Echoes of MaAn: Love beyond Separation

||89|| A Day in The Life of CEO Anuj Kapadia

It was a sunny morning at the Kapadia mansion, and while the rest of the world saw Anuj Kapadia as the brilliant CEO of Kapadia Global Ventures, one of the world's top companies, at home he was simply "Papa" to his eight-month-old son, Aadhymaan. Anuj had taken over the company from his father, Rajesh, after completing his MBA and had grown it into an international powerhouse. But today, his work-from-home plan was about to collide with fatherhood in a way he hadn't quite anticipated.

Anuj sat in his home office, focused on the numbers displayed on his laptop. He was reviewing a critical report for an upcoming board meeting, trying to balance the responsibilities of running a global business from the comfort of his home. Just as he leaned back, satisfied with the progress he was making, he heard the unmistakable sound of tiny hands smacking the floor—Aadhymaan was on the move.

Before Anuj could react, the door to his office burst open, and in toddled his little tornado of mischief, giggling as if he'd just discovered a treasure. The moment Aadhymaan spotted Anuj, his tiny face lit up with excitement.

"Uh oh," Anuj muttered, knowing what was about to come.

Without hesitation, Aadhymaan crawled at lightning speed toward Anuj's desk, his chubby hands reaching for anything he could grab—laptop wires, papers, pens, and even Anuj's mouse.

"Aadhymaan, no!" Anuj exclaimed, gently pulling his son away from the laptop as the baby's tiny fingers smashed the keyboard, sending the carefully organized files into chaos. The screen flickered, and windows popped up everywhere.

Anuj sighed, picking up the giggling baby. "You really know how to crash a meeting, don't you, little man?"

Just then, the door to the office opened again, and Madhav, Anupama's father, strolled in with a warm smile. "What's going on here? Looks like the CEO has some serious competition!"

Anuj grinned as he balanced Aadhymaan in his arms. "Oh, you have no idea, Papa. This little guy is turning my office into a playground."

Madhav laughed, patting Anuj on the back. "Well, what did you expect? You work from home, you get to be a full-time dad too! Looks like you're not getting much work done today."

"I'm trying, but he's not exactly making it easy," Anuj replied, giving Aadhymaan a playful tickle, which earned him another fit of giggles.

"Come on, let me help you out," Madhav offered, reaching for his grandson. "I'll take him for a while so you can focus."

Anuj happily handed over the wriggling bundle of energy. "You're a lifesaver, Papa. Just make sure he doesn't end up turning your room upside down instead."

Madhav chuckled as he carried Aadhymaan out of the office, and as they headed toward the living room, Rajesh, Anuj's father, spotted them. His eyes lit up at the sight of his grandson.

"Ah, my little champ!" Rajesh exclaimed, taking Aadhymaan from Madhav's arms. "What have you been up to, young man? Causing trouble in your papa's office again?"

Aadhymaan babbled excitedly, as if confirming that yes, he had indeed been up to no good. The two grandfathers laughed, taking turns playing with the energetic baby. But soon, Aadhymaan decided he had had enough of their games and made a beeline back toward Anuj's office.

"Oh no, he's on the move again," Madhav chuckled. "Looks like he wants to go back to his dad."

Before they could catch him, Aadhymaan crawled away at surprising speed, straight back to Anuj's office. The door was slightly ajar, and he wasted no time pushing it open and entering.

Anuj was in the middle of another call, deep into a discussion with one of his senior managers, when he saw his son crawl in and make a beeline for the desk once again. Anuj's eyes widened.

"Aadhymaan, no, not again!" he whispered, trying to juggle his phone and reach for his son at the same time.

But it was too late. Aadhymaan reached up, grabbing the mouse cord and pulling it, knocking down a stack of papers in the process. Anuj scrambled to mute his phone and hurriedly reached for his son, who, instead of stopping, found the whole ordeal hilarious and began giggling uncontrollably.

Just as Anuj was about to scoop him up, Anupama, Sushma, and Meera passed by the office, talking about their upcoming shopping trip. Hearing Anuj's exasperated tone, they paused by the door, peeking inside.

Sushma stifled a laugh. "Looks like our little one's giving his papa a hard time."

Meera chuckled. "Anuj was always so organized, and now he's dealing with this whirlwind."

Anupama grinned mischievously. "Oh, now he knows how I felt yesterday when this little guy pulled the entire milk vessel all over himself in the kitchen."

Anupama stepped into the office and watched as Anuj, frazzled and half-laughing, struggled to manage both his work and his playful son. With a teasing smile, she walked up behind him, just like Anuj had done the day before in the kitchen when she was stressed.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissed him softly on the cheek, and whispered, "Babe, how's it going?"

Anuj froze for a moment, remembering how he had done the exact same thing when Anupama had been mad at the mess Aadhymaan caused the day before. The kiss sent a wave of calm through him, and he couldn't help but smile.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" he said, still holding onto the giggling baby.

Anupama laughed. "Well, it worked on me, didn't it?"

Anuj sighed and turned to face her, the stress melting away. "I can't even be mad at him when you do that."

Meera and Sushma watched from the door, amused by the scene unfolding before them. Meera leaned over to Sushma and whispered, "I bet she's the only one who can calm him down like that."

Sushma nodded in agreement, her eyes twinkling. "It's always the wife who knows how to handle her husband."

Just then, as if on cue, Aadhymaan, still in Anuj's arms, let out an excited shout. "Papa! Papa!" he babbled, clearly delighted by the attention from both his parents.

Anuj smiled proudly. "See, he's already learning who's the boss around here."

Anupama raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is he now?"

As the family shared a light-hearted moment, Anuj felt his phone buzz on the desk. Before he could grab it, Aadhymaan had already reached for it, his tiny hands swiping at the screen. He giggled as the phone unlocked, and within seconds, the baby had opened Anuj's email app and sent out a series of garbled messages.

"Oh no," Anuj groaned, realizing that his son had just sent random gibberish to his entire executive team. "He's going to get me fired at this rate!"

Anupama burst out laughing. "Well, at least he's getting you some time off."

Anuj shook his head, defeated but amused. "I guess I should start sending out apology emails now."

As Anuj tried to wrestle his phone back from his determined son, Anupama leaned in and kissed him again, this time on the forehead. "You'll figure it out, babe. You always do."

With that, Anuj couldn't help but laugh. No matter how chaotic things got, these moments with his family—his wife, his son, and his parents—were what made it all worth it.

Madhav, who had been watching from the hallway, stepped in and clapped Anuj on the back. "See, I told you, Anuj. Nothing like a little bit of chaos to keep life interesting."

Anuj grinned, shaking his head as he looked around at his family, who had gathered in his office, now a makeshift playground for his son. "You're right, Papa. Chaos or not, I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Just as Anuj said that, Aadhymaan let out another giggle and reached for the laptop again, ready to cause more mischief.

Anuj groaned, but he was smiling. "Here we go again."