“Yes, Ma. I just reached the office. I will call you soon...”
Akshara smiled at her friend and co-worker, Nia as she pushed open the door to her office to place her bag inside.
“Akshara, what’s with the bag? Are you going away for the weekend?” Nia winked.
Akshara shook her head, smiling. “No.”
Nia stood by the entrance of Akshara’s office as she frantically turned on her computer. “What is going on?”
Akshara laughed. “Rohan and his parents are coming to my parents’ house for dinner. I have a few sarees in the bag, so I can change into one of them for this evening.”
“How exciting? So, Rohan is the one?” Nia clapped excitedly.
“I don’t know if he is the one, but I like him. He is nice,” Akshara said.
“But if the parents are meeting, then it’s got to mean something.” Nia giggled.
“Maybe. I’ve barely known Rohan for a month, but he thinks it’s time for our parents to meet.”
“I hope he is not rushing you into anything.”
Akshara shrugged. “Maybe I need a little bit of a push.”
“One more eligible bachelor taken, huh?” Nia laughed.
Akshara nodded. “My parents and my brother are more excited.”
“He is nice, has a great job, and looks good. He checks all the boxes,” Nia teased.
Akshara chuckled. “It’s too soon. I met him a few times with my cousins, but I’m not sure if we know each other that well.”
“Take your time. I can’t wait to hear every detail of the evening. Maybe he will propose.” Nia laughed, making Akshara roll her eyes as she dialed into her meeting.
Nia and Akshara met on their employment training program six years ago when they were hired right out of college. She loved her job in the Human Resources Department, and every aspect of her job excited her.
As she listened to the company-wide weekly call, she looked at her calendar and saw that she was supposed to meet an exchange employee from Singapore at ten for his orientation, right after this meeting.
Abhimanyu Birla.
The machinery technician is on a rotation with The Saxena Group for six months, and he was assigned to the main factory unit where Akshara worked. She made notes of the areas she wanted to walk him through during their conversation and the sections of the factory she wanted him to tour as part of the orientation.
The process for international rotation employees was different, and a Human Resources person was assigned to each one of the employees for their rotation and worked closely with them.
Akshara was thankful that her first meeting of the morning wrapped up early so she could gather her notes she had made in preparation for the meeting with the new employee. The company gave high importance to the employee exchange program and believed that the employees at the factory benefited from the shared experiences.
She placed the orientation packet on her desk and stepped out to get her morning coffee and stopped at Nia’s office. “Can I get you some coffee?”
Nia blew her a kiss. “You are a darling. I would like a large one, please. I need it for my upcoming meeting.”
“You got it.” Akshara walked to the break room and poured coffee in two mugs and headed back to her office. Just as she turned a corner, she became aware of a person walking toward her. She tried to slow down before she splashed two mugs of hot coffee on the person in front of her but could not without risking spilling coffee on herself.
