"Abhimanyu, do you get the feeling that you are becoming too involved in Akshara's life?" Neil asked, sitting across from his friend.
It had been a week since Abhimanyu had asked Neil to approve the financial aid for her and also to find a lawyer to take up her brother's case.
Abhimanyu looked up from his computer. "Why do you ask?"
Neil looked at him for a long moment. "The number of texts I got from you regarding the status of the financial aid and the lawyer who is working on her brother's case is just ridiculous."
Abhimanyu shook his head. "She is very valuable."
"To?"
"The company." Abhimanyu's tone was stern.
"It doesn't feel that way." Neil wasn't ready to let go. He couldn't let his friend get carried away over the problem of one employee.
"I will tell you what it feels like. She is busy prepping for her father's surgery since the financial aid was granted, and that means she doesn't have time to work on the youth program pilot.
She is giving you a chance to launch the pilot for Birla Corporation before she does." Abhimanyu's voice blared in the small room.
Neil felt the punch in his friend's voice, and Abhimanyu saw how he fell silent as he went back to typing on his computer.
Abhimanyu felt guilty for snapping at his best friend. "I'm sorry I overreacted, Neil. I know you are doing your best to get the pilot launched."
Neil smiled, easing the awkwardness of the situation. "Do you have feelings for her?"
Abhimanyu was quick to respond. "I admire her loyalty and dedication."
"Abhimanyu, you know what I'm asking."
"I don't," Abhimanyu snapped.
"You don't what? Have feelings for her, or you don't know what I am talking about?" Neil was insistent.
"I don't have time for this. We are announcing our earnings in two weeks, and we have nothing to show but the fact that we have a name for a new CEO. This is not what Birla Corporation is made of."
Neil stood up and walked over to where Abhimanyu stood, his back turned away from him. "I've known you all my life. You can't lie to me."
Abhimanyu turned to look at Neil. "What do you want to know?"
"What do you feel for Akshara?"
"Nothing. She is an employee." Abhimanyu shrugged. Neil took a deep breath and asked, "I'm asking,
Abhimanyu, my friend, about what he feels for Akshara and not
Abhimanyu Harsh Birla, the CEO of Birla Corporation, considers her."
Abhimanyu ran his fingers through his hair. "I fucking can't do anything without thinking of her, but I'll have to deal with it."
Neil chuckled. "Finally, a woman who can shake up the ever calm and composed Abhimanyu."
"It's all the time I'm spending with her. I get to see how good she is at work, and I want to help her. That's it."
"And?"
"What do you mean?" Abhimanyu looked puzzled.
Neil smiled. "In all these years I've known you, you have never been like this, not even in your other relationships. She must be special."
"It doesn't matter. We are professionals working on common goals, and anything more than the kind of relationship we have would not be good."
"Don't give me the HR spiel. Do you like her or not?"
