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“Azeem, Azeem Bhai, it’s me, wait up please, you made me run”, Zaem was panting. “It’s late, I have been waiting for you to finish your meeting with Baba all this time, but you took ages, was it the discussion of the new aeroplane”, he said in a jovial mood.
“No, we were just discussing the overall statistics and the cola business, and some other things related to some transportation stuff”, Azeem tried to reconstruct the meeting but he was lost.
Hakim had cast the spell that had broken the resolve that Azeem had built for years. This is how easy it is for people of wealth and power; dismember your prey while it’s still alive and savour the sweetness of slow death. Azeem would now become a part of history thrown in the garbage bin of memories and someone else would join the caravan of misery, one leaves and a hundred wait in line to be exploited, the cruel reality of today’s corporate world, more so in countries like Pakistan where the futures of thousands revolve around the mood of a single decision maker.
“Can we talk for a bit if you are not in hurry”, Zaem could sense the cracks.
“Yes, why not, you don’t have to ask me about this Zaem, would you like to talk here or shall we go inside”, Azeem was trying to put together the words.
“The weather is nice so let’s walk around and talk, there is no need to go to the office, don’t we spend too much time there already”, he tried to find some humour in the situation.
“Sure, let's walk, walking is good, we don’t have time for exercise anyway so come”, What did he want to talk about? What is it that the son and father want from me? Get your damn cola and leave me alone, Azeem could hear voices in his head.
“Azeem Bhai, you know I would love to call you Bhai but then the office decorum comes into play and it had been really hard for me to forgo the formality; I truly hope that you would understand?”, he anxiously waited for an answer.
“Is this why he wanted me to talk to him, is this all the boy wants? These guys have very small and sensitive issues, different from us, they live in a strange world with walls separating them from the commoners”, the voice told Azeem to play along.
