Of Bros and Princesses

Gauhar's POV

I furrowed my brows in confusion, this new piece of information changing my entire perception of the situation of the company "Huh? We had a profit?"

My bewildered question was ignored by everyone in the room.

"No, we haven't gotten any profit son, in fact our company has been regularly incurring losses, due to which your father has had to sell most of his shares just so that the employment is sustained."

Looking at me he added "don't worry about your shares here Gauhar, they have been untouched. But Muqeet's part has been sold with his consent."

Muqeet shrugged at that, as of he couldn't care less what they did with his shares.

His dark eyes were sombre as they focussed on Muqeet, his voice showing how hopeless he felt the situation was "And now when he asked you to take the reins for the place, you have refused." He smiled bitterly.

Muqeet averted his eyes, his fists clenching as he tried to control himself "you know better than I do that

I can't do anything for the company. Which is why I fail to understand why you keep forcing me to take the lead."

He stood up in anger, his blazing eyes fixed at uncle as he continued "I cannot take responsibility for that place. And frankly, I don't want to."

I could see that he was determined to get his way this time, even if he had to use words that were sharper than blades to ensure his success.

"You are the reason your father is here, you know that right?" uncle retorted, his voice strangely calm, laced with an emotion I couldn't quite place my finger on.

But it left a strange feeling in my stomach nonetheless.

Muqeet walked towards the door and turned around to scoff at uncle "Rich of you to say that innit uncle? Considering you were the one handling that customer."

With that he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him, the sound causing everyone left in the room to wince.

His words seemed to hang heavy in the silence, I noticed uncle shift in his seat, his eyes that were trained on the ground, occasionally darting towards father as if checking to see the damage his son had wrought on him and ensuring that he was alright.

As his eyes met with father's he flushed slightly, averting his eyes he focussed his gaze on the white tiles under his feet "I'm sorry Muqeet, their lawyer was as good , if not better than me."

His voice was shaking with emotions as he spoke, covering his face with his hands he continued "They struck up a good defence and threatened to sue us if we refused to refund them, I couldn't risk the company's reputation so I decided that the only option we had was to concede in the end. We were already incurring a huge loss, I didn't think we could afford getting a bad name in the market."

I felt a twinge of pity for uncle as I saw his tears leak from between his fingers. Maybe he was right, we couldn't let our company have a bad reputation, which would cause us to lose any future deals we could potentially make.

But what I couldn't understand was why Muqeet had said that we had made a profit from that deal when everyone told me otherwise. And what was even puzzling was, who within the company had ruined the materials we sent.

I looked at the ceiling as I tried to make sense of the situation, was it the people at Tremblay and Co. who had hoodwinked us out of our money? Or was it someone from within?

The only way to find that out was to speak to them, and wait for Daniya complete her analysis of the accounts I had stolen.

"I was in Birmingham this week to check if we could demand our money back, but sadly nothing can be done. The company is adamant on getting a refund." he said running a hand through his dark brown hair, which were now flecked with white.

I silently studied the wrinkles on his face and the dark bags under his eyes that indicated how tired he was, life wasn't easy on him and it showed.

"Maybe, they are lying. I hate to see that they can take advantage of our position like this. I hate that they can threaten us with ruining our reputation, it disappoints me to see that anyone could stoop so low, just for getting money." I rubbed a finger under my chin as I chewed my lips in contemplation.

I felt bad for uncle, he had tried his best, and I couldn't imagine how crushed he might have felt for not being able to do anything about it.

But what surprised me the most was the fact that someone was able to rival him at his work, he was one of the best lawyers I knew.

No matter how much I tried I found it difficult to believe that he had given his all for this case.

The ringing of a phone shook me away from my thoughts, making me focus my attention towards uncle, whose eyes widened upon seeing who had called him. I felt curious as he excused himself out of the room, rushing out to answer whoever it as on the other side.

As I racked my brains to understand who it might be that elicited such an extreme reaction from him, the door creaked open again.

As I looked up at the entrance, marvelling at how soon uncle had returned, my eyes widened as instead of the onyx eyes of my uncle, a familiar pair of honey brown eyes came into my view. I couldn't help feel less than pleased as he invited himself into the room, taking the seat that Muqeet had recently vacated.

Ahmed Quadri was decidedly one of those people that made me feel irritated merely by being there, which was saying something, considering that right now he was flashing a set of perfect teeth at me that would definitely melt the heart of any lady.

Good thing I wasn't a lady and was hence immune to his charm.

"I'm glad you're doing better now Gauhar dear." He patted my head kindly, upon which I forced a smile, nodding my head politely.

"Yes I am thank you for asking."

"How are you? My man Abdullah!" he began in jovial tones as he beheld my father.

Father who had been silent throughout the exchange between uncle and Muqeet seemed to come out of a reverie as his eyes landed on his friend.

Mr. Quadri seemed to sense father's mood, which was evidently down. His dark eyes lacking any emotion as he watched us.

I could sense that he was trying to lighten the mood, and although his approach didn't get the desired reaction out of his friend he did not give up. His manner became increasingly boisterous as he slapped his hand fathers back startling me.

Surprisingly father didn't seem to mind as he merely raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"My word Abdullah your state right now reminds me of a blown out light bulb. Which is a pity since you were supposed to be the smart one among us."

"My appearance has nothing to do with my intelligence Quadri." Father pointed out, making me smile "This statement of yours just goes to prove exactly why I am the smart one among us."

Considering that he had just been insulted, Uncle Quadri looked way too happy to be considered normal "Ah there you are Siddique, I was afraid I had lost you."

Father's lips lifted into a weak smile, some colour returning into his face which made me let out a breath in relief "I'm alright Ahmed, whatever do you think happened to me? I'm alright, as you can observe I'm sure." He gestured towards himself, clad in a hospital gown with a number of needles injected into him "Clearly as fit as ever. You should know by now that I'm not so easy to knock out." father grinned at him.

Watching their exchange I was forced to wonder if he actually thought he was fit or he was just employing some good old sarcasm.

"Why Quadri, you seem to have taken me for a goner." Father raised an eyebrow at him, his dark eyes twinkling "Did you by any chance cry your eyes out thinking you would never be able to enjoy my bewitching company?"

Uncle Quadri chuckled at father's words, he shook his head as he patted father's hand "Well I did make quite good use of the tissues Muqeet brought, but it was all to wipe the drool off your face. Man! Your mouth flows like a river when you sleep, I can't imagine how Hadiya handles it."

I smiled at the exchange, at least the heart attack had not affected his sense of humour, he was still my father, though considerably weakened, but still the same strong man from within.

And just as witty as always

"You seemed to have gone into a kind of stupor. I didn't know your heart was so weak Siddique, you completely fainted on me, like a goddamn princess that pricked her finger on a spindle. I fear that your delicate constitution may not even be able to handle my robust presence at this point." Uncle Quadri added dramatically, flashing a challenging smirk at father.

Father merely grinned at this seemingly enjoying the banter.

"Anyway, what even happened?" he leaned back into his chair "Did Hadiya get air of the affair you were holding behind her back?" the cheeky smile lighting up his face did not help me from choking my own spit, I knew my eyes were as wide as saucers as I saw father grin at me.

Clearly he was enjoying my distress, which made it difficult for me to understand whether I should be happy that he was finally smiling, or if I should be angry.

"What did you peg me for eh Quadri? I'm not an amateur like you, I know how to handle my business perfectly." father said turning towards his friend a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes at their banter, realising that men would always be the same with their 'bros' no matter what age they were at.

Seeing father in a better mood, I decided to walk outside, desperately needing some alone time to go through my thoughts. I sighed as I got up and walked out of the door, turning back and giving father a final smile as I walked away, gently closing the door behind me.