Thank you to Tahrima for helping edit this.
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The sound of the door slamming reverberates around the room. 21 year old Haleema Sulaiman could hear her parents arguing in the corridor.
"DID I RAISE A RANDI (whore)?!! SHE SHOULD BE MARRIED BEFORE SHE IS TOO OLD AND NO ONE WILL MARRY HER, LIKE YOUR SISTER." Haleema's father screamed at her Mother.
Haleema had recently graduated with honors in Psychology. She wanted to use this qualification to have a career and this was the cause of this rage and anger. Her mother always took the brunt of it and she bore the insults against her sister. Her Aunty never married and no one in the family really talked about it but her father always used it to insult her Mother. So Haleema soon realized this was something her father used to shame her mother. No one had even seen her aunt in the past decade, who was rumored to have been in a relationship with a Black man, a non Muslim. Which irked her father, but it didn't take a lot to irk her father.
"I understand. She will not be like my sister. I will make sure of that. Let her pursue this and I will take care of the rest." Her Mother reassures her Father. Haleema can hear the whole conversation despite them leaving the room. It hurt Haleema to see her beautiful mother's face burdened with such sadness, unlike her father, her mother Shazia had maintained her beauty and looks despite being in her mid 40's. Haleema had inherited her mother's beauty and looks.
Haleema was only 21 and there were so many changes in her life and new expectations on her shoulders. She knew her parents were planning her marriage but in many ways she was naive and did not understand the world.
She had never had a boyfriend or spoken to a boy alone for more than a minute. She had always been curious but there was so much she did not understand about her body and her desires. She was acutely aware it was a sin to think about boys or sexual things before marriage.
Her Mother told her the news but conveyed that it was conditional on her quitting the job once they arranged her marriage. Haleema was unable to hide her glee at hearing this and hugged her Mother.
Haleema began applying for jobs at various practices but she had missed the deadline for internships and was now struggling to get any call backs.
She lost count at the many places she had applied but there were no calls. She began to believe that God simply did not want her to have a career. She knew it was against her Father's wishes as he believed her role was as a dutiful daughter and then a dutiful wife. She was only allowed to go College because her parents hoped it would help her obtain better matches for marriage. They never intended for her to pursue a career. She had a younger brother who was studying to be a lawyer and his life was so much easier compared to hers.
It had been a month since she had applied but she had still had no replies. She had applied to all kinds of jobs in her field but there seemed to be no interest.
She had lost hope of finding a job when she received a call.
"Hello, this is Allison Allen from Therapy Matters. Am I speaking to Haleema Sulaiman?" The caller enquired.
Haleema sat up sharply as she all of a sudden realized this was her chance at a job. "Yes. Yes it is." She replied swiftly.
"We have recently come across your enquiry for a job and you are invited for an interview tomorrow at noon with Mr. Sloan." She had a matter of fact way of speaking and Haleema could not help but feel nervous.
The next morning Haleema wore her abaya and hijab. She wore a red abaya and hijab as she wanted it to seem different to the usual dreary black she wore. She wanted to make a good impression but sadly did not own any skirts or blouses that would make her look more professional. She also knew her Father would never allow her to wear such western clothing and she was lucky to be allowed to attend the interview. She never much enjoyed makeup and thought she should avoid it for her interview.
She arrived at a small office in the city. She did not know what she was expecting but she had pictured something bigger.
She was greeted by Allison who appeared to be mid to late 40's. She seemed pleasant but there was sternness to her as she welcomed Haleema. She gave Haleema a strange look as she eyed her clothing.
"Please take a seat; I will let Mr. Sloan know you are here." Allison tells Haleema.
Haleema picks up a magazine as she watches Allison return to her desk. Allison seems to be a secretary from what Haleema can gather. There do not appear to be any other employees.
"Mr. Sloan is ready to see you." Announces Allison. She showed her to the door for Mr. Sloan.
Mr. Sloan was a large man who appeared to be in his mid to late 50's. He was overweight as the years of fine dining and alcohol caught up with him. He was ugly and she found him unappealing. There was something about him that made Haleema feel uncomfortable. It was the way he looked at her up and down. She knew her dress was strange in this part of the world so excused these looks.
Haleema was right to feel uncomfortable at Mr. Sloan's look. Unlike Allison, Mr. Sloan was looking with another intention; Haleema never really understood how her feminine assets affected males. Her Father knew all too well and hated the idea of his virgin daughter working in the world of perverted men. Mr. Sloan had noticed that despite her loose dress that she had a large pair of tits and the dress could not even contain the juiciness of her fat ass.
"Please take a seat, is it Hal-eema? Am I pronouncing that right?" He queried. "Yes. That is fine. Thank you for the interview." She said nervously. She never expected him to get it right but she was glad to just be given the opportunity.
"Let me get straight to it. I am working to digitize my files. So I need an assistant to type up my case files on to the new system. I see this will be your first job in the field and it will be a great opportunity for you to study case files and maybe down the line I will let you get some hands on experience." He explained to her.
"I want to learn and I would be grateful for the opportunity." Haleema said eagerly.
"I am a straight talking man so I am just going to tell you straight. I deal with sexual deviancy. Some of my patients are ex-convicts or current prisoners. I just mean well, will you have a problem with that?" He said as he pointed to her dress. Haleema immediately felt uncomfortable at this suggestion and felt a little defensive.
"No, it is not a problem." She replied with a strong tone.
"I am just curious. Are you married?" Mr. Sloan asked.
"No, Sir. Why do you ask?" Haleema wondered about the relevance.