After the boys left and the office quieted down, I sank back into my chair, staring at the empty pizza boxes still littering the table. Aarohi, on the other hand, was practically bouncing off the walls, her excitement about this trip spilling over like a kid on a sugar rush.
But as much as I tried to share in her energy, my mind kept drifting back to reality—my actual reality. I've got a collection to launch in less than a week. An entire line of high-end, meticulously designed pieces that I've poured every ounce of creativity into, and guess what? Everything is falling apart.
Half the samples haven't even arrived yet, and don't get me started on the delayed shipments. My team's cracking under the pressure, and now I'm supposed to be planning for a trip? In two weeks? Seriously, what was I thinking agreeing to this?
I nod along as Aarohi keeps chattering about villa options, but my brain is stuck on the endless to-do list waiting for me tomorrow. A week until the launch, two weeks until the trip, and it feels like I'm in the middle of a ticking time bomb.
"Hey, Maya?" Aarohi waves her hand in front of my face, pulling me out of my spiral. "You with me?"
I blink, forcing myself to focus. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about...work."
Aarohi grins, totally oblivious to the trainwreck happening inside my head. "You'll be fine! You always pull it off, and then boom—Greece!"
I fake a smile. "Yeah, totally." Inside, I'm thinking, Greece? I'll be lucky if I make it through the next week without a full-on breakdown.
I try to listen as she continues to gush about the trip, but all I can hear is the mental checklist I haven't even started yet. Delegating sounds like a good idea, but this collection? I can't risk handing it over to anyone else. And the idea of packing for a two-week trip? In the middle of all this? It feels impossible.
Why did I agree to this trip again?
My phone buzzes with a work notification, and I groan quietly. Another fire to put out.
"Okay, so flights are booked! We're all set," Aarohi announces, clapping her hands like she just solved world hunger.
"Awesome," I say, trying to match her enthusiasm. But all I can think about is the growing storm of tasks that won't magically disappear while I'm away. How am I going to survive this?
As Aarohi keeps buzzing around with excitement, I plaster on a smile, nodding like I'm totally on board. But inside? Inside, I'm already calculating how many all-nighters it'll take to pull this off.
Just two weeks, Maya, I remind myself. Two weeks, and then you'll be sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere, pretending like everything isn't on fire back home.
Aarohi finally heads out, still bubbling over with excitement, leaving me alone with the remnants of our "productive" meeting. I let out a long sigh, rubbing my temples. The office is quiet now, the way I like it. But my head is anything but peaceful.
I scroll through my emails, the urgent ones glaring back at me with their red exclamation marks. Half my suppliers are behind schedule, the marketing team is panicking, and the PR launch is barely holding together by a thread. If I don't get this collection perfect, it'll be my reputation on the line. Not to mention, the company's.
Aarohi's voice is still echoing in my head: "Greece! We'll have so much fun!"
Fun. Right. I can't even remember the last time I had that. But it's hard to focus on that when I've got deadlines closing in like a pack of wolves.
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, trying to block out the mountain of problems I need to deal with. Maybe this trip will be good for me, I think, almost sarcastically. I could use a break, even if the idea of stepping away from the madness feels like jumping out of a plane with no parachute.
My phone buzzes again. Another email, another problem. I pick it up, glance at the subject line, and toss it back on the desk without opening it. Not tonight. I can't deal with it tonight.
As if on cue, there's a knock at the door. I open my eyes, half-expecting Aarohi to bounce back in with more trip ideas, but it's Saira, my assistant, standing there looking way too calm for someone who's been running around putting out fires all day.
"Hey, Maya," she says, stepping in cautiously. "I know you've had a long day, but we've got some decisions to make regarding the collection. The manufacturers need final confirmations by tomorrow morning, or we're risking more delays."
I sigh. Of course. There's no such thing as a real end to the day, is there?
"Right," I say, pushing myself up and trying to snap into work mode. "Let's get this over with."
Saira sits down, pulling out her tablet with a list of problems—each one feeling like a nail in the coffin of my sanity. We go over the details, and I make the necessary decisions, but my mind keeps wandering. Wandering to the pile of responsibilities that keep getting bigger and the impossibility of balancing everything.
After we're done, Saira hesitates before leaving. "Maya, you've been...really tense lately," she says gently. "Are you sure about taking this trip? It seems like a lot is piling up."
I give her a tight smile. "It'll be fine," I say, more to myself than to her. "I'll handle it."
She nods, but I can tell she's not convinced. Neither am I, honestly. But what choice do I have?
Once she's gone, I stare out the office window at the city lights below, feeling the weight of everything press down on me. The launch, the trip, the constant balancing act I'm supposed to master. It's exhausting.
I close my laptop with a snap, standing up to pace the room. I need to clear my head, but all I can think about is how to survive the next couple of weeks without completely crashing.
You've got this, Maya, I tell myself, though it feels more like a lie than a pep talk. Just keep moving.
I grab my bag, determined to head home and at least pretend to get some rest before tomorrow comes crashing down on me all over again. But deep down, I know this is just the calm before the storm. And I'm running out of time to figure out how to weather it.
The next morning, I walked into the office with a sense of dread, like any other day, expecting the usual chaos. But to my surprise, things seemed... quieter. Not in the eerie, something's-about-to-blow-up kind of way, but the rare calm that comes when something actually works.
As soon as I sat down at my desk, Saira popped in, tablet in hand, and a rare smile on her face. "Maya, good news," she said, like she couldn't wait to get it out. "The designs we sent to the manufacturer? They came back approved. No further revisions needed. And they're starting production today."
Wait. What?
I blinked at her, trying to process the words. "Are you serious?" I asked, not even trying to hide my shock.
Saira nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's looking like things are finally lining up. The materials you approved? They arrived early this morning. And the PR team finalized the campaign visuals. We're...we're actually on track."
I stared at her for a second, waiting for the punchline, the catch, the thing that was going to derail this tiny bit of success. But there wasn't one.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like I could breathe. "Well, that's...unexpected," I said, trying to play it cool but feeling the wave of relief hit me.
Saira laughed, probably sensing my disbelief. "I know, right? It's like the universe decided to throw us a bone for once."
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples as the tension I'd been carrying for days slowly started to melt away. "I'll take it. Let's not question it too much before it changes its mind."
She grinned and took a seat. "I thought you'd want to know before your meeting with the designers later. We might actually have a few hours where we're not in full crisis mode."
"Miracles do happen," I muttered, scrolling through the emails that suddenly didn't feel like ticking time bombs.
The day rolled on, and for the first time in weeks, things actually worked. The design team brought in some new samples around noon, and they were good—like, really good. They nailed the textures, the cuts, everything. I couldn't stop staring at them, half-expecting to find some glaring flaw. But no. They were as perfect as they could get.
"Wow," I said under my breath as I examined the latest dress design. "This actually looks...solid."
The head designer, Mira, smirked from across the table. "Thanks, Maya. I know it's been a rough few weeks, but we're in a good place now."
"I can see that," I said, genuinely impressed. "It's really coming together. If we keep this momentum, the collection might actually go off without a hitch."
Mira gave me a nod, her expression a mix of relief and pride. "We've been pushing hard, but we're getting there."
"Keep up the good work," I said, trying not to sound too optimistic in case fate decided to mess with me again. But honestly, I was feeling something close to optimism for the first time in a while.
As the team dispersed and I sat back down at my desk, a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. It felt foreign, after everything, but maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting to turn around.
I opened my planner and looked at the week ahead. The trip was in two weeks, and for the first time, I wasn't completely dreading it. Maybe, if I played my cards right, I could make this work.
Sure, the stress was still there. The collection launch was coming up fast, and it would be a race to the finish line. But now? Now it felt manageable.
As Saira popped her head back into my office, I couldn't help but grin. "Looks like we might survive this, after all."
She gave me a thumbs up. "Never doubted it for a second."
Okay, maybe things were looking up. Just maybe.