“Who is this friend of yours who drives such an awesome car?” She laughed as she drove his car through the traffic, enjoying herself.
“I can see you are having a lot of fun.” He smirked, enjoying the look on her face.
“I love sports cars. Papa used to drive one before his accident.” Her voice held a hint of sadness.
“What happened?” Abhimanyu knew her father had an accident at the factory, but he wanted to hear her talk, have her share everything about her.
“My father used to work with Mr. Pranav as his advisor. On a routine factory inspection… I mean I don’t even know how it can happen, a freak accident occurred. Mr.
Pranav and Papa were on a newly built staircase, one of those circular ones, and the entire thing came off the main support pole and collapsed, and they both fell. Papa hit the ground first and then Mr. Pranav.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah, and Mr. Pranav, still to this day, says Papa saved him from the fall. Although my father stopped working for the company almost ten years ago, he is still an employee with a salary and benefits. If it were another employer, it would have stopped after the insurance money, but Mr.
Pranav, he knows how to take care of his employees.”
“Yes, he does.”
“And after getting the financial grant for Papa’s surgery, I would work for him forever. I had this dream of studying in another country and experience a new lifestyle, but after that accident and how well our family was taken care of, I decided to work for The Saxena Group. I don’t know if I can ever pay back for what Mr. Pranav did for us.”
“Where were you headed for your education?” he asked.
“I was going to Stanford for my MBA but decided to stay back, so I could start working and did my MBA part-time here in the city.”
“Interesting.”
She rolled her eyes. “And my college boyfriend called me stupid for doing that, but I knew that’s what I wanted. I could not allow myself to be away from my family, and guess what, Mr. Pranav would have again helped me pay for my expenses. I decided it was time to pay back, and that’s when I interviewed at The Saxena Group.”
Abhimanyu felt an unease pass over him at the mention of another person who was probably close to her. Why the heck was he feeling jealous of a guy he didn’t know or care about?
“Any regrets?”
“Not at all. The best part was getting out of that relationship, which really wasn’t a good one. The guy I was with had everything planned in his life like the kind of girlfriend he would have, someone who would have a certain profile, good schooling, a strong career to aid the financial status that he, in his mind, wanted to maintain. When he started talking to me about the amount of money I would be missing out on if I didn’t leave the country, I knew I was with the wrong guy all along.”
Abhimanyu sat silently processing what she was saying and had an undying need to tell her everything, to tell her who he was and why he was there, but he held back.
The contract required him not to blow his cover or do something that would reveal his identity.
“Do you think I should have gone to Stanford?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He smiled, looking at her as she continued to drive. “I believe in doing what I want to do no matter what my options are as long as I am willing to take responsibility for my actions and decisions.”
