“There's a risk to everything” Leila would say, rubbing her thumb gently over Amir’s round cheeks. Now that he was all grown up, he missed her so badly that he would hug the only dress he had of her from time to time.
source
She had been his comfort zone until old age snatched her from him. Taking her subtly in her sleep.
He rubbed his fingers over his eyes and released a deep breath. Miriam would be far away in slumberland by now, he couldn't ask her either.
“I'll give you a response by tomorrow Camil” he typed back. He could see three dots dancing just beside Camil’s name.
“Tick tock, Amir”
It wasn't like setting up an online bank was such a bad idea, it was too risky. Amir knew what it felt like to be called a failure, He knew what it was like to starve so his baby could have some crumbs to feed on for dinner. He was never going back to such a life. If he ventured into this deal Camil was proposing, he could lose much of what he had worked so hard for.
He turned the framed picture of Leila which smiled back at him from his desk, trailing his fingers over her wrinkled face.
“I don't know what to do Leila. I wish you were here to rub my cheeks. That alone would give me ideas….”
“Isn't it too late to sit out here, talking to yourself?” Miriam wore that lacy kaftan she got in Dubai, She had a sleepy smile on, like she was in a trance.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” he rose to take her hands in his.
“I didn't see my husband in bed. What are you up to?”
Even if he would eventually speak with her about it, he would do that in the morning. Amir shooed her back to bed, turning the lights off and climbing in with her.
“Let's go to sleep now, we'll talk in the morning.”
Before his alarm chimed 5, Miriam rose to turn it off, preferring him to wake up from the soothing rub of her hands. This time when she rose to turn it off, he placed his hands on hers.
“Let it be. I'm up already.”
She watched him throughout the morning, he had a fold in between his brows and stayed on his cup of coffee till it got cold.
“You're not okay,” she said as if diagnosing him with something infectious. Amir grunted, He was like this when he had something really important on his mind.
Miriam sighed, heading over to rub her magical hands over his shoulder muscles.
“You need to relax Ami….” he sagged a little under the firmness of her hands then leaned in when they traveled up the base of his neck. “Do you want to talk to me about what's wrong?”
He held her hands to still her, then turned his swivel chair so he could look into her hazel eyes.
“I got a proposal from Camil..”
“Camil? Of Camil oil?” Amir nodded “You two know each other?” Amir shrugged.
“He's a big patron of the credit unionI used to work for.”
“What does he want?” Amir sighed and led her to the chair opposite his.
“He wants to start up an online banking system in cooperation with the credit union.”
“How do you come in?”
“He wants me to be a partner too. Camil helped me put in a word to Fareedah who gave me this job I have, it's almost like I owe him”.
Miriam reached out to touch his leg.
“What is at stake?”
“A lot of money. If the system fails or something goes wrong, we can lose most of what we've spent a lot of time trying to build.”
“Let me get this online banking stuff straight. What is it about?”
“It's just giving people an opportunity to access their banksand perform transactions using the Internet.”
Miriam bent her head to the side like she did when something sounded unbelievable.
“Isn't that dangerous? There are fraudsters everywhere!”
“I know, It's actually really convenient though. You can do whatever you want to on your account from the comfort of your home”
“There is no life without risks Ami. We cannot be too safe. Sometimes, we just have to trust ourselves and go head-on with what we have to do. This is great for us if it works”
It was as if Leila finally spoke to him in Miriam’s voice, he could see her kind eyes reassuring him that everything would be okay.
“You sound just like Leila” he turned to his grandmother’s picture and returned her smile then took Miriam’s hand in his.
“I'll give it a try, for you and Leila’s sake”.
More from iska
Procrastination - An investment in stress for your future
Financial desperation can ruin you
Marriage in the high society - a dangerous business
Entitlement & the consequences of expecting rewards without contributing value
Creative Monopoly - Significance of discovering new secrets in business
Building Trust & Affinity fosters stronger connections with clients, customers, & partners
Investment portfolio takes one farther than they can ever know
Those who fall for Ponzi Schemes are driven by greed, desperation, & a lack of planning
The paradoxical nature of risks - The upside is directly proportional to the downside
Technology - prioritizing vision over quick profits led to the creation of iconic innovations
Have no sunk cost and you will be able to adapt to change
Fraud - Market Manipulation & Ponzi Schemes
When you plan - take possible Consequences, Obstacles & Twist of Fortune into account