February 28

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OCTOBER 2020.
ABUJA, NIGERIA.

"Holy shit, Jay! You're in deep waters!" Humayrah squealed.

"It was nice working with you, Humayrah. I know I'm no longer an employee here. I'll go see him now," Jaiyana said, giving the girl a pat before turning on her heels and leaving.

The lift stopped at the tenth floor, and Jaiyana's heart palpitated against her chest. Whatever life was going to throw at her, she would happily accept it. She had been through worse, after all. She knocked at the large door and only turned the doorknob when she heard a faint "come in."

"Assalamu Alaikum, here I am, Sir," she said, staring at his broad back by the window.

"Why were you late, Miss Jaiyana?" His deep voice reverberated around the four walls of the massive office.

"I had an emergency, Sir."

"Was it a life and death emergency?"

Jaiyana grimaced. Seriously?

"No, it wasn't."

"Then you had no reason to be late."

Jaiyana couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me? How can you be so inhumane? Must an emergency be a matter of life and death? I can't believe this!" Jaiyana blurted out before she could control herself.

Shocked by her outburst, he turned furiously to lash out at her, but his breath hitched and his eyes got lost in her hazel eyes. His words died in his throat. How could someone be so beautiful, serene, and peaceful at the same time? Damn!

Jaiyana, on the other hand, stared at him with fierce eyes, also appreciating his handsome and clean looks, trying her best to act nonchalant.

He resumed his composure before settling into his chair and gesturing for her to do so.

"First of all, it's bad ethics to snap at your boss like that, Miss Jaiyana. Secondly, any emergency not concerning a life or death issue is not worth being late for work."

"Fine, since that's your view on it, I'm waiting. Hand me my query letter."

"And who says I'm dismissing you, Miss Jay?" He smirked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"What? W...what do you mean? You're not firing me?" she stuttered.

"Yes, I'm not. Just issuing a last warning," he said. To be honest, that was his intention before seeing her face. But after he saw her, he knew he was going to do anything but that.

"Oh, wow, I...I...umm... Thank you."

"It's a pleasure. You're dismissed!" he said as an incoming call buzzed on his phone.

Jaiyana noticed the shift in his mood after seeing who the caller was, so she quietly stood up and exited the office.

After narrating everything that happened to Humayrah, the latter squealed and said something that got Jaiyana thinking even after leaving the office.

"He's definitely smitten by you!"

---

Jaiyana tossed in her bed, checking her phone for any incoming calls or texts, but none came. Sighing in disappointment, she threw the phone and buried her face in her pillow. What was wrong with Mr. Unknown? It had been a month since he last called. After collecting her number at the mall the other day, they had talked almost every day on the phone before he suddenly went on hiatus. She had called several times to check whether he was okay, but her calls always went straight to voicemail. She had even dropped a text message for him, but no reply came. The funniest part is that she still didn't know his name!