Chapter 5: Hijabi.
*
"The creative impulses of man
are always at war
with the possessive impulses."
-Van Wyck Brooks-
*
"Are they here?" Islah asked the receptionist who nodded at him with a smile. Islah thanked her and strode towards the elevators. The interns are here, huh. Will she be here too? Markos did say he saw her name on the list of candidates who applied.
The elevator doors opened and he stepped in. He pressed the top floor button and stood waiting for the doors to close. Once they did, Islah leaned onto the metal walls and took out his phone to check the emails. Removing the spam and replying to the important ones, he was done just when the elevator chimed indicating he was at his floor. He kicked off the wall and straightened his posture (and his unwrinkled suit). The doors opened and he walked out of the elevator.
Just when he did, he heard a hoard of voices from the conference room before the door opened and the department heads began walking out one by one. They were chatting about the interns and this piqued Islah's interest.
When the men saw him, they immediately smiled and greeted him.
"We were meeting the interns" The Strategic and Analysis Chief, Robert informed Islah. Islah raised an eyebrow at them. The testing chief (or department head), Qaiz nodded in agreement.
"They are likeable people" he chose his words carefully causing Islah to let out a chuckle. Likeable people, huh?
"We are sticking with Plan A for them. The two weeks and rotation" informed the Programming Chief, Izak. Izak was the oldest amongst the three department heads. He was also the most savage one. He took no bullshit from anyone and everyone around him knew that. After-all, he was the programming chief. Islah nodded at them.
"That is good to hear. Where is Markos?" he questioned and Robert pointed to the conference hall.
"He is there with Uthman and the interns" Robert explained and Islah nodded. He then excused himself from the three men and headed towards the conference hall. He knocked on the open door, leaning onto it.
His eyes immediately traveled to the hijabi and he smiled at her. She is absolutely beautiful, Masha Allah. And those green eyes-
"Ah. Mr. Reza-Ibrahim is here" He broke eye contact with the hijabi and turned to Markos, coughing slightly to clear his dry throat. Why did my throat dry up?
"Good morning. I apologize for interrupting your meeting like this" Islah told him and Markos rolled his eyes.
"Come on in. I was explaining them the requirements" he informed Islah who nodded at him to continue. He took a seat at the other side of the table, leaning back onto the chair. The interns turned their attention to Markos while Islah kept staring at the hijabi seated with them. She would be the fourth girl in this company. He watched her jot down notes on a small notebook as Markos talked. Attentive.
He observed the others too. The Asian one was attentive as well but he wasn't writing. Good memory skills then. The one beside the Asian one was staring at Markos without much expression. He is lost, Islah let out a small chuckle before turning to the last one. He set beside his hijabi and this unnerved Islah in some manner. He shrugged, leaning onto the table. Islah could not point out which ethnicity he was from but nonetheless, this person was attentive too. He was jotting down stuff and from time to time, he looked into his hijabi's notebook.
Islah rolled his eyes at him. He cannot keep up with Markos. How will he survive with the others?
"Islah?" his attention moved from the hijabi to Markos who was glaring at him. Islah raised an eyebrow at him.
"You have anything to tell them?" Markos questioned and Islah nodded with a smile. Ah. Their eyes are on me. Jeez Markos! You had one job! Keep them busy while I look at- never mind. He stood up and walked over to where Markos stood.
He clasped his hands and looked at each one of them. When his blue-gray eyes met her green ones, he felt his heart skip a little beat. Utterly beautiful. He diverted his eyes and smiled awkwardly. God, why did I have to look at her?
"I am Islah Reza-Ibrahim, current CEO of A & X. Inc. Welcome to our humble abode" he said, smiling brightly. The interns smiled back at him. "But. It won't be so humble if you mess up" he was firm with his last statement which caused the interns to sober up. Time to shine, little kids.
"I assume you know about the board so let's make this short. Follow me" with that, Islah strode towards the door. Yusra and Zain exchanged confused glances before getting up and following the rest outside.
Islah led them to the fourth floor which read Screening & Testing in glowing letters. Islah nodded and smiled at the few people scattered around and came to a halt in front of a large table housing multiple computers. He smiled and turned to the interns, extending his arm in a gesture to ask them to take their seats at any computer.
Yusra took a seat on the computer that read Five at the top of the screen.
"Alright. You have 15 minutes. Log into the computer, break through the firewalls and server of my computer-" he pointed to the one in front of him. "And retrieve the file with the name Intern. Remember, you are timed. The first one to finish would lead the board. Login name is your name and the password is changeme. As soon as you log in, you have to change the password" Islah told them and they nodded. He clapped his hands and checked the time. As soon as the clock hit 10am, he asked them to begin.
His eyes traveled to the hijabi and he smiled as he watched her work. The fingers were once again, elegantly working on the keyboard and he found himself rapt. His attention turned to his computer when it began blinking red. Yusra Uz-Zaman has entered, it read and Islah's eyes widened. He checked the time on the desktop to see it being barely 5 minutes. She broke into the server that fast?
"Yusra" he whispered her name and looked up to meet her green eyes. Her eyes were challenging him and he knew that. He smirked at her. Bring it on, little kid. He heard Markos clapping behind him and tilted his head to him. Markos grinned at him.
"Miss. Yusra wins." Markos stated and the boys groaned.
"Congratulations, Miss. Yusra. You have officially taken the lead" Markos told her and Yusra smiled at him, standing up from the chair. Islah clapped slowly for her and she turned to him. Without a compliment, Islah nodded at them before turning and walking away. His lips curled into a smile as he walked. So she is smart, huh. Let's see how you get through the other tests.
****
That last sentence was not a threatening one. I think. haha.
Salaam! :)
Again: STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES AND PRACTICE PROPER HYGIENE.
I love you guys.
| R - C - V |
xx,
-Aalihha.
YOU ARE READING
Deciphering Love
Romance"One day you would find someone just like you, Islah. And that day, you will stand shaking in your place because she is just your type" - Islah was the kid who did math problems as his hobby. He was blessed intellectually but with his emotions, well...
