Unfulfilled Desires

Team leader

I screamed, spotting her tears, "Get out of my sight or I'll fire you!"

Shweta exploded from the cabin. Angad, who stood next to my table, was shivering with terror as he saw my outraged red face.

I knelt on the table, bowed my head, and placed my palm on top of it.

I was at a loss what to do.

I took a big breath and dialed Mr. Dhawan's number right away.

"Good morning, sir,"

"Good morning, Riya," Mr. Dhawan replied.

"Sir, I was hoping you'd started mass manufacturing," I asked, a little hesitantly.

On the other end of the phone, Mr. Dhawan responded, "No, just starting today."

"Please, Sir, don't start production right now," I pleaded, nervously moving from my seat.

"What happened?"

"Is there an issue?" Mr. Dhawan enquired after noticing my uncomfortable demeanor.

"Yes, sir, there has been a major mess. I'm on my way to you. As I ran out of the cabin and onto the production floor, I said, "Please don't start the production till then."

I went to Mr. Dhawan's office and told him everything that had happened.

"How can you be so irresponsible?" Mr. Dhawan shouted, taking a long breath. I didn't expect this from you, Riya.

Slowly, I bowed my head and apologized.

Mr. Dhawan stood up from his chair and said, "Riya, I think we should go talk to the plant head because of the production delay."

As I departed the cabin with Mr. Dhawan, I said, "All right, sir."

How did you make such a tremendous blunder, Riya? Something else has to take place. The plant head inquired, trying to learn the whole truth.

My carelessness has caused all the work to go wrong; I apologize terribly, sir.

I replied, bending my head in acknowledgment of my error.

"Okay, Riya, if the fault is yours, you will also get punishment; I immediately ended you from this project; Mr. Angad will now lead this project," the plant's head said.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I attempted to nod my head.

As I walked out of the plant head's cabin, I softly muttered, "Sorry, sir, and thank you."

From my cell phone, I contacted Angad's number and requested that the testing result be emailed to them.

"Ma'am, but the mail has to come from your email address?" Angad inquired after hearing my response.

"No, Angad," I said, tears in my eyes, "you'll be in charge of this project from here on out," I continued.

Ma'm, it is entirely Shweta's fault; therefore, why are you punishing yourself?" When Angad noticed him turning around, he asked the question.

"Angad, pay close attention to what I'm saying; no one should know Shweta was at fault; otherwise, everyone will doubt her abilities.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to communicate? Women are taken for granted by everyone, regardless of their circumstances.

With tears in my eyes, I replied as I wiped them away.

"Are you crying, Ma'am?" Angad was perplexed by the pain in my voice and inquired.

"No, Angad, I wish you the best of luck with this project.

Always keep in mind that I am available to assist you whenever you require it. This is your chance to show your abilities to the entire audience."

I was there to support him.

He replied firmly, "No ma'am, it's not right."

As soon as I put the phone down, I walked right into the restroom and locked myself in.

Maintaining control over my emotions proved difficult for me.

In the restroom, it was a wonderful place to cry my eyes out.

It didn't take long for my eyes to well up with tears as soon as the restroom door was closed.

My thoughts had become extremely light after crying for a long period, but my eyes had become completely red. I'd been in the restroom for approximately 30 minutes.

I can't afford to be sluggish because I have to deal with the rest of my work.

I will never allow a problem to impact the members of my team.

When I was new to the company, like Shweta, my manager used to get reprimanded by my senior for any mistakes I made.

It was a humiliating experience.

When I was younger, I used to tell myself that if I ever became a boss, I would put none of my employees in harm's way.

"Are you fine, Riya?"

Ashish's message popped into the message box.

I'd noticed that an incident that occurred a while ago had turned into office gossip.

"I'm fine; it's just a part of the job."

When I finished typing the message, I went inside the cabin and answered a couple of erroneous emails before getting back to work on the rest of the urgent chores.

"Riya, do you mind if I come in?"

Rachit, who was standing outside my cabin door, asked for permission.

Yes, sir, I said as I rose from my chair to greet him as he approached me.

My awareness of his presence had increased significantly by this point. However, I lacked the confidence to stand against him.