Lunch break was a breather for me after half a day's work, but it wasn't pleasant either. I sat alone by the corner of the office, nibbling my salmon salad while watching the admin staff that occupied the workstations carried on with their rounds of gossips in between their takeout meal. They switched topics from local celebrities to former colleagues, completely disregarded my existence.

And when Nick sauntered in, pin drop silence ran across the room in an abrupt manner. The once animated gossip gang resumed their lunch quietly with their eyes fixed to the screen. Oblivious to the awkwardness that emitted in the office, Nick turned to me and cocked his head to the side.

"I want to see you after lunch at the meeting room," he requested.

"How about now?" I sprung up from my seat and aimed for the door.

Nick watched me marched out of the office with astonishment, then he shrugged affirmatively before led me to the meeting room and letting me in. As I entered, I was eyeing at a set of documents that was laid on the table with another similar copy next to it. Nick ordered me to sit where the documents were placed while sliding the other copy close to him. I did as tell while my gaze followed him taking a chair and sat across from me.

"This is your employment contract," he began flipping his copy to guide me. "I'm going to run through the first five pages with you because that's the most important bits of the contract while you can read the rest at home."

I gingerly scanned through the first few lines of the contract and the job title printed on its header caught my attention: 'Personal Assistant.'

"I thought I was doing a transporting job," my face contorted with confusion.

"Yeah, about that," Nick withdrew his breath before continued, "since you're doing a lousy job at transporting, I'm offering you this one instead. But you'd be called in occasionally to mend the warehouse."

I hastily skimmed through the pages even before he had the chance to guide me through and I felt overwhelmed by his unexpected kind gesture.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" I blurted out, flitting from the contract to him.

His forehead creased by my unexpected inquiries. "I thought you're here for a job."

"I know, but why are you being nice to me?" I asked.

"Because I am nice," he responded in a deadpan manner.

"But I thought you're notorious. I thought you terrorises people for a living," I solicited.

"That's a poor, one-sided, sleazy misconception which I often get and I'm sad to see it coming from a potentially brilliant person like you," he sighed in dejection but continued to remain calm. "I'm just a normal citizen, Zahida, I'm not the Kray twins."

"No, don't get me wrong," I rebuked his judgment. "I was hoping that I could join the gang trading coke or something."

"No, I am straying you away from my felonious life and my boys. You're not to be a part of it," he clarified. "Your job would revolve around my academic, personal and social life. Which means checking my class schedules, due date of my assignments, exams, social gatherings, haircut appointments, charity dinners –"

"How about shopping? We can do shopping together?"

"No, I don't do shopping," he answered sharply. "It's either online or someone else has to do for me. Which means you will be responsible for it moving forward, should you accept the job. Having said that, I also need all your schedules or appointments so that it won't coincide with your duties. Are you still with that Scout Group?"

"No, I've completed my four-month term with them," I replied, leaving out the details of my estrangement with Milla. "I thought you could access my data?"

"Why should I bother hacking the system when I can ask you straight?" he smirked. "What's your class schedule like? Are they frequent?"

"They are frequent, but I've no class on Wednesdays and I only have morning classes on Fridays," I explained.

"It's Thursday today. How about today?"

"I have a class today, but I skipped so I can come here," I answered frankly.

Hearing this, Nick swiftly picked up his copy and smacked my head lightly like an authoritarian causing me to flinch.

"You shouldn't be skipping your classes for whatever reasons. I'm a flexible guy and you'll be working on a flexible term within your student permit."

"Can I skip classes if I'm sick or dead?" I gave a snide remark while caressing my head.

"You're funny, Zahida," Nick narrowed his eyes at me. "I should've offered you a joker position instead."

I signed the contract a day later, taking into consideration the flexi hours that complied with the 20 hour per week condition under my student visa and better remuneration package compared to Al-Safar's. And I get to work anywhere at any time even from home. Who wouldn't want that?