It was her second week working as the personal secretary at the F.Ali company. Her job was going good. This job had done wonders to her depressed state. She no longer had the time to think about her messed up life as she woke up early in the morning and came home in the afternoon, too tired to do anything but collapse on the bed and sleep. 

Her dates with her fiancé had grown lesser as well. She had gotten very busy and he was busy with his clinic too.

It was a typical mundane Tuesday morning and she was working on her computer in the office. 

Mr. Ali had piled so much work on her head that she felt like she was the only employee in the whole company.

She didn't really mind though as she enjoyed working. It really kept her mind off things and made her feel useful for once.

By the time she was finished with that endless amount of papers he had given her to type, her head was throbbing mercilessly. Her back was aching too with bending in front of the computer for so long. And not to mention her grumbling stomach. She was famished; she could eat a horse. Oh no that would be so ewww she thought as she literally imagined herself eating a horse.

It was 1:00 PM. She had been working for six hours straight. She hadn't realized how fast time had flew for the workaholic she was. That's why she chose such a busy job; it helped her keep her mind off depressing thoughts. She could use a lunch break for sure.

She picked up her bag that was discarded on the carpeted floor in the cabin and decided to go to a cafe to eat something.

"Where do you think you are going Miss Areesha?" She turned around to find her boss standing behind her with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his raised eyebrow.

Oops. She had forgotten to ask her boss. During the past week she had tried much to get used to her annoying boss, but that was very difficult for her as he was a little too demanding but he had no right whatsoever to question her like the owned her. He could have asked her politely with some manners too.

"I don't think I am going anywhere; I am sure." She replied with a roll of her eyes. Tit for tat!

"So where are you sure you are going?"

"I'm going out for lunch."

"Ok. I'm coming along. Wait a second." he turned to go back to his office.

"And what makes you think that I am going to take you with me?"

"Nope. I don't think so; I am sure!" He said smirking repeating her earlier line with an air of mocking her.

"No you are not. What makes you so sure that I'm gonna let you come along?" She retorted

"Umm.. maybe the fact that I have your job in my hands." he replied to her taking a minute to think with his fingers tapping his chin mockingly.

Areesha hated it when someone could blackmail her like that. She had no choice but to comply to his wish.

He went back inside his office and came back with his coat draped over his arm and a pair of avatars in his hands.

They went to the elevator together and as they reached the ground floor Areesha speed walked to out of the building.

She went towards her car and waited for her boss to come.

"Come on, we're taking my car." He told her beckoning her to come.

She complied and followed him towards his car.

It was a red Lamborghini. She had never sat in one.

"Oh wow! I'm totally in love with this car." she exclaimed despite her initial annoyance towards him as she sat in the leather seat.

 "You like cars?" Fawad asked her surprised

"Yeah. Anything wrong with that?"

"No. Its just that most girls don't have any interest in cars." he commented as he turned on the ignition and started steering the car out of the office parking lot.

"Well I am not 'most girls'" she retorted with making quotes around most girls.

She was certainly not most girls, Fawad thought. For one she wasn't swooning over his looks as every other girl did. She wasn't even scared of him by the looks of it and she wasn't even that talkative either. She was somehow closed up and kept her emotions concealed. Fawad was a keen observer. He observed these tiny things when some other on looker would have overlooked. She most certainly wasn't the sassy, ever smiling girl she portrayed herself to be, he thought.

"What's its maximum power?" She asked snapping him from his thoughts.

"515 kilowatts." he replied as he watched her admiring the car from every angle.

She crossed questioned him for a few minutes and he couldn't help but think that this was the first time she had let her facade down and was talking freely.

"From where did you develop such an interest in cars?" He asked her staring at her curiously.

"Nowhere." She replied grimly and seemed to close up once again.

After that an awkward silence settled in the car. Fawad drove the car with one arm on the window pane and the other one on the steering wheel. Areesha, on the other hand, faced the window deep in thought with her hands resting on her lap.

Fawad turned the car and found that there was a protest going on on the next road. There were tires burning and people raising slogans.

He didn't wait to see what it was all about as he had a girl with him. "Thank God you weren't here alone." He muttered to Areesha.

"Excuse me? Just because I am alone doesn't mean that I can't protect myself. I can kick your sorry ass alone any time! I am not weak" She retorted angrily

"Woah girl! Calm down, girl." He was used to such speeches about feminism thanks to his sister, Maya and so he knew how to tackle the situation we very well."Women really the strongest of people. They are stronger emotionally, they can survive through all kinds of pain. But when it comes to physical strength, some men are more stronger physically. I am not saying this to lower your values or anything. I respect women to the extreme. Even our religion holds women in high esteem, so don't get me wrong. When our society sees a woman travelling alone, they leave no chance to harass them. So I am simply saying that it was not safe for you to come to such places alone."

"Nice of you to think that! First guy in my life who's not sexist." She said smiling at him. She was quite impressed by his open minded attitude.

 "You should smile more often," he said to her as he realized that she looked so different with her smile on. A good different. It changed the disposition of her face and she bloomed. "You look good with it."

A small smile adorned her lips. For the first time such a comment didn't irritate her. It reminded her of her father who used to say the same thing to her.

They reached the restaurant in double time than usual as they had taken the longer route. 

They took seats in a corner with soft music playing in the background. Not craving for anything in particular, Areesha ordered the same thing as Fawad.

"Copying me, are we?" Fawad asked her with a smirk and she rolled her eyes at him.

"You are the one who's copying me." She said unable to come up with a good comeback.

"Me? I ordered first!" Fawad said childishly.

"Yeah you did. But I thought of it first!" She said even more childishly

"Liar!"

"I thought you could read minds?" She said with a smirk of her own. She had never imagined herself to be having such a conversation with her cocky jerk of a boss.

"I know I can read minds. That's why I said that you are lying!" He said with another smirk of her own.

"Well you are wrong then!" She rolled her eyes.

"Jeez girl just admit that you were copying me. What's the biggie?" He said with a smile. This was the first time she was being carefree. At work he had always seen her distant with everyone.

"Exactly what I am saying! There's no harm in admitting that!"

Before either of them could say anything there order had arrived.

They both dug in their foods as if they were eating after days.

"So tell me about your family," Fawad asked her curiously just for the sake of having a conversation instead of sitting awkwardly.

"I told you about my family already in the interview. I live alone with my mother. My father died two years ago." She said trying not to let her face expression betray her, but Fawad was too smart for that and could easily see that she still wasn't over her father's death.

"So enough about me. What about your family?" She asked him in return hoping to drift the conversation away from her family.

"I live with my parents and sister Maya. Maya is the youngest in the family. My dad used to own this business but he made me the CEO some time ago."

"So you really love your sister, don't you?" 

"Of course I do. Which brother doesn't love his sister?" He said quite surprised that out of the whole thing she picked up this part only. She didn't reply to that and he wondered what that was about.

"I'm done." She said pushing her plate forward.

"Do you want a cup of green tea? The green tea here's really good."

"Yeah sure. No harming in trying it." She said with a shrug.

He signaled for the waiter and ordered green tea for them as he took their used plates.

They chatted for a while waiting for the green tea.

When the waiter bought the green tea, Areesha picked up the cup to take a sip but the cup unbalanced and the hot liquid fell on her hand and burned it.

Fawad hurried with a tissue to clean her hand. She surprised at him to say the least. She had expected him to mock her about being so clumsy and tell her that she had no class but his reaction was the exact opposite.

 He held her hand in his ever so gently and tired to ease her burning hand. Somehow he couldn't see her getting hurt. So all religious boundaries went off his mind and all he could see was her in pain.

Little did they know that someone else was watching them this whole time and had mistaken this little concern and laughter for entirely something else.

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