Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"How comes I am just finding out about this, Anwar? Do you know what this can cause for me, for all of us? We might go out of business.... Who am I kidding we're already going out of business if we do not act fast on this." He went through the files again before he settled his eyes on his trembling manager. "They robbed us, they really did. And I might go bankrupt. For crying out loud if the CEO is not available to supervise his goods, who is supposed to?"

Anwar stood there still, agitated as he waited for the worst. He had no excuse for what he had caused. "When did you sign this contract? Why didn't you tell me about it? Or have you forgotten about the rules? If it's a huge deal I have to go through it first and we have to create a meeting with the buyers, and they have to at least pay half the money before we give them our goods but you carelessly gave it to them without my acknowledge. Now where are the bloody people? They ran away! With goods worth millions. Can you pay the debts?"

Muhsin felt the panic begin to rise like a cluster of spark plugs in his abdomen. Tension grew in his face and limbs, his mind couldn't think of one solution for his problem. His breathing became more rapid, more shallow. The thoughts accelerated inside his head. "Get out!" He muttered through gritting teeth. "Sir please...." "Anwar, get out!" He jolted back before he quickly walked out of his Muhsin's office.

He picked up his phone from the desk, with trembling hands, he dialled Yusuf's number. Within few minutes, Yusuf showed up in his office. "What happened? I was just close by when you called me. What's wrong?" He settled down on the visitor's seat as he waited to hear why muhsin was looking distressed.

"My manager, he gave goods to some Americans worth tons of money without them paying. Now they are no where to be found." Yusuf's eyes bulged open as his heart did a back flip. "Innalillahi Wa'inna ilaihir rajiun. This is bad," he muttered. "I don't even know what to do, Yusuf. How can we start tracing these people? I can go out of business cause of this."

"Have you informed your father about this?" Muhsin shook his head. "Baba does not have to always be the one to clean up my mess. I have to take the responsibilities this time. And most of the blame I take it. I am also careless else this wouldn't have happened."

"No, muhsin. No one is above mistakes and this is just a trial that you have to pass by being patient. Just calm down and we would get through this...." Then the everything went silent. His whole surrounding went blurry and mute. He felt dead inside. His tongue felt dry. His throat felt as if someone thrust a handful of itching powder inside. His eyes were scruffy. He looked at Yusuf talking but he had no idea what he was blabbing about.

"Muhsin... muhsin..." He blinked and looked at his cousin again. "Come, get up, I'm taking you home." He helped him up from the chair. He took him to his car and drove him home.

Muhsin found himself walking into the house. Everything wasn't just right with him. He needed someone to talk to. Someone that would give him answers to his worries and tell him soothing words. He needed someone he would lean on. His parents had always been the one to clean the mess for him but they had other worries to take care of. He was a grown man and he had to start cleaning his own mess.

He walked up the stairs to her room. She looked up from her bed before she smiled. "Babe, you're back. Come please." She motioned him to come as she opened her arms. He joined her in the bed and cuddled up together. When they finally clasped each other in a warm, slow and luxurious hug, he felt a bit relieved. "How was work?" She asked stroking his soft hair. He looked up from her chest. She couldn't read depression all over his face? "I have a huge problem at the company, amira. I might shut down the whole company."

"What happened?"

"I used almost all my money to ship in new items and my manager signed a contract with some Americans which turned out to be robbers. They took the goods without paying now I don't know what to do." She shrugged and cupped his face. "This isn't something to worry about, babe. Your father is very rich. You can sell the company and start up another business. I know your father will give you the amount of money you would need."

He gently swatted her hands from his hair and shifted away from her. Sell his company after going that far? "Amira what are you even saying? It does not make any sense. You mean I have to always lean on my father? Won't you be ashamed if your husband has to depend on his father whenever he has a problem. No, I can't do such selfishness. I need to take this responsibilities and clean up my mess."

He dropped down from her bed and started walking towards the door. "I'm going to the mosque now to pray. You should also get up and pray before I come back." He sauntered out of the room without a back glance. She hissed and shrugged her shoulders. Her idea was brilliant, she mused to herself. Just that he was too dumbfounded to see it. It was a simple and easy way for him to get his money back but chose a hard way. That's your problem, she murmured.

**

As he placed the phone back to his chest pocket, he reversed and drove out of the compound to Nile university. It's been three days now but nothing had changed. He had been attending meetings over meetings to see how things would get resolved but still no progress. Things only got worse for him.

He looked at his phone ringing but ignored it. Amira had been calling him nonstop and he knew if he did the mistake of picking up her call, she would end up getting him more hurt and depressed than he already was.

He parked at their department where he was sure he would find her and luckily, he did. She was coming out of their department together with three of her friends that looked familiar to him. He shrugged when he couldn't remember where he met them but he was sure it was in the school.

She caught sight of him and smiled a bit before she bade her friends goodbye and walked towards the car. "Good evening," she started with the moment she hopped into the car. For some reason he felt a little relieved. "How are you? How was lectures today?" She smiled and nodded, "it was okay alhamdulillah." She observed his face and looked away. He reversed the car and started driving out of the school. "Daddy is out of town with the driver so he asked me to come pick you up and he told me your phone wasn't going through." She slowly nodded but then she looked at him again.

"Is something bothering you? You look pale, lost weight if I may say." She stared at his distressed face to his hands then back to his face. He had to park the car by the road side to make sure he heard her right. "I mean it's like something is bothering you." She explained when he asked her to repeat her question. "How did you... how did you figure out that I'm not okay." He couldn't help but ask. It left him in awe that she could tell he was not in good shape. "Your face says you're not. The eye bags especially. You've lost weight too. What's wrong?" He kept staring at her unable to think of how he felt exactly. How did she do that when he had to tell his own wife he was in trouble and she did nothing of help even after telling her his worries.

"I.. I really don't want to bother you with my worries." She smiled and shook her head. "Please tell me, maybe I can help. In sha Allah." She smiled, a very appealing and feminine gesture. He nodded gently before he narrated everything to her. By the time he was done, the knot tied in his throat pained him more and more as he tried to hold back the tears.

"Subahanallah... innalillahi wa'inna ilaihir rajiun." She kept muttering. She looked at him with a desolate face and shook her head. "No please, be strong. You have to be strong. I know you feel like giving up or you can't bare it but the absolute truth is Allah does not burden a soul with something that is beyond it's capacity to deal with. And if you let this bother you too much you might end up getting depressed. Now you need to take deep breaths and calm down before we think of a solution...." He took deep breaths and calmed his nerves before she started speaking again.

"I was thinking of telling my father about it, maybe he could help me." She shook her head. "Then you won't learn anything from your mistake if he has to do it for you. Sure he needs to know about it but it is ten times better you take the responsibilities and fix things yourself. one, you'll learn from your mistake and two, you will be so so proud of yourself afterwards and you will be very cautious the next time." His lips curved upwards as he nodded in agreement. How could someone with her age be so wise? He never even thought about that.

"This has happened to my father before and he had a lot of debts to pay. He had to sell the company and pay his debts to be at ease else he would be taken to court, prison afterwards and things would not be so easy for us." He remembered daddy telling him about her father and if he didn't forget, his father once did a business contract together with her father.

"You have two new branches that are yet to be launched you said?" She asked and he nodded. "But why don't you sell one to save your business?" She suggested. He looked at the road as he thought of it. Maybe she was right. Her plan might work. "And you have to work on the people working for you. Building trust with the people on your team. You should also set daily, weekly and monthly goals. Figure out where the issue lies. Ask your trusted friends for advise, you always have to hear some people's opinion and maybe you might get something better off them...." She continued to advise him till they thought of a way out.

He heaved a sigh of relief as he got of the phone call with some of his team as they were having a meeting the next day. He looked at her pleasing face and smiled also. "I do not even know how to start thanking you for this, dalia. You have helped me a lot and I cannot ever repay you for this." She let out a soft alluring chuckling. "C'mon this isn't nothing. It's the least I could do and I always cling onto my father and see how he does his things so most of the ideas I gave you, I learned them from my father whenever he was working at home."

He smiled again and nodded. "May Allah grant him the highest rank in jannah." She smiled and retorted. He started driving his way to daddy's house. "I won't lie to you but I am still in shock that no one could solve my problem but you. You have no idea how happy I am. Have you always been this mature?" He spoke teasingly.

"Seriously, it's nothing. It is not about being mature, You sometimes have to sit yourself down and think deep. And you have to be very prayerful. In sha Allah I will also help you with Du'a whenever I pray."

They arrived at the house shortly as they chit chatted throughout the drive home. He had no idea she could be a talkative till that evening. She was so jovial and free with him. Maybe it was because he smiled a lot today. "Can I have your number?" He asked. She looked up to is face. "My number? Why?" She asked the question politely. "So we could keep in touch."

She shook her head. "I am sorry but I currently don't have a phone now because the one I had fell into water so, I don't have any now." She shrugged it off nonchalantly. He heaved and sigh and nodded. "Very well then. You should get going it's almost maghrib time." She nodded her head and smile. "Don't forget to be very prayerful about it." She reminded as she stepped out of the car. She waved at him before turning away and walked into the house without a back glance.