Accepting You

Chapter Thirty Four

Asiya soundlessly tapped her foot on the ground as she eyed the clock in the office. In seven minutes, she would start packing up.

Kerry's American twang cut through the silence in the office. "I can see you shaking, Asiya. You can go," she said, not looking up from the papers she was scribbling on.

Asiya shot up like her feet were full of pins and needles.

Kerry dropped her pen and placed her head on her hands like a teenage girl eager for gossip. "You're excited to get back to your husband, I see. Marriage must be treating you well. He must be treating you well," she winked at Asiya.

Asiya laughed as she organised her things into her tote bag.

Kerry's hostile persona extended to everyone but her. She had attended Asiya's nikkah, gifted her a £500 Westfield gift card and bragged about match-making her and Yusuf. After all, she had set up the meeting that had caused Yusuf and Asiya to reconnect.

"Doesn't he work for KLP? It's barely five o'clock. Will he even be home?" Kerry questioned.

"Nah, he doesn't finish till a bit later, but I want our first night home together to be extra special," Asiya said.

"You're moving with a lot of determination, so I'm sure it will be," Kerry grinned.

"InshAllah," Asiya added quietly.

Kerry's laptop pinged, and she looked down and started typing. "Oh, before you go, what's going on with your petition?"

Asiya nearly shuddered as Kerry rekindled her memory. "I was thinking about dropping it."

"Why? I thought you needed a space to pray."

"I do," Asiya sighed. She wasn't the only employee who needed that space, but she hadn't decided whether going up against Gouge again was worth it.

Plus, most employees who had expressed an interest in backing Asiya's petition were people of colour.

Collecting their signatures was the next step in getting a space.

Fatimah confirmed that once Gouge saw a target, he wouldn't stop charging at them until their career at the firm was over.

Asiya was on Gouge's hit list because she was the face of her petition. If she moved forward with it, it felt like she would be putting innocent people up for slaughter, too.

Asiya regularly confided in Kerry about work and non-related topics, but telling Kerry about what had happened with Gouge when she presented her petition felt different. It would broach topics they usually avoided in conversation, even if they were relevant or headline news.

"I've not really gotten anywhere with it, and it almost feels like I'm being treated like a faff," Asiya said as she rubbed the handles of her tote bag.

"Okay, well, in that case, I respect your decision. Don't cause trouble."

"Trouble?" Asiya echoed. The word nicked through Asiya's skin and got under it. "How would I cause trouble?"

Kerry looked up. "I thought that was what you said. That your petition was causing trouble."

Asiya shook her head. She had said she was being made to feel a particular way. "No. I never said that."

Kerry frowned. "My mistake. I must've misheard."

"Did someone else say that?" Asiya asked.

Kerry looked at Asiya, confused. "No, nothing's been said, not that I know of. I'll see you tomorrow."