Vahni always slept with her phone right next to her head with the ringer volume set to high. She had once missed a call from her mother after she accidentally fell asleep early and her phone was set to silent mode. The next thing she knew, she was waking up to the frantic knocking (banging) on her door by her neighbour. The lady, who she hardly ever talked to, kindly informed her that her mother was on a rampage. 

Vahni spent the rest of her night calming the situation down. Her mother had called her 17 times and when she hadn't answered, had called every soul she could find in Mumbai city. The police were somehow involved and she had to assure them that her mother was just overprotective. Thankfully, they seemed more annoyed than anything else. 

A lesson was learnt that night. 

Her phone was never on silent after that. 

Which is why tonight she woke up from deep slumber when her phone rang on her bedside table. Aakash stirred but did not wake up fully next to her. Groggily, she checked the caller ID and groaned when she realised that it was Jenny, her nosy coworker. She checked the time and the tiny digits on her notification bar read 1:21 AM. She groaned and put her phone back face down on her nightstand and went back to sleep. 

Seconds later, she shot up in her bed. What if this was related to her promotion? She needed to know immediately if it was important. 

The new position that she was being offered was coming with the restructuring of her company. The internal workflow system was changing and their content niches were increasing. Vahni had been with Card Suits Inc. for the past three years. She had been working her ass off in her current position so that she could climb up the corporate ladder when the time came for an expansion. 

Card Suits Inc. was the parent company for a lot of famous media outlets and they had recently acquired three more big names. The restructure had been in the process for quite some time so the important people knew what was happening in the topmost board meetings.

Three people including Vahni had been selected to head the new divisions. The offer had not officially been extended to her yet. It was going to be announced the following day during a company-wide meeting.  But, everyone around the office knew that Vahni Bhasin was the new editorial director for the lifestyle and fashion division. It was all but official. 

She might as well have printed a new plaque for her office that read:

Vahni Bhasin 

Editorial Director 
Lifestyle and Fashion

The ringing on her phone had stopped by then so she had to call Jenny back. She picked up before the first ring had gone through. 

"Vahni! What took you so long?" 

Vahni winced at her loud voice. She was still slightly hung over from her last bout of drinking with her friends at Meera and Angad's wedding. 

"Sleeping?" was all she could muster, hoping that this better be important. 

"I have news that is going to make you lose sleep for days."

Oh shit! I knew it! The company has gone under! We are all fired, Vahni frantically thought to herself. 

"Tell me!" she said, a little too loud because Akaash mumbled something next to her. 

"Tomorrow at the meeting?" Jenny paused for dramatic effect, "We are going to be having a special guest."

"Jenny, please it is past one in the morning. Please just get to the point." 

She got out of bed and went to the living room so as not to disturb Akaash anymore. 

"Okay, so the acting CEO, Mr Patel, is stepping down tomorrow. There has been a scandal that I do not have the full details of but it is bad! Every board member is trying to cover up the incident but it seems like we are going to take a hit in our share prices and the acquisition deal. The companies are trying to pull out of it and everything might fall apart."

"What!" she exclaimed and sank on her sofa. 

"Yes! That is not all. The owner's son is flying down from California tonight to deal with this mess."

"You mean the legendary Mr Raghuvanshi is coming back?" 

Everyone had heard about the Raghuvanshi group heir, Dev Raghuvanshi. He had been groomed since a very young age to take over the family business. His decision to go abroad and study further did not sit well with his family who intended for him to be the CEO of Card Suits Inc. immediately after his master's ended. But Dev Raghuvanshi had other plans. No amount of coaxing could stop him from flying off to London for a degree in business. 

Just shy of thirty, he finished his degree but still refused to join the company. He spent the next few years interning at various companies or just travelling the world. His uncle eventually had to retire and place Mr Dilip Patel as acting CEO till their prodigal son would return. 

The day had come. Dev Raghuvanshi, the free spirit, was forced to return home to a fresh scandal. 

"What does that mean for us?" Vahni asked frantically.

Jenny was also one of the three people headlining the restructure. She had also been offered a prestigious position. 

"I don't know Vahni. And I hate not knowing." 

Vahni was reeling. 

Jenny had her finger on the pulse of the communication system of the entire office. She was usually the first one to know any big news and the one to have all the information. If Jenny did not know what was going to happen, then no one else knew what was happening. 

Maybe Dev Raghuvanshi did. Maybe he had a plan. 

But all of it seemed too up in the air at the moment. 

Vahni glanced through the doorway inside her bedroom at her new navy dress on the hanger that she had carefully placed on her wardrobe door. The one she intended to wear for tomorrow's big announcement. 

She had bought it just last week with the exact occasion in mind. She remembered thinking that the editorial director of the Lifestyle and Fashion division needed to look the part as well. 

It seemed to be crumbling right in front of her eyes. The vision, the dress, her career. 

Aakash appeared in the doorway and startled her. 

"I will see you tomorrow I guess," Vahni said and hung up on Jenny. 

"Is everything okay?" Aakash asked rubbing his eyes. 

Vahni forced a smile and nodded. 

"Let's get back to bed." 

As Jenny had predicted, Vahni could no longer sleep all night after her revelation. Soon she could hear the birds chirping outside her window and the slight gentle rays of the morning sun hit the farthest corner of her room. She knew she would have to get up in a bit to face, perhaps the most difficult day of her professional life. 

A/N

How is everyone doing? I really do have the record for the random updates. I hope people are still sticking around to read this instalment.