Torn Between

Dreams

"You've got to be kidding me!", Zoya internally screamed at the mess in front of her, the stack of papers thag flew all over the table and the room while the glass bottle dropped to the floor with a crash, the moment the gush of strong wind entered her dreamy cabin.

"Shivanya, get in here right now", Zoya shouted.
It was not even two seconds after Zoya shouted when a frightened looking Shivanya Gupta entered her cabin. Shivanya Gupta was a fresh intern, bright and studious. She wore a light coloured kurti with cigarette pants, minimalistic jhumkas and her hair was up in a tight bun.
"Yes Ma'am?", Shivanya tried to muster up courage and spoke.

"Did you leave the window open while making the Coffee Machine because the very smell nauseates you and you had to "let it out"?", Zoya spoke sarcastically and air quoted the last phrase.

"Uh, I guess?", Shivanya stuttered.
"Well, you can't climb up the Corporate Ladder by guessing Shivanya. You can't guess your answers and you can't guess your replies. Shivanya, you are more qualified than most people out there, not just for the job but also for what this company needs. What you did, whatever you do, always has a consequence and women like us, we cannot leave any scope for questioning. You left the window open knowing I wouldn't notice. The storm has set in, look at this mess! I cannot deal with such casualty right now.", Zoya explained rationally.

Zoya was a self-made millionaire, the star of the Corporate World with a secret past. Zoya, though young, understood the dark side of the Corporate way tol early in her career. Shivanya was a girl who needed Zoya's help and she was more than ready to offer it. This was a part of her learning process and Zoya would be as harsh as it required for her to be.

"Ma'am I'll get this cleaned right now. Please be careful.", Shivanya wobbled.
"Also, what day is it today?", Zoya asked.
"Thursday, Ma'am", Shivanya spoke as she picked the papers up and arranged them neatly in a pile.
"On Thursdays, we wear formals. And next time, there won't be a warning", Zoya spoke calmly and signaled for her to leave.

Shivanya rushed out of the room. Zoya felt sorry but made a mental note to make it up over a cup of coffee. She was about to shift her focus to her work when her phone ringed.

She glanced at the screen, it was Shrikant. "Right. Of course."
"Heylooooo Zo. Ssup?", Shrikant spoke in a singsong voice.
"Hello, Shrikant. I am working", was Zoya's stern reply.
"I know we aren't exactly lovers, but a soft reply from my wife isn't too much to expect right?", Shrikant sounded hurt.
"Shrikant, have you called me at 12:05 am to complain about how I am not soft enough? Might I remind you that we have our most important meeting coming up? Shrikant, I really need you to be serious about this. I know I might sound too selfish, but I cannot compromise on this deal.", Zoya tried to reason.
"Zo, I know you want the divorce ASAP and leave for New York. I am more than happy to help you in that, always have been. But, we still have a month more of this marriage left and you cannot walk out of the deal. You know that right?", Shrikant spoke quietly.
Shrikant married Zoya because it was a deal that benefitted them both. Zoya needed the marital alliance to achieve her ultimate goal, Shrikant needed to please his father. It did not work out like they write about it in books, neither of them fell in love per se. Shrikant definitely had a crush on Zoya but Zoya was always too clear about her feelings so it never developed.
"I won't. I'll be there at your father's retirement party, it is definitely a joyous enough occasion. I need to finish the powerpoint and be successful enough for the meeting tomorrow. Are you sure there are no details as to who will be attending on behalf of, what is it again?", Zoya sounded utterly confused.
"Flux. Its named Flux. Just go through the pdf of the Wikipedia information I sent you, its all there. No, I have no clue because the email stated nothing. My father has set a dress-code, follow that, basically just please open my texts.", Shrikant concluded.
"Shri,  I will. You know how important this is to me, haaina? I'll have a long video-call with you tomorrow and you can choose what I wear. When are you coming here though? I need to explain everything before I leave."
"In a week, i'll return after Baba's retirement party with you. Now you get to work, talk later.", Shrikant smiled. He never said it out loud but he loved when Zoya called him 'Shri'. Zo was his bestfriend and confidant, there won't be any denying that.
"Bye."

Zoya got back to her work and smiled at her ppt when she finally finished it. She just needed enough sleep and a cup of morning coffee to slay it. She picked her expensive bag up from the chair, straightened her pencil skirt, brushed her hair, picked her phone up from the table and flung her coat over her other hand and left the cabin. It looked spotless, the way she liked it.

She reached the corridor and saw Shivanya still working. She smiled and went up to her.
"Hey, come, I'll drop you. I also need to discuss some things", Zoya spoke softly.
They left the office and took the elevator to the basement. The parking lot was empty except for Zoya's sparkling Audi-A7. It was imported from the US, Zo's little baby.
She climbed in and breathed in the cardamom-vanilla-wood smell of the freshner. The seat beside her was taken by Shivanya.
"Ma'am you didn't have to drop me.", Shivanya told.
"I wanted to."
"Thanks"
"Did you prepare the file for tom? Its a big thing you know"
"Yes Ma'am"
Silence fell.
Zoya took the turn for the highway when Shivanya suddenly spoke.
"Ma'am I am not overstepping but out of all the investments you could have done in Microfinance, why Science? Why would you take such a risk when NYC has always been your dream?", Shivanya asked, curious.
"I always wanted to become a microbiologist. Be a Stem Woman. Do stuff that really impacted others' lives and there were choices. Choices where I could choose if I wanted to do the right thing or the wrong. But I couldn't. I had to do my Chartered and after that, Microfinance was the only place I could really help people where it made a difference. Science was a dream that remained that way and I want to make it a reality for others.", Zoya spoke loud and clear.
"That's deep.", Shivanya chuckled.
"Yeah"

After dropping Shivanya off, Zoya went to her simplistically furnished penthouse. It was worth 16 crores and Zoya was really upset that she would have to leave it if the deal pulled through. She changed into a pair of shorts and a top, heated the leftover from yesterday and climbed into bed with her home laptop. She opened Shrikant's pdf and started reading. Nada. No mention of the owner, the stakes or the shareholders.
"This person clearly is not going to be easy", Zoya chuckled. She liked twisted deals and cracking them was a different high.
She dialed a number and shut her laptop down.
"Hey, I have sent an email, go through it. I want the name by tomorrow.", Zoya said
"Done", came the reply from the other side.
Zoya set an alarm and dozed off.

It was around 4:56 in the morning when an email came in while Zoya was asleep. What would Zoya do when she actually read what was in it? What lay ahead?

Keep Reading my story to find out. I will post the next part soon.

Bye.