One thing I hate most about working for conglomerates is that they think my company belongs to them. And to prove that, they put their noses in matters that is none of their business.
As if my day weren’t going bad enough, Nasir Sultan had to call as I was on my way to the colony and informed me that a couple of his own engineers will be there to oversee the planning and outlines, along with my own engineers.
It was ridiculous and put me in an even more foul mood.
By noon, my head was shattering into a million pieces, and the scorching heat wasn’t helping one bit.
“Sir?” Someone calls me from behind. I turn to see a worker holding up my phone. “Someone is calling you.”
“What’s my phone doing with you?” I try to frown, but end up squinting against the burning sun.
“You left it at that table there.” He points to a table among a bunch of other tables. I take it from him with a nod, glancing down at the screen.
It’s Granny.
I close my eyes for a while. I don’t have the energy to talk to her right now. I’ll probably come out as harsh, and she gets upset when I don’t talk to her nicely.
I don’t pick the call.
After a while, my phone stops buzzing, but starts vibrating again moments later.
I’m about to power it off when I see the name.
“Are you ok?” I say, pressing the phone to my ear.
“Why were you lying to me?” Mansha says at the same time.
“Excuse me?”
“You said my face is swollen, but it’s not. I just checked.” She says incredulously.
“So you ate breakfast?”
She grunts. “Whatever. I called to ask about how the mediation session went. With Ahmed.”
I smile. “Mansha Haseeb, don’t act as if you weren’t the one who told him to call it off.”
After a small pause, she says, “How does it feel not getting what you wanted?”
I raise an eyebrow. “What I wanted?”
“Mr. Malik, don’t act as if you didn’t want Ahmed to request mediation with you and kill time. That is exactly what you wanted him to do. But we both know what a waste of time that is.”
“So we’re finally catching up.”
“The only one who needs some catching up to do is you. I told Ahmed to cancel the session, but I also sent him a little document along with the message. Keep checking your e-mail, he’ll be sharing it with you soon.”
A group of workers standing a little further away start laughing at something, and I inwardly reciprocate their feelings. “So, a new contract offer?” I finally say.
“Surprised?”
“Just curious. I don’t see how anything you’ll offer will be more beneficial to me then my own offer.”
“I can explain to you how, if we can schedule a meeting in a few days- maybe on a wheelchair?”
“Don’t even think about it. The doctor said you’re not moving for a week, and that means you’re not.”
“Oh please, I’ll be good to go in a few-”
“One week.” I repeat. “You can have all the wheelchair rides you want in a week.”
“Do you realise you’re getting more bossy now that I’m dependent on you? That’s such a typical male thing to do.”
“Your quarrelsome attitude is very female as well.”
She doesn’t reply, and we both cut the call at the same time.
I rush to the make-shift tent the workers have built nearby, hammers beating into my head.
-×××××-
The rest of the week is a blur of work, pain, Mansha and Granny. And somehow, none of them is easy.
I don’t take panadol or any other medicine, because all of them contain sleeping drugs, and when have headaches gone away with coffee.
The worsening headaches also worsen my attitude, until I’m avoiding Granny completely and spending the nights at the house, where I sit on the couch and do paperwork while Mansha does the same.
She has been growing more restless with every passing day, but her second panic attack changes her attitude completely. She barely talks and has been reading and taking notes ever since Dr. Asif told her she could start sitting again.
“You should go home.” Mansha says one night, when I come back from work around midnight.
I give her a look. “Who will stay with you then?” My secretary leaves the moment I arrive.
She shrugs. “I’m good enough to take care of myself now. You’ve been staying here for three days. Go home, your Grandmother must be worried.”
I shake my head and make myself comfortable on the couch. “I’m good. You’ll be good to go in a few days, then we can both go home.”
She stares at me. “Khizer, you’ve already done so much, you don’t have to-”
“I’m not doing this for you.” I snap at her. “I want to stay here. This is my house isn’t it?” She doesn’t reply, and keeps staring at me. “?????” I say through clenched teeth.
She shakes her head. “Nothing. I thought you were just sleep deprived. But apparently you’re running away from something as well.”
“Aren’t we both?”
She looks at me over the green file in her hand. “But at least I know how to escape it.”
I don’t reply, and that’s the last conversation we have. Two days later, I come home to see Sana helping her walk, and on the third day, she’s started walking a few feet without support, and announces that she’s ready to go home.
“Will you go with me?” She asks.
“I wouldn’t let you go alone.”