Geet had a busy work day ahead of her as the team was finally meeting with the human resources' departments of five of the ten companies.   In preparation of these preliminary meetings, she had conducted her own research and created helpful profiles depicting each company's health services utilization and resource allocation from the information provided by the insurance companies.   Listening to the potential clients in regards to their corporate culture, understanding their perspectives and receiving helpful recommendations would help Geet's team embark on their first step towards beginning the employee mental health programs.

The prospect definitely excited her but made her nervous as well.   She took a deep breath to calm her thoughts and looked over at Sarah who was preparing all the necessary forms and paperwork for the appointments today.   Geet briefly reminisced about her time with Sarah when she had met her about six years ago at university for their post-graduate program.

Geet and Sarah had been young and smart but not as carefree unlike their fellow Masters' students.   A group project had introduced them, which had led to numerous interactions that had them studying and working together closely.   As they got to know each other further in time, their reserved personalities had blossomed and they had opened up enough to share their dreams, beliefs and other superficial concerns.   In spite of their budding friendship solidifying, there was still something inherent in both that always held them back from divulging certain deep seeded pain and secrets.   Nevertheless, they were quite secure in their bond to know that details were never necessary and the quiet support would always be present if ever called upon. Five years ago and during the last year of their program, incidences in both of Geet and Sarah's lives had required that strong pillar of assistance and solace and they had both fulfilled their silent promises to each other.

After the completion of their Masters' degree and dealing with the many changes in their lives, Geet had gone on to pursue her Ph.D. while Sarah started working right after school.   Distance had separated them physically but their hearts remained entwined like soul sisters.   Geet was glad to be working with Sarah again and for her to be part of the team.   They were privy to each other's work habits and nuances to such an extent that they even ended up sharing their office space together!   There was a certain level of professional comfort knowing that they had each other's backs in case anything went wrong.

Sarah Harris was a beautiful petite blonde with emerald eyes, a warm smile and a gentle demeanor.   She displayed a kind of vulnerability around her, which made men want to take care of her and women in turn would loved to have been like her.   This quality of hers made it easy for patients to disclose relevant, confidential and sometimes hurtful information during their counseling sessions.

Looking the ever consummate professional, Sarah was dressed in a white knee length figure hugging dress with black trim at the neck and hem and had covered her arms with a black bolero jacket.   To compensate for her height, her feet adorned black and white pin up patent leather heels.   Her medium length hair was in a top knot with several wisps of hair escaping from the binding.   Sarah's monochrome palate was in contrast to Geet's watercolor choices of a tan pant suit with a baby pink frilled shirt.   Her feet were secured in tan heels with a chunky ankle strap.   Geet had left her curly strands free today as she knew that her fingers would be reaching over from time to time during meeting breaks to give it a quick ruffle if any stressful situations arose.

A sharp rap on her door had pulled Geet out of her reverie.   At the entrance, two more of her team members had shown up.   One of them included Rob Beauchamp, a tall man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.   Today, Rob's eyes were even more pronounced and he looked extremely approachable in his blue shirt, sky blue and navy striped tie and navy slacks; finished off with pair of brown wing tipped lace up dress shoes.   The last team member was Laura Chen, a Chinese Canadian with a slim athletic build, straight black hair and dark eyes.   Laura had decided to don a tapered grey suit with a white button down shirt left open at the collar.   She completed the outfit with low heel block buckle strap grey shoes and with her hair open which was her usual style.

After their morning greetings, Rob and Laura had found a place each to settle with their notes and other belongings in the office. As the scenario of camaraderie and ease unfolded while the team members discussed assorted professional viewpoints, Geet hoped in time that they all would forge a great working relationship. Geet mentally sniggered:    "I am acting as if I am going to battle and that I have to take stock of everything!   Sheesh, I must be more nervous than I thought!    Come on, I can do this!"

After the encouraging self-talk, Geet got up from behind her desk and walked to the front of it: "So are we ready, Sarah?   These back to back meetings are going to be a little crazy today."

Sarah with her eyes still on the forms and other documentation relayed:   "Just give me about 10 minutes, Geet.   I have misplaced one of the forms that needs to be included in the dossiers.   Now where did I put them?"

Sarah haphazardly moved papers, journals and printed articles on her desk, bending her head to look for the required stack.   Geet had just started to walk across to Sarah's desk to help when Rob cut Geet's advances and made it there first to Sarah.   This startled Geet a little as she peeked from behind Rob to observe the happenings.   He tapped the seated Sarah on her shoulders with a grin.

Rob:   "By any chance, are you talking about these Sarah?"   He handed over a pile of pink sheets to her.

Bewildered Sarah looked at him and asked:   "Where did you find them?   I have been looking for them for the past 15 minutes."

Sarah was beyond annoyed and flustered at this point while Rob kept grinning silently as if in a trance.   Geet observed the interesting interactions between the two hidden from view.   She knew that Sarah was on the brink and would blow up any moment at Rob.   It is time to reel this in before it gets out of hand and it detracts us from the task at hand.   If time had permitted, Geet would have enjoyed watching the fireworks between Rob and Sarah because she wanted her friend to be happy and it was fun to goad her too!   But she decided to take the diplomatic path and end this squabble before it started.

Geet straightened herself from behind Rob and moved to the side stating patiently:   "Sarah, what does it matter?   You have them now, right?   Finish what you have to do.   Rob, please help her.   Our first client is due in any time now."

Sarah gently huffed while Rob made himself at home near her desk to help while pushing back a blonde lock of hair that always had a tendency to brush against his forehead in an endearing manner.   It was hard to unnerve Rob and he seemed to be oblivious to the nervousness and annoyance in the office.   Rob was a Masters level counselor that had moved recently to Surrey. His persona may signify Casanova tendencies but Rob was far from it.   He could not be blamed for his good looks and in actuality appeared uncaring about them too. He always seemed to be in good spirits and interfaced with all staff members warmly and politely.   However, for some strange reason, he had a tendency to ruffle Sarah's feathers a lot.

On the other hand, Laura was always focused on whatever task that she was performing. Currently, she was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and head upturned as if memorizing something.   She was more open and outgoing compared to Geet and Sarah. Moreover, they would refute the statement if questioned; but they both were envious of Laura's 5'9" height and straight silky thick black hair.   Geet always thought that Laura could give Lucy Liu a run for her money but Laura had no interest in the arts.   She had always been tom boyish and had an affinity for sports and science.   Laura had been with Surrey Memorial for five years and was a clinical counselor.   Her expertise would be valuable to the team as the rest of them were more educational and research oriented in their fields of study.

Even though Sarah appeared vexed, Geet was glad that disaster had been averted between her and Rob.   She decided to let Laura meditate if that was what she was doing.   Geet also started to review the important points that she would cover with the first set of representatives during their conference.   Overall, Geet had no complaints as the day was starting out with all the proper aspects.

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

As Geet's day progressed and her team met with many of the human resources' representatives from various companies, things had gone well so far.   All of them seemed open to the help being offered to their respective employees.   For now, the team was going to start out slow with stress management and depression seminars in group settings first.   Then employees would have a chance to sign up for individual help if that was of interest.   Billing and time issues were discussed as well. Geet was realizing that her team was going to be very busy with this project in the months ahead.

It was coming around to Geet's last meeting of the day as she waited for the client.   SRK Conglomerate was a large medical and pharmaceutical company that provided life saving oncological drugs and most recently had expanded into the arenas of infectious diseases and neurology.   The company was considered to be a valued and respected industry partner for the Surrey area.   If all went well, SRK Conglomerate would be Geet's largest client for the mental health directive.   Therefore, Geet and the team had previously decided to arrange for a longer meeting at the end of the day with them.

The team was in high spirits brain storming interesting ideas and ways to deal with the companies they had met so far.   On the other hand, Geet was gently massaging her temples and watched the clock seated at her desk.   The client was already five minutes late.   She was not stressing yet as Amma could always pick up the kids from day care.   Geet just wanted to see them! It has been a long day and a hug from my angels sounds so good...

Suddenly a knock was heard and Geet turned her head along with the other team members who looked up from their tasks.   A tall man with windswept jet black hair and brown eyes in a crème suit with a black shirt unbuttoned at the collar stood near her office door looking a little nervous and lost. He smiled and inquired:   "I was told that this was Dr. Raichand's office.   Am I in the right place?"

Geet quickly got up from her chair with a smile and an outstretched arm inviting the man inside. She gently closed the door behind him once he entered.

Geet welcomingly announced:   "Yes, that is correct.   I am Dr. Geet Raichand.   Please do come in.   It is great to make your acquaintance."   She continued with introductions to her team without allowing the man to say anything.   She then offered him a seat across her desk as the rest of the team members moved and huddled around the space in their own seats.   They waited for the man to get situated so that they could get started.

The tall man had looked a little sheepish as he acknowledged the introductions with quick handshakes all around.   Once they were all seated, the man began:   "I apologize for my tardiness, Dr. Raichand.   However, one of my meetings ran a little late.   I know your time is valuable and appreciate your patience.   My name is Nikhil Sawant and I am the President of SRK Conglomerates."

Geet frowned as this was not who she was expecting.   She reviewed her appointment calendar one more time and asked curiously:   "Mr. Sawant, I thought my team was to meet with Mr. Rory Tate from your HR department.   Any reason, why he is not here with you?"

Nikhil gave a gentle smile:   "Rory would have been here but since this initiative concerns the well-being of all our employees, our CEO and I deemed that it would be better if I met with you and your team instead.   The HR department works under me as you can see from our company's organizational charts.   Also since this is a large undertaking for SRK, it is better if you dealt with the executive team directly."

Geet was impressed with the enterprising notion that SRK Conglomerates had brought forward. She hoped that many other companies would value mental well-being in a similar fashion as SRK.   With a pleased smile hovering on her lips, Geet was intrigued and wanted to find out more about this unique corporate entity and its incentives.

As the meeting continued, Geet realized there were many matters and intricacies that would need to be considered for such a large company.   For example, even though SRK Conglomerates had their head quarters in Surrey, they also had additional offices in other metropolitan Canadian cities.   This meant that there were quite a number of employees working away from Surrey, so her team would have to find ways to accommodate these workers as well.   She was bound to require additional help with taking on so many clients and had made a mental note to discuss things with Dr. Trevor sometime during the week.   She was astutely listening to Nikhil and his sensible suggestions.   Her respect was growing by the minute as the meeting came to an end and further details were finalized.

Nikhil got up from his seat and extended his hand to Geet with a thoughtful look:   "Dr. Raichand, it has been a pleasure.   Thank you so much for your time.   This meeting has been extremely productive.   Also, be advised that if you and your team require anything, please do not hesitate to contact me or my secretary directly.   Also your progress reports and any pertinent issues will be discussed with me and the HR department collectively.   You have all of our contact details, right?"

Geet returned his hospitality and direct approach with a nervous smile:   "Yes, Mr. Sawant.   I think we have everything we need for now.   It has been a pleasure meeting with you and we look forward to meeting SRK employees in the near future.   My team and I will be in touch with potential dates and times shortly."

As Nikhil made to leave Geet's office, he looked back at her and her team with another thoughtful expression and then he quickly met Geet's gaze for a prolonged moment.   Then shaking his head; he smiled and said his goodbyes.

Once Nikhil disappeared, Geet sighed while thinking:   "Wonder what that was all about?   It must be my imagination playing tricks as it is the end of the day.   Well, regardless, working with SRK is going to be exciting and challenging at the same time.   I will have to be on my toes and prepared if Mr. Sawant is in charge!"

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I have been so pleased this week by the kind response, lovely comments, numerous votes and increasing views.   I have even completed two short stories entitled "Smile" and "Distance" for a contest; please feel free to check them out as well.

As for the update, I have decided to give a lengthy one as a treat.   It might be boring for some of you but you will see small things that you should definitely make a note of as they are critical to the story.   If I make it over the 225 mark with over 55 votes, I will definitely give out double updates next week.

Let's play a game!   Since this book deals with mental health, all seven chapters have a theme that depicts a certain emotion, feeling or incidence.   The reader who is first to figure out that emotion for any of the seven chapters, will get a read and comment on the first chapter of their book of choice along with a shout out on my conversation board for being correct!   So start guessing!   

Please share your views and comments because they mean the most.   And if you enjoyed or liked the chapter, feel free to show your affection with clicking on the star button on the right hand side of your screen! Until next time...