Chapter 11
11
Abeo refused to tell me anything over the phone. I’d just have to wait until this ridiculously elaborate food tasting was done and he could finally come over.
Annoyed, I headed downstairs to rejoin Kiran. On the way, I noticed an unattended waitress staring at our décor, eyeing it as though she planned to take something with her. This was why I didn’t like having strangers in the house.
‘What are you doing here?’
She looked up sharply, then her expression darkened.
‘Taking a moment to admire your art. As you can tell from my clothing, I’m working at today’s food tasting. What did you assume I was doing? Stealing something?’
Taken aback by her bluntness, I didn’t know how to respond. I reached the landing and walked over to her, keeping a little distance between us.
‘Well?’ she pressed.
‘Erm, actually I –’
This was certainly a first. I wasn’t used to stammering around girls.
She scoffed. ‘You people look down your nose at anyone who doesn’t have millions of pounds or followers. It’s sickening. Not everyone’s obsessed with you and your belongings. Get over yourself.’
She stormed off.
I felt my face redden as I chased her. ‘Excuse me? What did you just say to me?’
‘The truth,’ she said simply, half-turning towards me.
My skin felt hot with indignation. ‘I’m going to have you and your entire company thrown out right away. What’s your name?’
Her eyes grew wide.
It seemed she’d finally remembered where she was and who she was talking to. She turned to face me but slipped hard on the marble floor.
Instinctively, I reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her hands, which had been flailing seconds ago, gripped my shoulders.
The last thing we needed was the drama of our foyer being covered with a waitress’s blood – Mum would absolutely lose it.
This close, I was forced to see her. Really see her.
Her soft brown skin possessed a warm glow; it reminded me of a burning candle – how it illuminated everything in its presence, how it felt impossible to look away once the sway of the flame had caught your attention. Her dark eyes were lined with smudged kohl, and they seemed heavy with anger and sadness. I found myself wanting to know why.
She cleared her throat.
I snapped out of it.
As I moved to lift her, my hold on her waist tightened and she looked away. I could sense she wasn’t comfortable being touched this way, that the bounds of her modesty were being tested. In one swift move, we were standing right in front of each other, mere inches apart. She was a whole head shorter than me and had to lift her chin up to meet my gaze.
My arm was still wrapped around her. Her grip was still deep on my shoulders.
She smelt like … spice and sugar.
I glanced down to see what had made her fall.
A broken heel.
‘Looks like you need new shoes.’
She took a sharp step away from me, removed her other heel as well, and took a slow, deep breath.
‘And looks like you –’ Her voice had come out hard, cold. But it seemed she was out of angry comebacks because she let her shoulders sag and said, ‘Should lend me some superglue.’
Surprised, I began to chuckle, and her shapely rose-hued lips lifted in a secret smile. Suddenly we were both laughing. Her laugh was so pure, so childish, that it softened something inside me.
I usually knew exactly how to behave in any given scenario; I’d been trained to deal with all kinds of social situations, and knew when to be charming, reserved, apolitical, and everything in between.
But in this moment …
‘What’s your name?’
‘Look –’ she raised her hands in surrender – ‘I’m just having a really tough day. Don’t take it out on the rest of my team. I’ll leave. Let them stay.’
‘No, I’m not kicking you out. I was just … curious.’
‘OK, may I ask your name first?’
My brows shot up.
She snorted. ‘Oh, you’re assuming that I already know who you are?’
‘Don’t you?’
She folded her arms. ‘Isn’t it nice to be able to introduce yourself once in a while? And for people to get to know you in person rather than assume they know you from what they’ve seen online?’
No one spoke to me in this way. Honestly, I didn’t know how to answer, so I gave her a smile instead.
‘You look better when you smile,’ she said softly, and then lifted her brows. ‘When you looked at me last time, you had such an angry, arrogant expression. It was unsettling.’
‘Everyone expects me to always have a smile on my face, but it can be hard sometimes, especially when I’m not in a good place,’ I admitted, surprised that I felt so comfortable being so open with a stranger. ‘Hold on. Last time? We’ve met before?’
‘You don’t remember, do you? I’m not surprised. Forget it.’
I raked through my mind for any trace of her. To my astonishment, there was something there, but it was blurry, as though I was seeing it underwater.
‘Karim, we need you back now ,’ Kiran called as she rushed into the foyer. ‘Mum’s not happy with your disappearing act.’
She paused to eye me and the waitress with curiosity, and I sensed a tinge of disapproval that she was the source of my distraction. The girl must have sensed it too because she made to leave, but I stood in her way, wanting more time with her. I threw a peeved look at Kiran.
‘I’ll be right there,’ I told her, looking pointedly towards the door.
‘Please just hurry,’ Kiran whined as she took the hint and left us alone again.
‘So, your name?’ I prompted.
‘You’ll find, Mr Karim Malik,’ she whispered gently, looking down at her hands, ‘that even these days, some people value their anonymity.’
When she finally looked up at me, slowly, hesitantly, I realized I was holding my breath. The sound of my name on her lips continued to echo in my mind as she turned to leave.
This time, I didn’t stop her.
I waited in the corridor, perfectly still, almost frozen, and found myself hoping she’d look back, sure that she’d do so at least once.
She stopped before turning the corner and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her body shifted in my direction, but she paused, as though deciding whether or not to look back at me. And then, choosing not to, she disappeared.