Loving her...

21

It had been two months since Riya had gone back to her maternal home.

Two months ago when she suddenly showed up at the door, Sheena and Nishant were both shocked yet estatic to see her.

They too wanted to be with their daughter at such a delicate mode of life. They had left her with Karan as they knew that Riya and Karan needed each other the most at that point of time as no one could understand their grief, pain and loss better than they themselves.

But Riya showed up at their house within a few hours of them leaving her. This left them confused. Yet the most important thing at that time was to be there for their daughter and to love her like she deserved to be loved.

At first Sheena didn't allow Riya to resume work but Riya remained zoned out and lost the entire time at home. She became numb and had stopped every activity.

There was this sudden gross emptiness within her that she couldn't fill. She couldn't show it or express it before anyone. Only she knew what she felt.

Sheena and Aditi tried to cheer her up and engage her in one thing or the other but to no avail.

Sensing no change in Riya's condition Nishant decided to be strict with her. One fine evening he called her to his study and ordered her to provide him with the reports of all the projects that she was working on before and during her pregnancy.

Riya didn't say anything. She nodded meekly before getting back to the adjoining study of her room. She worked the entire night and by 10 the next morning submitted all the 7 reports to him before the official meeting.

Though Nishant was shocked he didn't show it.

Each and every report was well researched and to the point. Not only did it include the prospective plans and ideas for the development but also the implications of financial, infrastructural, legal and other factors of the market on the same and ways to curb it's effect on their venture and it's growth. Not even a single detail was missing.

He knew his daughter was talented but at that moment he thought that he had underestimated her talent and hardwork.

Now that Riya was done with her Masters, he started entrusting her with the work of much higher level. The top notch work that required more attention, dedication, keenness and study. The type of work she had not handled till date. The type of work that kept her on her toes the entire time.

She started attending client meetings more frequently. Nishant let her take the front seat and make relevant decisions even if he knew it was risky.

Till now he had seen her research, market analysis, disaster management, assistance and presentation skills. He wanted to see what kind of negotiator and manager she was.

He let her take charge to convince the board of directors and win over the shareholders whenever required.

He always showed her the way but let her walk on it alone and face and overcome all the difficulties by herself. To his surprise, she was not only facing the challenges boldly but was also making her own path.

He knew it won't be long when his little girl will not need her father even to show her the way even for business purposes.

She had, anyways, never needed him in life.

Nishant felt extremely proud of her, but a sad for himself.

Except for the initial resistance, she was doing a pretty good job working alongside the members of the company. She was gaining the acceptance and approval of the members with her every step.

There were disagreements and strong oppositions too, yet she managed to have majority say by her side every single time.

This only increased the expectations and responsibilities on her thereby increasing her workload. Getting on the top was hard, surviving there, harder.