Can I Be Your Mrs.?

She closed the door of the Uber she had taken, and she smiled to herself, fixing back her veil into place. She watched as the driver drove off before she turned to face the gigantic building in front of her. She let out a giggle, which had many reasons for her. One, she felt that leaving Adamawa was one of her greatest achievements in life, and she could finally be the person she had always dreamed of being. Two, she knew there were greater opportunities in Abuja, and there was no way she was leaving this state without fulfilling all that she dreamed of. She knew Mama would surely come and find her, but she would have to make another excuse; she was just starting, right? This wouldn’t be a problem. She would figure out what to do then. She had always figured it out.




‘Bunza Companies Nig. Ltd.’ She knew no matter how Baba Yusuf tried in making sure she stayed in Adamawa to serve her country, all his efforts proved futile, and today, she was standing in front of one of the billion-dollar companies in Nigeria. And she couldn’t have been happier in her life. She held a stoic expression and her usual confident look before she began walking into the building. She greeted the guards and walked to the reception. She was sure Farha had told her where she should go if she arrived, but she wasn’t sure where it was, and now she knew even if she called that girl, she wouldn’t pick her call because she was asleep. 




Farha’s father got her appointed in his company, and it was to help her reach her goal. She would be thankful to them forever. “Hello, good morning,” she greeted one of the cleaners she saw on her way and the man looked up at her.




“Morning,” he greeted back and ducked his head back into his work. She wondered why was it that some people were always grumpy in the mornings. Farha too was like that. When they were in school, even if they had morning lectures, she knew better than to speak to Farha in the early hours of the day. She always had to wait until she was back to her usual self.




“Please, where can I locate the HR office for the IT department?” she asked. He was silent and heaved a sigh before he looked up at the building.




“9th floor, ask the lady in the reception, she will lead you there.” He informed her, and she smiled appreciatively at him before she nodded her head, muttering a soft thank you before she walked away.




She had seen enough building for this to scare her off, but it was beautiful, huge, and had beautiful architecture. Before she reached the elevator, she had noticed someone was there and it would close soon. She had had a lot of bad experiences with elevators and walking into one alone. She always needed company, and she hurried toward it, placing her feet between the doors that were beginning to close. Her peplum skirt lifted, revealing her enchanting chain dangling on her leg.




She entered the elevator before she smiled and turned to look at the only person that was in it. He wasn’t looking her way. That gave her the chance to have a better look at it his face. The first word that came to her mind was handsome. Maybe if there was a better word than handsome that could do justice to the beauty of a man, she would have used it. His eyes began glancing at her, and she quickly fixed her eyes on her feet.




Silence prevailed in the elevator before she heaved a sigh. She wasn’t the talking type, but she hated silence so much. Especially when she was in an elevator and she was anxious. “Can I ask you something please? I’m new here, like it’s my first day, not as an employee, though. I can see you’re heading to the IT department. Will you please direct me to the HR office? I’m going to serve here as a copper. I don’t know which among them I should go to see first. I was told the manager is so grumpy, so I opted for the HR. Maybe he can take my appointment later to the manager.” She always talked a lot when she was anxious, and right now she knew this man was fed up with her words.




Silence. She waited for a few more minutes, but there was no answer from him. She looked up, and he had his hands in his pockets, not even glancing her way. She wondered what type of man acted this way. How could a beautiful Adamawa lady like her-she didn’t mean to brag-be speaking to you and you had the guts to shun her? The elevator opened, and they walked out. She rolled her eyes at his retreating back and walked to the woman the cleaner told her to. 




“Hello, please, where is the HR office?” She asked, leaning on the counter.




The receptionist who looked like one of those Yoruba girls that if you dared to get into a fight with them, you would die. She looked up at her and then motioned for a corner without even speaking. She rolled her eyes at her, but she followed the path she had shown. She saw the sign of the HR’s office and entered. He was a lovely looking man, probably in his early thirties. Does this company only employ handsome men?




She read the banner on his desk, ‘Sulaiman Kabir Bunza’. Something clicked; this company! Maybe they were related to the CEO? She quickly hid her curious look and smiled softly at him, professionally.




“My name is Khadija, and I’m the new corper appointed here.” She handed him her documents as he answered her pleasantries.




Suddenly, he handed her back the documents and smiled, “Khadija, this is a special appointment, you have to see the manager. The office is by your right…” he told her the manager’s office, and she held herself from telling him her fear of meeting this manager. She thanked him and walked out of the office, walking silently while she gave herself the pep talk.




She was a confident girl, right? She could do this. She stood in front of the manager’s office and braced herself before she walked inside. The first thing her eyes saw was the nameplate on his desk, which read ‘Yazeed Adam Bunza’. Wait, the CEO of this company only hired his relatives or what?




She spoke softly, “Assalamu Alaikum,” waiting to see who the manager was and what his face looked like before she ventured into her files and matched her expression with his.




He looked up from the wardrobe he was searching for some documents from and answered her, “Waalaikumus Salam,” he said as he walked back to his chair and she stood there, staring at him. There was no way he was the guy from the elevator!




She realized he was waiting for her, and she handed him her document, irked at the way he acted as if he didn’t recognize her, or maybe he didn’t. He collected the file and went through it before he looked up at her. His mahogany eyes for the first time got in contact with hers. She held a stoic expression.




“What is your name, Miss?” He asked, and she resisted the urge to smack his head. Hadn’t he seen her name flying everywhere in her documents? And also, that’s how his voice sounded? That’s the main reason he hardly spoke because he knew he had a voice so amazing…Earth to! She scolded herself.




“My name is Jalilah.” She wasn’t lying, only being sarcastic. She knew he didn’t ask for her nickname; he wanted to know her real name even though he had seen it everywhere in her documents.




He was silent for a while before he looked up at her, and their eyes met again. “That’s not what’s written here, perhaps you aren’t the one?” He questioned with a straight face. Jalilah wished she could move to where he was and stretch out a smile on his grim lips. He looked so sad for a person that had such beauty in his possession.




“I thought you wanted to know my nickname because my name is written all over in there.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him; instead, she ducked her head down. He stared at her for a few seconds and shook his head as if to show her that he had no time to waste with a girl like her.




“You were born in Adamawa, and you studied at American University of Nigeria, Yola?” He asked, flipping through her papers. She nodded her head, intensely staring at him to see the kind of expression he would have while reading her documents. She knew he had seen them before; if not, who would have appointed her as a copper in his department?




Suddenly, she was tired, and he still hadn’t asked her to find herself a seat and sit down, but she did that anyway. While he was still doing his survey in her file, she moved toward his table and pulled one of his chairs out, but he stopped her even before she had her butt seated on it. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, and she looked between this name plate, his face, and his eyes that were a shade of mahogany, and she didn’t miss the cloud of darkness engulfing them. She shook her head softly.




“I got tired standing over there, so I was trying to sit down before you’re done.” She politely replied because she wasn’t so strong when it came to physical matters. 




He motioned for her to go back to where she was standing before, without even saying a word, and Jalilah wished she could act as if she hadn’t seen him. Nonetheless, she did as he said and moved back to where she was standing. She felt that he was only finding an excuse to punish her, but there was no way he was still looking into her documents. Finally, he was done, and he handed her back the file.




“Go to the HR office and tell him to find you an office on the floor. He’ll tell you whatever you need to do, okay?” She nodded her head and wordlessly walked out of the office. She was so tired of standing that she felt she could fall.




She knocked before she turned the doorknob and entered. He was on the phone while she entered, and he motioned for her to sit before he was done. Jalilah couldn’t have been gladder. She sat down and waited until he was done before she softly smiled, “He said I should ask you to give me an office and also the work I’m to be doing.”




Sulaiman smiled, collected her files and he looked at her, “My name is Sulaiman Kabir Bunza. Feel free to call me Sulaiman, please.”




She smiled and nodded her head, “My name is Khadija, but I prefer being called Jalilah,” she told him. He opened one of the cabinets and put her file in it before he looked up at her with a hint of a smile on his lips.




“I can tell from your expression that it wasn’t a good encounter. He’s a lovely person. Your office will be…” he was flipping through the design of the floor and checking all the offices that had been occupied and the ones that weren’t. There was only one left unless he was going to match her up with a male employee, which he wouldn’t do. The only one left was for an employee that went abroad for more studies.




“It’s in the Manager’s corridor, just two offices away.” He informed before he closed the design and looked at her. She had this whiny look that if she would be given the chance to, there was nothing that could stop her from crying.




“Please, can I have a different office away from his?” She asked because she couldn’t imagine staying that close to him. She didn’t mind they were two offices apart because the offices were all made of glass. They were see-through, and she knew a lot of things might happen that way.




Sulaiman laughed and shook his head at her, “You can only have that office; it’s the only free one we have for now. You can go to the receptionist and ask her to give you the key.” She looked at him wanting to protest again but she later realized that there was nothing she could do. This wasn’t Mama sitting across from her. This was a company, a total stranger, and she had to act mature.




She stood up and thanked him before she went back to the reception, thinking of how she was going to manage. It was evident he didn’t hate her alone; he hated everyone. But she had told him to his face that she heard he was grumpy, and she didn’t want to meet him since the HR would do that job for her. He could use that against her to make her life a living hell.




She stood on the counter and stared at the room, telling the woman the office she wanted the keys for. The woman handed her the key, and Jalilah clutched more to her bag before she walked away. She had to make herself busy when she reached his office because eye contact with him would be the last thing she wanted. There was something about his eyes that she had yet to comprehend. She opened the office, but no matter how she wanted to growl, she had to smile. The aesthetic of the office was what calmed her mind, and she dropped her bag on the only sofa before she walked to the chair. She sat down and swiveled herself, a chortle escaping her lips.




“This place is so good!” she mused to herself. It was a beautiful morning, she must admit. If she ignored all the things that had happened and would likely happen with the manager barely ten feet away from her, she would likely be happy in this place. She took a good look at the office, and she had noticed there was enough space for her to practice ballet. If she needed more space, she would just have to push that sofa away, and the whole office would be hers. If this wasn’t a dream come true!




Her phone’s ringtone brought her out of her reverie, and she quickly fetched for her bag, she took the phone out and picked the call. “Good morning, Mama,” she greeted with a wide smile on her lips.




“Good morning, Jalilah am, how are you doing?” Mama asked, and Jalilah smiled before she sat back. She had always loved it when Mama referred to her as Jalilah am, it always gave her this feeling. She knew she was her mother’s daughter, the only child she had ever had in her life. Jalilah knew she was her Mama’s happiness. Ever since her father died when she was in her final year in secondary school, she had always been her happiness. And Mama had loved anything she loved except for ballet. That was the only thing.




“I’m doing fine, Mama. I hope you’re okay too? How’s Fareed and Fareeda?” They were Mama’s niece and nephew who lived with them. They were only 17, but sometimes Jalilah felt they were older than that.




“They’ve left for school, and we’re all fine. I hope you’re fine there, Jalilah? Nothing bothering you, right?” Mama asked, and Jalilah smiled before she nodded her head as if she could see her.




“I’m fine, Mama. As fine as I ever could be. The house, the place of work, the city, everything is fine to me.”




“This reminds me, I’ll transfer some money to your account. You need to buy more foodstuffs and house items, right?” Mama asked, and Jalilah wished she could say no. But no matter how she tried to tell her mother she was fine, she wouldn’t agree. She always told her that if she didn’t spend her money, who will? She’d rather spend it happily while she was together with her.




“Yes, Mama, I will need some. Thank you.” They chatted for a while before Jalilah excused herself when she heard a faint knock on the door even though she could see the intruder through the glass. Sulaiman walked in, and he smiled before he found a seat and sat down, placing down a pile of papers on her table.




“You should’ve called me to come really,” she spoke, and he shook his head.




“I realized I didn’t have your number, and the work needs to be done, so I have to come by myself.” He showed her what she needed to do and how to do it. Jalilah thanked him and assured him that everything would be done.




He stood up before he spoke, “I forgot to tell you, we close by 5:30 p.m.”




Even though that seemed like a lot of time for her, she smiled. “Yeah, thank you for telling me.” When he left the office and she was sure he wouldn’t see her, Jalilah put her hands up in her head and silently screamed. How would she live in this building for how many hours? It was supposed to be 9hrs 30minutes. But she knew she couldn’t leave; she had to wait.




Why? Because the current online classes she was taking for ballet were by 5:30 pm too, and there was no way she could be home without being late for her class. But for today, she knew she had to do this work. She would organize everything by tomorrow. She sent an email to Mrs. Rosey that she wouldn’t be able to attend her class today and got to work!







She wasn’t done working, but she could swear when she stood up her back made a crack. It wasn’t easy. She had never spent the kind of time she had spent seated without doing anything but tapping away at her laptop until today. Somedays she felt Software Engineering wasn’t for her, but as much as she loved ballet, she knew a part of her loved the course too, but she had never put it into practice like she did today. It was time for Asr prayer, and she usually had her lunch now especially when she had a good breakfast, and today was one of the days she had a good breakfast because she was cautious. She didn’t know how the company was, whether or not if she would find something good to eat.




She fixed back her veil carefully, took her bag, and walked out of the office after she had locked it. Her eyes were fixed on her feet, thinking of the best way to soothe her body today. She held nothing with as much regard as she did her body because if she ate too much, she wouldn’t be able to do her ballet. She bumped onto something, wait…maybe it was someone!




She placed her palm on her forehead, which she banged on the hard surface and looked up, her lips curling up showing her discomfort. “Oh,” she said, and quickly masked her emotions. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” She apologized, and she could see the way he was scrunching up his face as if she was some sort of dirt.




He walked away without replying to her, and after a few feet apart from him, Jalilah realized she didn’t know where the mosque was nor did she know where she was going to find something light for her stomach. The one thing she took seriously was her diet. She realized the only way to find all those things was by following him, and she set her face, walking in strides until she matched his steps. He looked at her once and continued working.




Jalilah wanted to scold herself. She wanted to tell herself that this was her manager, and she had to act all respectful toward him. ‘Just once,’ she spoke to herself. Because there was no way she was letting him go now. She had to follow his every step. One, they had to take the elevator, and there was no way she was taking it alone. Two, she had to know where they prayed, and three, she had to know where she could eat. He tapped on the buttons, and they both waited until it was opened before they entered.




When Jalilah heard the ringtone of her phone, she wanted to scream out loud. Who the hell was calling her now? At his time? She brought her phone out of her bag and slide the answer button. “Hello, Farha?” She asked as if she wasn’t sure of the name she had seen.




“Jalilah!” Farha squealed. Even though she was sure there was no way he could hear what she was saying, she was keen on her words. She prayed Farha wouldn’t bring up a conversation that would force her to say inappropriate things. 




“Farha, I’ve been wanting to call you, but there was too much work. How are you?” She asked, and Farha giggled because this wasn’t the way she was used to hearing Jalilah over the phone.




“Girl, what’s wrong with you? Are you sick? Or is it Mrs. Rosey that died? And you couldn’t finish your online classes?” She asked, and no matter how Jalilah wanted to keep herself, she couldn’t help bursting out laughing.




“You’re sick in the head, even if she died, I’d have to finish that class and get my certificate. But I’m just famished, and I need to pray. A lot of things are on my mind right now.” She wished the way she had spoken was close to a whisper, even though whispering was one of the things she had less expertise in.




“Wait, this isn’t the normal exciting first day at work Jalilah; what’s wrong? Met a guy already?” She took a glance at him, and he looked toward her. She quickly took her eyes off before she shook her head as if Farha could see her.




“No, come on. That’s not the case, you know I can’t be like that, right? Like not on the first day, didn’t we even promise not to do them that way?” She was trying so hard to recite out their girl's code without giving more information away, but she knew Farha wouldn’t let her be.




“Girl! You aren’t alone!” Farha screamed at the pitch of her voice while she giggled.




“I think I should call you later, Farha.” 




“Make sure you take a picture of him!” Farha screamed out loud before she ended the call, and Jalilah couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t know what had gotten into Farha’s head today. What happened to their girl rule? There was no way she was breaking that. Just because she had admitted he was handsome at a first glance didn’t mean anything. She wasn’t blind for her not to see what was all over his face, was she?




They got down, and she kept following that he was finally fed up and he turned to look at her, “What’s wrong with you?” he asked with a straight voice, and he caught her off guard.




“I don’t know where the mosque is, and somehow I figured out that’s where you’re heading to,” She could see the way his Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down before he turned and walked away. She was sure he wanted to speak to her but stopped himself. Maybe she had gotten him when she said she wanted to locate the mosque.




She kept following him until they reached the mosque, and she saw the entrance of the female’s toilet. She looked over at him and realized he had already gotten into the mosque. She was glad she had already performed her ablution in the office. If not, she would have wasted more than enough time locating the toilet here. She walked into the mosque and immediately started praying. When they were done, she stopped a lady that was walking out of the mosque with a polite smile on her lips.




“Hello, please, is there a cafeteria or restaurant nearby? Just where I can buy some food?” She asked, and the lady nodded her head while taking Jalilah’s outstretched hand for a shake.




“I have a lot of work to do, or I’d have taken you there. But there’s a cafeteria mainly for snacks and some light foods inside the company. But if you don’t want that, you can go to a nearby restaurant just a few feet away from the company.” Jalilah fixed her veil and smiled appreciatively at her.




“Thank you, my name is Jalilah. I’m a corper.”




“My name is Wafiyya. I started working here last year. You’re welcome to our company. I pray you to get hired after you’re done with your service.” They exchanged phone numbers because Jalilah figured out she would be needing more of her help before they parted ways. She stood there thinking of the best place to go and eat. She knew maybe the cafeteria was full by now, but realizing this wasn’t the proper time for lunch, she thought maybe it would barely be empty. She smiled at herself and walked toward where Wafiyya told her the cafeteria was.




She pushed the door and entered with a soft Salam on her lips even though she knew none of the few people eating there would hear her, but it was a habit she wouldn’t let go of just since she was in Abuja. She moved to the counter, placed her order before she walked to a table by the window side, and sat down. She figured out the right way to prevent her mind from thinking too much was by calling Farha via video call, and she pulled out her phone without thinking twice.




“Girl!” She waved with a wide grin, glad that she had come along with her AirPods; if not, there was no way Farha wouldn’t embarrass her in this cafeteria. She stared at the beautiful and smiling face of Farha while she waved back at her with a wink.




“Just get into it. I can’t wait. You weren’t acting normal, Jalilah. Have you taken the picture I asked you to?” She asked, and Jalilah threw her head back and laughed, glaring at her.




“What made you think it was a guy, Farha? You know the rules, girl! We aren’t ready yet!” She grinned at her and rolled her eyes when Farha made a grunting sound. “How’s Lagos? How’s Baba? Have you been thanking him for me every day?” Farha stayed in Lagos with her parents. She was the only child too.




“Baba kept saying you should be careful of those Abuja guys if only he knew!” They laughed at the same time and that was when Jalilah noticed the guy that just sat on the table opposite her. While they were facing each other even though at different tables, she couldn’t resist rolling her eyes.




She didn’t know when she looked away, and that expression she had on her face didn’t miss Fadwa’s eyes. “What’s with the look, Jalilah?” She asked, and Jalilah softly smiled.




“Make it a takeaway, please.” She told the waiter because she was certain there was no way she would peacefully eat her food while she had this guy sitting right across her on his table. She knew he wouldn’t look at her, but she knew he was there, and that was enough.




“Nothing, I’m just so hungry, and I’d have to miss my class today because we close at 5:30 pm, and I have a lot of work to do at home, that’s all.” She scrunched up her face and a part of her eyes stealthily looked up at him. He was ducked into his phone, and she watched as the waiter asked him what he wanted. ‘The usual,’ that’s all he said. And Jalilah got curious about what his usual would be like.




“Turn the damn camera, Jalilah!” Farha screamed, and that was when she knew she had been staring at him for long. 




She quickly masked up her expression, “Why do I have to turn it? What do you want to see? The cafeteria? Farha, you can’t disgrace me here, you know that, right?” She asked with a hard face, wishing that Farha would let go of her words, but she didn’t.




“Just turn the damn camera, Jalilah. I don’t trust you. You’re staring at a guy; let’s rate him and see.”




“Far…” she wanted to argue, but Farha gave her that straight look that said ‘Look, I know you’re lying. Let’s just get it over with.’ She had no choice but to roll her eyes at Farha before she reluctantly turned the camera and right there, she got the chance to stare at him. How he sat down, how he intensely stared at his phone, everything about him.




“Wallahi he’s cute! Jalilah! This guy is hot oh my freaking god!” Farha’s scream jolted her out of her trance, and she quickly masked up her emotions before she turned back the camera. 




“He’s my manager, mind your words. It’s not what you’re trying to cook up.” She rolled her eyes while she spoke through gritted teeth afraid that he would hear what she was telling her. 




The waiter brought her food and she stood up, holding the leather with one hand while she slung her bag over her shoulder with the other. She moved to the counter doing all she could to ignore Farha’s exaggerated words before she walked out of the cafeteria. She wished she could take another look at him, but that’s likely not going to happen. She had to prove her crazy best friend wrong.




She ran to the elevator before it closed and entered, heaving a sigh out of relief. She knew if she had slackened, she would have waited there until someone came, which she was sure there would be no one unless the ones coming down for something because she was late enough for the day. She would have to find herself a driver, which they would reach an agreement because this Uber didn’t help a lot sometimes. She calmed herself down and turned to look at the people in the elevator. ‘Damn it’ nearly fell from her lips, did she have to run onto him every day? And that too in the elevator?

She wondered what kind of thing this was. Just that today he wasn’t alone, he was together with Sulaiman, and she smiled politely at him. “Good morning,” she greeted them in unison, but she could swear he didn’t even look up at her. What was his name again? Yeah, Yazeed Adam Bunza.

“Good morning, Jalilah. How was your night? And how do you like it in our company?” Sulaiman answered and smiled back at her. They exchanged a few pleasantries before she brought out her phone and waited patiently while fighting the end corners of her eyes not to take a look at his closed-off face. What was wrong with him for the sake of Allah? He looked like someone who was into the most grievous phase of his life.

‘Rather, what was wrong with you?’ She redirected the question at herself and completely turned to face the opening. That was the question she should’ve asked herself since. What was wrong with her? Why wouldn’t she leave this man alone? He fought his demons what was hers to keep being curious about the life he didn’t want anyone into it. She had noticed some resemblance with him and Sulaiman, but she wondered if they were somehow related. It got opened, and Jalilah was glad to have a breath of fresh air, more than the one they kept circulating between themselves. If some scientist would tell her she had breathed in the same air that he did in that elevator, she wouldn’t argue.

“Come to my office, I have some work for you, Jalilah!” Sulaiman called out to her when she had already taken the route that would take her to her office, which was the same way with that of Yazeed. She was happy for this distraction, and she got the chance to change paths with him, all this didn’t look promising.

“Okay,” she calmly said and followed Sulaiman to his office. They entered and she waited until he fished out the files from his cabinet and he handed her while saying out the instructions of how to do it. She was about to leave the office when she remembered she had something to ask him, and she turned to look at him with a sly smile on her lips.

“I wanted to ask you something,” he sat down on his chair and motioned for her to go on. “Is it okay if I stayed here longer than 5:30 pm? Or everyone has to leave at that time?”

He quickly shook his head, “No, they generally close the company by 7 pm, I think it’s fine.” She thanked him because she had been thinking about what she would do if she wouldn’t be allowed to take her ballet classes. Though she still had to ask Mrs. Rosey for the delay of at least ten minutes to give the workers the chance to fully evacuate from the office so she could freely do her dancing.

She walked back to her office, and she caught a glimpse of his face through the glasses, it looked like he was in a heated argument with someone, like what he was talking over the phone with someone was his least favorite to talk about. She wanted to know what that was, what was taking a toll on him that it showed all over his face, but she had no excuse to do that, and she silently walked to her office, thinking of how she had missed her ballet class yesterday even though she had practiced it at home, it was still not the same.

Before she sat down, she looked at the office and made sure if she cleared the sofa it would be enough for her, even though she would still be restricted. But reminding herself how she squeezed and practiced at home in her room, even though it had enough space, this was more spacious. Here, she didn’t have her mirror to get along, she didn’t have her half-completed canvases to keep moving between her wardrobe and her bed, lots of things weren’t here.

She smiled to herself and first sent an email to Mrs. Rosey that they should likely shift it to 5:40 pm because it got along with her work. Mrs. Rosey was understanding, Jalilah was sure she had no problem with that. She got to work, ignoring the tons of messages she was getting from Farha, she wondered what kept her awake today, was it because she wanted to know more ‘them’? As she had already tagged her and Yazeed. Maybe she was crazy too herself, but she had never seen someone as crazy as Farha was, that girl was just herself.

While at call, she got a few calls from Sulaiman directing her and asking her to send an email to this and that, she should check there were things to be done and so. When she called him to inform him that the work he had given her in the morning was done, she thought that was all for today. Maybe she would lazy around until it was time for prayer, and she would do that.

“I think you’d have to take those files to the manager then, Jalilah.” She wished she could scream at him and tell him she wouldn’t do that. But before she did that, she realized this was work, what she was feeling about this Yazeed of a guy was nowhere related to their work. She didn’t even have the sole reason of being this angry at him.

“Okay, sure. I’ll do that.” She hoped he didn’t hear how her voice sounded gritted, showing her discomfort.

She stood up from her chair and fixed her veil carefully, thinking of the way she was going to address him. ‘Hi, the HR asked me to bring these files to you.’ No, that wouldn’t work. He wasn’t the right way to greet your boss. Or maybe it should be ‘Assalamu Alaikum,’ and she would duck her head down while she placed the files on his table. Maybe he would look at her with those orbs and question, ‘And what are these for?’ She would want to hit his face because it was clear they were for work, but she would have to fight herself, ‘The HR asked me to bring them when I’m done.’ Yes, that would be it!

She carefully held the files and took her phone before she left. Approaching his office, she saw there were two men in suits there, and she stopped, watching him as he interacted with them. He wasn’t smiling even when they shook hands and the men walked out of the office, she wondered what was wrong with this man. At first, she thought he didn’t want to interact with his female workers, but she had seen it was beyond being a female worker. Maybe he acted like this to everyone?

She quickly ducked herself down when the two men walked by before she walked into the office with a soft knock. He looked up from his desktop and quickly glanced at her before he ducked his head back. She wanted to sit down but recalling what had happened between them yesterday was what stopped her from doing so. She secretly glared at him and carefully placed the files on his face.

Just like she had predicted, he first looked at the files before he scrunched up his face and looked at her, he lifted one eyebrow without voicing a word out. Ugh! She didn’t want to hit just his face, she wanted to slap him until his fair skin turned sour. Maybe she would dull his handsomeness with her hot slaps. She had no choice but to answer him because she knew they both knew he was waiting for her answer.

“The HR asked me to bring it when I’m done getting the figures in, so…” she let her words trailed off while motioning at the files, which showed that she was done now.

“Have you entered the spreadsheet?” Not that! Please, not that! She hated it, she didn’t like doing it, please not that! Instead of those words to come out of Jalilah’s lips, she silently shook her head.

“No, he hasn’t made mention of that.”

He nodded his head, and she felt an air of relief as it wafted through her chest. Well, it lasted long before he spoke again, “Yes, I asked him not to bother doing that. But I think you have to do it now. I need to get it into the site. Maybe get your laptop and come here, so if you have some done, you can email it to me, and we’ll be done that way?” He was even looking at her while he was talking, busy doing his work that the little glimmer of Farha she had in her, which madly told her that he wanted to see her that was why he suggested they worked in his office died. If he wanted that, he would have been looking at her while he spoke, maybe smile a little if their eyes met.

But even after she stared at his face and their eyes met, he gave her a questioning look. Like, won’t you do what I said? She curled her fist and ducked her head down. “I’ll get the laptop now.” He turned back to his work and she walked out of the office.

When she closed the door to her office, she let out a soft groan and responded to her annoying vibrating phone. “He asked me to work in his office, Farha! I’m so going to kill that guy!” She half screamed, but to her annoyance, Farha giggled before she laughed.

“Am I hearing I want to keep seeing you so why not work in my office?” Behold, she wasn’t wrong when she told herself that she was as crazy as Farha was, sometimes. Because this was what she thought for a brisk second before she looked at him and realized he wasn’t giving a single damn.

“That’s not the case, you idiot. This man only wanted to torture my life, he wants me to enter some annoying figures in a spreadsheet, how do they even do it? I haven’t been attending that lecturer’s class. Na shigesu!”

Farha burst out laughing so hard that Jalilah had to threaten him that she was going to end the call before she sobered up. “You know I can’t believe you when you ask me that, and guess who scored an A in that course? Idiot, you’re just anxious. Go and work in front of your hot ass boss, I’ll hear feedback when you’re back. You said you’re going to buy the things you want for your house tonight, right?” Farha asked, and Jalilah knew she had to unless she wanted to starve herself to death with only junks to save herself while making it hard for herself to practice ballet.

“Yes, keep your phone by yourself, I’ll call you to help me choose. Bye, I have to go.” She quickly took her laptop and walked back to the office. He was in the same position she had left him, only that now as he worked, he had his brows creased together and Jalilah wondered what he was thinking about. She softly knocked before she entered, and just in time, he looked up and their eyes met. What a sight to behold, he had one of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen! He quickly took his eyes off and went back to his work, she shrugged off her shoulders.

She took the files and stood by his table, looking at him. When he sensed that her eyes had lingered much on his face, he looked up at her, “What do you need?” He asked, and she pointed at the empty chairs and sofas he had in his office.

“I was wondering if I could sit on one and work? Last time you said I can’t sit on your chair.”

She could see how taken aback he was by her words, “To the sofas please,” he pointed at her and she nodded her head before she walked over and sat down. She silently prayed for Allah to give her the strength to stay focused on what she was supposed to do. She began working, but from time to time, she would look up at him and find him intensely staring at the screen of his desktop, she wished she could go over to that table and move apart from his creased eyebrows. It even wondered to her how he had naturally arched brows, which they always fought with Mama because whenever she went for makeup or Farha did one for her, she had to carve her brows, and Mama always scolded her for that. She claimed that her full and nearly bushy brows looked more beautiful on her. But she had never seen that beauty.

There was a time when she looked up at him and Jalilah could swear she found him looking at her. What the hell was that?! He quickly looked away, but even if the heaven and earth were to kiss each other and someone would have to tell her if she didn’t believe it wasn’t him that looked at her the world would come to end, she wouldn’t believe. Because for a brisk second, they had eye contact.

Before she was out of that sentiment, a soft knock came and Sulaiman walked into the office. He didn’t notice her, he went directly to Yazeed’s desk and placed his hand on his shoulder, “How are you? It’s prayer time. I have to go back home, eat, and pray. I also have to take Ilham to her Yoga class, do you mind coming? Maybe so you can eat? You haven’t been eating enough food lately, Yazeed.”

Now that she looked at both men, they were surely related. If Yazeed would smile even for a split second, he would look so much like Sulaiman. Maybe they were cousins? Whatever relation they had, she was sure they were blood related.

Yazeed silently shook his head, “No, I might come and have dinner there, or I’ll send my gateman to get it for me. If I don’t do either of the two, that means I’m full. Greet her for me, and the baby please. And also, don’t forget to tell her that…”

Sulaiman smiled before he finished his sentence, “That she should take very good care of herself, the baby too. I will never forget that.” He smiled and Yazeed only tried what was never a smile but Jalilah knew to him, that was meant to be a smile.

Sulaiman turned to where she sat and he smiled at her, she lifted her eyebrows and smiled back at him. Lifting one of the files, she spoke, “We’re still working, I thought I was done.” There was a hint of a pout on her lips and Sulaiman nearly cracked up, he knew Yazeed did that on purpose to punish her for always getting into the elevator with him.

“Oh, and that must be tiring. I think you should join my wife’s Yoga class, she said it relieves muscle pains. Because this work will keep your muscles soaring with pain.”

She smiled politely at him and nodded her head, “Maybe the day I feel I can’t move my limbs, I will surely join. Ask her to reserve my space.” She chuckled because she thought he was joking. It was surprising when she heard he had a wife, but he looked like a gentleman, his wife was so lucky to have him. They were expecting a baby too, that was amazing!

“I think I should leave before Ilham calls again. Bye you too, work hard.” He walked out of the office and Jalilah used that as an excuse to take a peek at his face. She didn’t know what was her attraction with his face. Yes, he was handsome, that was undeniable, but whenever she looked at his face she felt as if she wanted to find something new from him, but he didn’t give way to anything apart from the beauty that made itself palpable on his face.

A few minutes later, she watched as he stood up and he looked at her while trying to stretch his body. “I’ll go to the mosque and pray, you should too. You can have your lunch if you want to before you come back.” She quickly turned the laptop off and stood up.

Fixing back her veil while she watched as he walked out of the office. Again, they met in the elevator. And now was different, they weren’t the only ones, Jalilah saw Wafiyya. “Wafiyya! Oh my god, we met again!” She smiled widely and Wafiyya smiled back at her, softly side hugging her.

“It was a pleasure meeting you again, Jalilah. How have you been? How’s our company treating you?” She asked, and Jalilah took a glance at his face before she turned back and smiled.

“Hectic, too much work, but it’s amazing.” They chatted for a while and walked to the mosque together. When they were done, she smiled and told Wafiyya she wasn’t eating yet, she had work to finish and she would eat after Asr. She went back to the office before him and decided she would relax before he came back, she was sure she would see him coming before he reached the office.

She played soft music on her phone, the slow kinds of music she played whenever she wanted to clean her room, that way she could sway a little while she did her work. Sometimes if she had much space in her room, she would dance ballet, while staring at herself in her mirror and she endlessly smiled at herself. She couldn’t wait for the day she would dance on stage, without doubts, Jalilah was sure that would be the happiest day of her life. Even though she was only going to dance now, like normal dance even though Farha had told her times without number that she didn’t know how to dance as normal people do, all her moves were always related to ballet.

But she knew dancing was the only way she could ease off her muscles, and she began moving softly in the office, her eyes intently fixed on the way she was sure he would emerge from. She kept giggling to herself, dancing softly, moving with her body as if she had no bone in it. She could remember the way she thought Farha how to wine her waist, that day she laughed like no tomorrow. She didn’t know how she began wining her waist, maybe it was because she hadn’t done that for long.

She got so carried away wining her waist while she smiled at herself that she forgot to look at the path until it was nearly too late. She didn’t know when she abruptly slumped on the sofa when she saw him wanting to enter the office and paused the music while she kept panting for breath. What saved her was, he was so carried away with his phone and she was never relieved of how he didn’t look at people when he was walking until today. Well, she just met him yesterday.

He flashed her a weird look; she knew he wanted to ask her why she was acting as if someone that was caught doing something bad, but she masked it up with a beautiful smile. They continued working, the only words they shared between them were, “Are you done? Maybe you can email me with that page?” All her answers were yes because she had relieved her muscles enough, and now, she could finally work.

When it was time for Asr, they were done, and she was glad. Because she didn’t know what she would have done if she wasn’t done with the work until it was 5:40 pm. It was either she asked him to excuse or she did that to Mrs. Rosey, which she most likely wouldn’t. She couldn’t miss her class twice.

She prayed and walked down to the cafeteria, even though Mrs. Rosey had warned her about eating fatty foods before she danced, she didn’t know what she would do now. Maybe she would be bringing her food here? But wouldn’t she look like a secondary school girl? She would have to check the restaurant Wafiyya said, maybe they had light foods as she wanted. He had already occupied the table she sat yesterday, and she wondered how the cafeteria was filled today. It looked like they had visitors to the company. There was nowhere she could sit but there, and she ordered what she wanted before she moved to the table with tentative steps.

She stood in front of the table, opposite him while she stared at his eyelashes. That was the closest she had ever gotten with him, “Can I sit?” She politely asked, because if he said no, she would have to eat in her office like she did yesterday. She didn’t know what had gone into her head today, maybe it was the spirits of Farha yet again.

He looked up at her and silently shook his head before he went back to his phone, she shrugged off her shoulders and rolled her eyes at him when she was sure he wasn’t watching before she moved back to the counter and asked the waitress to make her order a takeaway. Before she left the cafeteria with her food in hand, she glared at him before she walked away. On her way to her office, she met Wafiyya, and Jalilah started rambling on her without waiting for anything.

“I don’t know why he’s so grumpy, what’s wrong with him? He made me do the work I’ve never imagined of doing today, Wafiyya. And to think of it, he told the HR not to bother doing it, this man.” She hissed softly and looked away as if he was standing right before her and she hated the mere sight of him.

“You’ve been rambling, who is it?” Wafiyya asked while she laughed softly and placed her hand on an annoyed Jalilah.

“Our manager, you’re not in our department but I’m sure you know him. Yazeed something Bunza.”

Wafiyya wriggled her eyebrows before her eyes dilated a bit, “Oh my god, don’t tell me. He’s the son of the owner of this company. Adam Bunza. And his name is Yazeed Adam Bunza, right?” Wafiyya asked while all she wanted was to laugh at how surprised Jalilah looked.

She softly shook her head, “I can’t believe this, are you for real? How can he be the son of the CEO?”

Wafiyya shrugged her shoulders, “How can he be? Because he gave birth to him.” She laughed and placed her hand on her shoulder, “Everybody knows how he is, you shouldn’t be bothered about his habits, is it not just work? Do that for him and leave.” Even after Jalilah had gone into her office, she couldn’t shrug off the fact that Yazeed was the son of the CEO, because how would he be? Like she knew he didn’t look poor, even if he was from a poor family his position in the company would have at least gained him something so far, but being the CEO’s son? That’s too far.

She began eating her food, but the information was nibbling on her as well. She had no choice but to call Farha and inform her even though he knew this would give Farha more reasons to keep on saying something. “Girl, he’s the CEO’s son. Is that why he’s always grumpy around people?”

Farha burst out laughing and Jalilah could imagine her shaking her head, “What do you mean? Jalilah you’ve already known this guy for the second day, you can’t conclude about his behavior. But haven’t I told you he looked rich?”

“Him looking rich is normal, because I believe he has a beautiful face and a good skin, but…well, I don’t care.” They burst out laughing at the same time and they giggled. Farha told her about her service which he started yesterday as well, and she asked Jalilah about her ballet lesson which she told her how it was going now.

When they ended the call, Jalilah thought of what she would do to eat her time away before it was time for her classes, and she opted for watching a movie. She was so excited when Sulaiman gave her their Wi-Fi password and assured her she could use it whenever she wanted, and now…she would get to work. She was a Korean fanatic. She loved Korean dramas to the extent that there was a time Mama had to seize her laptop because of how she didn’t have time for herself nor her family. And now, she would be back with her obsession.

She logged into her Netflix account with her laptop and searched for ‘Suspicious partner’ because that was the movie Farha kept exaggerating about and she wanted to see it for herself. She was into the second episode when it was time and after she paused the movie, she moved to the window and watched as cars, men, women were walking out of the company looking tired. She wished she could follow them too, but she had to stay for an hour now.

She dialed Mrs. Rosey through FaceTime and sat down widely smiling at her when her blonde hair made an appearance into her skin. “I’ve missed seeing you, Mrs. Rosey. How have you been?”

“You look tired, Jealilah.” Mrs. Rosey pointed out, and Jalilah smiled before she nodded her head.

“I have jeans underneath my abaya and my shirt. I can practice with them, right? I’m not at home to wear my normal ballerina dress and shoes.” She smiled.

“You can do it with a skirt if that will make you comfortable, I can see you’re at work. Can I see your office?” Whenever she saw Mrs. Rosey, she felt a certain yearning for her Dad. She could when he brought her first laptop and he secretly called her to his room. His first words after she had unwrapped the laptop were, ‘I know your mother doesn’t want you to learn ballet, but I want you to be whatever you want to be, Jalilah. I’ve already enrolled you in Royal Ballet School, London. You’ll be learning from home, I’ll renovate your room so you can lock it up whenever you have classes, if you need anything, you can always run to me, Jalilah.’

She masked her emotions and stood up holding her MacBook, smiling while she swirled, showing the office to Mrs. Rosey. She kept smiling and praising until Jalilah was done and she smiled at her, moving away from her screen while she smiled at her, “Are you ready for our classes now, Jealilah?”

She placed the MacBook on the screen and pushed the sofa like she had imagined the office would look. She took off her abaya and wrapped her veil firmly on her hair, even though she was sure everyone had evacuated from the building, but she could never make the mistake of letting someone seeing her hair. She watched as Mrs. Rosey started moving while she explained to her.

“I know you’ve mastered the plier (to bend), ètendre (to stretch), reliever (to rising), glisser (to slide or glide), Sauter (to jump) too, but you haven’t mastered it like the rest. I think we will have to keep doing it until you master it, Jealilah. So now, just stare at me and see until I ask you to practice.” She nodded her head and watched, as Mrs. Rosey kept moving her body the way Jalilah wished one day she would do too. When Mrs. Rosey was done, she was asked to dance too, and Jalilah prayed she won’t fall whenever she came to the Sauter step like she had always done.

She turned the MacBook so she could see her and smiled before she began. She knew no one was there, just her and Mrs. Rosey staring at her through her screen, but she had never danced anywhere but her room. So, she felt exposed, but she kept on moving, sliding while Mrs. Rosey smiled at her. She was doing a good job, she knew. She could hear the soft tune she had played on her phone, while she moved, smiling to herself too.

“Is it time to Sauter, Mrs. Rosey?” She asked while she glisser to the left, somewhere around the office door. But she didn’t mind, because she was so immersed in ballet that she felt she was setting her soul free of all that haunted it.

“Yes, do it like this. Let’s do it together and see, I’m sure you’ll perfect the art of it.” She nodded her head and smiled while she watched as Mrs. Rosey started moving her body, they kept doing until it was time to Sauter, and they jumped together. Mrs. Rosey cheered when Jalilah did it right and they kept doing. Starting all over while they smiled at each other. She was the happiest when she danced. And Mrs. Rosey was one of the people she could call a friend.

They kept moving, starting all over, and doing it to the Sauter step. She had even forgotten that she was still in her jeans and she was dancing ballet, the kind of dance that amused the eyes of its watchers. When they were done, Mrs. Rosey made her promise that she would practice more tonight before she slept and by tomorrow, she would improve so they could move to the next. She did, and they bade each other goodbye before she ended the call and sat down to collect her breath, while a wide grin graced her lips. Ballerina, the name she wished someday someone would call her with.