Hamesha - Always

last breaths | bonus piece

ManikxNandini requested a leap and a bonus update toh here we go, dedicating this part to her! :P

Thank you for all your love everyone, hope I've done some justice to this series with this epilogue! <3

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Three years later...

In what would ordinarily be one of the most boring parts of the office, that dealt with managing employee regulations and monitoring employee records on a daily basis, a young woman's presence had been enchanting... and drawing the most crowd.

Employees from all departments would take a stroll through the Human Resources wing in their breaks to share sprinkles of random stories, that would become full-fledged debates or discussions depending on everyone's moods. And above all, it was this one segment in the office where coffee and its flavour profiles would be discussed in a lot of detail.

One of the design engineers who shared a passion similar to Manik's fascination with black coffee and no sugar pushed an unopened carton toward her. "Did you hear about the mint chocolate chip fiasco?"

Nandini took off her blue filter glasses and swivelled in her chair, twirling the box between her fingers. "I know right, like what the hell? Aise coffee kaun peeta hai bhai!?" She had skimmed through the ingredient list, and by that point, there were too many other flavours mixed into it that it was barely even coffee.

A senior member peeped behind Nandini's desk and brought her eyes to slits. "Nandini, you represent HR, you should be a good role model to the rest of the team," In saying so, she mildly smiled behind her monitor.

Most people in the department had been marketing officers or something in the communications field, slowly climbing up the ladder before landing in Human Resources. As a result, many lacked enthusiasm in their job.

It had indeed been energising to see a fresh face openly express her opinions with a strong sense of conviction, and question the choices of the higher-ups in the company that manufactured and supplied coffee across the country. But within the boundaries of an office, there were certain expectations and regulations to be followed.

Nandini bit her tongue. "Sorry ma'am." She crouched in her seat, swatting some air between her and her colleague. Then meekly she said, "Tum baadme aayiyo, yeh khadoos hume baat karne nahi degi!"

She went back to typing up a job application for a new opening in the company, being mindful of the time on her computer. 2:26. At 4:00 sharp, she would be out the door and off to meet some of her favourite people on the planet. Maybe she would also take that hideous flavour to him and get some firsthand customer feedback on their product.

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She was running down the series of stairs with a shimmery tote flying on her shoulders, feeling over the moon.

She had been questioned by a manager about why she had been so joyous and logged off an hour before clock-out time. In her defense, it was a very important day–so she called it a family emergency.

Her phone rang. She knew who it was even before checking it, because it had been less than two minutes since she'd sent a message on the family group about recipe ideas for a quick snack.

Usually, just as Nandini picked the phone, there would be a quarrel between the incompatible couple that would span along for a few minutes. So Nandini accepted it and waited for the complaining tone to stop.