Affianced By Force

CHAPTER TWO - The Star Girl

"He has arrived!" Humaiz shouted across the hall getting everyone on their feet and running, trying to fix themselves in their appropriate positions.

It was a tradition to announce his arrival whenever the Boss' car pulled up at the parking lot. He hated disorganization, tardiness and most importantly, idleness. That was Faisal Abdurrahman, the CEO of Ridaa' Investments limited. The same man that everyone was death scared of. The words You are fired! have never been difficult for him to dish out and he never changes his mind.

"Assalaam'alaykum Sir." Sa'eed, the company's secretary said, opening a file as his boss stepped out of the elevator.

His usual grumpy "Wa'alaykumussalaam Wa RahmatuLlaah wa barakaatuh" came in as a response.

"A.V Constructions Called. They wanted to know if they could re-schedule their meeting with us." Sa'eed informed, as he tried to keep up with the long strides of his Boss.

"Their reason?"

"They had an urgent call from a partner who was coming in for inspection today."

"Cancel the deal." Came his his gruff reply as they walked past staff who gave who tasleem, all to whom he responded.

"Yes Sir." Sa'eed said. He had learnt over the years not to question his Bosses' decision. As he opened the door to his Bosses' Office, he continued. "Mr. Lancaster will be flying from the UK today. His Scheduled appointment is by 3:00 PM."

Faisal took off his suit and hung it over his chair as his secretarty continued with his schedule of the day.

"Nexim Bank replied our email. They will investigate the matter with their head office and get back to us as soon as they can, In shaa Allah. They prayed for a few days to give a conclusive report."

"There is also an invite for us, Sir." He handed a brown envelope to his boss. "EWAAN is launching their test products on the 26th of next month. It's a Saturday In shaa Allah."

"Telaneese Investors meeting is scheduled for 10:00Am. Their new Director will be in attendance In Shaa Allah. From my findings, he is a play-boy who has lost it to the wrong hands in just two months."

When his boss only scoffed, taking off his cufflinks, Saeed continued with the last bit of his report, albeit, in a slightly lower voice. "Sultan emailed. Mrs Umamah graduates in three days In Shaa Allah."
Faisal paused in his actions. "Has she replied my email?"

Sa'eed shook his head and quickly added, "Sultan says she is doing great though."

"I presume that is all for now." He wasn't asking.

"Yes Sir."

And then, he just walked into the bathroom, dismissing Sa'eed.

It was 9:25 AM, duha time was one of his solitude moments with Allah. One of his rare moments to be grateful to Allah for all that He has bestowed on an ungrateful servant like himself. Lest, how does he explain that whenever he wanted anything, he simply but had to ask? He knew that the wealth and affluence that Allah had given him was his greatest trial yet. What people said about him or felt about him were never his concern and he knew a lot of those.

His concerns have always been about his soul and how prepared he was to meet his Lord. And right now, his biggest worry was the Amanah that has been placed in his care. Umamah and her siblings. So, he prayed for their safe return home.

Three years ago, he had decided to send them to the UK. It was the best he could think of. They had gotten married and given the walimah to the needy. And then, in a bid to give her time to adjust to her new status, he had asked her to travel abroad for her degree.