Page 102 of An Accidental Flatmate

“She does have her own special knock.” Raed Hariri rose to his feet. “Does Hunter know what you want?” He came around the desk toward Cas.

“He knows.”

“I’m glad we had this chat.” His father kissed him. “Better open the door before she knocks it down.

Cas’s mother stood on the other side of the door. “The dining table works better. It at least has chairs for everyone.”

Cas and his father dutifully followed her into the other room, where Maha and Zahra, his second sister, were already seated. Hunter lounged against the large sideboard. Cas’s mum had set a jug and water glasses on the table, ice and slices of lemon in bowls beside them. Cas stopped between his sisters, squeezed Maha’s shoulder and bent to kiss Zahra’s cheek. “It seems like forever since I saw you, Zaza.”

“That’s because you’re worse than Dad when it comes to work.” She softened her response with a smile. As a hospital intern, she was no slouch herself.

“How many favours did you have to call in to get off this early?” Maha asked.

“No more than you. Hunt has more control over his hours, and I guess Cas’s boss can’t complain if once in a while his lead artistic talent leaves at the standard time.”

“I often leave at the standard time.” This was an old family debate.

“Children, do we have to do this every time?” Hunter mimicked Cas’s mother’s voice, which made her giggle, before taking the seat beside Cas. Sisters on one side, brothers on the other with his father at the head and his mother at the foot. Cas couldn’t remember when they’d settled on their seating arrangements, but it worked. The build-up of tension that had nearly overwhelmed him in the last week leaked away.

“You have the floor, Cas.”

Hunter nudged Cas with his shoulder; his way of showing how much it meant to him to be part of the Hariri family.

“We’re listening.” Maha spoke for all of them.

“As you know we almost lost The Hariri—”

“The name of the building should go,” Cas’s mother interjected, throwing a hand in the air. “You only did that to prove to your grandfather that you had a name in Australia.”

“The only reason we didn’t lose the building was that first Casildo, then Hunter stepped in. Between you, you gave me room to manoeuvre,” Raed said.

Cas stood. Interruptions and digressions were a family tradition. “Has anyone remembered I have the floor?”

“Speak then,” Maha said,” I’ve got a date.”

Cas’s mother and sister swivelled to stare at Maha, but she’d won him clear air.

“I’m launching my textile printing business.” He skipped the preliminaries he’d planned. “I need suitable premises and a line of credit to provide a safety net in the first two years.”

“Because the first two years of a new business are the toughest?” Zahra planned to open a GP practice with her husband, and had probably already done more due diligence than Cas.

Cas had other reasons, but he wasn’t sharing. Yet.

“What do you need from us?” Maha studied him. They’d always been close; she’d always been protective of him, then him and Hunt.

“Support, mostly. Dad’s already paid me back the money I lent him. I’ve chatted to my boss, and we’ve negotiated a consultancy, plus I’ll do some training sessions for them. So, I’ll have a separate stream of income. I can sell some designs as well as run my own line.”

“You offered everything you had, Cas. Your mother and I know that. We want to do more,” Raed interrupted.

“We all know that,” Zahra cut in, surprising Cas.

Cas had intended to tell his father everything before anyone else arrived, but maybe this was better. “I’ve asked Hunter to provide the premises.”

There was a moment of silence, when he thought his father was offended, then Raed nodded.

“He’ll be a partner,” Cas finished.

“Minor,” Hunter added, but his family digested the words that weren’t said. Hunter had refused a partnership when Raed Hariri offered it, but had agreed to a partnership when Cas had seen sense and asked for Hunter’s help.

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