The Wake.

19

"Hi Iraj ma'am, how are you?" Farhat gave a big smile to her boss's wife as walked towards her desk.

"Your boss is still inside with his Zeenat right?" She made angry eyes and asked directly.

"Oh, well, uh yes Ms Zeenat came with some kind of contract proposal today for her new house." Farhat pressed her lips together and hesitated while maintaining eye contact.

"I knew it! She's been eyeing him like a prey and he's happy to be the prey!" Iraj blurted with big huff.

"But Azfar sir doesn't seem like—"

"Don't defend him Farhat. Hmph!" Her lips formed a big adorable little pout and she started to wail with her complaints about her husband to his assistant as if that girl was some couple's therapist, "He went to work when my hands got burnt, look." She showed her tiny burn marks to the girl. "He wanted to see this woman! I was doubting that old man for no reason the other day!"

"Oh, are you feeling alright ma'am?" Farhat was now completely convinced and was on Iraj's side.

"No, I'm not." She did a dramatic head shake like a child. "He's neglecting me Farhat." Iraj now nodded the same way she had shook her head.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. I don't like that woman either. She's very rude to everyone else and she only ever wants to talk to Azfar sir." Farhat began her own sad story.

"Oh dear! That must be so upsetting for you, my dear Farhat." Iraj held her hand to comfort her.

"Yes, ma'am, you should get that woman kicked out, she keeps insulting other architects who work under sir." Iraj gave a frown of agreement to her and nodded.

"I'm here for you sweetie! Don't you worry, we must use pesticides to clean the place." Her sly smile was something Farhat was able to translate well in her mind and she grinned back at her.

"Oh, hey, you must be waiting to meet Azfar right?" The door to Azfar's office had opened and Zeenat walked out with a big smug smile.

"Waiting?" Iraj didn't even turn around to look at her, "Darling, I'm Mrs Azfar Zaman, there's no waiting for me." She flashed her perfect smile with a slight head tilt at Zeenat who had turned all sour and stomped away from there.

Iraj rolled her eyes when she left and then didn't bother to go inside her husband's office. She didn't want him to think she was there because of Zeenat. She didn't even want to see him for a while, he had annoyed her now, especially by letting that woman enter his office. Instead she moved to the area where other architects were away from there.

"Hey, how are you guys?" She walked towards the two girls who were staring at the drawings and model of some project.

"Iraj ma'am. Hi, should I get you a coffee?" Shifa spoke raising her head.

Iraj shook her head, "I can get it myself Shifa. I don't know why you still call me ma'am when we both are the same age. Can I disturb you for two minutes?"

"You're not disturbing at all." They both said together.

"Why does Zeenat get special attention from Azfar?" Iraj sighed folding her hands on her chest.

"Oh, Azfar sir doesn't really give her special attention, he only thinks of her as a client." Shifa had tried to convince Iraj.

"You're scared of my husband who's your boss right?" Iraj just rolled her eyes.

"Uh, well, he's—" Rimsha passed an unsure glance at her colleague.

"You don't have to worry about it, I'll never tell him, I promise!" Iraj saw them both with lost eyes.

"He definitely is scary, very firm about work, so yes, we all are scared of him, but he's not unfair, ever." Shifa explained with much assurance. "I can certainly tell you that he's only ever looked at you with love, that Zeenat is just a nobody to him."

"Yes, yes Iraj ma'am, we've only ever seen him smile like he truly loves you when you're here." Rimsha added in with excitement.

"I highly doubt that. Why didn't I ever notice then." Iraj muttered to herself in a low voice.

Maybe the girls were saying that just because she was his wife and they didn't want to lose their jobs. Iraj sighed and then another girl whom she knew the name of came running with a huge residential model in her hands towards her, "Iraj ma'am how are you?"

"I'm alright, what's this?" She gestured to the massive thing.

"Oh finally it's done, it took me two weeks to complete it, it's a model that Azfar sir had been making me redo over conference calls when he was abroad. It's for a client." She made that face of a little student who was tired of getting their assignment rejected by the teacher. "Would you like to hold it?" She first asked and then without waiting for Iraj to say something she handed her the model with enthusiasm.

"Zara, no please, I think you should—" Iraj was taken by surprise and she tried to look around for an empty table or clear surface to put it down at once. She was feeling anxious already but then she was unable to locate any empty table with enough space to place that thing.

Zara was just smiling casually and then started to explain the details of the model, "It's fine you can hold it ma'am, you know this part here, it's the side where most of the—"

Iraj's hands involuntarily lost their control and no matter what she tried to do with her fingers to grip the wooden cardboard thing it slipped from her hands and fell on the floor destroying itself. Everyone around them was now looking only in that direction.

Iraj couldn't breathe and then her heart sank staring down at the floor.

"Iraj?" Azfar's voice pulled her back to her surroundings and she saw him standing in front of her and his employees with a furious expression.

Guess what's about to happen.
Also if I get more than 4 votes for this chapter, I'd post the next one today.