A few weeks passed, and Karishma’s life went back to normal- that was, she didn’t have any more strangers intruding her space and breaking into her apartment.
She did have a couple of shocks in her workplace, though. They were informed by their manager that the owner of the restaurant was selling the place due to ‘personal issues’. Karishma was bummed at first, as the owner was the one that offered her the job. Without her, she would still be stuck in her hometown cooking boring food in the diner she worked at.
However, she was glad that they did find a buyer in time, so at least she didn’t need to look for new jobs. Trying to find employment in the current economy would’ve been... hard. And there was a high chance she would’ve had to move back home in that case.
Today was the day when the staff was supposed to meet the new owner. Karishma didn’t know much, or well, anything about who it was. The higher ups had kept the information on the down low, but it was finally time for the big reveal. Karishma was still a little worried for her job, even though the manager reassured them that the buyer did not want to make any changes in the staff.
Everyone was told to come to work half an hour early for the introduction, so Karishma had to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the restaurant. Once she reached, she sat down with the rest of her colleagues as they waited for the manager and the buyer to show up.
Imagine Karishma’s surprise when she saw the woman she had been trying so hard to suppress from her memory, walk in through the door with the manager by her side.
Karishma stared wide-eyed at Haseena, who was dressed in a neat three piece suit. She looked professional, and if Karishma hadn’t known her prior to this, she never could’ve guessed that the woman was a gang member.
This had to be a mistake, right?
“Good morning everyone. Thank you for showing up so early,” the manager began. “As I already told you all, we have a new owner. Say hello to your boss, Haseena Malik.”
“You guys can just call me Haseena. I’ve wanted to get into the restaurant business for so long and I couldn’t be more excited to start working with you all. Rest assured, you don’t have to worry about any big changes. Your jobs are safe as long as you keep up with the good work that you’ve been doing. I will-“
Karishma zoned out as Haseena continued with her speech. She couldn’t take her gaze off of her, but the words she spoke refused to enter Karishma’s brain. She simply couldn’t process what was happening anymore. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way in hell that Haseena was her new boss. Karishma was going to wake up any second. She had to.
The chef pinched her arm, hoping that would bring her into reality and that she’d wake up in her bed. But nothing changed, as she tried to swallow the truth.
Once Haseena was done talking, a few of the staff members got up to go greet the woman of the hour, no doubt sucking up to their new boss. But Karishma couldn’t move her legs, almost as if she was paralyzed. She kept watching as Haseena shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, keeping up with professionalism which Karishma was sure was just a facade.
This was the same woman that broke into her home. Who threatened her with a goddamn gun. And now Karishma was supposed to call her, her boss?
Karishma didn’t miss the way Haseena kept glancing at her, probably expecting Karishma to approach her as well. But the head chef remained seated, still in disbelief. Haseena finally excused herself, making her way to Karishma. She wanted to run far away, to never face Haseena again, but...she couldn’t.
“Hi!” Haseena said with a smile. Karishma blinked. Was she supposed to pretend like nothing had happened between the two of them?
“Hi?”
“Surprised to see me here, huh?” Haseena spoke. Karishma felt a wave of anger course through her veins as she glared at the woman, making Haseena’s lips turn downwards in a frown. “Look, I know you must be confused but-“
“Not here,” Karishma cut her off. “We need to talk. But in private. Not in front of everyone.”
“Sure!” Haseena exclaimed once again, completely clueless of the frustration Karishma was raging with. Her bright grin only pissed off the chef more.
“See me in the back alley in ten minutes,” Karishma spoke before getting up and going inside the kitchen. She could feel eyes on her the entire way, but she didn’t turn around to look back.
Karishma was pacing back and forth, her mind turning into a muddled slop as she replayed Haseena’s entry over and over again. The universe was playing a sick prank on her. Why wouldn’t this stupid gangster just leave her alone?
“I think I managed to slip out unnoticed. Said I had an important call to make,” Haseena stated as she joined Karishma outside.
Karishma’s jaw tightened at the sight of the intruder. Against her better judgment, she grabbed Haseena’s collar, pushing her against the wall. Haseena gasped lightly, totally not having expected such an intense reaction.
“What the hell are you trying to achieve here?” Karishma snapped. “Do you want to fuck up my life, is that it? You said you weren’t playing any games but...but how am I supposed to trust you when you pull a move like this?”
“What do you mean?” Haseena frowned.
“Why did you buy the restaurant? Are you trying to taunt me?” Karishma asked. “Why do you keep- why do you keep invading my life like this?”
“I didn’t-that’s not-“ Haseena paused, at a loss for words. She never imagined that Karishma would be so mad. All Haseena wanted to do was save her job... “This was just a business decision. I heard the restaurant was for sale and saw it as a good opportunity.”
“Oh, yeah? And it wasn’t anything personal? Nothing related to me?” Karishma raised a questioning brow, her voice low and threatening.
Haseena’s eyes dropped to Karishma’s lips, they were only inches away and had it been anyone else that dared to talk to Haseena like this, the woman would’ve taken her gun out. But she didn’t mind when it was Karishma pinning her against the wall. On the contrary, it was actually turning her on.
“I don’t want to lie to you,” Haseena spoke carefully, her tone sincere. “Wanting to be close to you played a part in my decision, for sure. But it wasn’t to taunt you or play with you.”
“And why exactly would you want to be close to me?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Haseena replied. “I like you.”
This was the second shock of Karishma’s day. Her grip loosened as she let go off Haseena’s collar. She took a couple steps back, and Haseena couldn’t help but be sad at the increasing distance.
“You like me?” Karishma repeated. “Like me as...what?”
“As a woman. As a person I’m romantically interested in. As someone I want to get to know more and take out on a date. As someone I want to kiss and hold hands with and-“
“Okay, okay, that’s enough. I got your point,” Karishma interrupted, raising her hands to motion Haseena to stop. The head chef’s cheeks turned a bright pink at the blunt confession. Sure, she’d had suitors in the past, but nobody had ever been this up front. “You bought a whole goddamn restaurant because you want to take me out on a date?”
