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usual blank face. He turned to look at Fiddah.
 Amir keeps saying that. I do not see it, Tariq said and picked up his menu. Fiddah laughed.
 This is you we are talking about.
He lowered his menu and narrowed his gaze at her.  I am not the problem here, he defended
himself. The waitress reappeared to take their orders. She was watching him and blushing whilst he
was speaking to her. Fiddah watched the waitress turn red.
 When do you plan to marry? Fiddah asked Tariq as soon as the waitress left. Tariq frowned at
his grandmother.
 What brought this on? He was confused with her sudden change of topic even though it was not
the first time she had questioned him about marriage.
 The waitress was blushing when she was speaking with you but you did not even notice. Makes
me wonder if you notice women.
Tariq sighed before he replied. He was so used to women blushing in his presence that it did not
even faze him anymore. The waitress came back carrying their drinks. Tariq sunk in his chair and
watched her. She noticed him looking at her and she immediately started smiling. He raised one
eyebrow. He waited for her to leave before he commented.
 Marriage is not for me and even if it was, she would not be my type, he said and took a sip from
his glass. Fiddah shook her head. For years, she had been trying to convince him to marry but failed.
 So what, you will bury yourself in the company until your death bed?
 I like my job.
 Too much! You need a life outside your job. You need a family.
 I have one.
 Of your own! I want great grandchildren. Do not deny me that!
Tariq was never going to win this argument. Fiddah was tenacious. This was not their first time
discussing his love life and it was certainly not going to be their last.
 How about you pick a wife for me? Tariq said and grinned at her.
 Does that even make sense? Is it so hard to court a woman? Tariq laughed gently.
Sara heard Tariq laugh. So it's capable of laughing, she said to herself. She turned her attention
back to her food. It surprised her to hear him laugh. She had never heard it and never thought she
would. He was so uptight and mean.
 Can you see me courting a woman? Tariq asked Fiddah.
 There is no hope for you, she replied. He grinned at her.  Don't you want love? she asked.
 No.
 What?
 It doesn't exist. Tariq was determined to stick to his beliefs. In his eyes, love did not exist. It
was simply heightened infatuation. As he took a sip from his glass, he noticed Sara attempt to eat an
olive but it fell back on the plate. No table manners even? She could not walk like a normal person.
She talked too much. She had poor dress sense. And now this! What other weird trait was she going
to exhibit? He watched her eat. He could tell that she was really enjoying her food. She sat up and
licked her lips, then took a sip of her drink. When she was not eating, she was talking. It's as if she
never stops. Tariq shook his head and looked away from her.
Sara was finally done with her delicious lunch. Food made her happy. As they were leaving, she
made sure not to make eye contact with Tariq. It was not the case for Keira and Kaleena. They both
stared at Tariq as they walked past. Tariq chewed slowly and watched them, watching him.
 Please stop staring at him, Sara said feeling awkward.
 He's so handsome, Keira said.
* * * * *
*
There was a lot of work that needed to be done to get the new field up and running. Sara's
workload tripled faster than she anticipated. Amir told her that they had to pull some long nights. Sara
walked into his office to brief him on a report she had been working on. To her surprise, Tariq and
Amir were both sitting on the sofa discussing the appropriate barrels to use. They both looked up
when she walked in. It was the first time she had seen him since that Saturday at the mall. She bowed
to them. Only Amir responded.
 Barrels for gasoline or crude oil? Sara asked. They both looked at her and she realised that she
had jumped into their conversation.
 Both, Amir replied.
She pointed at one of the pictures and said,  Those carry more oil. Amir turned his attention to
the picture and picked it up. Tariq was still wondering why she had included herself in the
conversation.
 Is that so? Amir asked her. Sara smiled and nodded.
 Oh, I actually came in to brief you on this report, she said as she handed him a file. She made [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]