Her

"...Yes...thank you, sir! I won't let you down."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Rang my alarm bringing me back to reality. Ughhh, another day to face today. I checked the time, eyes widening.

What the heck?!?

It's 8 AM already. Damn it, I will be late for the meeting...

I scrambled out of bed, throwing on clothes and rushing through my morning routine. I barely had time to glance in the mirror before bolting downstairs.

"Ma, I am leaving. I have an important client meeting today."

"Tara, have your breakfast," Ma called from the kitchen, her voice carrying a note of worry. I grabbed two apples from the fruit bowl on the dining table and stuffed them into my bag.

"I'll have it in the office, Ma..." I said, glancing at the clock with a mix of frustration and urgency.

"Uff, this girl doesn't take care of herself. And remember, we need to pick up things for tomorrow's party."

I slapped my forehead. "Oh right, the party. I'll try to come early. I have to go now. The client's waiting. Bye." I kissed her cheek, already halfway to the door.

"Okay, okay. Take care. All the best. Bye."

I grabbed my designs and the car keys, mentally rehearsing my presentation. Mr. and Mrs. Wadia were known for their discerning taste. If I didn't impress them, Mr. Bose would definitely have words for me.

As I breezed into the office, the buzz of the morning energy was palpable. "Hey, Anil! How's it going?" I called out with a wave. He greeted me back with a smile. I continued down the hallway, greeting colleagues with a cheerful "Morning! Great to see you!"

Entering the conference room, I was met by Mr. and Mrs. Wadia. Mrs. Wadia, resplendent in a classic saree, regarded me with keen interest. Mr. Wadia, dressed in a sharp suit, observed with a more reserved but discerning gaze.

I began my presentation, detailing the design concepts with enthusiasm. My hands moved gracefully over the blueprints and mood boards as I explained the vision for their home-custom furniture, ambient lighting, and a harmonious color palette designed to blend comfort with elegance.

As I spoke, Mrs. Wadia's eyes sparkled when I introduced the handcrafted coffee table. Mr. Wadia's approving nod was a positive sign, though he maintained his usual stoic demeanor."Ms. Basu, this design for the living room is quite impressive," Mr. Wadia said, his tone thoughtful.

"I'm thrilled you think so," I replied, meeting his gaze confidently. "I envisioned this space as a sanctuary where you can both unwind and entertain guests, merging comfort with sophistication."Mrs. Wadia leaned forward, her smile widening.

"I especially love the color scheme you've chosen. It's both refreshing and inviting." Her praise was a weight off my shoulders.

I continued to address their queries, adapting the presentation based on their feedback with ease. By the end of the meeting, Mr. and Mrs. Wadia's smiles and nods indicated their satisfaction. Mr. Bose, who had been quietly observing from the back, approached me with a smile. "Excellent job, Tara. You've impressed them and showcased your expertise brilliantly."

"Thank you, Mr. Bose. I'm delighted they liked the designs," I said, feeling a surge of relief and accomplishment.

"Another successful project! Yes!" I patted myself on the back, savoring the triumph. My fifth win in the last two years. I picked up an apple and started eating, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction.

"Congrats, Tara!" Urvi chirped as she approached, her usual bright smile in place.

Pause. Urvi is Mr. Bose's secretary but more importantly my best friend and confidante, always ready to offer support or share a laugh. She is the kinda friend who would even come to comfort me at 3 AM with ice cream and a movie if I was feeling down for some reason .

"Sorry I didn't greet you in the morning. I was running late," I said as we walked towards the cafeteria.

"Aish, no worries. So, any plans to celebrate your fifth win today?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Nope, have to head home early today. We need to pick up stuff for tomorrow's surprise party."

Urvi's eyes widened with excitement. "Oh, the surprise party for Arjun! I heard he's coming back from London. That's going to be amazing!"

"Yeah, we want to make it special for him. It's been ages since he's been home."

"Want to grab some coffee before you head out? It might help you unwind a bit."

"Yeah, that sounds perfect..." I agreed, standing up and following her to the office cafeteria.

In the evening, as I drove home, I received a call. When I saw the caller ID, I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Crackhead!" I answered, picking up the call.

"Hey monkey! Miss me?" he responded with his usual playful tone.

Okay, pause (again). That's my brother, Arjun. A bit of a pain but also a solid rock in my life. Five years older and the CEO of QuantumTech.

"Absolutely not, what's up?" I laughed.

"Well, I'm almost done packing. Anything you need me to get you from here?"

"Uhm...no, but you know, gifts are always welcome..." I teased.

"Yeah, like I'm getting you anything..." He replied with a scoff.

"Come on, bhaiya, you can't deny your favorite sister a gift."

(Bhaiya - Elder Brother in Hindi)

"Favorite? You're my only sister, Tara."

"Exactly, and that's why you should get me something special."

"Alright, alright. I'll think about it. Just don't expect too much."

Our conversation was filled with the usual banter and laughter, making the drive back home more enjoyable. Another successful day at work, a great chat with Arjun, and the excitement of tomorrow's surprise.

Him

"Mr. Marchetti, we might have an issue..." Tracey, my secretary, said, standing near the door of my cabin.

I looked up from my desk, momentarily distracted from the mountain of paperwork in front of me. "What's the problem, Tracey?"

"It's the server outage. It's affecting our clients' access to critical data. Mr. Basu would normally handle this, but he's on leave."

Arjun was usually the one handling these issues. Now I had to deal with this situation for a while. His absence was going to make this situation challenging. I cursed under my breath, my mind racing. "Alright, let's see what we're dealing with."

I strode to the tech support room, where the team was already scrambling. The server was down, and our clients were facing significant disruptions. The issue was complex-an unexpected surge in traffic had overwhelmed our systems, and without Arjun, resolving it quickly seemed almost impossible.

I rolled up my sleeves and dove into the problem. "Okay, let's prioritize. We need to stabilize the system first. Tracey, get me the latest logs. Marco, start rerouting traffic to the backup servers. Everyone else, stay on standby."

Hours passed in a whirlwind of technical jargon and urgent troubleshooting. "Non è possibile (It is not possible)! We need to fix this now!" I muttered as I paced around the room.

After what felt like an eternity, the systems began stabilizing. We'd managed to get the servers back online and mitigate the worst of the outage. Exhausted but relieved, I finally returned to my office and slumped into my chair. I took a moment to catch my breath, the tension of the crisis slowly ebbing away.

I checked my watch. It was 7 PM. Arjun was supposed to leave for the airport at 9 PM. I decided it was time to visit him before his departure.

I left the office, giving the employees an early leave, and drove to Arjun's place. Using the spare key he'd given me, I entered his house and headed to his bedroom. There he was, packing his suitcase.

"Hey bro, need any help?" I asked, knocking on the door.

"Ah, buddy... thanks, I am almost done." He replied, tucking a small jewelry box into his suitcase.

"Who are you taking that for?" I asked, pointing at the jewelry box.

"Oh, I actually bought two... one for my mother, one for my sister..."

I raised an eyebrow. "A thoughtful gift. May I see them?" I asked.

"Sure... here," he handed me the earring boxes.

He had bought pearl earrings for his mother and a gold pair with a star design for his sister.

"Bellissimo (Beautiful)," I said, handing the earrings back to him.

"Anyway, I'll drop you off at the airport."

"Dante, I don't need that. I can call a cab-"

"Yeah, you can, but I'm dropping you off, that's it."

"Okay, okay... And you'll join me after four days, right?"

"Yeah, just need to wrap up some projects before I take leave. See you then."

Arjun nodded, and we finished up the last of his packing and headed towards my car.

As we drove to the airport, Arjun and I chatted about the upcoming trip and our plans. Dropping him off, I bid him goodbye.

"See you soon, Arjun..." I said.

"See you in four days.... call me when you start packing so I can tell you all the essentials you have to take."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Now go and enjoy with your family. Say hi to Mrs. Basu."

"Okay, bye." He waved, before turning towards the airport.

As I watched him leave, I felt a mix of exhaustion and anticipation. The next few days would be hectic, but the thought of taking a leave after that kept me going.

I sighed, turned on the engine and left for my home.

************