Foresight

Chapter XXVII

"Wow man. This office sure is big" Neeraj announces as they make their way into the huge building. Its 19th July, the date which is going to decide whether the trio will hit the jackpot or still will be hunting for scraps. Over the nine months, their company 'Matrix' has seen only decent profits, just to get them through the month. By the start of the next month they would be looking very thin on the account. They still haven't started taking profits for themselves, for all the income would go into the bills and payments. Actually Neeraj had started getting taunts from his step-sister, with whom he did shared a not so much cordial relationship, over his inability to contribute to the family. He had also starting to get some heat from his mother, which he had never expected, even in his wildest dreams.

"Yo, you all right?" Tarun shakes Neeraj of his trance.

"Yeah man. Just a little calming technique of mine. Little nervous over the meeting" Neeraj answers a bit nervously.

"Well whatever works for you man" Tarun shrugs it off as they step out of the car and head to the lobby. " It will be all right man. We have prepared well for the meeting." Rajesh supportively pats Neeraj's back. Neeraj tugs on Rajesh's sleeve, as if to signal him to let Tarun and them get some distance.

"Dude I am starting to get heat from my mom too now man. We have to bag this deal by hook or crook." Neeraj opens up little nervously.

"Don't worry man. When we are making our way out of the office, we will have a new project and a cheque for advance payment. We will exploit it. I will convince Tarun as to let us three handle this project and grab most of the profits, rather than sharing with another fellow programmer." Rajesh comforts Neeraj.

"Thanks man" Neeraj replies, assured little bit. They make their way into the office, where Tarun is talking with the receptionist.

"They will inform the floor that we have arrived. Someone will come down and escort us to the proper conference room. till then we have to wait here." Tarun tells his friends, as they enter the lobby. "You guys wait here, I will have a smoke and be back in a jiffy" Tarun instructs Rajesh, as he heads out of the building. Ten minutes later, a girl in a crisp white shirt with blue pants, with a file in her hand, makes to their way. "Mr. Tarun Shetty, I am Ms. Pallavi Mehra. I am here to accompany you upstairs." she introduces herself as she extends her hand towards them. Rajesh is the first one to get up and meets her hand in a warm handshake introducing himself and Neeraj as friends and partners of Tarun. "Ahh Sir, I think this meeting is only for Mr. Tarun. I don't know about any partners" she answers, biting her lip over the confusion caused and the last minute hurdle over the trio.

"Dude, what is she telling man?" Neeraj holds Tarun's arm, as fear grips him. "Calm down dude. We will handle it" Rajesh calms him down and turns towards Pallavi.

"Ma'am, the game was developed by all three of us, under the name of 'Matrix'. Tarun was the lead developer on it and his contact information was posted for any technical solutions. Maybe if we can talk with your head of operations, we will be able to clarify. Can we have an audience with them?" Rajesh explains his point politely. Impressed by his calmness and dexterity in handling the confusion, Pallavi asks them to wait for a couple minutes as she consults with her superior. As she heads to the reception, Tarun makes his way inside after finishing of his cigarette. "That person still not here?" Tarun asks as he finds Rajesh and Neeraj still in their seats.

"She is here. Apparently there was a minor confusion. They thought that the game was developed solely by you and they wanted the meeting only with you" Rajesh explains him the latest speed-bump.

"How can this be. Developer name is 'Matrix' and all of our names are present in that with individual contact information. How can this happen?" Tarun flares up a little. "Some confusion maybe. I asked us an audience with the head of operations and she is making it happen as we speak" Rajesh, pointing towards Pallavi.