Chess & Checkers

2. Conference Confrontation

At the stroke of 10 AM, the cordless phone in Murtasim's office rang, pulling him away from the file laid open before him. His absent-minded "hmm" answered Audrey, his secretary, who informed him that the CEO of Sarwar Constructions and his team were waiting for a meeting in conference room C. Murtasim replied succinctly, "Alright, we'll be down in a moment."Closing the file and neatly setting it aside, Murtasim prepared to head to the meeting. However, his plans were disrupted as the door swung open, revealing Meerab with a determined expression, a proud smirk, and a large blue folder in hand.

Perplexed, Murtasim asked, "What's this?" Meerab, taking a seat and crossing her legs, responded, "Proof that I was right all along." She confidently presented financial statements, updates on ongoing projects, and evidence of embezzlement, scandals involving the CEO, and everything necessary to reject the deal.

Impressed, Murtasim praised her efforts and inquired, "How did you get all this so quickly?" Meerab admitted, with a sheepish smile, that she had been working on it for about three weeks, ever since Sarwar Constructions showed interest in partnering with them. "we also have some of the best corporate lawyers in Hyderabad, incase you didn't know" she smiled teasingly.

Smirking, Murtasim got up and walked closer, their proximity increased. His eyes flickered to her plump lips for just a moment as her pink tongue darted out to lick them, contrasting against the deep maroon lipstick, shamelessly eyeing her as a forbidden thought crossed his mind, one he was sure would earn him a slap from his wife if she found out.

"Kya soch rahe hou?" Meerab's question had him snapping out his trance as she waved a hand in front of his face. His expression didn't give much away as he took a moment to scan his wife from head to toe before taking a step in her direction. Their chests brushed together as he leaned in further.Meerab's breath hitched as his minty breath fanned her face, her heart racing at the proximity.

"Soch raha houn, ke meri biwi kitni smart hai" he whispered as their noses brushed. Meerab found her feet glued to the floor and her body frozen in place as the intoxicating scent of his minty toothpaste and signature perfume filled her nostrils. The scent was dangerous, threatening to unravel every last thread of restraint and control within her all while she reveled in his compliment.

They may not have been intimate with each other since the marriage but Murtasim had never even tried to hide the fact that he was attracted to her; Meerab had understood that very quickly in the one month that they had been married. She didn't know how, why or when because they had always been very good friends and even better business partners who had managed to maintain a perfectly platonic friendship until their parents decided that they should be more than just that.It had been hard to keep their relationship normal ever since they said the two words at the altar, and it was proving to be even more difficult when her husband sometimes looked at her with a sinful expression and invaded her personal space, just like he was doing right now.

However, just as she was about to respond to him, the moment was interrupted by a knock on the door, announcing Audrey's entrance, allowing Meerab just enough time to take a step back and collect herself, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

"Yes?" Murtasim asked, nodding as a signal for her to enter.

"The CEO of Sarwar Constructions has asked for you ten times in the last five minutes and his behaviour is getting more and more...scarier by the second" she replied with a shaky voice.

"What do you mean scarier?" He asked, confused as to what exactly his secretary meant by that

"I don't know, he's very weird..." She relayed the CEO's strange and intimidating behavior, "And he's smoked almost an entire box of cigarettes already despite me telling him that he can't smoke in the conference room because there are smoke detectors there but-" Audrey added, abruptly cutting herself off at the end causing Murtasim to arch an eyebrow in concern.