Mutuals

[31]

I rush in through the door with just seconds to spare and sit myself down on a chair.
"Glad you've joined us, Zara" Jason sits down in his seat flipping through some pages
"Morning" I smile breathlessly, fiddling with my hijab

"So today will basically be based around making sure your online branding is perfect..." He flips through some pages before landing on the one he was looking for, "... so initially you came up with this design?"

He looks up at me for confirmation and I simply nod my head.
"But it isn't generic enough for what we're producing now meaning it only fits the nail polish set and not the clothes"

I nod my head in agreement, "Actually I was thinking, could I maybe change the colour scheme of my brand to something like greys and black"
Alice pitches in, "yeah, so this is what we came up with so far, maybe add to it?"

She hands the sheet over across the table and I only now notice how far she's moved over from initially being sat right next to me to not practically sitting in Jason's lap. They're definitely closer now making me and Farhan feel like we're third wheeling. Hard.

"Okay so before we move onto the next part, can we agree to meet up on Friday to finalise the brand image?" Farhan asks putting a pause on the typing
"Ooh I can't come on Friday" I grit my teeth hoping I don't get into trouble
"Why? Have you got a hot date?" Alice wiggles her eyebrows

Date?
My eyes widen; DATE!

"Shit shit shit, give me five minutes" I scramble for my phone and ring Harris before running into the room next door for some privacy
"Hello?" I hear his voice from the other line
"Hi... erm I need to tell you something"
"What?"
"You're gonna hate me" I sigh squeezing my eyes closed
"I could never hate you"
"Okay... so... erm... I can't make it on Friday"
There's a pause
"Why not?"
"I'm going to my parent's for the weekend because we're gonna meet Kaisar's fiancé"
"And there's no way you could leave after our date I mean... erm... thing?"
"I'm so sorry Harris, can we take a rain check?"
"For?" He sounds bored
"The following Friday night? I promise"
"Yeah, we can do that" he agrees before ending the call with a simple goodbye

"Sorry about that" I walk back into the other room, "where were we?"

🕒

I'm leaving in twenty minutes and I'm still sitting in my nighties, anticipating the moment I will actually get up.

I turn the TV off and force myself of the sofa making my way into my bedroom.
I take out a random pair of jeans and hoodie and throw on a jacket before slipping my feet into some trainers. I wrap a hijab around my head quickly, grabbing my bag and my bag full of clothes for the weekend.

I double checked all the windows are closed and the electrical appliances were off before putting my bag in my car and driving off.

I reached my parents' house not long after and had slightly unpacked my clothes in my old room.
It was around 4.50pm and I was so bored after doing nothing but sitting at home all day. Kaisar and Dad were at work and Mum had been busy with her own stuff so I've just been watched Netflix all day.

I take my phone out of the pocket of my dressing gown and open up my chat with Harris

Hey - Me

I stared at the question for a good 3 minutes before sending it. I felt so bad cancelling on Harris, and now texting him seemed weird and awkward, even if it was just a simple 'Hey'.

My phone buzzes from underneath my leg and I quickly unlock it to reveal the message

Yo, we're planning on going out to eat so be ready before me and dad get home - Kaisar❤️

Clearly disappointed with the messenger I huff and trudge up the stairs, meeting mum half way,
"Are you going to get ready?" She asks and I hum in return

I look through my clothes before settling on a blush pink shalwar kameez. After putting them on, I do a pink makeup look and because I have some time, I add some sparkles to my eyes. Then, just as I finish wrapping my hijab around my head I hear that Kasiar has come home from work.

I put my shoes on and grab my small bag and phone before trudging down the stairs.
"Hi Kasiar" I smile walking into the kitchen where he's drinking a glass of water
"Yo, how are you?" He puts his around around my neck and I wrap mine around his waist
"I'm good" I mumble

He runs upstairs to get ready and so does Dad when he gets home. Forty minutes later we're at the restaurant and once we're seated I take my phone out of my bag to see three texts from Harris

Hey - Harris❤️
Did you get there safe? - Harris❤️
Are your parents well? - Harris❤️

I feel a small smile on my face knowing he's not greatly pissed at me and that he cares about not only my safety but my parents's safety, who by the way he hasn't met yet.

I'll probably sleep well tonight...