The Promise

3) Omer

I don’t know what is happening to me.
   Because one; I don’t go around thinking about girls, two I don’t follow them on social media accounts and three, God I even don’t like phones or social media.
   I couldn’t focus on the meeting for a whole minute. I tried, but failed; my mind kept drifting to the girl of the picture. I wanted to know more about her, curiosity was never my thing. I always focused on myself because nobody mattered, but this girl felt different.
She felt like she was hiding a lot of secrets, she felt like trouble and trouble never looked so goddamn fine.
    When I went back to my office after the meeting, I sat in silence then I pulled my phone out and typed her name. After a lot of searching through profiles of girls, I still couldn’t find her. The door knocked.
“Come in “I said and Dionne entered the office.
“Do you have any orders, boss?” she asks,
“About what?” I ask mind somewhere else,
“About the new campaign and the meeting” she says puzzled,
“Yes, that. Uh, Dionne, do you have any idea how to find a specific person on social media, if they do not have an account I mean?” I ask.
She assesses me carefully without saying anything.
“Dionne?”
“Mughrabi, are you going to blackmail someone?”
“Huh? Why –
“Vandalize a company?”
“Dionne what’s wrong with you?”
“If you’re going to do something illegal, I’m not joining in this crime “she says pointing her nose upwards.
“I am not doing something illegal or any of this, I just want to know.”
Her face softens into a weird pout, “Aww, you want to learn something from me!” she says enthusiastically.
“You know what? forget about it” I say dismissingly.
“No seriously I’ll help you” she says raising her hands offering peace.
“For real?” I narrow my eyes.
” of course, boss” she says,
“How many times did I tell you not to say this.” I frown
“a lot actually, boss “she says teasingly,
I look at her with pure boredom, “just say how and go Dionne”
“Fine, if they don’t have an account then you won’t find them, bingo! “She chirps in her high-pitched voice.
“Get out.”
“No why-
“Get. out. Dionne”,
“Listen, I really mean it-ah!” she yelps when I toss a stack of paper at her and she reaches for the door before heading out.
“Come back” I call
“What else?” she says peeking her head in again,
“Pick the papers up again” I order,
“No way, you make a mess and you let people deal with it” she says as she picks the papers coming to my desk to put them back.
“Can I ask a question? “She asks
“No”
“Who are you trying to find?” she uses her puppy eyes that she thinks works on people, or at least me.
“None of your business”
“Hey, I’m asking politely here. Mughrabi, answer me please”
   I look at her, Dionne is one of the trusted people I have in my life which are very rare to the point that they are not considered people as in plural.
It’s just her, Crew my so-called bodyguard, but is not and myself. Myself on top because I know damn well people can’t be trusted.
   I met Dionne at one of the universities I went to and we worked together on some projects.
Later she joined the company when it was a small place in a big complex that only had two to three clients. Back then I told her that we still don’t earn that much money, but she wanted to join anyways so I let her and she was there since then.
She went through a lot of changes especially after the death of her father in Morocco, but we managed to work together and be something close to friends till now because I do not believe in friendships and stuff.
“No one I was just trying to learn” I tell her.
“If you want to find someone I’m here to help anyway” she says a hint of a smirk on her face
I lower my brows at her teasing, “Out with it” I say.
“What nothing” she asks innocently then sighs continuing, “look, I don’t know what’s wrong with you today, but I’ll let it slide.” she concludes heading outside closing the door after her.
Yes, I don’t know what’s wrong with me either.
I open my phone again and I look at the list of profiles and realize something I didn’t see while I was searching.
She was there all this time and I didn’t see her.
I did not recognize her because she is wearing a scarf. She looks beautiful, but how? I just saw her hair in the CV, is it an old photo? Or did she take it off?
   I ignore my questions and focus on the issue in front of me; her account is closed for private people and for sure she won’t accept a strange account with a series of numbers as a username.
   So, I make a reckless move and use the official account of the company for the first time in the past fifteen years and send her a follow request from it.
   Five hours later, I finished a lot of papers and had two meetings aside from the one in the morning, that’s when the clock ticked five pm and I decide to call it a day at work.
I gather my stuff and descend for the garage, ride my car and head home to change to head for my built -in gym at my place.

I followed three rules since I was a teenager:
1. Take care of my physical attire and body.
2. Build an unbeatable mind.
3. No relationships or falling in love. Ever.
   After finishing, I check my phone as I eat, that’s when I get a weird feeling when I find her accept the request that I sent her in the morning.
I watch her pictures.
She deserves to be called a divine thing because with or without her scarf, her beauty made my mind stop working and she’s several countries and an ocean away.