Unsuitable Proposal

Chapter 31: And It Begins

Kashvi Acharya

"You look like a truck ran you over," commented Mrinalini.

I looked up from my lunch and found Mrinalini studying me. I stared down at my rice bowl. "I didn't sleep well last night."

"And may I know the reason behind your sleepless nights?"

"Uh- it's probably stress from work," I lied, putting spoonful of jeera-rice mixed with curry in my mouth. I wasn't going to dump my catastrophic past with my now 'boss' on Mrinalini. Yes, we were good friends, but I didn't feel comfortable sharing everything with her. Yet.

She hummed. "You guys are working right under Brillio's CEO, it must be hectic."

I shrugged, chewing my meal. Our office served good lunch, but these days I wasn't in right state of mind to appreciate it.

"Take sick leave for couple of days. You definitely need rest."

"I will once I'm finished with this project. Taking leave right now won't leave a good impression of our team."

Mrinalini nodded knowingly, before she flashed me a smile. "At least, you get to see Brillio's CEO. What's his name... Anand... Anant-"

"Antarang Bhatt," I supplied, hiding my frown.

"Yes, Antarang. I caught a sight of him yesterday. He's an eye candy. It must be difficult to sit in same room with him and not swoon." She sighed, fanning herself exaggeratedly.

"Mrinalini, he's our boss right now. We're too busy delivering for his project to swoon over him," I retorted, aware that I did swoon after Antarang during our meeting.

Mrinalini scoffed. "You'd be doing injustice to all the straight ladies in the world if you don't find Mr. Bhatt attractive. He's rich, handsome, very handsome, and rich. The whole package, Kashvi." 

"I wonder what Tarun will have to say hearing you talk like that," I taunted to change the topic. Mrinalini had told me she and Tarun were planning their next date this weekend.

She blushed hearing his name, but still gave a sly smile. "Well, it's not like he has any claim on me to stop me. We have to wait for him to earn that privilege."

"Let's hope he gets that privilege, because going by your smile you look eager to give it to him," I teased and Mrinalini couldn't keep her smile from turning into a wide grin. 

She dropped her playful facade. "I sometimes wonder if I'm too invested in him this early. We've met only once."

"It's not like you can stop yourself from feeling what you're feeling. Just try to stay grounded and make sure Tarun feels the same."

"Yeah, I don't want to come off as desperate or too eager. It'd put him off." Her forefinger twirled around her spoon.

"Who thought that the infamous Mrinalini Agarwal would be nervous over a boy?" I smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Romantic relationships aren't my area of expertise, but I'd say if it's meant to be then things will naturally fall in place."

"I hope so. I really like Tarun. I haven't felt this way for anyone in a long time."

"I'm crossing my fingers for you two."

My phone rang and Ranjan's name flashed on the screen. It must be something urgent because he never called out of working hours or at lunch. I picked his call.

"My office, right now," Ranjan ordered before I could greet him and immediately hung up.

Mrinalini raised her brows in question. 

"I have to go, boss calls," I told her, picking up my rice bowl to finish it on the way. 

She frowned. "If they're overworking you, don't hesitate to take leave."

I nodded before taking off. Only if Mrinalini knew that right now work was my only saving grace from my thoughts. If left idle, I'd go insane overthinking about Antarang.

On the way to Ranjan's office I hastily finished my lunch. I knocked on the glass door before peeking inside.

"Yes, come in." Ranjan was on his desk, staring at his laptop. The lines on his forehead let me know he was tensed.

"What happened?" I asked.

He gestured me to take a seat. I followed. "I forwarded our updated code to Brillio's management. They're not satisfied with the test run. They specifically have problems with alarm system. Instructions are changed. Kashvi, you have to start all over again on the code."

I failed to keep my face intact. My annoyance showed. I was already halfway done with my part of code. I had no problem with redoing it, but it sucked how easily they dismissed my work because their own instructions weren't clear.

I nodded. It wasn't like I could refuse. Customer comes first. "Ranjan, make sure this time they're clear with what they want?"

"They are running trials. It's highly likely they'll keep changing their instructions. There's a reason why we'll get big bonus once this project is done. We have to work for it," Ranjan explained.

"I understand." I sighed, already feeling tired just thinking about doing the hectic task again. Add in that these days I was running on couple of hours of sleep. "Is that all?"

Ranjan smiled nervously, making my eyes narrow. "They want the changes done by tomorrow. They said something about engineers coming from Germany to test the model-"

"What?!" That was why he called me right now. "They can't just demand it like that. The code is over 2000 lines. It's impossible to do it by tomorrow!"

"It's not impossible Kashvi, just a little inconvenient," Ranjan countered meekly. Even he didn't believe what he said. I cast him an incredulous look. He threw his hands and let out a long sigh. "I tried to make them understand too, but they're adamant. I don't want this to go to Mr. Kazmi. He's strict about our reputation, besides he's already trying to impress Mr. Bhatt to make Brillio come back to HotWired next year."

"Still, it's too much for one person, Ranjan."

"I know. That's why I will help you," he assured, "You already look tired. I realize this much workload on you is unfair. We're a team for a reason Kashvi."

My respect for Ranjan grew. He might be a nag sometimes, but he honestly cared about his team.

"Thanks." I smiled gratefully.

"Good!" Ranjan clapped his hands together as though everything was alright in the world again. "I'll forward you the new instructions. Let's get this done, there's no time to waste."

My smile dropped. 

*******

Jeera- cumin