CHAPTER 1

Prabhu's POV

The time is already 11 PM. I parked my car and got into the lift and pressed #7 to reach my apartment floor. It was a long day in the office. I had to finish the project and also make sure that everything is ready for tomorrow's client meeting. Tomorrow, I have to go earlier to the office and also I need to finish that damn presentation for our new project.

The sound 'ting' from the lift broke my chain of thoughts.

I entered my double bedroom apartment, took a shower and changed into comfortable cotton shorts. I set an alarm on my mobile for the next day to work and opened my WhatsApp. I had 30 texts. 1 Good night from my Amma(Amma means 'Mom' in Tamil) and others from my cousin Janaki and my sister Vidhya.

They are best friends and studying CA(Chartered Accountancy) inter in the same institution. They were so close because they studied in the same school from kindergarten and also related by family.

My parent's 25th wedding anniversary is coming after 2 weeks. Janaki and Vidhya want to get some presents and decorative items for the celebration. They are staying in the hostel and they need me to be their driver and their luggage porter for this weekend. That's why they sent those 30 messages to confirm about the shopping.

I sent them OK and drifted off to sleep within a few minutes.

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I woke up at 5 AM, finished my morning routine and went to the nearby playground for jogging. I came after 30 mins and did exercises for 30 mins.

I called my friend and my Team leader Akash to confirm the time of the new client's meeting. I love cooking but I don't have enough time today to cook. I reached office and completed the presentation and also the reports of the last project and forwarded it to Akash for approval.

The meeting is scheduled after lunch. So I ordered Thalapakati mutton biriyani and chicken fry for lunch

(Biriyani is kind of mixed rice made of spices, rice and meat. It is a popular non-vegetarian food for Indians. And Thalapakati hotel is famous for mouthwatering biriyani in Tamilnadu)

During lunchtime, my colleagues on the next table were speaking of the company's plan of firing some people for certain reasons.

I am wondering what would be the reason for sudden expelling and how those people can manage.

After having a satisfactory lunch, I checked mail for approval from Team leader.

But to my surprise, I was requested to handle the meeting with new clients which is supposed to be done by Akash. Anyway, I successfully finished it and forwarded the report to Akash.

There is something odd happening in the office. Usually, Team leaders will handle those meetings. And the behaviour of Akash is quite different today. He had been acting weird the whole time during the client meeting.

I have to ask him after office time.

So I diverted my concentration on preparing the new project details which have to be shared with our team. When I opened the mail to send it for Akash's approval, I got a new mail from the company's board. My mind rewinds the conversation of my colleagues during lunch.

I was nervous to open it because I joined here only 10 months ago. Usually, newcomers are most likely to be expelled from the Multinational companies. So I am having a second thought to open it. My mind acting against my wish to open the mail. I took a deep breath before deciding what to do.