Chapter 25
Zafar
Zafar was buzzing, and not in a good way. It wasn’t the buzz of euphoria or satisfaction. It was a build-up of restless energy and a sense of helplessness because he was thousands of miles away from where he needed to be.
Shit had well and truly hit the fan and here he was, waiting for the emails he’d asked Ibrahim to send him to load properly on Reshma’s laptop.
His father hadn’t let him bring his own gear, insisting that he wouldn’t need it while he was out there, and Zafar’s irritation with the whole situation went up another notch.
He’d told Reshma he had to look into things and she’d handed him her laptop and then made her way to join Daadi at her aunt’s villa for the remainder of the evening while he caught up with matters back home.
He made himself a coffee and grabbed a couple of croissants and when he sat back down in front of the laptop, his emails had finally loaded. He started making his way through them chronologically and each email upped his annoyance until he felt anger simmer through his veins.
The hotel deal was supposed to have been a straightforward transaction, but things had started wobbling soon after he’d left London, it seemed, getting more tangled in the last few days.
Ibrahim had clearly tried to manage things, as had Murad, but the seller was being difficult and throwing one obstacle after another their way, the latest being a hike in the original purchase price, with a threat of taking it to auction if they delayed in accepting his terms.
He’d seemed to be in a hurry about selling and with such a prime location and a solid building, Zafar had been keen to close the deal, having run all the necessary checks and paperwork before leaving. He couldn’t understand why things hadn’t progressed as smoothly as he’d anticipated.
He spent a good few hours going through what he could, getting frustrated each time he wanted a document and realised that he wasn’t connected to the main server because he wasn’t using his own laptop.
The seller had given them a deadline for two days’ time to accept his terms before he backed out, which, according to Zafar’s calculation, left him roughly thirty-six hours to get things back on track.
And he couldn’t do that sitting where he was.
He needed to get back to London as soon as possible if he wanted to salvage this.
It was already pretty late, so it was unlikely he’d get anything today but maybe he’d be able to fly out tomorrow. He needed to get in touch with the airline. He also had to consider what arrangements to make for Daadi and Reshma. Would they stay or fly back home with him?
Frustration and the need to be doing something pounded through him. This was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid in the first place, but his father had refused to listen to him. Even now, his father had no idea that Ibrahim had looped Zafar into what was happening.
Zafar picked up his phone and called Murad.
‘Hey.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything before? You called me, asked me a bunch of fucking questions but didn’t say a thing about the shit fest we now have on our hands. I trusted you to be honest with me.’
‘Slow down, mate. First things first, don’t even think about offloading all your pent-up frustration my way.
I’m doing the best I can, as is Ibrahim.
As for trusting me to be honest, if you work your super smart brain a bit harder, you’ll see that when I called you there wasn’t anything concrete to say.
The seller was just being annoying until then, but there was nothing substantial happening.
Things escalated shortly after that, but your father gave us strict instructions not to involve you.
He said he’d take care of things. I had a meeting with Ibrahim afterwards and we thought it might be a good idea for Ibrahim to fill you in so you’re aware of what’s happening.
Your dad is still dealing with it and doesn’t think there’s anything to be worried about. ’
Zafar heaved a frustrated sigh as he paced the space between the dining table he’d been sitting working at and the kitchen island a short distance away.
‘It was supposed to be straightforward, man. If I hadn’t come here because of Dad’s whim, we could have sorted this out before it got to this. I want that hotel, Murad.’
‘I get that, Zaf, but don’t lose sight of what’s commercially viable and what’s not.
I get there’s a lot in favour of this deal for you, but the price he’s now asking for is not worth it and the timeline he’s proposing is also ridiculous.
I’ve checked the numbers out and if you have too, then you’ll agree with me.
If anything, it’s beginning to look dodgy.
I know you want this to work out because it’s what your granddad wanted, but come on, man.
Don’t let that become a set of blinkers for you.
You’ll end up making mistakes if you don’t pause long enough to take in the full picture. ’
He heard Murad’s words but they did nothing to ease his worries. ‘I need to come back. Let me get back and let’s set up a meeting with him. I’m sure I can get this thing back on track. I’ll see if I can get a flight for tomorrow.’
Zafar turned in his pacing and saw Daadi and Reshma standing just inside the front door. Daadi’s mouth was hanging open, while Reshma’s expression looked closed off. Her shoulders were hunched and her eyes seemed vacant before she dropped her gaze.
‘I reckon you should wait, Zaf. We’ll keep you looped in from here on so that you know exactly what’s happening, and if we need you, we’ll reach out first thing, I promise.
I know you can’t access documents, but if we need you for anything, I’m sure we can patch you in for a call or something.
Hold your horses and let’s see what we can do. ’
Zafar watched as Reshma led Daadi to her room and then came out a couple of minutes later and made her way upstairs, not looking his way even once. He needed to have a chat with her at some point, but for now, he needed to concentrate on the matter at hand.
‘You at home?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘I’m going to video-call you. Let’s go through everything with a fine-toothed comb and see where we’re at. I’ll feel more in control if we go through the details and then you can fill Ibrahim in with anything he needs to be filled in with and we’ll take it from there.’
Murad sighed. ‘OK.’
By the time Zafar ended his call with Murad and got up from his chair, it was well past two o’clock in the morning.
His back and neck were stiff and achy and his eyes felt like he’d rubbed sand in them.
Going through the particulars with Murad had reassured him that his groundwork was solid.
He closed everything down and headed upstairs, mindful of making any noise, lest he wake Reshma up.
She had left his bedside lamp on and was turned the other way, curled up under the duvet. He knew things hadn’t gone as she’d hoped this evening and, to be fair, if he could have chosen, he’d rather have been with her back at the restaurant than have to deal with what he was, but such was life.
He was feeling dog-tired, so he stripped straight out of the shirt and trousers he’d worn for their date and got into his shorts and hit the sack.
He still had tonnes of work to get through tomorrow with both Murad and Ibrahim and he hoped he could resolve everything without having to cut their trip short.
A small – very small – part of him was reassured that he didn’t have to fly out first thing.
He’d managed to go through things with Murad enough to be satisfied that it wasn’t as dire an emergency as he’d believed it might have been earlier that evening, though there was still the possibility of it all falling through and him losing the hotel.
Hopefully, things would work out just fine.
At least, that’s what he told himself before he fell asleep.
When he got up the next morning, it was to find the bedroom empty. The curtains were still drawn, but sunlight was peeking in through the gaps.
Zafar checked his phone and saw with some relief that there had been no work emergencies since last night.
The second thing he noticed was that, once again, he’d slept in pretty late.
When he got back to London and his usual schedule, he was going to feel it so badly, the thought made him wince.
He flung the covers back and got out of bed, skipping out on having a swim and going straight in for a shower instead.
He went downstairs and found Daadi on the phone.
There was no sign of Reshma and he assumed she might have gone to her aunt’s villa.
He kissed Daadi on the cheek before making his way to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He’d barely eaten anything last night and he was starving.
He knew if he hoped to make any more progress with his work, he needed to fuel up adequately.
He needed to be firing on all cylinders.
He had a small window of time before he was scheduled to e-meet Murad and Ibrahim and he was hoping to catch Reshma, so he could fill her in on what had happened.
He remembered her expression from the night before and had a feeling that she might be under the impression that he planned to leave earlier than they were scheduled to and, to be fair, she wouldn’t have been entirely wrong.
At the point where she’d overheard his conversation with Murad, that had definitely been his plan, except the subsequent work he’d done with Murad had bought him some time.
Daadi got off the phone and made her way towards him as he finished eating. ‘Morning, sweetheart. Another late night for you?’
‘Yeah, just some trouble on the work front, but fingers crossed we’ll get it sorted.’
‘Inshallah, you will. You’re not thinking of leaving today, are you?’ She looked at him with concern.
‘I hope not. It all depends on Murad and Ibrahim.’
She sat down in the chair adjacent to his and held her hand out for him to take.
‘I love you. You’re one of the most caring and considerate of boys, with a heart of gold.
There’s no responsibility you have that you don’t fulfil with the utmost dedication.
But I hope that dedication of yours doesn’t come at too high a cost. It has in the past and that worries me. ’
‘Daadi, you have nothing to worry about. In fact, that’s the last thing I want you to do.’ He wasn’t sure what exactly his grandmother was getting at.
‘I know, my darling. But … do you remember me telling you about taking after your grandfather in the wrong aspects of your life?’
Zafar nodded his head as Daadi looked at him solemnly.
‘I thought that since getting a break from your work and coming here, things were changing for you. You had a chance to pause and lift your head for long enough to see what you were missing and what you were letting pass you by. Reshma’s such a special girl and I don’t want you to focus so much on trying to make your grandfather proud and carrying his legacy forward that you lose sight of what’s really important.
It’s better to carry no legacy forward than to carry the wrong kind of legacy forward.
’ Zafar watched as his grandmother shook her head.
‘I speak from experience, Zafar. Your grandfather did many praiseworthy things for us, but would I say he made the effort to be a good partner to me? No, I wouldn’t.
He often prioritised his work over being with me or the children or even with our grandchildren.
Yes, I’m grateful for the hard work he put in and the luxuries we get to enjoy as a result, but I’d trade them for him spending time with us and us sharing special moments together in a heartbeat, no questions asked.
’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Don’t make the same mistakes as him and certainly not for him. ’
This wasn’t the first time he’d heard his grandmother talk about his grandfather in less than complimentary terms, but it was the most insight she’d given him about what had made her unhappy with him.
Not knowing what to say in response, he nodded.
He knew what she meant. He could see her perspective and he agreed with it too.
He had been about to go down a similar path but had been saved from doing so.
He had no intention of doing that again, not when he could see what he would lose as a result.
‘Where is she, Daadi?’ His voice sounded rough.
‘She’s gone to Ruqayyah’s place. She called her this morning to help wrap gifts to take to the reception. She’s also called the hair and make-up people again for whoever wants so I think she’ll be there for a bit. In fact, I’m expecting one of the boys to come and collect me, so I can join them.’
‘Well, hopefully I’ll get a chance to have a chat with her before the reception.’
The doorbell rang just then and Zafar let Khalil in. They exchanged greetings and Khalil asked Zafar to come with them. ‘I’d love to, but I’ve got some work to get done and it’s time-sensitive. I should see you later though.’
Daadi left with Khalil, giving Zafar’s cheek a soft pat, her look communicating her feelings without any words. She’d given him plenty to think about. He just hoped that he could put into practice what his grandmother had told him, which was the hardest bit.