Being Mrs Dantata

10

Throughout the month of November, Hanan was out of the office more than she was in it; being the busy bee (as Jonathan called her). She poured her heart and soul into the renovation work and anyone who saw her could attest to it.

Zayd found himself coming over to the interior company more often, even on days when he didn't have much to do. Each time he did, he stopped by the interior consultancy unit under the pretence of seeing Jonathan when in reality, he just wanted to catch a glimpse of Hanan. Unfortunately for him, each time he came over, she was out and the sight of her empty workstation annoyed him more than it should have. He kept his emotions in check though. He had to.

Getting through to her over the phone was work on its own. She hardly picked his calls and when she did reply work related messages (he realized that was the fastest way to get to her), she did so in a hurry. Did he hate that too? Yes, he did. Did he mention it to anyone? No, he didn't. He brushed his emotions off as him just being extra caring about her but there was a small part of him that told him he was lying. He paid that part of him no attention.

Daliya's lounge renovation went well and the space turned out better than everyone expected (even Hanan herself). Daliya sang Hanan's endless praises and Jonathan smiled proudly when he told Hanan "I told you, you could do it."

It made other members of the consulting unit more open towards her and they began to hold her in higher regard. As promised, Jonathan got her on-board Ciudad Lujosa's interior team, pairing her with Jane as she was the best bet. They kept the news under wraps, the same way information about the project was still being kept under wraps. Hanan didn't mind. If anything, she preferred it that way.

Due to a number of issues beyond their control, the interior work on the estate was scheduled to commence after the New Year. They – Hanan and Jane – were allocated an area in the vast property and provided with every single piece of information they needed including blueprints and photo books of the buildings in their allocated area.

The end of the year break was scheduled to start from Friday, December 18th and last until Monday, January 4th. Coincidentally, that was the same period Amal and her team were to leave for Malaysia and return.

It was heart-warming to watch her colleagues make plans for the festive season and Hanan did not mind the fact that no one really asked her what her plans were. If she was being honest, she didn't really have any. She wasn't going back home to Edo because she didn't want to go through the stress of the journey and she didn't see herself spending the break at Jimoh's house.

With a sigh, she tuned out her colleagues who continued making their plans and focused on the blueprint in front of her, telling herself that she was going to find something to keep her busy until the break ran out.

~*~

It was Thursday December 17th and there were origami butterflies and flowers on his desk. There were more of flowers than butterflies and Zayd could only stare at them, wondering how he had ended up making butterflies when the original plan was to make a bouquet for Amal.

He knew where the thoughts of butterflies came from but he didn't want to think about it. He just kept staring at the works he had created. He raised his head when the office door went open.

Amal peeped in and smiled at him. "Surprise!"

It was natural and perfectly easy to smile back. He pushed his chair back, standing as she walked into the office and closed the door behind her. "Someone closed from work early."

She walked over, smiling even wider. "I told them I had to go home and rest." She kissed him softly, smiling against his lips before pulling back. "They can't expect me to work the whole day and then travel tomorrow. I forbid it."