Akira was almost ready when she heard the doorbell ring and ran to get the door . She was wearing a beautiful peach colored line dress which was accentuating her features . She wore matching sneakers to complement her look . She had her hair in loose curls and was looking nothing less than a pretty peach .When she opened the door, she found Vikram holding a bouquet of baby's breath which was Akira's favorite thing in the world . He was dressed in casuals but still looked like a fashion model who has jumped straight out of a catalog .She immediately beamed with happiness and grabbed the flowers from his hands ."For me!!!?", she asked innocently with Bambi eyes ."No, it's for Mike," Vikram said in a sarcastic tone and rolled his eyes ."You are so sweet Vikram," said Akira and rushed to hug him, but unfortunately she stumbled because of the door-mat and fell straight into Vikram's arms . His arms embraced her like a safety net and he hauled her back quickly so that she didn't fall .
Akira was waiting anxiously at the reception of Delphi office at Brooklyn . Even though she was an academically brilliant student, she was still feeling very nervous . She was biting her nails and was shuffling through her resume every now and then . She had to make it through because a source of steady income was really important for her right now apart from industry experience .Akira was wearing a turquoise blue formal shirt and a grey pencil skirt . The whole attire made her look very sharp and poised . She was wearing black kitten heels because she knew that normal heels were not her forte .The receptionist looked at her kindly and smiled because she had seen many such nervous candidates who would be panicking to their maximum, before the interview . She went to Akira and asked her-"Miss Akira, do you need water or something?""Umm . . no thanks," replied Akira .The receptionist nodded and she was about to turn back to go to her seat when Akira asked her,"Do I look extremely
Akira stopped in front of a cemetery near her house . Both her parents were buried there . Although her Mom was of Indian descent, she was also buried alongside Akira's Dad because it was her Mom's wish to stay next to her husband even after death .Akira slumped on the ground and started crying . She placed her head on her father's tomb and her tears started seeping into the concrete . She was a strong girl who was not easily affected by the opinion and perspective of others, but somehow today Raymond's words stabbed her heart and made her feel like she was all alone, deserted by everybody whom she had ever loved in her life .Raymond saw Akira stopping in front of the cemetery . The burden of regret instantly increased manifold inside his heart . He rushed inside and saw Akira's frail figure slumped on the ground . She was crying like there was no tomorrow in store for her . When Raymond saw the same surname written on the tombstone as hers, he immediately understood the depth of pa
@Changi International Airport . "I need a ticket to New York . ASAP" ."Ma'am the earliest is CS airlines, but the economy is full . Would you like to go for business class?"All Akira could do was to nod .The girl who compared even yogurt prices didn't even flinch while shelling out 3700 USD from her credit card . Her eyes were swelling with tears which she was trying hard to contain . The pain in her heart was hounding her and all that she wanted was a quick escape .She held her boarding pass in hand and rushed for security check . She wanted to get far away from this place as soon as possible . This place was not for her, she wasn't meant to be here . After immigration, she went to the nearest information panel . As soon as she reached there, the screen flickered with an update .China Southern AirlinesFlight to JFK - Delayed . New Boarding Time - 03:30Her flight was delayed by 2 hours .Even her fate was against her .Without batting an eyelid she kept looking at the screen .
It was a bad day for Raymond . A really bad day .He had come to Singapore to sign an almost finalized deal . The contract and everything was already charted out . It was just a formality for both the parties to sign the contract . It was a big deal for him and his startup as the backing was coming from Infinion Inc, the largest gaming company in the world . He had reached Singapore that afternoon and was supposed to fly out the same night after signing the contract with the CEO of Infinion Mr . Pollard .But the moment he landed and checked his emails he sensed something was wrong . He had received an e-mail from the secretary of Mr . Pollard that he had to leave the country due to some family emergency and that the contract signing would be delayed . He badly needed the funding and was devastated with this news . He called up Michael – 'The eyes and ears of the Gaming World' and a childhood friend of his and got to know that Infinion CEO was pressurized by some third party to cut of
Raymond stared in her direction for quite some time but then again started arranging his papers .Little bit of coffee had spilled on his hands and had scalded him a bit . His jacket had taken all the hit . Annoyed he took it off and put it in his suitcase . "Damn, these papers are gone," he muttered to himself . Anyways as his contract went for a toss, he didn't care much . That's how Raymond worked . No second approaches, no second chances and no second thoughts . He was a man who was always singular in his thoughts and his focus was like a directed laser beam .He dumped the whole stack of paper into the nearest dustbin and started walking towards the nearest information panel to check his gate number . His eyes were fixed on his Airline and he read -China Southern AirlinesFlight to JFK - Delayed . New Boarding Time - 03:30"You got to be kidding me!!!" . Now all that Raymond could do was to curse his fate .Nothing was working for Raymond today . So he decided to get back to the
"What did he do? Akira I am asking you, what did he do?" asked a troubled Mike to his sister Akira .Even though Mike was Akira's younger brother, he was the only family which Akira had . So he was his father, mother and his brother as well . He was 2 years younger than her but way mature than the guys of his age . He had always disliked Anthony . He knew he wasn't trustworthy . He had warned Akira so many times, but Akira was too blinded in love to even listen to him ."He didn't do anything to me Mike . I just don't feel like discussing about it right now", said Akira and sighed .Akira was so exhausted with so much happening around her, that she didn't have the will to go through it again ."Fine, where are you right now? What time will your flight land? Send me the details . I will come and pick you up", Mike said and picked up a paper and pen to jot the details .Mike was really worried for Akira . He knew her sister was just showing a brave face to him, but deep down he knew tha
She was still looking at her phone when a flight attendant came to her and asked,"Miss, are you flying by China Southern Airlines to JFK?""Oh yes . ""Ma'am please come and board the flight . It's almost the end of the final call .May I have your boarding pass please?"Akira handed her the boarding pass and got up from her seat ."Ma'am please follow this way . "The flight attendant could sense that there was something wrong with her . So she decided to escort her till her seat inside the flight . She took her to the business class section and helped her sit at her seat number 5 .It was Akira's first time traveling business class . Had it been any other day she would have been super excited . Probably would have clicked pictures and would have shared with her friends . But today it was different for her . Nothing mattered . All that she wanted to do was to reach home as soon as possible .Akira slumped into her seat and started looking out of the window . She could only see the p
Akira stopped in front of a cemetery near her house . Both her parents were buried there . Although her Mom was of Indian descent, she was also buried alongside Akira's Dad because it was her Mom's wish to stay next to her husband even after death .Akira slumped on the ground and started crying . She placed her head on her father's tomb and her tears started seeping into the concrete . She was a strong girl who was not easily affected by the opinion and perspective of others, but somehow today Raymond's words stabbed her heart and made her feel like she was all alone, deserted by everybody whom she had ever loved in her life .Raymond saw Akira stopping in front of the cemetery . The burden of regret instantly increased manifold inside his heart . He rushed inside and saw Akira's frail figure slumped on the ground . She was crying like there was no tomorrow in store for her . When Raymond saw the same surname written on the tombstone as hers, he immediately understood the depth of pa
Akira was waiting anxiously at the reception of Delphi office at Brooklyn . Even though she was an academically brilliant student, she was still feeling very nervous . She was biting her nails and was shuffling through her resume every now and then . She had to make it through because a source of steady income was really important for her right now apart from industry experience .Akira was wearing a turquoise blue formal shirt and a grey pencil skirt . The whole attire made her look very sharp and poised . She was wearing black kitten heels because she knew that normal heels were not her forte .The receptionist looked at her kindly and smiled because she had seen many such nervous candidates who would be panicking to their maximum, before the interview . She went to Akira and asked her-"Miss Akira, do you need water or something?""Umm . . no thanks," replied Akira .The receptionist nodded and she was about to turn back to go to her seat when Akira asked her,"Do I look extremely
Akira was almost ready when she heard the doorbell ring and ran to get the door . She was wearing a beautiful peach colored line dress which was accentuating her features . She wore matching sneakers to complement her look . She had her hair in loose curls and was looking nothing less than a pretty peach .When she opened the door, she found Vikram holding a bouquet of baby's breath which was Akira's favorite thing in the world . He was dressed in casuals but still looked like a fashion model who has jumped straight out of a catalog .She immediately beamed with happiness and grabbed the flowers from his hands ."For me!!!?", she asked innocently with Bambi eyes ."No, it's for Mike," Vikram said in a sarcastic tone and rolled his eyes ."You are so sweet Vikram," said Akira and rushed to hug him, but unfortunately she stumbled because of the door-mat and fell straight into Vikram's arms . His arms embraced her like a safety net and he hauled her back quickly so that she didn't fall .
Raymond was very excited after getting the deal at first . But all his happiness turned into sour curd after listening to Vikram's condition . He was enraged because the entire deal felt like a sham . It felt like he gave the deal to them because in return he wanted his special person to be employed in his company . All the hard work which he had put along with his entire team was nullified because of that one single clause which Vikram had verbally put in their contract .His entire project team was celebrating . Finally, all the hard work, all the sleepless nights and the numerous cup of coffees had paid off . But his insides were dying out of humiliation . He felt like Vikram has kicked his brainchild project off to a far field . He was unable to control his rage because he was unable to accept that the value of his project was nothing as compared to this person whom Vikram wanted to be hired . He might have signed the contract with a pen on a paper but only he knew that it felt li
Vikram went to his room and called up Raymond .Raymond was shocked to see Vikram calling on his personal number late in the evening . He sensed that it must be related to his special request for the project . He picked it up ."Hello, Mr . Vikram . ""Hello, Mr . Raymond . Is it a good time to talk?", asked Vikram with an air of authority ."Yes please", replied Raymond ."The person about whom I had talked to you about would be sending you an application tomorrow . Make sure that she is interviewed and all the procedures are followed as usual . ""No problem . I will make sure its all easy for her . Don't worry we will have internship letter ready . All the protocols will be followed for namesake," Raymond said .When Vikram heard Raymond speak he could sense that there was a sort of contempt and sarcasm in his tone which he didn't like ."Let me make something clear Mr . Raymond . The person whom I am referring here is capable enough to clear all formalities herself . She doesn't n
Akira tried hard to find an internship at multiple places, but she had no luck . But she still kept trying . She would scout Linkedin and all Job portals every single day . With every passing day, she was losing hope but she had to stay strong for her brother . But she had no idea that her guardian angel Vikram had different plans for her .In the afternoon, Vikram's mother called her up and asked her to come for dinner along with Mike . Vikram's mother doted on Akira and given a chance she would marry Vikram and Akira off in a blink of an eye . She was aware of her whole situation and wanted to comfort her as much as possible .Akira called up Mike and said, "Come home early . Aunty has invited us for dinner ok?" .Mike thought for a moment and then said - "I can't Aki . I have some project prep work to finish up . Please say sorry on my behalf," and he disconnected . Akira half-heartedly decided to get ready . She knew that once she reaches there, she would have to face question com
The next two days where quite grueling for not only Raymond but also for his entire taskforce which was involved in the development work . They all stayed throughout, day and night in the office to meet the deadline requirement . They also wanted this project to be a huge success as it was an outcome of their blood and sweat and everything was dependent on how the meeting with Abacus inc went .For the D-day Raymond wore a savvy navy blue suit and the crisp white shirt underneath . He always disliked wearing a tie, but for today he wore one . He also had cufflinks on which have been gifted by his sister Katherine . His perfect features were accentuated by the well-fitted suit and he gave off an aura like a demi-God .He again tried the demo of the game just to be sure that everything was working perfectly . David had already collected a copy of the game and he had all the files ready . Raymond once again reviewed all the files and reports just to double check that everything was in or
Akira was all groggy with a splitting headache when she woke up . Then she saw Advil tablet and a bottle of water next to her on the side table . She thanked her stars and immediately swallowed the medicine . Then she picked up her phone from her handbag and saw multiple missed calls and messages from an unknown number from Singapore . She immediately understood that it was Anthony as she had blocked his original number so she went ahead and blocked his number again .Just then her screen flashed-"Are you up?" . It was a message from Vikram ."Yeah, how was I yesterday? I troubled you all again yesterday, didn't I?," replied Akira ."A bit, but I don't mind as long as you treat me with ice cream," said Vikram . He didn't want her to be upset thinking about what happened yesterday . So he immediately switched the topic .Akira sent him a couple of ice cream GIFs and then went to Mike's room .Both Mike and Teddy were still perching on the bed like grizzly bears . Akira gently laughed
The moment Teddy got to know that Vikram was going to pay for the dinner, he got super excited and started scanning the menu card again and started ordering dish after dish . They all started laughing at his childish behavior .Teddy dismissed them all and said - " I am respecting Vikram's gesture by eating more ok !!!"Vikram laughed and added three beer and one ice tea to the order . Akira knew that the ice tea was meant for her . Vikram knew that Akira had low alcohol tolerance so whenever they used to go out he would always order some mocktail for her ."Can I have a beer today Vikram?" she asked in a coy tone ."Are you nuts?", asked Vikram . "Have you forgotten what you did on my last birthday? You destroyed my sweater and I miss it, man . That was one of my favorites for your kind information and FYI you have already ruined my shirt just a few moments before . I am not letting you ruin anything anymore," said Vikram and shook his head ."Please please, I promise I will behave,"