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Chapter 4
"Dastan, hey, it's me," Tus said over the phone.
"I know, I have caller ID!"
"Hilarious! Are you alone?"
"Ya at home, Tus what wrong?" Dastan asked concerned.
"No, nothing's wrong. I just want to see if there's any progress on getting Tamina to give the company up fully."
Dastan stood up and started to pace in his apartment. He was hoping he could avoid this conversation. "Tus I did not have the correct opportunity and," he fell quiet before continuing, "I don't feel right. Dad was specific..."
Tus cut him off before he could continue, "look Dad said that when he was giving us pointers. But I discussed with uncle."
"Uncle? Why was he brought in for this matter?"
"Dastan, he has been a close councilor of Dad. Even I agree that we should try. Now stop making eyes at her and get it sorted. Update me. Miss you, you idiot, "Tus replied and kept the phone.
Dastan pressed his hands on his head in frustration at the request of his brother. He had been working with Tamina closer to a month and he has seen her begin a sad journey to let go of the company. He was beginning to realise that she wanted to hold the 25% shares of the company to keep the connection to what her family built, money aside. As much as he hated to confront Tamina with this proposition, he could not wait to go to work with the new look he was sporting as the bet with Garsiv was finally over.
Tamina was working on an email when Dastan waked into the boardroom that morning.
"Good morning," he greeted.
Tamina replied and only looked up for a second. Suddenly her head shot back up. Dastan was standing at the head of the table logging into the laptop. He was clean shaven and his hair cut short and styled. Keeping her pride and the memories of his warning that she will regret calling him a 'Hobo', Tamina looked away and picked up her mug. "Tea?"
"No thank you, I'm good."
As soon as she was out of his view, her face brightened up and she jumped up and down while mouthing 'oh my gosh'. She was taken by his looks which had been hiding behind that awful beard of his. His eyes were blue! Why had she never noticed that his eyes were blue? His lips were sculpted and turned up at the corners when he smiled just now for few seconds. His smile was wide and finally she sees what it looks like without whiskers. Tamina expected him to look civilized but she did not think he will be gorgeously civilized!
Dastan knew that she noticed but the play went on the whole day where she tried so hard not to stare at him and hide that silly grin she had pasted on her face! 'Dastan the ape' was now 'tall, gorgeous and possibly there is a fabulous body under those clothes' Dastan, she thought and quickly shook them off. Asoka's shock was even better as he did not recognise him for about ten minutes and suddenly it dawned on him that this was Dastan.
Unfortunately or fortunately the change in appearance did not quell down the 'going at each other's throat' part of their relationship.
It had now been over a month and Dastan smiled at what he has accomplished and how far they have come. From hating each other's faces to him having a strange feeling of comfort when she is around, Dastan's feelings have change towards her. He still loved giving her the run around but that was from a perspective of making her lighten up rather than for annoyance as he used to. Once they were working until late and the tiredness made way for an argument about a deal. After few rounds of shouting, Dastan put his hands up, "I give up! I'm going home."
"No you are not! You are not leaving till you get the bloody accounts right!"
"Tamina, we have accountants to do that," he shot back.
"That is not how we work here. This company is famed for its produce and does our own work not just driving a slave market. We're more delicate not like you big corporate hotshots," she shouted back as he left.
"Maybe more time doing your work and less time other's, the company would still be yours," he shot back not looking and with her persistent silence, he knew that he had won the battle.
"Oh, it's a miracle. You're finally quiet," he turned to see her holding her temple and looking faint. He started to walk back. "Tamina, what's wrong?"
"I…I don't feel…"
He made her sit down and went to the window to get her some water. "Just drink some water it might be the stress," he said and not gaining a reply from her, he called out turning, "Tamina can you hear me?"
There she was standing at the other side of the conference room door, holding up the key!
"Yes Dastan I can hear you!"
Dastan rushed to the door and shook the door. "You? You locked me in? You bi…"
"Ah ah be nice to the one with the key! Now sit your pretty arse down and work out the account," she winked at him and started to walk away while he shouted back. It took 45 minutes to complete it and Dastan had to email it to her before she opened the door. They were still for about three second before Dastan chased her around the empty office.
"Oh the dashing Dastan rushed to assist the fallen beauty," she mocked.
"Oh you are branding yourself a beauty? You know what? I'm 32 years old and I am going to act like an adult and bow out. Good night Tamina," he shot back and walked off. Tamina knew it was too good to be true and she found out why. The next morning, she came to work to find every single item on her side of the table covered wrapped in newspaper and masking tape – every pen and pencil, the mouse, laptop, mug, stapler. Everything!
Tamina was having a hard time understanding Dastan as the days went by. She was sure that he was from the monstrous corporate world but it was strange how he was the only one who manages to calm her down. He is also dedicating his time and great effort to the company. Mr Carson had been so happy with his work that he called the very next day of meeting to confirm that the estate is theirs. He had however, incessantly requested to know of her plans on keeping the company shares. "Wouldn't you want a clean slate?" he had asked the day before as they had lunch in the conference room. She thought for a while and answered, "I need to have this link to the company. I just do. Strangely, it is like a calling which I cannot seem to run away from. "
After a month had passed, it was clear to Tamina that the company is in fact going away from her. This made her even more anxious and worrisome that overreacting was becoming a norm. In one such episode, she rushed into the conference room, "Dastan, gosh, there's an issue!"
Dastan sat up in a hurry and mirroring her worried face said, "Why? Have they taken the hobbits to Isengard?"
"What?"
"Lord of the rings? The two towers? The looping video? Olando Bloom? He's one of yours," Dastan was surprised that she had not heard of it which led him to sing it a bit, "you know, 'they have taken the hobbits to Isengard, gard, gard, gard, gard, gard!"
Tamina rolled her eyes, "Dastan be serious! The papers to the lawyers are due today!"
"Calm down, I got that done. Geesh Princess, you need to relax," he smiled and Tamina sat down in relief. Unfortunately that was not the end of the Hobbits. The song was stuck in Dastan's head throughout the day and even at the department meeting, he kept whispering to himself, 'the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits to Isengard' gaining a stare from Tamina. Since she has not seen it, he took the liberty to send the link to her. Tamina acted uninterested and slowly watched it when Dastan stepped out and closed the window as she did not want to give him the pleasure of her enjoying his childish games. That was not the solution in dead of the night as she laid on her bed Tamina suddenly went, "the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits, the hobbits to Isengard". Realising it has got into her head, she buried herself in the covers and lamented, "errrrr Dastan!"
They were well into the second month of the transfer. And Tamina hated coming to work today as it was the date she had to start the process of planning job cuts. She had announced to the staff at the beginning of the week on the job cuts and they had been somber throughout and not even Dastan could lift her spirits. By afternoon, the conference call with Tus was completed and the blueprint was received.
They looked over the numbers and Tamina noted that three hundred and forty one jobs needed to be cut making her sick. She had gone through the factory numbers and there were thirty two more to go from the main office where she was at. It was almost 6.30pm and Dastan could not find her to say that he was going off for the day. He checked the library and called Asoka. "Check her father's office," he said.
Dastan opened the door, looking around, whispered her name. It was quiet except for a muffled cry from under the vast desk. He went over to the back and looked under the table. There she was, sitting under the table with her knees to her chin and tears trailing down her face. His heart swelled.
"Hey...hey. Are you alright?"
"Yes. It's perfectly natural for a freaking 27 year old to hide under a desk and cry," Tamina retorted making Dastan feel that she was somewhere in there. It was a tall large desk and Dastan moved under the it, hitting his head on the hard wood and leaned on the opposite side to her rubbing his head. He was over six feet tall so he had to tilt his head to fit in and looked like a cramped Jack in the Box, He gave his handkerchief to her and looked at her wiping her tears. They sat quiet for a minute.
"I used to play under this table when I was little," she began to speak, "my dad had to sit at the other side because I will be under the table with my dolls. I was always here when I was sad or heartbroken which was always. I just wanted to be here now with this stupid job cuts."
She started to tear up again, "Robert in shipping had a heart attack because he was worried about his job. He thought about it so much."
"Hey, hey you did not cause that. It.. Shit happens but you know we have to make this decision," he said.
"I can't. I can't," she cried, "I have known some of them my whole life. They have kids and because I could not do my job, they..."
"No Tamina no...if anything it's me who should be blamed. Look, I'll stay with you and we will get this done and we will give the notices as soon as possible. We will help them find jobs and everything will be fine. Now come on before my neck breaks. It is killing me right now," Dastan joked making Tamina smile.
He got out and reached his hand out to her. Dastan took her to the boardroom and took the summary papers of the staff out. He put the papers together and cut the top off so that their names were removed.
"Now I want you to look at the qualification and their previous performance and tell me the best candidate for the remaining seats. As terrible as it sounds, don't think about a person. Think about matching a profile to a seat," he smiled. He placed a profile on the center, "now, tell me about this employee."
Tamina stood with her hands crossed, her mind too stubborn to follow Dastan's guidance but finally she started talking. For the next four hours, Dastan helped Tamina go through the most difficult choice she had to make so far. It was closer to midnight when they were finished.
"Let me drop you home."
"No, I...I'm ok and I'll drive back."
With that she walked away leaving Dastan standing at the lobby. When she reached home, she took a family album out and looked at the old photographs of her parents including the first day they opened for business. She reached for her handbag for tissues and she came across Dastan's handkerchief. She never thanked him.
'Thank you for helping me. And you are right, it IS your fault!' she messaged.
Dastan was unable to sleep worried if she went home safe when his phone lit up. He read the message and satisfied that she is well. He turned to sleep. The next day she returned his handkerchief to him with a smirk, "I'm going to remember you carry handkerchiefs and make fun of you later."
Dastan and Tamina were working at the two sides of their tables when the conference room telephone began to ring. Dastan just hit the speaker button and continued working. "Hello?"
"Hey little brother, you lost your virginity yet to the …" before Garsiv can finish the sentence, Dastan almost jumped on to the table, fumbled the receiver and took it off speaker.
"Garsiv! Hello! You were on speaker there for a moment," he said and looked at Tamina who was continuing her work unaffected or so it seemed.
Garsiv laughed, "listen, we need you back for about a week."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why you idiot! You actually belong to this family so get your ass here because we are having an extraordinary general meeting," Garsiv said.
"What's that about?"
"Uncle is worried about Dad and he wants to spread some work around. Dad needs to take easy Dastan."
Dastan thought for a while, "I know Uncle means well but he seems very cogent.."
"Cogent? What you fucking ate the Oxford Dictionary there? Listen, I have to go but will email you the information and see you soon idiot," Garsiv said.
Dastan kept the receiver and looked occupied.
"Is everything alright Dastan?" Tamina asked.
"Oh yes… yes. They just want me back for about a week."
"Do you know when you will be back? The Beverage Association is having the Annual Dinner Dance and it is on the 12th. I was going to talk to you about it," Tamina said.
"Wow a dinner dance? Like a ball? And when I just thought it could not get any cheesier," Dastan laughed.
"Well I don't normally go but they are giving an award, well more like an achievement plaque for my father's work. They know this is the last time this company will belong to my family."
"Oh wow that is nice. Yes, I will be there. I will make it somehow," Dastan replied.
The time without Dastan was very strange for Tamina. She looked at his side of the table and noted how her days are dull without his amusing company. Dastan also missed the little fireball and looked forward to the daily business call they had so that he can keep up with things. It was the fourth day and it was now getting to the point where they strangely began to miss each other.
"That is all the agenda items," Tamina said.
"Great so I will talk to you again tomorrow," Dastan replied.
"It's Saturday."
"Oh ya… so then on Monday. We will talk on Monday," he said disappointed.
"Dastan before you go, we are allowed six slots for the Beverage Association event. I'm getting two tickets for Asoka and his wife. I was wondering if you were bringing a plus one so that I can get another ticket for you," Tamina said nervously.
"A date? Well are you brining one?"
"Of course not! Who do I have to bring?" Tamina replied.
"Well I will be single too at the event. It should be more of a business thing. So let's go single together."
"Yes, you're right. Good. Well I will speak to you on Monday," she replied and exited the conference call.
Unfortunately for Dastan, Garsiv was in the room."Ohhhh Dastan's going for a ball! A little Cinderella aren't you," Garsiv teased.
"Who is a Cinderella Daddy?"
Garsiv's little girl rushed to him and he carried her in a swift motion, kissing her cheek.
"Uncle Dastan is baby! He is a wery pwetty boy and he is going to ball because he thinks he is a prince and then the next morning Daddy will get a lot of money from Uncle Dastan."
"It is a Business event!"
"If you say so," Garsiv said as he left the room.
Dastan's niece went to him and lent against his knee, "Uncle Dastan, will there be princesses at the ball?" she asked innocently.
"Well, there will be one princess but not as pretty as you," he said as he kissed her. Suddenly, Dastan's mind went to Tamina's face. This is what it must be to miss someone.
He could not wait for Monday and when the call finally came through, it was a different Tamina on the other side. She was preoccupied and was not concentrating on the matters at hand so much so that she blanked out for a minute. Concerned at the change in Tamina, Dastan called Asoka privately.
"Asoka, hey um…listen is Tamina alright?"
"Dastan, you know I cannot…" Asoka hesitated.
"Look I'm just worried because she was so out of her element and you know how she is. This is not her."
Asoka was silent for some time and finally began speaking, "She found out that her ex-husband will be at the Beverage Association dinner. He is in town now."
"Wait, I thought he was diplomatic staff or something," Dastan asked confused.
"Family owns a company. That's how they met. But this and the retrenching of staff and being alone without you …it's just too much for her," Asoka trailed off.
Dastan kept the phone down and looked out of his office in New York. He was so far away and he could not be there for her. He opened his laptop and searched for an online florist. Picking the biggest arrangement of white lilies, he ordered it to be delivered to Tamina. He knew it will brighten her day up just as that day when she looked at the book Mr Carson gave.
As the days in New York ended, Dastan's mind was heavily occupied with the board meetings. Uncle Nizam seem to be very interested in the inaugural project the brothers are doing and he had been eager to 'lesson your father's workload' as he put it. It was just suspicion now but Dastan knew there was something being crafted.