Abhimanyu was nervous that morning. It was the day of the earnings report, and his father was going to announce his retirement, the news about the next CEO, and also the Youth Enrichment Program as part of his speech.
The media and the business community will be more interested in his retirement and also who the next CEO would be, but that was not what he was nervous about.
He was worried about how Akshara would react to the fact that Birla Corporation was starting a program that she essentially thought of with way too many similarities between what she had drafted and what was going to be announced that morning.
He had talked to her briefly the night before and came close to telling her everything—the truth about who he was, his undercover rotation, and why he was there at the factory but held back. It was a matter of only a few more months, and he could not break the merger agreement he made with Mr.Pranav.
Abhimanyu was on the factory floor, working through his daily tasks while listening to the earnings report as his father walked through the details.
He felt proud when his father announced his name, Abhimanyu Harsh Birla, as the next CEO of Birla Corporation, but what made the blood rush to his heart with pride was when his father announced the Youth Enrichment Program and made a reference to a dedicated and loyal employee who came up with the idea.
His heart pounded as sheer joy coursed through him, listening to the applause that broke out in the room when the details of the program and the pilot were shared with everyone.
It would have been a day to celebrate, to celebrate her. The beautiful person Akshara was inside and out deserved everything the world had to offer and more.
The call was still going on when he saw Akshara walk through the factory floor smiling at the other folks who were working at their stations.
He was surprised to see her there and wondered if she had heard about the program from the Birla Corporation’s earnings call.
“Abhimanyu, do you have a few minutes to chat?” Akshara smiled, making his heart melt, and all worries he had evaporated in a flash.
“Sure.”
“I’ll be in the conference room.” She walked away, her eyes beaming.
Abhimanyu took a few moments to collect himself. He could not tell if she had listened to the earnings call just like she said she did for all the other competitors or if she was there for other reasons.
He wrapped up the task he was working on and walked over to the conference room. She stood at the other end of the long room, a smile on her face.
“Someone’s happy.” He kept his eyes locked with hers.
“Happy to see you and I am also here to tell you something that I just heard.” She sounded excited.
“What is it?”
“I was on the earnings call of Birla Corporation, and they announced a youth enrichment society. A community to help their employees’ children. Isn’t that amazing?”
She sounded excited, but he could not tell if that excitement was sarcasm and would have a meltdown about the program. “Wow. Really?”
“Yes, and guess what they are calling it? A-YES, spelled with one Y, like A-Y-ES. Just brilliant.” She was laughing with sheer joy.
“Akshara, I think I’ve gotten to know you well in the recent weeks, but I don’t know if what I am seeing is real joy or is it that you are super pissed that someone else implemented it before you could, and this is a way for you to handle the annoyance and anger?” Abhimanyu held her gaze.
