"Wow man. This office sure is big" Neeraj announces as they make their way into the huge building. Its 19th July, the date which is going to decide whether the trio will hit the jackpot or still will be hunting for scraps. Over the nine months, their company 'Matrix' has seen only decent profits, just to get them through the month. By the start of the next month they would be looking very thin on the account. They still haven't started taking profits for themselves, for all the income would go into the bills and payments. Actually Neeraj had started getting taunts from his step-sister, with whom he did shared a not so much cordial relationship, over his inability to contribute to the family. He had also starting to get some heat from his mother, which he had never expected, even in his wildest dreams.

"Yo, you all right?" Tarun shakes Neeraj of his trance.

"Yeah man. Just a little calming technique of mine. Little nervous over the meeting" Neeraj answers a bit nervously.

"Well whatever works for you man" Tarun shrugs it off as they step out of the car and head to the lobby. " It will be all right man. We have prepared well for the meeting." Rajesh supportively pats Neeraj's back. Neeraj tugs on Rajesh's sleeve, as if to signal him to let Tarun and them get some distance.

"Dude I am starting to get heat from my mom too now man. We have to bag this deal by hook or crook." Neeraj opens up little nervously.

"Don't worry man. When we are making our way out of the office, we will have a new project and a cheque for advance payment. We will exploit it. I will convince Tarun as to let us three handle this project and grab most of the profits, rather than sharing with another fellow programmer." Rajesh comforts Neeraj.

"Thanks man" Neeraj replies, assured little bit. They make their way into the office, where Tarun is talking with the receptionist.

"They will inform the floor that we have arrived. Someone will come down and escort us to the proper conference room. till then we have to wait here." Tarun tells his friends, as they enter the lobby. "You guys wait here, I will have a smoke and be back in a jiffy" Tarun instructs Rajesh, as he heads out of the building. Ten minutes later, a girl in a crisp white shirt with blue pants, with a file in her hand, makes to their way. "Mr. Tarun Shetty, I am Ms. Pallavi Mehra. I am here to accompany you upstairs." she introduces herself as she extends her hand towards them. Rajesh is the first one to get up and meets her hand in a warm handshake introducing himself and Neeraj as friends and partners of Tarun. "Ahh Sir, I think this meeting is only for Mr. Tarun. I don't know about any partners" she answers, biting her lip over the confusion caused and the last minute hurdle over the trio.

"Dude, what is she telling man?" Neeraj holds Tarun's arm, as fear grips him. "Calm down dude. We will handle it" Rajesh calms him down and turns towards Pallavi.

"Ma'am, the game was developed by all three of us, under the name of 'Matrix'. Tarun was the lead developer on it and his contact information was posted for any technical solutions. Maybe if we can talk with your head of operations, we will be able to clarify. Can we have an audience with them?" Rajesh explains his point politely. Impressed by his calmness and dexterity in handling the confusion, Pallavi asks them to wait for a couple minutes as she consults with her superior. As she heads to the reception, Tarun makes his way inside after finishing of his cigarette. "That person still not here?" Tarun asks as he finds Rajesh and Neeraj still in their seats.

"She is here. Apparently there was a minor confusion. They thought that the game was developed solely by you and they wanted the meeting only with you" Rajesh explains him the latest speed-bump.

"How can this be. Developer name is 'Matrix' and all of our names are present in that with individual contact information. How can this happen?" Tarun flares up a little. "Some confusion maybe. I asked us an audience with the head of operations and she is making it happen as we speak" Rajesh, pointing towards Pallavi.

"Well she better get us all a meeting. Otherwise we are out of here" Tarun answers, with a command in his voice.

Pallavi makes her way back to the trio just as they are done with their discussion. "All of you are called up. Apparently there wasn't any mistake. They had deliberately contacted only Tarun, under the objective of grabbing him alone for our organization" Pallavi tells them as she heads to the elevators.

"Dude what the F**k is this man? I say we bail" Tarun mutters into Rajesh' ears.

"NO way dude. Lets talk and come to an amicable and profitable solution." Rajesh calm him down as he leads the way.

Inside the elevator, the tension is unmistakably high, enough to make Pallavi uncomfortable to the core. To calm her down, Rajesh extends his hand for another handshake and initiates the conversation.

"I have to say. You have amazing infrastructure here." Rajesh speaks up to Pallavi, deliberately choosing a random topic.

"Thank you. Its a huge campus we have here." Pallavi answers, nervousness evident in her voice.

"Maybe you can show me around sometime later"

Pallavi just flashes a smile as answer. Just then Tarun slips a note into Rajesh's hand. On the pretext of dusting his pant, Rajesh kneels down and opens the note which reads 'Stop flirting with the receptionist'. Rajesh ignores it and continues the conversation.

"So how long have you been working here?"

"They recruited me right out of college, as junior programmer. Four years and 43 projects later, I am still a junior programmer here" Pallavi responds with a weak smile, disappointment clear in her voice.

"That's...ahh...sad to hear" Rajesh shakes his head in disbelief.

Tarun and Neeraj stifle a laugh, which Pallavi hears, flinching over their crude remarks. Rajesh nudges them and gives them a 'behave look'. Tarun jumps into the convo. at that moment. "Ms. Pallavi, we were not laughing over your plight. We cracked up over our friend's fumble" Tarun assures her.

"It's ok. I am used to taunts and criticizing remarks anyway" Pallavi replies softly.

"Burn.." Tarun mutters as he steps back from the convo.

"How about you join us? That is if you are frustrated here with lack of growth" Rajesh offers, little hesitatingly.

"Thanks on your offer. But I doubt that it will be a constructive option. Accepted we recognized and called you, but you are not in a position to make demands. Also judging from the hesitation in your voice, I guess you guys are just scraping trough" Pallavi, hits the point.

"Ohhhh.. BURN!!!" Tarun and Neeraj shout in tandem. All four break into comforting laughter, with Rajesh scratching his head over the mild embarassation. 'Ding', the elevator has reached their floor and Pallavi leads the way to the conference room. As they enter, Pallavi takes her leave to her cabin. The trio are bombarded with stern looks from executives in the conference room. One man, maybe in his fifties starts to speak up.

"Which one of you is Tarun Shetty?"

"I am." Tarun steps ahead.

"We require only you. The rest can step out." He orders, shifting his look back to the file kept in front of him.

"That can't happen sir. We are a team. We work together. This game was made by equal efforts from all of us" Tarun speaks up.

The old man looks up, clearly not happy by Tarun's reply. "You are not in the position to make any demands. Don not waste our time. Let the other two leave the room and start your presentation" he orders them

"I refuse that. If you want to look at the presentation, all three of us will present. Otherwise we will just leave and you gentlemen can proceed with your schedule. One less meeting will definitely save your time." Tarun replies, not flinching.

"You guys operate under the name 'Matrix right?" a young man interferes the conversation. "Yeah" the trio reply in tandem. "I saw your financials and everything. Not seen much of profit from the time you have started. This project will give you the much need traction Mr. Tarun Shetty. I give you an option. Accept the offer individually. Work with our team and call your friends when you hit a speed-bump. Once you launch and receive the payment, slip your friends the share you want to. How does that sound" the young guy offers with a smirk.

"We don't accept that. We will work with your team even for less share of profit, but we work as a team. Not as an individual" Tarun replies, putting his foot down metaphorically.

"Then please vacate our premises" the old man orders.

"Gladly." Tarun replies and storms out of the room, with his friends on his tail, supporting his decision. On their way to the elevator, Rajesh spots Pallavi. He heads to her and fishes out their business card, handing it to her. "If you are tired working for them, give us a call. We will be more than happy to have you with us. We may not have cash as payment, but we have freedom of thought and growth to offer. Feel free to call" and Rajesh heads to the elevators where his friends are waiting for him.

'What a confidence level' thinks Pallavi as she glances a look to the card and heads to her desk.

"Whatever we do, we do as a team. Even if we have to scrape for one more year, doesn't matter." Neeraj says as they head down on the elevator.

"Yeah man. 'Matrix' to the death man" and the trio clasp their hands....as a sign of unity...as a sign of undying friendship.