‘I have thought it through, Suketu,’ I said earnestly. ‘I’ve been doing nothing but think about this for the last many months! And finally I know what I’m doing. I’m not happy here, doing the kind of work that I’m doing now. And I know that creative work makes me happy. From what little I know about its requirements, and the work we’ve done together on Bright Biscuits, I think I can be good at it too. All I want to do is explore that potential and see if it’s something I can look at as a long-term option, going forward. Maybe I’m making a mistake, but at least I’ll learn something if I’m allowed to make that mistake.’

‘All right,’ Suketu sighed. ‘Well, if that’s what you want, Megha, I’m with you. How do you plan to follow through with this though? Have you spoken to anyone internally?’

‘Not yet, but I will soon,’ I said, smiling at him. ‘I’ll let you know once I have had a word with Shiv. I’m going to need all the help, support and guidance I can get after that!’

‘You can count on me, Megha,’ Suketu grinned, and turned his laptop around so I could see it. ‘So, shall we get back to the presentation?’

We brainstormed for the next forty-five minutes and by the time we were through I had a rough draft for the presentation ready in my mind. I hurried out of the room when we were done, eager to get to my desk and start working on the presentation. Making fancy presentations was really not my thing and I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Maybe I could bounce the presentation off Vijay once it was ready. Glitzy presentations were totally up his alley and I could count on him for some dhamaka effects to increase the impact of the presentation. The office was semi-dark as I made my way back to my desk. It was nearly 7 p.m. and most people had left early since it was a Friday night. I had an hour to kill—since the celebratory dinner Shiv and Puru had planned was at 8.30 p.m.—and I figured I could get some work done on the presentation before heading straight to the restaurant for dinner.

My cellphone beeped and I fished it out of my pocket to see who had sent me a message. I was still looking at the screen as I turned a corner and instantly I collided head-on with somebody who was slouching by the open meeting-room door there.

‘Are you blind?’ Priyanka shrieked, rubbing her temple and glaring at me. She had been standing by the door talking with somebody in low, urgent tones. Yudi. He was right there beside her, hands in his pockets, the Ice Prince mask back on his face as he looked at me. I ignored him and turned to Priyanka.

‘Sorry,’ I said shortly. ‘I just looked at my cell for a second. I didn’t realize you were—’