Along the Lines of Love | ✓

Epilogue

"That bad?"

He said nothing.

"What happened Nikhil?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Sachin and I had a major difference of opinion on this new project we are working on. He thinks I am being over ambitious and that it could be a big risk."

"What do you think?"

"I have come so far taking risks, Sharanya. I don't want DreamDigital to be stagnant. I know the project will either sail gloriously or sink to the depths. But there's only one way to find out."

"What's the worse that could happen?"

"Some clients may leave us, we might lose a good amount of resources and the failure could make the company look like a failure. But if things go well, we might scale by ten times."

"And you're willing to take that risk just in hope for something even better?"

Nikhil sighed. Sharanya was very different from him. He knew she'd side with Sachin at this. She was the kind who played by the rule book, who kept out of trouble at all costs. She always played safe.

"I didn't want to talk about this...for this reason."

"Sachin is not wrong Nikhil. If there's so much you have to lose then you cannot be over ambitious about this project. You need to tread with caution."

Nikhil kept quiet. It was better than arguing. He had argued with Sachin hours back. But didn't want to argue with Sharanya. Not when she had her own load of stressful situations to deal with.

Sharanya pulled away looking at him, "Nikhil, didn't you tell me the other day that Sachin is the critique, is the check to your zealous achiever? He's been with you since the start. He's always there to back you. But if he isn't doing it this time, it's because he's seen some red flags that you've probably missed."

Nikhil sighed.

"Say it." She said.

He turned to meet her eyes. He hated it when she wasn't on his side. He simply stared at her.

"I am not saying that you're wrong. I am just saying that you should be careful. And I may not know Sachin personally, but I know him through everything you've told me about him. And he seems like a person who just wishes you well, always."

Nikhil nodded slightly. He was not used to taking advice from anyone when it came to work. He did what he thought was right. No doubt, he love ranting to Sharanya about his work life. After years he had someone who would listen to his rant.

Others never understood that he could have complaints about work too, so what if he was the founder and runner of the company. But Sharanya, she understood. She always patiently listened. Sometimes she comforted him, sometimes she had advice to offer and sometimes she just heard him out in silence.

"Akshu, dropped by earlier today." Sharanya said after long minutes of silence. She could sense his tension and decided to divert this thoughts.

Her voice brought Nikhil out of his endless thoughts. He turned to look at his wife. He had somehow grown to dislike Sharanya's father and brother. However, Akshaya was an exception. She'd drop by sometimes to give Sharanya company when she wasn't feeling well, sometimes they'd go out.

"She bought toys," A light twinkle shone in his wife's eyes.

"Nice. You don't let me buy anything, but others can." He muttered.

Sharanya sighed. She didn't know why, but she was scared. Scared of all that that could go wrong. Nikhil wanted to buy a cradle, toys, clothes, and other stuff; basically all that their baby would need but Sharanya told him to hold his horses and that they wouldn't buy anything until the last week.