Ding. Ding. Ding.
Opening my eyes with a slight shudder, I sat up straight trying to look around as the sun rays peeked into my room through the slightly crooked window. My mind was still in a daze from the little power nap I had succumbed into last night although that had by now been perfectly dissipated into thin air by the sound of those notifications.
I took a moment to let my eyes get used to everything when something suddenly clicked into my head. My hands, in a moment, made their way to the keyboard while a million thoughts were running inside my mind like there was some kind of horse race going on in there.
Who would possibly send me an email right now? Has someone finally decided to send me a reply ?
Wait- what if it's a rejection letter again?
I couldn't bring myself to avoid my pessimistic self after having those few miserable turns my life had taken over the last few months, but now that I had opened my email, I couldn't help but pause at the top message that read "The Lavaints". My heart thundered within my ribcage as I knew for a matter that this was most definitely a rejection letter. Hell....if anything this was a humiliation letter. The Lavaints would never accept me as an employee, never, at least not after that extremely scandalous past I shared with their loving yet arrogant boss. I didn't really have it within me to read that mail the first thing after waking up from a not so fulfilling sleep, yet I opened it anyway and-
"It's an acceptance letter. Oh my god my sis you're finally getting a job again. Who- wait aren't they the Lavaints? The Lavaints accepted you- what? I mean it's a good thing and all...but they invited YOU into their company? Are you sure it was not a mistake- ? Oh wait, what if they already found you?"
My ears went deaf to all the commotion happening behind me while my sister was getting all busy with her overthinking self. But my mind. It was just there. It was most definitely not frozen and I was most definitely thinking, I just didn't know what. My nerves stopped and so did the blood around my body. Quickly putting my rumpled, untidy hair into a further unsuccessful bun, I proceeded to read the mail sent by them.
Hi Ms Malhotra,
I am a manager from Lavaint, writing this letter on behalf of the recruitment group. We received your email regarding a job offer last night, and I would like to let you know that we have a few roles available for you. We discussed your CV today, and if it is convenient for you, then we would like to hold an interview with you on the coming 20th April, which is this coming Tuesday, to discuss a few things regarding the recruitment.
For any further questions, please contact us through our official page and we would get back to you as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Adharv Nene (Recruitment Manager)
Reading the mail I sat there for I don't know how long probably lost in the trance. This was true. It was happening, really happening and I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. I was not dreaming right? Because if it was in fact one, then I would never wake up from it, I would just want to lay dead till the end of it. Lavaint had been my dream since I was a young kid, the multinational billion dollar company hailing from India that too excelling in wedding planning! Although I had wanted it all my life, I knew it was impossible. I kept that little glimmer of hope within me deep hidden as if I knew all my life that I had no chance with it. I had always known that the only way to be associated with Lavaints was marriage and I in no life was ready for one.
This really was not what I was expecting, at least not after having seen the last drops of energy within me, all striving to be extinguished. While still in a daze, as if trying to contemplate what was really happening, I let my mind take me back to a certain flashback. A flashback from a few months back when I was a full-time employed woman, with a good, fat amount of monthly salary. It was a life of luxury if not something else, for I worked in a company that I was going to take over in a few month's time, if just not for some stupid arranged marriage....After all, arranging an entire marriage for someone and getting into that powerful, sacred bond with someone are two entirely different things. And marriage was never my cup of tea. But most of all, I had one question....why did the Lavaints accept me? And most importantly, since when did I, in all sense, send an email to them, that too asking for a job? Like them....of all people?
A huge bang from the side got me out of my thoughts as I looked around towards my sister, Ahana with a, 'what?' expression lingering onto my face. Looking at me, she scoffed as if she hadn't done that a million times per day these last six months.
"So ms runaway bride, after all those rejections from various companies, in the end you're now going to be at your former fiancé's feet trying to get him to let dad forgive you and even to marry you as well? Is that what the smart, bold, arrogant Ms. Naina Malhotra, the fearless girl I had always wanted to be like, growing up?"
A huge sigh left my mouth hearing her words while my hands clenched and unclenched trying to release the anger rising within me. Yes I come from a rich family. Yes I ran away from my own wedding. Yes dad won't take me back into his house anymore since I didn't think of his reputation either and he has made it very clear. Yes I have no money as of now and am very successfully leeching off of my elder sister which I never thought I would and yes, I am not going to that stupid guy's stupid interview. He is just a sarcastic idiot who doesn't know his way around business, he never would with that shitty sunshine personality but his ways are going to make it harder for Lavaint.
Sucking in a deep breath, I replied back with a, "I am not going to that interview", my voice laced with a deep layer of cold that nobody could break through. Frowning at me my sister replied in a gentler voice, "But I can't always give you money, can I? What if dad gets to know, he is already suspecting enough and I don't think it's good for me to even come by so often. He might as well hire people to follow me and that might lead to you. You know what happens next." As she finished, I knew that very moment what she was on about. If dad gets to know, this is how I have been living, then he most possibly won't ever take me back in and that would leave me all without a penny. He has even blocked all my cards, goddamn it!
"So what.....you want me to go to his office and do that shitty interview knowing very well that all he probably wants to do is humiliate me for so just wanting something for myself for once?", I asked with my voice filled with agony mixed with frustration and a growing hatred for that guy.
"No baby, you don't have to but- but I can't just always be there for you, can I? I don't know when is the next time that I can come back for you plus I don't even know what Dad has got planned for me on the other end. As an elder sister, I am allowed to be scared, aren't I? Go there darling- go there.....what's worse he gonna do? Plus he's not gonna take the interview is he? Someone else will, I am definitely sure and if you're lucky enough you might even be given a post which won't allow you to come face to face with him." Ahana finished her words while I could clearly see the worry in her eyes and I couldn't be more thankful for anything than having such a loving and caring family.
"But Ahana", I replied with a voice full of extreme anticipation and frustration, "Fine, I will go there just because you're forcing me so much. But when did I exactly send them an email applying for a job at their company? Let me wrap my head around it all, I don't happen to remember a single thing about it. I don't think it is even possible for me, me, Naina Malhotra, to go up to them and work with them like I didn't run away from mine and their ceo's marriage a few months back. I know that they may have never seen me, but it is just not in my mind-." I was all into pouring my emotions to Ahana when she cut me off mid sentence and showed me her hand to stop.
"You really don't remember anything?" She asked me as if she was expecting a yes but I nodded my head in denial as I saw her sigh in disappointment. "Do you not remember that night, when I came to meet you, like three weeks ago, I got some of your favorite branded wines and we drank ourselves to death. I even got home and was told off by Papa for drinking so much. We were not that drunk when you told me how you had always wished to work with them and that you were going to write an email to them just in case although you knew they were eventually going to reject you but you didn't mind as long as you tried enough. You didn't want to live your life, drowned in regret, of not being able to fulfill that one wish of yours, but now see, you yourself forgot about it."
Hearing her words, my mind filled up with an unknown warmth as if I had always known about this. I felt happy, yes I could feel that tingling in my heart. It was subtle but it was most definitely there. And I couldn't be more than happier about it. I had millions of questions but I didn't need to know their answers. At least not yet. Just like how Papa says that we don't necessarily get all the answers to every question in life just through our elders, we find it ourselves and we live in the moment. We make mistakes but we learn through it, we learn by it and we refrain from making those same mistakes all over again. That's what life is all about and for now, I am happy with my one drunk decision. I still don't know how I am going to hide my real self from everyone in the company, and how they are all going to react if they ever happen to get to know the real me, but for now I want to live in this moment. I want to cherish it and I most definitely want to cherish that one dream of mine. To work with the Lavaints, to work for them, and maybe even to learn from them.
Taking me out of my thoughts, Ahana announced that she was going back home as dad didn't really like anyone outside home for so long, at least not after the incident with me. Ahana, although didn't want to say it to my face but I knew she was getting worn out from all this helping and taking care of the entire Malhotra family and the company in my absence. I knew by fact that my brother wasn't really a help in these cases. And I didn't want to add up to her worries anymore. Henceforth I made up my mind mentally to go to his office once, and see for myself what that Aryan whatever had in his bag, to get me humiliated In front of everyone. And even if he didn't necessarily have anything to do with him, I wanted to meet up with him at least once and see for myself the kind of guy I had gotten rid of off my back.
Time skip - 3 hours
Looking around my tiny one bedroom studio, I left a huge sigh of relief looking at all the work I had done for the day. My messy room was almost back in place, with all the junk food wrappers and snacks into the trash, my dirty clothes all stacked into the washing machine and the entire room having been cleaned. The air freshener that Ahana had got for me the other day after complaining about how stinky my room was, was giving it a further refreshing look. I really couldn't help but miss my old room tho...my old house, it was a place where my entire childhood had been, and I never believed I would have to leave it like this.
The massive paperwork that was spread all over my coffee table had been taking up my head from the last few hours and it was paining like crazy by now. This had never happened before...I was always used to doing so much paperwork, attending meetings, talking to clients, signing contracts and deals, going over ppts and even contract sheets. I was used to it all, this busy life was always what I had done, and it was always what I had asked for. It was nothing more and nothing else. Not thinking much about this ridiculous turn in my life, I focused myself onto the work that was to be done to look a bit more presentable for Tuesday's meeting.
Although I did not say it out loud, I am a bit scared about how the interview is going to go, probably because of having faced so much rejection over the last two months. If I am not entirely lying, this whole process has decreased my confidence to a level that it almost made me think that I probably got my manager position because of my dad. I have started believing that every accomplishment I have ever made in my life was all a work of my dad. I have questioned myself a lot, gone over every project I had ever worked on, drowned myself in alcohol and almost acted like a depressed widow.
And that's when it hit me, I can't go back home like this. I am not a beggar who's gonna beg for a position from her dad, just for the sake of inheritance. Isn't that why he wanted me to get married? Because he couldn't trust me enough to look after his company? Wasn't it so that I could have a helping and supporting hand by myself just in case things got wrong from my side? And am I not proving him almost right by not being able to get a job over the last two months? Fine then- I am gonna prove myself to him, work on whatever skills I lack and I will show him in due time that I don't need someone to be by my side. I am a woman, an independent one and I don't need anyone to be with me.
Getting out of my thoughts, I drowned myself into the paperwork while making a ppt on some detailed weddings, big and famous ones and even those that were not as big but fairly well known in the country. It was Saturday and I had two days in hand, to make myself look as much presentable as possible so I tried doing my best for the much awaited interview. I even did some research on Lavaint although I knew most of it, as they had been our business partner for years, but I still had to work on some of their major project deals and contracts. Going through all their major achievements in the last twenty two years, I made a few notes on how things could've been done differently for today's generation and what things were done perfectly according to time back in the days. It was quite a lot of work, so I successfully managed to pull an all-nighter with around eight cups of coffee and three packs of ordered fried chickens. All while not-so-patiently waiting for my d-day to arrive.