Bangalore

Saniya's POV:

"Is this the time to get up? Raza and Sumaiyya have been very lenient on you." Baba started his lecture as usual. Don't get me wrong, I got up on time at 8:00 am, but still he is not satisfied. According to him, a good, responsible individual gets up at 6:00 a.m.; otherwise, he is a lazy person.

Ignoring his lecture, I sit on the dining table to have my breakfast. "At what time do you go to work daily?" His sudden question got me choked up on the food I was eating.

You all may be confused, right? Let me tell you that, according to Baba, I work for Chachi's company as an interior designer, which is half the truth. Let me summarise the whole situation for you all. So basically, I am a model and part-time interior designer at Chachi's company. Well, to be honest, I am thankful to Adil Bhai for this idea. He advised me to do a job plus go with the passion, and Chachi openly accepted me into her company and made sure the workload was not overboard during my shooting days. Mamma knows about this and makes sure Baba is oblivious about it.

"Ji Baba, I go at 9:00 am every day, but today I have taken leave to spend time with you and Mamma." I quickly covered up the situation and looked towards him with puppy eyes. hoping to work at least this time, but not always you get what you wish for.

"Why take leave for us? We will be staying for three more weeks. You can spend time with us in the evening and at weekends. These kids don't know the value of hard work and all that. Look at your Chacha and Chachi, how hardworking they are, and if they thought the same thing as you would, they would not have been in the highest designation as of today." The plan backfired, and Baba is more angry now.

"It's fine, let her take leave today; from tomorrow, she won't take any, right, Saanu." Mamma came out of the kitchen and rescued me from the fireball of Baba, quickly nodding as, yes, I went out of the dining area to the kitchen to wash my hands and plate. SSHH got saved again. Why am I on a mission to get exposed? I have to make sure to be alert for him.

"Thanks, Mamma, for saving me." I kissed Mamma on the cheek and whispered a quick thanks.

"Today I have saved you, but next time make sure to talk after thinking, and make sure from tomorrow onwards you get up early and leave at 9:00 am as you are going to the office." Mamma patted my cheek and whispered back.

"Yes, Mamma, you don't worry about it. Yesterday I was busy uploading my portfolios, so I slept late, making me late to get up early, but I will make sure from tomorrow everything is as per schedule," I replied, and I went back to my room to complete my incomplete interior design work. Managing both works is very difficult, but you have to do it right, so at least I can be guilt-free and thankful for all the support you are getting, and this is the least I can do for them.

After finishing my work, I checked my emails for any updates, which is my biggest life mistake, making it as chaotic as it could be...................................

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Hyderabad

Neha's POV:

"Priya What is the update on the work?" I asked her. Priya is my manager, who is looking after the construction process of the boutique.

All the employees that me and Afsha Bhabhi have hired have already joined last week, and both the boutique work and the projects are going on in full swing, of course, with many hurdles as well.

Ayesha has got me a client who is hosting an event, and she and her family placed an order for a designed outfit, so currently we are working on it. Despite having limited space in my studio, my productive team has comfortably adjusted themselves and is working on the project.

The marketing team is managing their work in a hybrid space and making sure social media and other marketing platforms are productively managed, while the managing team of two members, Priya (the manager) and Ashish (he is currently not onboard yet) . Priya is the one who is communicating with the contractor to speed up the boutique's construction and all that.

"Ma'am, there is an issue. Can you please come here?" Priya's panicky voice confused me, as if yesterday everything was going as planned.

"Ok, give me five minutes, Priya. I will come to the site." I answered her and turned to look at the progress of the outfits, which were ahead of schedule. After quickly wrapping up the work and assigning the remaining work to the team, I went to check on the problem.

"Good morning, Priya, what is the problem and why has the work stopped?" I wished her well and checked around to see that there were no labourers present to start the work.

"Good morning, ma'am. This is the issue I was talking about. The interior design company has turned their hands down, stating the fees are very low and they cannot work with that budget." Priya stated the current situation, which made me dumbstruck for some time.

"They agreed with us a day before, right, and where is the contractor?" After coming out of my blank zone, I asked about the contractor who helped us crack the deal.

Having low investment has limited our ability to go higher on the board, but still, we were able to get a good deal of construction and interior design firms according to the theme, but now the design firms have turned their hands down.

"Ma'am, he is negotiating with them, but still, they are adamant on increasing their fees," Priya stated, making me more worried.

"Please call him to come here and let us discuss the whole thing.".

"Ok, ma'am," she said, going to call the contractor while I was thinking about all the possibilities to tackle the situation.

"What is this situation?  They agreed a day before to work, right? Then what happened now?" I asked the contractor furiously.

"Yes, ma'am, and today we got the mail about the revised fees, which are 30% more than the actual, and when I tried to contact they stated that they revised their fees yesterday and the rates have been increased as per it.".

"Please search for another interior design firm that can work with our budget and theme within a week so the work can resume without any hurdle." I asked my contractor. After having a quick meeting with the firm, I came to the conclusion that I should change the firm. They were adamant about the situation, and when I tried to blackmail them about the advance, they just said they were ready to return the money without any hesitation. How ironic it is that until yesterday everything was going peacefully, and now we are back in the square.

It has been 4 hours since we contacted almost all the interior design firms and negotiated with them, but none matched our theme and budget, and a few were asking for a month to check all the formalities and work with us. I have sent the contractor to his home, and me and Priya have come back to the studio to discuss the further action plan.

"Shanthi Aunty, can you please bring two cups of coffee?" Sitting on the dining table at the hall, I called Shanthi Aunty for coffee for me and Priya, who sat beside me on the next chair.

"Ma'am, what shall we do now?" Priya asked me, worriedly opening her laptop to search for any solution.

"I don't have any idea, Priya. I can't understand anything," I genuinely replied, placing my hands on my head. Seeing me, Priya also got worried.

After drinking the coffee, I got up to check the progress of the outfits. I have to not forget the main goal due to these hurdles.

Making sure of the completion of today's work, I let the team leave for the day and returned to Priya. "Priya, you can also leave for the day. We can think of the solution tomorrow."

"Ok, ma'am, don't worry, we will find the solution as soon as possible," she said, saying that Priya started to pack her laptop but stopped and opened the laptop again.

"What happened, Priya? Is everything alright?" getting confused by her gesture, I asked her.

"Ma'am, Why don't we look out for firms outside of the state? A few work across the country; we can check on them." A slight hope rose in my heart, and I nodded to proceed with the idea. I moved to the kitchen to make something for both of us. Shanthi aunty had also left, and I have a feeling this will take a while, so I have to make sure to energize our bodies. I took two packets of instant masala oats and started to pour water into a pan. Making sure it had cooked properly, I placed it in two bowls, and meanwhile, our coffees were also done. Placing all the items in a tray, I returned to the table. Giving a bowl of oats and coffee to Priya, I took my laptop and sat down beside her to look for firms outside the state and have a talk with them.

"Still no use, same as before; no one is accepting the request on an urgent basis. I guess we must pause the work of the boutique for some time; this is the only solution we have," I told her disappointedly. It's heartbreaking to stop everything which you have built, but I guess we don't have any options now.

"Ma'am If you don't mind, can I suggest you one thing?" Priya asked me hesitatingly, "Yeah, tell me, Priya."

"Ma'am, my friend owns a cafe in Bangalore with a theme of Indo-Mexican fusion that was gracefully designed by one firm. Shall I ask her about them? They may be able to work on our theme as well. If you want, I can show you the interiors of those now," she hesitated and looked in her mobile to search for the images. I too tilted my head towards the phone to look at it.

"The designs and interior is flawless. Please ask her for the details; we can talk with them tomorrow." liking the interiors of the cafe, I asked Priya to check on the firm, telling her to leave for the day I locked my studio and started my journey home.

Today was a whole chaotic ride. Having no energy, I just went to the room, telling Ammi that I ate at the studio. I just jumped on the bed without caring to change the dress.

I got up at 1:00 am at midnight as my stomach was making noise to feed it. Having no other option, I descended downstairs and checked the fridge for any leftovers, and thank god there was a plate of rice and curry. Placing the rice and curry in a bowl, I placed them in the microwave to heat them. Meanwhile, taking off my accessories, I washed my tired face in the nearby washroom. Then, the microwave made a 'pop' sound, indicating the food had been heated. Grabbing the plate and a spoon, I wolfed down the food hungrily, hoping for the morning to bring good news. I laid down on the bed.

Life is not as easy as predicted. Priya got the details of the firm, but it turns out it only accepts requests from in and around Bangalore, making all the efforts turn down. Disappointedly, I got ready to go to the studio and went downstairs to face everyone. You can't hide from your parents for a long time; they will eventually know it, so I thought to disclose the news all to myself.

After talking about yesterday's encounter with my parents, I went to my studio to complete the progress of the outfits and to call the client for final touches. Hopefully, the client was happy with the designs, and the few touch-ups and are left and the outfits can be delivered, Alhamdulillah.

Praising the team for their outfits, I ordered few deserts to have a celebration and even grabbed some to take home. Yesterday's aftermath has made everyone gloomy, so this small celebration helped us all regain our energy and focus on the work.

"Neha, how's the boutique work going on?" Asif Uncle asked while grabbing the sweet, making me think of the whole incident again.

"It's as it is, uncle............................" I described him the whole story.

"What is the name of the firm that Priya suggested?" Uncle asked me after listening to the whole story.

"Wait, I will tell you," I said and opened my phone to check the name.

"It's GULBAHAR".

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Grab all your excitements for the next chapters, Iykyk.

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