Clueless Love

The time has gone by so fast since we came back from Iceland. A lot has happened, but Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) things are looking up for the better. Fatima and Udar plan to get married by the end of the month; I am more than happy for them. They deserve all the happiness the world can offer.

Abeela is doing very well. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) she was not too traumatized by the kidnapping. She should be going back to school any time soon. She studies fashion design at the Institute of Technology in New York.

Austin and Emma are also happier than ever, and Emma is adjusting well in her new role at her family’s company. Things between Ismail and me are wonderful too. We are closer than ever and although it is not helping with my feelings for him, I can’t bear to be away from him for too long either. I start to miss him, and I don’t like missing him. But right now, there is nothing more I want to do than pour this coffee I am making on his head.

Ismail and I have a meeting with an investor for my company. Yes, that’s right. I will be launching my company soon. I have already launched a few of my own apps and I want to expand my company. I can’t believe it’s already been ten months since I started working at his company. It feels like it has only been a few months; time does fly. Ismail is also very sad about the fact that I will be leaving the company soon. He offered me a permanent position in his company, but I declined it. I want to start fresh and see where life leads me. He was the one who got this investor that we are meeting today. He told me since I won’t work for his company then he will help me build the company I desire. I was very happy that he was being very thoughtful and supportive.

I am at his house. We are going to meet the couple who want to invest in my company at a ranch, so we decided to take one car. I came to his place a few minutes ago, and he is making us late by taking forever to get ready.

“Ismail why are you taking so much time! Even a woman does not take so long,” I shout while I pour my coffee into my travel mug.

“I am ready,” Ismail answers, coming down the stairs.

“Finally, let’s go,” I say taking a sip of my coffee, but I quickly spit out the hot coffee that burns my tongue. Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah)! This thing is so hot, but that’s not the reason why I am screaming like a mad woman. In the process of removing the cup from my mouth, I also poured the coffee on myself.

“HOT, HOT, HOT, Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah)! It burns!” I scream rushing to the sink, splashing water on myself.

“Umit, are you alright,” Ismail asks concerned.

“I am fine now; the burning pain has stopped.”

“Umit!” Ismail says and quickly turns around.

Why did he turn away like that? I look down at myself to see if anything is wrong and a lot is wrong. I can’t believe this is happening. Not only did I get my shirt ruined by coffee and water, but because I am wearing a white blouse my shirt is transparent now and my bra is on full display. I quickly use my hands to cover my chest. Of all the times for something like this to happen to me, it’s in front of Ismail. I feel so embarrassed right now. I can’t imagine what is going through his head.

“You should wear this,” Ismail says, handing me his suit jacket. I take it from his hands and quickly put it on. I button all the buttons making sure I’m fully covered, and nothing is showing.

“Thank you. You can turn around now,” I say still feeling very embarrassed.

“You can’t go anywhere like that, you have to change,” Ismail comments as he turns around to face me.

“I know, but we can’t go back to my place, we will be late for the meeting,” I say, feeling like today is just not my day.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Ismail looks thoughtful.

“What are we going to do?” I have no idea how I am going to get changed and still get to the meeting on time.

“What if you wear one of my shirts?”

“Wear what?” I say not understanding.

“Wear one of my shirts and style it like you ladies do with men’s clothing.”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. But I doubt your shirt will be my size. It will look like I borrowed someone’s shirt.” I understand what he is saying, but I worry I might look funny.

“That’s why I said you should style it like you ladies do with men’s clothing. Now come with me,” Ismail says going back upstairs.

“But…” I’m not sure if wearing his shirt is the right thing to do.

“Either you wear my shirt, or we go back to your place, and be late for the meeting. Which do you want?” he says, stopping midway up the stairs.

“Fine, I will wear your shirt,” I say following him upstairs.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

We take the stairs and stop at the first door to the right.

“This is my room. The closet is the door on the right. Pick any shirt you want. I will be waiting downstairs,” Ismail says and walks back downstairs.

“Thank you,” I say before he disappears down the stairs.

I turn the doorknob and step into a beautiful room. The walls are painted charcoal. There is a big window to the right overlooking the city. I can bet at night it will look gorgeous with the city lights. Behind the bedpost is a grey painted picture of a tree that blends with the room. The bed is a white king-sized bed with white side tables and lamps. There is also a sitting area with a black couch, a TV, and a center table. The room gives me a twilight movie feeling, with the colors and everything.

I walk toward the closet. I open it and see every brand of designer suit, button-up shirts, trousers, shirts, and jeans there is in the world. Ismail is richer than I expected, wow. I pick a black button-up shirt. It smells wonderful. I like his cologne. I quickly change and walk back downstairs. Good thing I wore jeans today because I was able to tuck the shirt in and make it look as fashionable as I can. I also folded the sleeves over because they were too long.

“I am ready,” I say reaching the last step.

“You look good in my clothes,” Ismail smirks.

“I know you are only saying that to make me feel better, but anyway thank you.”

“I am not; you actually look good.”

“Really?” I look down at myself and admit I don’t look that bad. He nods his head smiling.

“Thank you then, and let’s go. We are already late as it is,” I say, grabbing my coat while walking out of the door. Ismail follows and we get into his car to be on our way.

We get back to the office during lunchtime. Going to the ranch took us about an hour to get there, and we used another hour to get back. The meeting did not take long; I pitched my reasons why they should invest in my company. They seem to like all the services my company offers to the public. They did not say if they will invest or not, but they said they would get back to me soon. I am praying deeply they agree to invest. It will really help my company grow and expand.

I am driving Ismail’s car to meet up with the girls for lunch. This is the first lunch we are having since we came back from our trip. Fatima was busy with taking care of Udar and has not had time to have lunch with me. Emma has been adjusting into her company and has not had time to spare for lunch with us. I have been spending most of my lunch breaks with Ismail. Since we patched things up, we have been going for lunch together. Spending time with him makes me very happy, even if it’s as little as just eating lunch together. I left the office after praying and dropping Ismail off before taking his car.