Hello! Long by my standards once again haha I'm so proud of me :p
Yes Boss: Part 21 The dawn was just beginning to break when Asad finally put his penknife down, much too sleep-deprived to continue. He glanced over at Zoya, whose upper body and arms was hanging over the armrest, her legs dangling by the front, and her eyes shut tightly as she snored softly. He watched her for a while, smiling despite himself.
Zoya had spent most of the night running back and forth from the pantry with fresh cups of coffee for Asad, sometimes even a few biscuits to go with it. At one point in the night, Asad had fallen asleep next to the model, his head resting on one of the legs of the table, and his legs sprawled in front of him. When he woke up, he was pleasantly surprised to find Zoya sitting next to him, intently massaging his shoulders. He remained still and let her continue doing that, relishing the feel of her touch on his aching shoulders. But then she pulled away a short while later, when she noticed he was awake, stuttering as she scrambled off to get him another cup of coffee.
Asad walked up to the sofa before lowering himself to his knees near the edge of it, right in front of her, his eyes fixed on Zoya's peaceful face. He slowly brought his fingers to her face, delicately brushing away her fringe from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Zoya stirred a little while his hand was still cupping her ear, mumbling something incoherent as she grabbed his hand with both of hers and pinned it under her head, effectively using it as a pillow.
Asad stared at her stupidly for a while, confused about what to do. He tugged gently at his hand to pull it free, but Zoya just ended up gripping it harder. Shrugging, Asad slowly climbed onto the sofa next to Zoya, guiding his entrapped arm over her head and resting it around her shoulders. He was much too tired to struggle against Zoya right now. Leaning his head on the wall behind him, Asad finally shut his eyes as well, sleep consuming him easily.
A streak of sunlight that had managed to break through the blinds in Asad's cabin several hours later slashed across Zoya's face, making her squint uncomfortably before opening her eyes fully. She blinked repeatedly, as her eyes oriented themselves to the light, and only then did it strike her that she was in Asad's cabin, on his sofa, in his arms. Wait a second... in his arms?
She quickly let go of the hand on her cheek that she just realized she was holding so tightly, before trying to lift her head off his chest. But the weight of his hand on her face and arm on her body was much too great. She began to fling his arm off, but she caught sight of Asad's face right before she did. His hair was dishevelled and there were dark rings below his eyes. Her eyes trailed down to his mouth and she found that despite the fact that he was asleep, his lips were pursed in a grim, taut line, in worry and tiredness.
Zoya moved her hands away from struggling against his arm, and used one palm to cup his face instead, lightly stroking his jaw with her fingers in a bid to relax his muscles. Several gentle caresses later, she found Asad's skin soften under her fingers, as his lips parted slightly. She smiled as she celebrated her small achievement, but the smile quickly disappeared when she realized that Asad's eyeballs were beginning to move around under his eyelid. She immediately shut her eyes and feigned sleep, hoping he didn't catch her.
Asad groaned slightly as he felt the warmth of sunlight on his face, lifting his hand up to shield his eyes as he opened them. He yawned softly as he slowly composed himself, realizing pretty quickly that Zoya was sleeping soundly in the warmth of his embrace. He smiled openly at her innocent face, tapping the tip of her nose with his index finger playfully. When her breathing remained uniform despite his little movements, Asad decided that she was still fast asleep. Leaning into her, he dropped a kiss on her nose, for no rational reason.
Before he could even register the fact that Zoya immediately took in a deep breath at that time, a flash of bright white light blinded him momentarily, making Zoya open her eyes with a start as he pull away in shock, to turn to the source. But all he caught was the hurried footsteps of someone walking away from the cabin, the swinging of the door evidence that the person had been inside.
"Damn," Asad muttered, as he got off the sofa and massaged his temples. Zoya shot up from the sofa too, looking around in a puzzled manner as she tried to figure out what was going on. She followed behind Asad as he walked to the model tiredly.
"Kya hua?" Zoya asked worriedly, as Asad intentionally avoided eye contact with her. She knew it wasn't just about that kiss he'd given her while he thought she was asleep. Something else had happened right after, but she hadn't managed to understand what it was. And she knew that he knew exactly what it was.
"Kuch nahi. Look, if you're tired, take the day off. Leave the bicycle, just take a rickshaw. Or wait... I'll just tell Ammi to send the driver," Asad brushed off, as he fished his phone out of his pocket. He didn't really want to discuss with Zoya that someone might have seen them in a certain position... that would just make Zoya go into full panic mode since he knew she'd been trying to disprove the rumours about them.
"Yeah right Mr Khan, I didn't stay the night just to go home the next day when it's finally show time. I want to be here when Miss Narges and Mrs RK come!" Zoya insisted, as she tried to grab Asad's phone and stop him from dialling. But Asad was quick to avoid it.
"Okay just go home for now? Come back after lunch. Miss Narges is only coming at four anyway," Asad tried again. He really didn't want her to stay right now, because he didn't have time for her panic. He'd deal with it once the model was complete. Thankfully, Zoya nodded in agreement, and Asad quickly called his mother. At least things would be a little silent for now.
Zoya burst into Dilshaad Constructions right before lunchtime, marching up to the reception desk with her iPad, just as Monica got up from her seat to head for lunch. But from the look on Zoya's face, Monica figured out immediately that this was not going to be a quiet lunch. Zoya had seen the email.
"What the hell is this Monica?! Who's the idiot who sent this out to EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE OFFICE?!" Zoya practically screamed into poor Monica's face, as Monica grabbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down.
"I don't know Zoya. Anu and I were just about to discuss over lunch about how to tell you and what damage control can be done," Monica explained calmly, as she dragged Zoya away from the reception area where a bunch of people had gathered upon hearing the commotion. Zoya glared at everyone, making them stop their gesturing and whispering momentarily. But once she'd turned away, she heard the buzz start up again behind her.
"Zoya, some idiot made up an email address just to blast this photo out to everyone, so we have no idea who it is. But we do know that this photo has to be a fake. You're the computer genius, I'm sure you can prove it!" Anu told Zoya after they'd settled down at a lunch table with Monica. Zoya realized that everyone had followed her and Monica, and were milling around her unnecessarily as they stared at her.
"But Anu, the problem is that this photo is real! I didn't know there was anyone in the cabin with us," Zoya squeaked, as she stared at her iPad, a photo of Asad placing a small kiss on her nose this morning gleaming on her screen. She heard a collective gasp behind her and she turned around sharply, suddenly realizing that there were a ton of people eavesdropping on her conversation with Anu and Monica.
"It's real...? But, I thought you said...?" Anu probed, unsure of what she was even trying to ask. Monica nodded vigorously, supporting Anu in what she was trying to ask. Zoya stared at the both of their curious and confused faces incredulously before finally getting up from her chair suddenly, startling a few of the people standing behind her.
"That's it. I can't take this anymore," Zoya announced, as she placed one of her feet up on her chair and hoisted herself up. She put the other foot next to it and stood on the chair angrily, her arms akimbo.
"Listen up all of you! I have a few things to clear up with everyone. Last night, Mr Khan and I were stuck in the office working on the mall model because it had broken into pieces the day before. This picture is from this morning after we both woke up, he was just thanking me! Now before you guys tell me that that's not how a boss should thank an employee, let me just tell you that I agree. But that's because I'm not just an employee for Mr Khan, I live in his house! Yes! That's why we travel to work together and that's why he's so lax with my dressing style," Zoya explained boldly, glaring at her audience.
"So you're in a live-in relationship with Mr Khan?" someone piped up, voicing the very question that was running to through everyone's minds. Zoya's eyes widened as she gasped loudly at the man's ridiculous conclusion.
"Allah miyan, what's wrong with you?! Of course not! I live in his house because of his mother! His mother is the one who loves me and lets me live in her house, not Mr Khan! Waise bhi, Mr Khan isn't interested in girls..." Zoya clarified, intending to end her sentence with 'isn't interested in girls like me', but left trailing off when Asad walked in, shushing everyone.
"Miss Farooqui, what the hell are you doing? Get off the chair. As for the rest of you, there's only twenty minutes left to lunchtime, have your lunch and get back to work. This is an office, not a kitty party. Find some other time to gossip. Frankly, I don't understand how anyone's personal matters are anyone's business except their own. Now get going!" Asad ordered, his wrists locked behind his back and his eyes blazing. Everyone nodded and scurried off in different directions, leaving Zoya staring at Asad with a raised eyebrow. Boy could this man command people!
XXX
Hmm. HAHA. Hmm.
Fan Fictions
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
