Written Among The Stars.

Chapter 3 - The CEO is happy.

The past one month at the company had been tough for all the employees but a little bit more for Haneen. The boss was keeping everyone on their toes as ARK was trying to strike a deal with one of the biggest multi-national companies. They had to present a proposal for the design of their new joint project and so it all relied on Haneen's little shoulders. She was so tensed the entire month. She didn't eat or sleep well. She just kept worrying about the results. She had put her heart and soul into this one project and so she wanted this badly. Even more than ARK himself.

It was finally the D-day. She got ready in her formal attire and left for the office after telling her mother to pray for her continuously. Everyone at her home knew what was going on because if Aaban was keeping everyone on their toes at the office, Haneen was doing the same at her home. Her father told her time and again not to worry so much about it but she was Haneen after all, the queen of worry and anxiety. She stepped inside the building feeling self-conscious under the looks. It felt like everyone was looking at her today. Their fates today relied on her and hers relied on Aaban Rehman Khan. This deal was very important for him and so everyone was rightly worried about the results because they knew their boss. He always got what he wanted but when he didn't, the sight wasn't very pleasant to see and they prayed that nobody witnessed it again.

She stepped inside her office and began rehearsing for her presentation. She was getting nervous with each passing second. She sipped some water and settled on her chair, breathing out heavily, trying to calm herself down when Liza entered,

"Ma'am, Aaban sir is calling you to the conference room."

She nodded. She was really scared this time.

يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّوْمُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيْث
"O Living, O Sustaining, in Your Mercy I seek relief"

This dua helped with her anxiety and so reciting this in her heart, she grabbed her laptop and went towards the conference room with Liza following her.

"Miss Haneen?" Aaban snapped her out of her zone and she realized that she was already there.

"Yes, Sir." She quickly maintained her composure and looked around. There was nobody there except him. She felt nervous and scared.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she looked at him to see if he was joking because why was such a man concerned about her well being. She stared at him with open mouth, trying to form the right answer.

"I know it's your first time but let me remind you that this deal is very important to me. I really don't want you to mess this up for me. You understand?"

She nodded, gulping and quickly grabbed a chair to settle down. He wasn't concerned about her but the deal.

"Miss Haneen?" he called out again as she rubbed her temples to calm herself down.

"Haneen?" He called her again. He somehow had a feeling that she was going to mess up today. It seemed like she was under a lot of pressure.

"Miss Haneen, look at me." He whisper-yelled at her. He placed his arms on either side of her chair and bent down a little to reach her level. She looked up and her breath hitched in her throat.

"You can do it." He spoke slowly and sternly, making her believe every word that came out of his mouth. She stared at him blankly, without blinking for once because this man was intimidating her to no extents right now, yet his words were surprisingly reassuring. "You have to."

She just nodded, the feeling of dread magically leaving her body. She was calm and relaxed now as she sipped some water.

Soon enough, everyone was inside the conference room. Aaban got up to greet the guests himself with Haneen closely following behind. They all settled around the conference table as the meeting began.