"THE CASE HAS been dismissed"

Aslam's brows drew in, eyes squinting at nothing in particular while his lips slanted into a frown. Beads of sweat coated his forehead, his shoulders raising, then falling. "What do you mean it has been dismissed?"

The man on the other end sighed, "It's just as I said. It has been swept under the rug" He paused, letting out a small, harsh, breath yet again. Though Aslam couldn't see him, he could imagine the man massaging his temple or flickering his eyes close. "But from the bits I could get, the deceased didn't have any family members that were with him, kagane? And let's face it, kasan kasar tamu"

"Because there's no one to stand for the case..." Aslam tried to put the pieces together. "...someone high up had it covered" It would be easy since that's the case. Had it been the deceased has someone who could stand for him and demand justice, maybe, just maybe in this country, it wouldn't have been dismissed that easily.

"Exactly. Once the superiors chose to bury it, kai ma kasan it has to be someone powerful up above and there's nothing we can do about it"

"And doesn't that ring any bells to you?"

"What do you mean? I mean, I get that if it's involving someone powerful then there has to be more than what meets the eye"

Aslam nodded, despite knowing the man can't see him. "That's precisely my point" He blew out a ragged breath. "The whole thing is suspicious, Haroon. I mean, it can't be a coincidence that a man involved in a hit and run accident died at HGH, and a doctor is being framed for it. Not to mention what you just said now, the case has been buried by someone high" He refuse to believe it's a coincidence-it's too good to be that.

Anyone can see through it.

Haroon, Aslam's best friend and a police officer, believed the same. "It surely doesn't sound like one" He had been working under the police force for years, and never had he seen something like this labeled as a coincidence. It can't be. Especially not in Nigeria.

"My point exactly"

"Well, that aside, have you figured out the man you grandfather spoke to?" Perhaps, if they know who it is, it might help them with their current situation.

"No..." Aslam reached his hand out to turn off the treadmill, as he heaved slightly before stepping down. "...Irfan hasn't found a thing yet. It's taking longer than expected" He picked up a grey towel placed on the hand bar to wipe his face. Once he was done, he placed it back.

"It's actually understandable, considering it's been too long" Haroon paused, "But I'm sure something will come up soon"

"In shaa Allah" Aslam then picked up his phone from where he had placed it, along with the water bottle beside it as he walked out of the workout room in the Abd Al-Rasheed residence. Perhaps it has something to do with his old man being a soldier, but the man surely loved working out so he had a room with the necessities at home. Aslam and Yazid-before he moved out, took advantage of the place instead of going elsewhere.

"Are you coming over today? Yasmine won't stop blaming me. Wai ni na hanaka zuwa"

Aslam's lips stretched into a grin as he chuckled lightly, heading in the direction of his room. "It's nice she finally learnt to stay home. I swear that girl is always here, and later she'll claim she's married"

"You know how your sister is"

"Laifin ka ne ai. You're her husband, and yet you allow her to come here all the time"

"Ah ah!" Haroon exclaimed, "She's blaming me because you refuse to visit and you're blaming me because she's visiting. You two need to stop ganging up on me ko dake this is what I get for marrying my best friend's sister" He believes Aslam is exaggerating it by saying she's always home. How would he know when he has been residing in Egypt? It just so happens the girl likes to come home whenever he is around to catch up and all, and then Aslam being Aslam, is claiming she's home all the time.

But Aslam knew the truth, and simply chose to pull his friend's leg. "I'll drop by soon in shaa Allah but not today. I'm going to HGH today since I can't stay jobless"

"Am I hearing you right? Allahu akbar! Allah yayi. Malam Aslamu Abdulrasheed has finally decided to get a job in Nigeria"

Aslam shook his head, as he reached his bedroom. Leave it to Haroon to tease him about this. After all, he had been bugging him to return to Nigeria and get a 'real' job as he likes to call it. "Haruna ka fita a idona" He said, closing the door behind him.

Instead of replying, Haroon chortled. "No but tell me the truth, have you finally decided to settle down with that doctor of yours? Iye?"

Aslam's smile fell at the mention of Aisha. What is he supposed to say? Given, she is one of the reasons he decided to work in HGH and stay in Nigeria. He could've chosen to stay in Cairo with his grandmother since she is left with Hisham's wife all alone-Mami and Huda returned too, but the girl will go back eventually since she schools there. However, it goes beyond Aisha. There's this issue with Hisham, and the mystery surrounding it entirely.

He needs to stay in HGH and figure out how to overcome it. His grandfather made him a major shareholder for that reason. If he doesn't do it, who would? He can't let it all fall on Taslim's shoulder alone. She can only handle so much.

And as for Aisha, it has been two days since that dinner and he still isn't able to get a hold of her. Jannah told him she had been shutting her out too. At least, when it came to him she chose to close herself off completely so she hasn't really gotten to her.

He honestly doesn't even know what to do anymore.

"Hello, Aslam. You still there?" Haroon's voice came, snapping him out of the small trance he found himself in.

"Yeah, I'm here" He blew out a breath, his shoulders sagging. "Listen man, let's talk later, okay? I'm running late"

"Alright man, no worries. And say hi to our doctor for me" Before Aslam could retort, he ended the call with a chuckle.

~*~

Soft footsteps filled the quiet hallway. Aisha's lips were set into a tight line as she followed the man that will take her to her destination. He is a man of few words, that much she could tell but he was friendly towards her-a contrast to the man that led her to the Deputy director's office about a week ago.

The current situation she found herself in felt like the last time, except this time, she's meeting someone different. She heard they have gotten a new Chairman or more like Chairwoman and she knows who it is. Jannah-who happens to be a self-proclaimed newscaster told her about it the day it happened.

Which, considering what happened two days ago, made her hesitant about the whole meetup that she found herself in right now.

Just yesterday, she received a message from Chief Wali which said the Chairwoman wants to see her-for some reason. It's not normal for someone as ordinary as her, a doctor to be precise, to simply be summoned by someone amongst the higher-ups.

She wanted to reject it, not wanting to meet the woman under any circumstance but the rational part of her won. She thought about it and realized personal issues aside, she still hasn't resigned which makes her a worker in HGH and the Chairwoman is still her boss.

She's in enough trouble as it is, she wouldn't want another reason for her to be fired and sued for what the Deputy Director plotted against her. Which, is why, she found herself being escorted to the office by the man she met by the elevator whom is apparently sent to get her.

"Miss, you can go in" His voice came, as they stopped by the door leading to the office.

Aisha tried to offer him a smile but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. "Thank you" She opted to say instead, and then went forth to knock on the door. She didn't wait for an answer though, because technically the man did tell her to go in. Pushing the door open, she stepped in with a salaam which was answered almost immediately.

Her gaze fell on the woman sitting behind a huge raven executive desk on a leather upholstered chair. Aisha didn't miss the light brown wood wall cladding, golden accents and a crystal chandelier hanging amidst the debonair office. On normal occasions, she's a sucker for interior design but at the moment, it was the last thing on her mind so she didn't pay heed to it much.

The woman looked up, her lips graciously slanting upwards into a wide smile. "Aisha, welcome" She pushed the chair back and made her way towards Aisha who stood with a blank expression.

To be honest, she couldn't find it in herself to even fake a smile or anything of that sort. At the moment, the woman isn't exactly on her like list. She was two years ago, even though she had only met her for a couple of minutes once. Still, she thought of her as nice person she wouldn't mind getting along with.

Taslim didn't miss Aisha's half lidded eyes that were staring at her blankly; arms hanging limply by her side. She didn't take it to heart though, and instead, closed the distance between them by extending her hand out for a handshake.

Aisha threw the hand a glance, but nevertheless held it offering her a polite, but not genuine small smile. She couldn't help but take in the outfit Taslim is donning. She had on a white high neck top, covered with a Houndstooth belted blazer and matching slit front pants with black Christian Louboutin ankle strap sandal that made her look taller than she is-taller than Aisha. Her hair was covered, though she did push back the scarf covering it slightly, leaving luscious black hair in sight.

Though Aisha tried to mask it, she felt intimidated by this woman. Taslim looked like the epitome of perfection. She looks exactly like those picture perfect business women you would see on TV or magazines with the way she effortlessly pulled off her outfit. Despite wearing heels, she moved with grace that didn't seem to take her any effort. Her smile, only made her features pop out more.

Who wouldn't love her? Certainly, no man.

No wonder Aslam ended up with her. Aisha thought bitterly. She honestly had nothing against Taslim, she just felt jealous and threatened because she knew she could never compare to the woman.

She is a Chairlady for that matter! Of a hospital as big as HGH. Only God knows the money she makes by the hour, not to mention her family is loaded too.

She probably has no worries. Aisha thought yet again as she slipped her hand out of the woman's soft ones. Heck, even her hands are perfect.

Is she even human?

"Come, please take a seat" Taslim's smile widened, hoping it would seem warm to the woman as she gestured to the sofa in the corner of the office. While Aisha made her way towards the sofa, she personally fetched a bottle of water, a glass cup, and a bowl of grapes and apples for her which she all placed on a tray. Taking it to Aisha, she placed on the small coffee table beside the sofa. "Have something to eat please"

"No, thank you" Aisha shook her head, fixing her umber veil that fell off her shoulder. She felt conscious of herself in her simple fossil colored abaya. She truly looks beautiful in it, despite it being simple and everyone can testify to that but she was too caught up in Taslim's glory that she failed to see that.

Taslim wanted to push her more into eating something, but decided against it as she nodded slightly. "Okay. It's nice to see you again. I was hoping we'd meet under better circumstance"

Aisha offered her a tight lipped smile not knowing what to say. What would she say exactly? She wasn't hoping to meet Taslim at all, so she can't say she feels the same way.

Seeing as Aisha didn't want to say anything to her, Taslim thought of saying something again. "You look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you"

Aisha quirked a brow slightly, wondering if she's making fun of her. A few seconds of scrutiny later, she came to a conclusion that the woman was being honest. "Thank you"

"You're welcome"

For the next couple of minutes, no words were exchanged between the two as Aisha looked away, tapping her foot on the floor repeatedly. She was hoping Taslim would just get to the point and get this over and done with. Taslim on the other hand, was looking for the right thing to say so as to not upset Aisha. But, she couldn't come up with the right thing to say which led to her chuckling lightly-gaining Aisha's attention.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." She paused, offering Aisha a small grin. "...this feels so awkward"

Aisha offered her a small shrug, her lips slanting upwards into a small, genuine smile. Taslim was right. The silence is awkward.

Taslim clasped her hands together in front of her, folding her lips as she thought of the right words to use yet again. She didn't want to say anything that will make the girl detest her more than she already does. She's not stupid, she can tell Aisha isn't exactly a fan of her and she understands where she's coming from. "I'll just get to the point. I called you here for so many reasons but first, I feel like there's a misunderstanding we need to clear"

Aisha rose a brow slightly, wondering if this is will be the point where Taslim would warn her to stay away from Aslam because he's her husband. Maybe she'll even fire her while she's on it-the hospital is hers anyway. If it is, Aisha wouldn't be surprised.

"I heard you know a certain Hamza, yeah?"

"Hamza?" Aisha's head tilted to the side slightly. She wasn't expecting that.

Taslim nodded, "Yes" She confirmed, "The same man that told you there is something going on between me and Aslam"

Aisha sighed loudly, "Look, Miss Taslim--"

"On God, no, please...just call me Taslim" Miss Taslim made her feel like an old woman. God knows she wouldn't want anyone to call her that, especially not Aisha. She has to be around the same age she is.

"I can't call you that. You're still technically the Chairwoman of the hospital I work in"

"I prefer the term Chairlady" Taslim corrected, her lips stretching into a teasing smile, "And technically, you have the major shareholder of the hospital you work in chasing you, and I don't think you call him Mr. Aslam" She didn't miss the way Aisha looked away when she said that.

Aisha couldn't help it. She didn't exactly understand what Taslim said but she did understand the Aslam chasing her part. And although she didn't want to acknowledge it, she couldn't deny it either. Heck she didn't even want to. But, she has to. So, she put on her indifferent expression on yet again. "Please don't say that" She wouldn't the woman to have any wrong thoughts. "I don't want you think there's something going on between me and your husband because there isn't"

"Aisha"

She hummed, waiting for the whole 'stay away from my husband' conversation that will come her way.

Taslim shook her head, chuckling lightly. The action seemed so weird to Aisha, which had her staring at Taslim warily. When her chuckle died down, Taslim stared at Aisha with an amused expression. "Aisha, Aslam and I aren't married. We will never be"

"Excuse me, what?"

~*~

Jumuat Mubarak and Eid Mubarak!

Am I the one only that isn't feeling the whole Eid vibe though? No henna nothing nothing. Sha sha, all is well.

I totally forgot I'm supposed to update today. Besides, I wasn't really feeling the vibe one bit but all is well.

I don't really have much to say for today's AN so byeee. Oh and please, include me in your prayers please.

Love, Jannah.