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It was daunting to walk into a room full of people with eyes on her. She was feeling elated and nervous at the same time. She wished he were here, but it was her mistake that she didn't inform him earlier about the event. She knew she was nominated for the award but didn't think she would actually win it. Earlier this morning, she was informed that she won it. She called him first to share her excitement.

"I won... I won..." Nazli kept shrieking.

"Won... won what?" Ferit asked not able to guess the reason behind her excitement.

It slowly dawned on her that she didn't tell him anything about the event this evening.

"Remember I told you I have to attend an event this evening." She tried to ease him into the news knowing how upset he'll be that she didn't tell him earlier.

"Yea Women in FinTech event, I heard there's an award ceremony today.  Some of my colleagues were talking about it earlier." He didn't hear the full discussion but some of his colleagues were making plans about this evening.

"I was nominated but thought I didn't stand a chance to win" She should have informed him earlier, but it somehow escaped her mind among all the other things that happened.

"And you didn't even mention it to me till now..." He was disappointed to hear about it now.

"Would it help if I told you that I called you as soon as I heard I won" She was trying to placate him.

"May be a little, we'll discuss that later but first Congratulations Nazli..." He was proud of her.

"Thanks, Ferit... I'll call you later... I've a mob of people approaching me now" She saw her team gathering around her desk.

"I'll check and cancel the evening appointment" He said but she cut him.

"Ferit you will do no such thing. It is a reputed magazine, and you'll give the interview as scheduled. Speak to you later." She cut the call.

xxx

"Nazli" She heard a voice call out and turned around to see the person with a smug look on his face.

"Ah Osman... how are you?" She said cursing internally but with a smile on her face.

"It's been long since we last met, and I see you're still stuck to your principles" He said, noticing the surroundings.

"It has, and I'm delighted I did." She couldn't believe meeting him like this. Last she met him was due to a forced date set up by Cansu. She couldn't believe she met someone like him who looked down upon her and ridiculed her ideas.

"Congratulations Nazli..." She felt a kiss on her cheek and an arm engulfing her in a hug. She finally caught up with his eyes and could see his genuine admiration.

"Ferit Aslan" Osman's voice brought them out of their reverie.

"Yes. Have we met before?" Ferit asked Osman as he tried to recollect if he knew the person addressing him.

"We would have if you didn't cancel the interview today." Osman said with a spite in his voice.

"Ah sorry... couldn't miss this for the world" He took Nazli's hand and kissed on her knuckles.

"Aren't you exaggerating a little? I told you it's not a big deal." Nazli raised an eyebrow. She did not insist him to join her though she secretly hoped he did.

"This is my husband Ferit Aslan and Ferit this is Osman Ali." Nazli told with a glint in her eye facing Ferit, feeling every bit proud as she turned to see the expression on Osman's face.

"I can't believe you cancelled the interview for this... Thanks to you I had been sent to cover this" Osman was interrupted as few of Ferit's colleagues joined them.

"Ferit, won't you introduce us to this gorgeous woman for whom I had to sneak you in?" Ms.Iqbal Ferit's senior joined him.

"Nazli, this is Ms. Iqbal and thanks for this." Ferit thanked her for arranging his pass.

"Hello Nazli, nice to meet you... Ferit's just pulling my leg now... I just had to mention his name and the organizers were more than happy to oblige knowing the media attention he would pull.  I was meaning to organize a dinner to meet you."  Ms. Iqbal looked at Ferit's and Nazli's confused faces.

"For starters I'm interested in one of the initiatives you set up for encouraging young women into tech and finance. Also, to thank you for Ferit. I've been trying to persuade him for a long time to move here and join my team, but he came up with excuses every time." Ms. Iqbal could work out that Nazli was the reason for Ferit's impromptu move.

"I told you already it was because I couldn't turn down the project you offered" Ferit joked, and Ms. Iqbal just rolled her eyes in response.

"It'll be my pleasure to hear your ideas." Nazli said knowing this lady was among the few big names in the finance sector.  Ms. Iqbal left promising to make some time in her calendar soon. Ferit joined her as she wanted to introduce him to the board leaving Nazli with Osman.

"He didn't have to come. A small achievement in proportion to his accolades, yet here he is..." She walked away to join Ferit.

"Everything okay?" He whispered in her ear, as he noticed her tense when she spoke to Osman.

"I went out with him a couple of years ago, it just brought back memories of how dismissive he was. Thanks for coming." She slipped her hand into his and a smile lit her face expressing her joy, enough for him to understand that his presence meant a lot to her.

"You look fabulous by the way and I can't wait to celebrate once we're back home" He admired her, and she gave him a slight nudge to be aware of his surroundings.

xxx

Happy women's day :) Earning more or less, working or non-working doesn't matter... every woman needs to be respected and supported :) sorry for being preachy but a recent conversation triggered this