Tangled Beliefs

Chapter-13: Father's and Decisions

Ambition is a double-edged sword—building empires on one hand and carving cracks in relationships on the other.

Manik's POV,

Mornings used to be my sanctuary—a small window of peace before the chaos of the day took over. But today, even the thought of stepping into the office was irritating me. The reports I'd reviewed last night had set my mood off-kilter. Declining product demand, lack of foresight, and a complete absence of innovative strategies—it was unacceptable. I hated inefficiency, and worse, I hated when problems were allowed to fester until they became nearly unmanageable.

I was a perfectionist; I expected the best, and anything less than that was an insult to my efforts. If I could work tirelessly to build this empire, I expected my team to match my standards.

By the time I arrived at the office, my mood was already hanging by a thread. The elevator ride felt too slow, and even the faint ding of the doors opening grated on my nerves. I stepped out and immediately spotted Miss Murthy waiting outside. She greeted me politely, her tone professional as always, and I gave her a curt nod.

I listened half-heartedly as she started detailing the day's schedule, but my mind was elsewhere, already strategizing how to fix the mess the marketing team had created. When she finished, I interrupted, “Arrange a meeting with the marketing department immediately. I don’t want to waste any time.”

She nodded and walked off. I made my way to my office, trying to suppress the irritation that kept bubbling to the surface. By the time she came back to inform me that the team was waiting in the conference room, I was ready to let loose on whoever had allowed this issue to spiral out of control.

The conference room was already filled when I walked in. The team looked nervous, and they had every reason to be. I didn’t bother with pleasantries; there was no time for that. I went straight to the point.

“What’s going on with the demand for our product?” I asked, my tone cold and sharp. “And why am I only hearing about this now? Do you all expect me to babysit every single department?”

The silence that followed my words was deafening. I scanned the room, my gaze narrowing as I saw their uncomfortable expressions. It wasn’t the first time I’d been disappointed by their lack of initiative, but this felt particularly infuriating.

One of them finally spoke up, suggesting something about increasing social media ads. Another mentioned discounts. Typical. Predictable. Useless.

I could feel my temper rising with every weak suggestion that was thrown out. My voice cut through the room like a whip. “These are the same old strategies we’ve been using for years. Don’t you understand that the market is evolving? That our competitors are leaving us behind while you’re stuck recycling ideas that don’t work anymore?”

I noticed Miss Murthy sitting quietly at the corner of the table, her expression thoughtful but hesitant. She wasn’t saying anything. Her silence only irritated me further.

“Miss. Murthy,” I said sharply, turning my attention to her. “Do you have something to say, or are you just sitting there for the sake of it?”

She looked startled, and for a moment, I thought she wasn’t going to respond. But then she hesitated and spoke, her voice quiet but steady. “I… I was thinking we could try something different. Maybe rebrand the product and focus on emotional marketing. Create a campaign that connects with customers on a personal level. We could use influencers who genuinely use the product and can speak about it authentically.”

Her words hung in the air, and for the first time in the meeting, I felt a flicker of something other than frustration. The idea was good. It was fresh, innovative, and exactly the kind of approach we needed. But I wasn’t about to let that show.