mountain.

Once there, he sat on the floor, leaning his back on the tree. He ran a hand over his prickly stubble. He thought maturity had come too early for him since he was already growing facial hair at fourteen.

He could hear the sweet songs of sunbirds by the branches above him, so colourful and dinky as they hovered around each other in circles. Looking up, he hurried to quickly sketch down something. He felt such a beautiful sight was worth capturing before it disappeared. Nature is quite unpredictable. While he did that he suddenly heard his name, a distant voice calling out to him.

"ZAYN!" The voice was full of distress. Almost immediately he rose to his feet and when he turned around he saw his younger brother running toward him like he was being chased by one of the jungle beasts, maybe a lion.

"Imran?" He uttered softly, dropping his sketch pad on the floor, anxious to know what was going on.

On reaching his brother, Imran was panting violently with teary eyes, unable to speak clearly as a confused Zayn now held him by his shoulders and asked him if he was alright.

"What happened to you?"

"It's Yasmeen..." The little boy began saying as he coughed heavily.

"Calm down. Talk to me. What happened to Yasmeen?" Zayn was internally disturbed as he guessed something terrible might have happened to one of the kids who came on the trip with them.

"Yasmeen fell off the cliff into the river!" A seven-year-old Imran exclaimed, breathless, and Zayn's heart dropped. " She is drowning Zayn, you have to save her." Before he finished talking, Zayn had already packed his stuff and just started to dash away towards the scene, running ahead of Imran who was now exhausted after the marathon race he had just undergone.

Getting there, he saw a bunch of kids gathered around a portion of the shore near the Wiki Spring. They stared in horror at the little girl who was drowning in the deepest part of the water. None of them could swim or even make the slightest attempt to help her. Zayn pushing through the small throng did not acknowledge his mother who was weeping as she stood there, helpless, watching as poor Yasmeen struggled between life and death.

Zayn was the only one around who could swim and was mature enough to rescue the child. Ahmad and Omar had wandered off without a trace. So without a second thought, Zayn swiftly took off his shirt and dived into the water. For him, the water was not nearly enough to swim in as his feet were touching the bottom of the spring.

He quickly swam towards her using the butterfly stroke technique. He saw that her ankle was stuck in a branch that had prevented her from escaping. He set her leg free, then placed her over one shoulder and swam back to the shore. He placed her gently on the grass and knelt on the ground beside her, just then the other kids rushed towards them, encircling them as he tried to revive her.

"Is she dead?" He raised his head to look at his horrified mother who was looking down at them with brimming eyes.

"No mother, she almost drowned. I think she passed out due to the excess water that got into her system." The other kids were now very close to them as they murmured incoherently and scrutinized the unconscious child which provoked Zayn. Out of annoyance, he yelled at them, "What is it?" And everyone shrunk in fear, taking a few steps backward except for little Aliya who was only concerned about her friend's well-being.

"Uncle Zayn, is she going to be okay?" The little girl sobbed in agony. Zayn resisted the urge to remind her that he was her brother and not uncle.

"She's going to be fine. I'll make sure of that," he assured her and pushed his hair back from his face, and tucked the wet locks behind his ear.

"Now stay back, you two. I need a little space." He said to his mother and little sister and watched as she pulled Aliya along, taking a few steps backward.

Everyone watched as he lay Yasmeen properly on her back, and tilted her chin and head backward to help clear her airway. He then gave her five rescue breaths which lasted for a while and during the entire time a silly Aliya was smiling in amusement at the thought that Zayn was kissing his cousin, Yasmeen. After that, he carried out a Cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child, which consisted of thirty chest compressions. After a while, the little girl coughed spilling out water as she revived back to life.

The faces of the kids brightened up in delight, excited that Yasmeen was alive, after all, they had been horrified that she was possibly dead.

"She's alive." One of them shouted and everyone screamed in excitement. Zayn flinched at their irritatingly loud voices and unintendedly yelled at them again.

"Silence!" He shot them a warning glare and they stood still in frightening silence. Zayn had a striking effect that could make anyone develop cold feet. A glance from him was enough to make one shiver. The kids acknowledged that fearsomeness in his nature and withdrew immediately.

Yasmeen was staring at him in adoration as she sat comfortably in his arms. She felt safe. He didn't frighten her as much as he did the other kids. Although she had been too young to know the true meaning of love, she got excited anytime he was around her, and on that fateful day, she had gotten close enough as far as even touching his bare skin.

"That was so brave of you my child." Zayn lifted his head to meet the gaze of his mother who was staring down at him in admiration. She had a different look on, it was pride. There was this courageous part of her older son that felt charged with the responsibility to ensure his younger ones' safety. She adored him for that."I think you'll make a good father someday." She uttered pleasantly, smiling down at him.

Zayn raked a hand through his hair, abashed. Those words coming from his mother hit differently for the fourteen-year-old. "Stop it, Umma, you're embarrassing me in front of the kids."He said with slightly clenched jaws.

"Now let's get you somewhere safe." He said to the casualty who was still partially conscious. She leaned her head into his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat as it played a furious melody, one which she could never understand.

Moments later Omar and Ahmad came running to the scene, one of the children had gone to inform them about the momentous incident at the spring. That was Ahmad's little cousin who was mouthy and quite untamed. She just couldn't wait to spread the news.

"Zayn, stay like that! Don't move."That was young Ahmad setting his cameras so he could capture the moment with Zayn in that position. Zayn was already hearing the clicking sound of the camera before he could utter a word or even get the chance to protest. That gave Banu an idea.

"Everyone gather around Zayn." She instructed. They were going to take a family photo. He was going to protest initially but when he saw the glee in his mother's eyes and the happy faces of the kids, he thought maybe it was a nice moment to make memories.

So all the children, including Banu, Omar, and Hafsah, the nanny all circumferenced behind Zayn except one of the kids who was scared to get into the picture. She was a little girl with spiky tangled hair and bulging eyes. Amongst the kids, she was most frightened of Zayn for an irrational reason. Ahmad tried to persuade his little cousin to get in the picture but she kept shrinking back in fear.

Zayn looked at her with a cute smile. "Come here you. I don't bite." He said playfully, pulling her by her hair into his armpit as she desperately struggled to get away from him. Ahmad handed the cameras to a tour guide before joining the picture. They took a few nice shots.

When everyone had cleared out in the area, Zayn and his best friends headed toward the water with the intention of swimming.

"Why are you shirtless?" Ahmad noticed that Zayn's slim torso was bare which was somewhat pleasing to watch as his abdominal muscles all aligned perfectly and were moderate in appearance.

"Uh..huh!"Zayn looked down at himself and suddenly realized that he had been captured shirtless in that photo."That reminds me, where have you guys been? One of the kids almost drowned in this water." He pointed at the spot of the incident.

"And you dived in to rescue her." Omar completed before the words even left his mouth. "I didn't know we had an Aquaman in our midst, considering the ocean." Zayn immediately sensed the sarcasm in his friend's words which made him raise a perfect brow.

"Aquaman? Really? The last time I checked I thought I was Poseidon." He smirked and at that moment Ahmad and Omar already had each of their shirts tossed on the ground, ready to dive inside the water.

"Well, check again, Brother." Omar was just about to dive in when Zayn stopped him.

"Wait! Let's do it from up there." He drew their attention toward the cliff with an evil smirk plastered on his face which made the boys share a familiar grin. Almost abruptly the boys raced each other to the top of the cliff with Ahmad leading the race.

"Awesome! "Screamed Ahmad who was the first to dive into the warm spring straight up, followed by Omar using the same style as Ahmad.

Zayn was hesitant in his action as he looked over at the shore. He saw a little girl with hair like a porcupine watching him curiously with soft eyes. He wondered if she had put a comb in that hair for the past few days because it was roughly tangled which was displeasing to watch. Oh well, He shrugged his shoulders. It was time to show off. He winked at her before throwing a triple somersault and her eyes intently followed the rhythmic motion of his body in the air as he dived into the warm water.

His impact against the water made a huge splash that reached her face from where she was standing.

"Woah! That was awesome, dude." Omar screamed, high-spirited.

The boys continued to shriek wildly while splashing water at each other, during which the little girl named Hanamy sat down by the waterside and watched as her brothers played on like tomorrow would not come. Her eyes mostly followed the movement of the tall one with dark soulless orbs. She wondered if he was a human, a spirit, perhaps a vampire.

As she watched she noticed that he was different from the rest of them, in appearance and aura. He just floated around, suspending himself in the water with his arms spread out. He suddenly tilted his head backward and his eyes met the girl again and she shifted uncomfortably before making a run for it. Zayn secretly smiled as he watched her dash toward the cabin where her mother was. He liked the effect he had on her, the way she feared him.

He went under the water as he recollected the little knowledge he had about the spring: The wiki warm spring gushed out from under a rock. The water was crystal clear. It seemed like an ordinary water body but it was one of the miracles of Allah as the temperature was constant regardless of time or weather. One could stay in the water and forget about time. It was indeed one of the wonders of Mother Nature.

*****

It was twilight by the time everyone had retired to their various suites at the guest lodge. While the others were busy packing up their stuff against the trip back home Zayn stood by the front yard of the cabin just gazing at the glamorous sight of the celestial light.

They were going to leave the place by sunrise the next day and he knew he would surely miss the blissful and lovely memories of that place. They had only come to spend the weekend there as suggested by his mother who wanted her son to have a fun time with his younger ones before he traveled abroad. If that was her party gift to him, then it was thoughtful of her because he could never ask for something better.

Later that evening, Zayn and Ahmed were returning from the masjid where they went to observe the Isha Salah. He was listening to Ahmad reciting a portion of his hifz from the Qur'an. As they sauntered across the girl's corridor he heard something that partially disturbed his ears:

"I'm afraid to go to sleep."

"Don't worry you are in good hands. Just close your eyes and think of something nice."

He had to withdraw from Ahmad's hold and went back to figure out what was going on in there. Just as he slipped his body through the door he was welcomed with a warm embrace. It was as if the little girl was waiting for him to emerge from there.

"I can't sleep, uncle. I'm scared." The little girl sobbed with swollen eyes that were almost bloodshot.

"It must be the aftermath of the incident." He said, looking over at Hafsah, the person he now remembered as Mrs. Saleh.

"I've tried everything I can to put her to sleep but she's still terrified. She couldn't even keep her eyes closed for a minute." Nanny Hafsah explained and Zayn gave her an assuring smile.

"Don't worry, Aunty, I'll take it from here." He took the child in his arms and headed to the cabin he shared with his brothers. He placed her on the small comfy mattress and lay next to her on the bed. The girl engulfed him, clutching his shirt which made him a little uncomfortable.

"Will you kiss me again next time uncle?" The little girl asked quietly, making Zayn stare aghast at her for a moment. He glanced over at Omar who was typing away on his phone. He didn't know if his friend was still alive since he didn't hear that.

"What? Who told you that I kissed you before?"

"Aliya," she whispered into his ear. Zayn stifled an amused smile at his little sister's stupidity.

"It was not a kiss, it's called a rescue breath. Now come here."He pulled her head into his chest and patted her to sleep. He was beginning to develop a liking for the child, perhaps because she was the only child apart from Aliya who wasn't terrified of him, but unlike Aliya, little Yasmeen wasn't disrespectful.

"Goodnight Uncle Zayn. I love you." The little girl said into his chest.

"Goodnight little one. I love you too." Zayn said quietly and Omar's attention was immediately drawn towards them.

"I heard that." He let out a wicked laugh and Zayn nudged him with his elbow.

There was a soft silence in the room during which he thought about his journey to the States the following month, which was the reason for all this cute family bond time. Omar's voice brought him out of his subconsciousness:

"Zayn, can I ask you a question?" He asked inquisitively, sitting up on the bed which made Zayn look up at him with his eyes partially opened. In the absence of no reply, Omar took his silence as a yes.

"Why are you being nice to kids recently? Yasmeen in particular. You know, I haven't seen you showing this much affection to a child, not even Aliya." Zayn didn't need a Microscope to see through his friend's narrow-mindedness knowing exactly where his thoughts were leading. A frown appeared on his face as he shot his eyes closed completely.

"Shut your stupid mouth up and pretend like you didn't hear anything." Those words were enough to make Omar raise his hands in defeat.

When the child was deep into sleep, Zayn took her in his arms and carried her to the girl's room where the Nanny pampered her to sleep.

Back To The Present

Now seated there in the back seat of his car he seemed to be conscious but he was far from there, lost in his memories as he stared into the photograph in his hand. He happened to find it a few days back in his old stuff. The image of the little girl in his armpit with spiky strands like porcupine made his lips break into a small smile.

"We are here sir." Veem, his bodyguard informed him and he lifted his head, taking in the view of the surroundings. They were in the parking lot at the Bremin Tech premises.

"Park the car somewhere." He instructed as he sorted out his phone intending to inform Omar of his arrival. Immediately he finished sending the text his eyes flickered around as he leaned back into the seat, he saw that same young girl in her adult form approaching the direction of his car with some graceful steps, wearing a nice smile.

How could he have forgotten her that easily? That long nose and ebony black skin were especially very unique features she had and something anyone could easily remember. Yet he allowed those unique features to escape his memories in such a short span of time.

The two ladies that were sent to him stood near his car, waiting for him to alight from in there. He rolled down the car window which was tinted black. The ladies moved forward upon sighting him. He was just about to get out of the car when he saw them coming and decided to hesitate mostly because he was reading a text from Omar, telling him that the two ladies would be there anytime soon, and there they were.

"Toss this in the glove box." He handed the picture to Veem, then adjusted his jacket before getting out of the car.

"Good morning sir! Welcome to Bremin Tech Industry." Both ladies greeted, offering the company etiquette in unison. Zayn wondered if they were programmed to do that because of the accuracy of their voice.

"Good morning." He responded formally and put on his shades as he listened to Rebecca George as she introduced herself as the boss's errand girl, followed by Yasmeen who introduced herself as the boss's secretary. The ladies stated their business, telling him why they were there which he already knew. He didn't care about the formalities and their company etiquettes, he just wanted to get out of the sun because it was already noon, the celestial light was at its zenith and it was not doing any good to his skin.

When the ladies made gestures to walk him inside the building, he glanced over at Veem and saw that he didn't pick the briefcase and the gifts that he had brought for his dear friend. The stuff was on the passenger's seat. He mentally sighed, realizing how frustrating it was to always remind people of what to do. That was one of the reasons he preferred Thomas to all his other servants. At least he didn't have to tell him what to do all the time. He always did the right thing at the right time with enthusiasm.

He gently signaled Veem to pick up the stuff. While Veem took the gifts, he left the briefcase which earned him a huge mental eye roll from his master. However, he couldn't blame Veem much because he was recently hired. He wondered why his father would hire someone who looked rather like an assassin to bodyguard him. And why did he even need a bodyguard? He internally questioned glancing at the briefcase as they headed out of the parking lot. Fortunately, he didn't need anything inside it.

Zayn had his attention on the security man who was greeting them that he didn't take notice of the gawking receptionist across. As they sauntered towards the elevator he couldn't help but notice how slow his so-called escorts were with their pace and honestly, he would be glad if he could just outpace them, if only he knew the way to Omar's office.

In a few minutes, they were at the office door. Yasmeen nicely opened the door leading everyone inside. She immediately took her to leave once in the office. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't bear being in the same space with the man she loved more than she could understand. She had to excuse herself to breathe properly. Just being around him had done tons of damage to her state of mind that she had forgotten how to breathe.

"Hello there!" Zayn greeted his brother from across the moment he sighted him. He watched as Veem and Rebecca lingered behind.

"Welcome aboard ya Sheikh."Smiled Omar, not surprised to see him because he had been waiting on him for the past few minutes, and thank God for the interview he had been quite engrossed in while he waited for his arrival.

"Aren't you surprised to see me?" Zayn asked humorously as he stepped toward Omar, extending a hand for a shake.

"Will you leave now if I say No?" Omar taunted with a sly smile as he reached for his brother's hand.

"Well, I might head back home now if I'm not given the hospitality that I deserve." Zayn played along as they shook hands and patted each other on the back warmly.

Hannan immediately recognized the voice. There was no way in the world she could forget that voice after their disastrous encounter. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, unable to lift her head to look up at the man with that dreadful aura.

Dr. Zayn? This should be Imran's brother. What the heck is he doing here?

She knew he was the one but just couldn't believe he was there. She tried not to fret about that and focused on the issue at hand, besides her interview was almost over.

"What a nice place you have here, khalifa. I must say that I'm impressed." Zayn admitted and Omar smiled.

Khalifa? Where have I heard this name before?

A thought hit Hannan again. It appeared she had no idea what the boss's real name was, although she had a hunch that she might have seen him somewhere before now.

'Prince Khalifa. I looked it up online and found out that he is the CEO of Bremin Tech.' kulthum's voice played in her mind and realization dawned on her. Now acknowledging the caliber of people whose presence she was, she couldn't help but squirm in discomfort, listening to Omar and Zayn exchange greetings.

"Please have a seat brother. Make yourself comfortable." Omar gesticulated at the couch in a corner of his office. At that moment Zayn felt his phone beep and he reached for it inside his pocket and excused himself to answer the call, only to find out that it was a message from his father.

Meet me at the Oasis, 8 pm :)

Be sure to come alone and don't tell anyone your whereabouts:)

Messages like this from his father only meant one thing—his father was faced with a difficult situation and needed his assistance, perhaps his father had something crucial up his sleeves and wanted to discuss it with him.

Don't look at him! She internally warned herself but she just couldn't help it, she was curious to know what Zayn was doing behind them. Consumed by curiosity, she lifted her head a little bit, turning her eyes towards his direction.

And there he was, the alpha male of our species, standing tall and mighty as he stared out the window with his back to them. He was dressed in a black Blazer worn over a plain white dress shirt and a pair of plain black Chino trousers.

When Zayn came into the office, he had seen that his friend was busy with a client so to distract himself he decided to take in the view of the city from up there. He immediately fell in love with the splendid sight in front of him. It was amazing just the way you could see everything from up there. The buildings, the cars, the road, the structures within the massive and endless metropolis, everything altogether looked like the crystalline structure of a diamond, being viewed under a microscope.

He softly lifted his gaze from something he was looking at, maybe a bird, then shifted his gaze to the direction of Omar's desk, just then his gaze unintentionally bored into a pair of piercing brown orbs, staring softly at him from behind. Her body shuddered under his intense stare which was masked with a glint of arrogance and almost immediately she averted her eyes from his, looking away to save herself the embarrassment—that he caught her staring.

Zayn didn't look away, in fact, he was scrutinizing her being and trying to recall where he had seen those innocent eyes before. He suddenly recalled the incident. Oh! The girl he ran into during the party on Saturday night. He remembered that she was his younger brother's friend. She had been one of the few people who had packaged a gift for him and because it was small and he could easily guess what was inside the wrap. He thought it was possibly a perfume and he didn't even bother to check it. He had tossed the gift inside his junk box, where he kept his old, perhaps useless stuff. That was when he found that picture. He did that because he was still furious at the time when Imran had presented the gift to him.

Hannan had been uneasy since she stepped her feet into that office but Zayn's presence made it worse. At that instant she couldn't make out what the boss was telling her as she stared down at her hands on her lap, her palms were damped in sweat and the tip of her fingers felt unnaturally cold.

Zayn had thought that he might never see her again and there she was, in his best friend's office. He wondered what she was doing there. When he couldn't possibly stare at her any longer, he tucked his hand into his pocket and returned to what he had been looking at outside the window.

"What can I get you, Sir? Would you prefer coffee or tea?" Rebecca asked.

"Tea please." He replied.

"And what about you, Sir." She turned to Veem and he looked at his master in a way that signified he was begging for his permission to speak.

"Go on!" Zayn granted and he cleared his throat before doing so.

"Water will do," Veem said and Rebecca noted down, then turned around to take her leave. Zayn smiled as he tore his eyes away from Veem. The bodyguard was a softy at heart, even though he was huge and all burly. If Zayn guessed correctly, they might be in the same age range.

"You know if you want something you could just say it. You don't need to wait for my permission. I'm just a human like you." Being that Veem was newly hired, he did not understand his master well enough so there was always awkwardness in the air in situations when he didn't know how to approach him.

"I want to use the restroom, sir." Veem blurted out as though he was desperately waiting for his master to make that comment. He seemed to be pressed for a while.

"Follow her. She should show you the way." With that Veem trailed behind Rebecca.

Hannan was now left alone in the presence of the two men. The one in front of her was a nice man who appeared to be quite bossy and the other behind her was just unnaturally cold. She hadn't been in that kind of situation before where she would tremble under the aura of two mature men. Was this the growth she wanted? Was this what independence felt like? She hadn't been anywhere quite like this, her movement could be illustrated using a simple triangle; home, college, masjid. The exposure that she had always wanted felt different from the one in her imagination, she felt so unsafe out there.

Although Zayn was taller, Omar was much bigger and heavier than he was. And because she felt so small around them and was a little intimidated by their appearance she felt her heart beating out of her chest. Her feet fidgeted uncontrollably. It was much easier to sit firm when she didn't know who the boss was. Now that she knew coupled with the fact that there was a villain in the room she just wanted to escape into the thin air.

To the peak of her satisfaction, she was glad that her interview had finally come to an end and she needed to get out of there before she embarrassed herself in front of him again.

"Thank you very much for your time and effort, Miss Hannan. I must say that I really admire your work ethic. You're so organized." Omar complimented extending a hand to Hannan which drew Zayn's attention. He saw how lustfully Omar was gazing at the girl, he couldn't even stop smiling at her.

"Thank you so much, sir. I enjoyed our discussion and getting to know more about the company." She expressed her gratitude as she collected his hand into her palm. Just his grip around her hand did so much damage to her ego that she wished she never shook him. She wouldn't have if it was someone else but he was the CEO of the company, leaving his hand hanging would seem rude.

Hannan stood up, ready to take her leave."I'd like to take my leave now." She said.

"Alright, Miss Hannan. You will hear from us once the results are ready." He gathered the papers on his desk and placed them inside the drawer.

"Have a nice day, sir," she said over her shoulders as she unlatched the door.

Zayn didn't fail to notice Omar's lingering gaze at her as she walked away and when Omar decided to tear his eyes away from her, they fell on Zayn's soulless glare.

"So what the hell was that all about?" Zayn questioned, aiming to sit on a chair in front of the desk.

"What?" He asked with a confused look as he adjusted his position on the chair.

"The fact that you were smiling uncontrollably and couldn't stop staring at the girl."

"Oh!" Omar gave a huge grin, leaning back on the chair. "She's a really interesting person and I think I like her."

"Oh really?" Zayn raised a brow and Omar laughed.

"She's cute, isn't she?" His grin widened and Zayn frowned, slightly annoyed.

"I don't know." He flickered his eyes to meet Omar's."I don't need to remind you to lower your gaze brother."

"You're right there. I quite agree with you." Omar shook his head. It looked like he had something interesting going on in his mind, it wasn't his usual pervy self. It was something else. And Zayn hoped he wasn't thinking of introducing the young girl into his games since he liked to play around with girls.

Moments later Yasmeen came in to serve Zayn his tea and Omar's eyes followed her dubiously. Why was she doing the errand girl's job? Rebecca was in charge of the kitchen and running the errands in the boss's office. The way she held out the mug to him, in their two years of working together he hadn't seen her show that much honor to anyone, not even to himself, her boss.

"Thank you," Zayn said softly, collecting the mug as he crossed one leg above the other. Yasmeen smiled cutely at his charms and finally, Omar saw what was going on. Little memories of their days at the Yankari camp flickered in his mind. Once Yasmeen disappeared out of sight he leaned forward, resting his hands intertwined on the desk.

"What was that?" He smiled teasingly.

"What was what?" Zayn raised a brow at the look on Omar's face.

"She smiled at you and you didn't wink at her."

"Wink at her for what? Are you nut?"

"Well, I'm not the one who used to go around winking at little girls." Omar held his hands intertwined behind his head as he swiveled side to side on his chair.

Zayn smiled lightly remembering something from the past."I didn't know that she'd grow up to become such a beautiful woman." The words immediately felt heavy the moment they left his mouth. He was only able to talk that way about her simply because he was having this conversation with Omar.

Zayn knew that if he carried on talking about Yasmeen, Omar might end up saying things that didn't add up so to distract his friend he immediately placed the shopping bags containing the gifts on the table.

"I brought something for you as a token of my appreciation for your genuine support and loyalty. Yes, I know it's little but please manage it." Zayn said and watched as Omar took a peek inside the bags and his face lit up.

"Awe! You're so romantic. I'm turned on already." Omar said with a huge grin taking out one of the gift packages, an Arabian perfume.

"Please don't make me puke. I'd rather you say thank you." He knew that a perfume token was the best option for a gift, knowing how much he liked perfumes. He didn't actually know what Omar would prefer so he got a little bit of what he assumed he'd like.

"Dude! A Rolex watch? Can you not make me come already." Omar exclaimed as he unraveled another awesome package.

"Omar Please! Would you quit saying things like that?" He knitted his brows together, slightly irritated by Omar's filthy talk. Omar was habitually flirtatious and everything he said was sensual unless he was serious. Just as he was about to say something that didn't add up again, Zayn received a call from Aliya.

"Hello, where exactly are you?"

"Assalamualaikum Aliya." He said with a little sarcasm, reminding her of our cultural ethics. She didn't greet him back regardless and carried on talking. Her graceless act infuriated him. He had to put the phone on speaker, taking it away from his ear so she didn't pierce his tympanic membrane with her birdlike voice.

"Why did you call me, Aliya?" He had to ask because he couldn't listen to her irrelevant talk anymore.

"You left the shower running." She said,

"So?"

"I just turned it off."

"Then what's the point of calling?"

"I just want to let you know that I'm useful to you after all." While that was supposed to be amusing Zayn found it irritating and didn't even manage a smile. Omar on the other hand, couldn't contain his laughter.

"By the way what are you doing in my room, what are you even doing in my house?"

"I left one of my beautiful sheila in your grandma's room on Saturday, I just came by to fetch it."

"Where is Inna?" That was the name they called their grandmother.

"She's in the guarding, busy collecting flowers."

"And Hanamy?" That was the name of his cat.

"She's here, she's so fluffy, what have you been feeding her?" He ignored her question.

"Now shut up and listen to me. Feed Hanamy before I get back, or else you will have yourself to blame for what happens to you the next time I catch you." Aliya was frightened by the sudden change in his tone and immediately began to panic and protest.

"What! I can't do that. I have somewhere to go."

"I don't care how you do it. If you don't mind, get out of my room. Now!" He hung up on her and returned his attention to Omar who was laughing himself to stupor.

"That child is a pest." He scoffed with a small frown.

★★★★★

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