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“Yes, sheikh,” Mariam replied. She switched on the projector and began her presentation. She was reporting the company’s progress within the last month, its profits and losses. Basil found himself unable to concentrate on what she was saying. He found himself thinking about his earlier conversation with Janet.
To his surprise, he had spoken to her about his late wife. The words had left his mouth before he could stop them. Strangely enough, her words had brought him comfort. She wasn’t as bad as Basil had thought. His daughter had even warmed up to her. He was still surprised that Sanaa didn’t want to lose Janet. She had looked so distressed when she found out that Basil had fired Janet.
“What do you think, sheikh?” Mariam asked.
“What?” Basil hadn’t heard anything Mariam had been saying. His thoughts were filled with Janet, annoyingly.
“We need to increase the amount of oil we import,” said Mariam.
“Okay, send me a detailed report of the idea. I want to know if we have enough staff to handle the workload, how much profit it’ll give us, everything.” Basil rose to his feet. “Meeting adjourned.”
“Yes, sheikh,” Mariam replied.
Basil headed out of the conference room and returned to his office. He sat down in his leather chair as soon as he got into his office. Mariam walked in a few moments later. She closed the door behind her and approached his desk.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Fine, why?” Basil leaned back into his chair. Mariam stood in front of him, dressed in black, posture straight and expression stern.
“You seemed a bit distracted during the meeting.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Basil crossed his hands over his chest.
“Okay. You have a meeting at 12:30 with Brodo Petrols and a business call at 2:30,” Mariam said to him.
“Alright,” he said. Mariam nodded before she walked out of his office.
***
Basil arrived at home just after 8 p.m. He had had a long and busy day at work, as usual. He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked into the dining room, with his blazer in the other hand. He asked one of the maids to make him a smoothie instead of a full dinner, as he didn’t have much of an appetite.
When the smoothie was ready, he headed towards the patio for some fresh air. He often took walks at night; it helped to clear his mind. He pushed the doors open and stepped out into the cool night. He saw Janet sitting down in one of the chairs. She was wearing a loose-fitting white sweater and black slacks. Her hair wasn’t tied back.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked. She gasped and placed her hand on her chest. She turned her head towards him.
“You frightened me,” she replied.
“That wasn’t my intention.” He pulled out a chair and sat down.
“I just came out for some fresh air.”
“I see.” He took a sip of his smoothie.
“Sanaa is already sleeping. Today, she fell asleep quite early. I think she was tired,” said Janet.
“I’ll check on her when I go upstairs,” he replied. Janet looked at his smoothie.
“Is that your dinner or just an after-dinner snack?”
“I don’t have an appetite.”
“Ah.” Janet nodded. “Kim, my little sister, loves smoothies. She calls them sthmoothies.” Janet laughed.
“She has a lisp?”
“Yes, it’s so adorable. I miss her a lot.”
There was silence between them for a moment. Basil drank his smoothie and just enjoyed the peace. He liked being still, especially at night, with the cool air and the moonlight.
