Better Late Than Never

19

It was the first time she got to work late and although her heart thrashed in her chest, she did all she could to not run and walk briskly instead to her office, greeting everyone she came across with a warm smile.

Once she got to her office, she switched the lights on, pulled the blinds up, and got started on putting everything in place as she knew there was a lot to do. She was so engrossed in getting on track that the knock on her door scared her and she jumped, startled.

Putting a hand on her chest, she turned around just as the door went open and the sight of Ayman had her letting out a relieved breath. "Ayman...Assalam Alaykum."

For Ayman, it was the first time he'd seen her somewhat dishevelled and it made his chest squeeze. He let go of the door handle and took a step into the office space, picking up on the previous day's incense that she'd burned. "Waalaykum Salam. I checked in on you earlier but you hadn't come in yet. Are you okay?"

She nodded immediately, smoothening out invisible wrinkles on her flare skirt. "I am. I'm so sorry I'm late. I overslept and instead of coming straight here, I got side-tracked by a bakery and I lost track of time and –"

"Ayra." All Ayman wanted was for her to relax. "Please breathe."

"But –"

"Breathe. Please."

Hazel brown eyes holding his hazel green ones captive, Ayra did what he asked and took in a deep breath. She held it in for a long moment and then let it out slowly, feeling better with each second that passed. Not once did Ayman look away despite the mix of feelings in his chest and when she blushed once she was calmer, he was reminded that he felt a lot for her and like Ricky had said towards the end of their call the previous night, he was a goner.

Ayra gave him a small smile, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I'm not much of a late-comer so I was really worried that this would affect my performance or warrant a query."

The amusement hit Ayman immediately and he let it, his expression morphing into one that was soft and an open book. Ayra barely felt her breath hitch but it did and it left her mesmerised.

"You're not getting a query." He told her, a smile threatening to break free on his face. "Neither are you getting your performance affected. You're not a perpetual late-comer, Ayra, so we're all good. Besides, everything's already going smoothly today so there's no need to worry."

She nearly sagged in relief. "Alhamdulillah. Thank you, I needed to hear that."

"You're welcome." He put his hands in the pockets of his thobe. "Aabidah and Amna are in my office."

That piqued her interest. "Oh?"

"We're heading to the main block to get Aneesa and Mahmoud and then we're headed for the shoot. I wanted to ask if you'd like to come along."

She blinked. "I can come along?"

He nodded, amused once again. "Yes, you can."

"Oh." Her excitement began to bubble. "I didn't think it'd have anything to do with me when I saw it on the schedule. Of course I'd love to come. I've never been to a shoot before."

Ayman's smile finally broke free. "There's always a first time for everything."

She nodded, turning around and walking around the table. Her smile was beautiful. "There is! Oh, I'm so going to make the most of it."

He knew she was. He watched her put her bags in its usual spot after pulling out her phone and wallet, and it didn't go unnoticed by him that there were two bento boxes on the table, the bakery's logo printed boldly on the top of both.