Hello Fam :)

Happy Reading..

Nyonika was in an annual budget meeting of the Malhotra Industries. It was the first meeting with Manik, also the first formal public appearance of him and Nyonika in the office. As he was a regular face in the office during his college days, Nyonika didn't feel the need to announce him as the CEO-under-training. Everyone already knows. Also, her darling son didn't want the attention. Personally, she didn't believe that was possible. As the CEO of Malhotra Industries, he wouldn't get to choose not to have any attention on him, but instead of saying it out loud, she let it slide. For now.

Right now, he was sitting diagonally on a corner to her after he was five minutes late to the meeting. If she wasn't wrong, he must have either lost in his current book or must be involved in finishing something that had a deadline of next week. Instead of scolding him, she let it slide. Not because she was his mother but because everyone was already used to his working style. First, he overworked himself ahead of everyone in the office and then sneaked into his current novel, switching off the surroundings. More than her, the employees are complaining about his health to her. At least the higher-ups who have the guts to talk in front of her. Huffing silently, she concentrated on the slides. If she started to think about him, she would miss the entire meeting because her son has a knack for causing worry to her even when he is working in front of her eyes.

Half an hour later, when she asked for any questions, she wasn't surprised when her darling son's hand rose instantly. "Yes, Mr. Malhotra, what's your question?"

The others, especially the senior employees, tried to stifle their laughter.

Instead of answering her, Manik was busy scribbling something on his notepad. "Ma'am, just give me a moment. I have a query on slide 7."

Seriously, Ma'am? She was his mom, for God's sake. Rolling her eyes, she turned to the guy and asked him to go to slide 7. It was all numbers.

"There is some calculation error, I suppose, and a zero missing. There is a difference of 10 lakhs", said Manik before passing the paper to Nyonika's assistant.

Nyonika looked at the numbers. "Sharp eyes, Manik, and quick calculation. Thank you", she said before giving it to the presenter. "Go through this and let me know where you went wrong."

"Ma'am, I checked it thrice before the meeting", said the presenter, somewhat scaredly.

Nyonika nodded. "It's okay. Knowing this nerd, I think he is right. So cross-verify them and come to me with the updated numbers."

"Yes, ma'am", said the presenter. "I will not repeat this."

There are always some errors when dealing with the numbers. Hence, she had a team to deal with the numbers. The CEOs don't tally them unless you are Manik Malhotra, a certified nerd.

"Ma'am, why is there no mention of budget allocated to the orphanages?", asked one of her employees.

"Thank you for reminding me of that. I had an idea, and I want to run it up with you all. We are packed up with projects already. I was thinking, why not give it to some other branch instead of us handling it, personally."

"That would be a good idea, ma'am", said a few people.

Nynonika nodded. They didn't have the manpower for the orphanages at this moment. "The question arises, which branch would be capable of handling such a huge project? Delhi and Bangalore are on my mind. I am open to suggestions for any other branches. Just check the branch's working stats before making a decision. Our reputation shouldn't be compromised."

"I have a suggestion", said Manik.

"Of course", she muttered. "Feel free to share."

"Ma'am, giving a huge project to a single branch would be risky if you are not personally monitoring it, and you are quite packed as of now. Instead of that, why don't we break them into smaller parts? Allot the orphanage in a particular city to our branch in that city. We can allot them to the nearest branch if we don't have a branch there. At the end of the day, we could meet the respective branch managers and decide on the progress."

Nyonika nodded at him before turning to the other people. "Any complications with this plan?"

"Ma'am, we have to allocate additional funding to each branch."

"That shouldn't be a problem. We could break the amount according to the city tier and allocate the funds. If more than allocated funds are required, give me the numbers", she said. Once everyone agreed to the plan, she turned to her darling son. "Manik, you are in charge of this project."

Manik's eyes widened. "But I will be on leave starting tomorrow. I have exams."

"Is your leave approved?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't know about any exams of his. If he had exams starting tomorrow, what the hell was he doing in the meeting today?

Manik shook his head. "I thought I would ask you for leave after the meeting, ma'am."

Nyonika rolled her eyes. "Submit the report after your leave, and don't be a machine to do both simultaneously. If I find you touching anything related to this project before your last exam, I will talk to your university and ask them to postpone the exams."

"What? How could you?"

"Try me, nerd. Also, stop calling me ma'am. I am not your ma'am. Just because you are sitting in a meeting, you don't get to call me ma'am. As I said, office or not, I am still your mom."

"Ma'am is a synonym for mom in some parts of England", said Manik.

"Don't start with me, nerd. If you call me ma'am once again, I will burn all your books."

In complete defiance of his character, Manik Malhotra, intern extraordinaire, glared at the CEO of Malhotra Industries, providing rare entertainment to the employees of Malhotra Industries.

XXX

After the meeting, Nyonika stayed back with her manager, Prakash, to review the meeting minutes and sign the documents.

"Prakash, what do you think of Manik?", she asked. Prakash was the one whom Manik requested not to coddle.

"He is smart, ma'am. It doesn't feel like he is just out of college or an intern", said the manager.

"Do you think he is capable of taking over Malhotra Industries?"

"Of course, ma'am. Maybe a little grooming is required for the future CEO, especially in the people dealing department", he said.

"That's one of the reasons to make him lead this project. He has some experience because of his work as a head boy, but here, he would gain real-world experience", said Nyonika. As the CEO of Malhotra Industries, he definitely needed people-dealing skills.

"Ma'am, except that if he is running the company, it would be in good hands."

"When you were busy coddling him during my absence, he was sneaking into files and training himself. That's one request he made before joining here as an intern. I thought I would ask you once you see his work", said Nyonika.

"Ma'am, please don't be offended, but if he becomes the CEO, he will be working more than you", muttered Prakash.

Nyonika sighed. "That I am very well aware of."

XXX

Manik was busy complaining something to Meera when Nyonika detoured and rapped her knuckles on his table on her way to her cabin, completely startling him. "In my cabin. Now." Without waiting for him, she stormed off to her cabin and smirked when she heard shuffling of feet.

"May I come in, ma–mom?", he spluttered.

"Sit down", she said, maintaining her stern look, twirling a pen in her hands. Manik squirmed in his place once the staring stretched for a few minutes. "What the hell are you doing in the meeting today?"

"Mom, I apologize. But do you want me to question you personally instead of in front of all those people?", said Manik.

Nyonika threw the pen in her hands at him. "I meant, what the hell are you doing in attending the meeting when you have an exam tomorrow, idiot?"

"Oh, that?", he said, relaxing in his chair. "What else should I do then? I don't have any exam today."

"I don't know, Manik. How about being a regular kid and studying at home?", said Nyonika sarcastically.

"Mom, I have already studied everything I needed to. I don't need any extra leave for it."

Of course. "If I get a frantic call tomorrow before an exam about regretting your every decision and that you would hypothetically fail the exam, I would tie you up in your chair and force you to study aloud in front of all the office employees", she said.

"What? Mom, I am not a kid."

"Yeah? Then, act like an adult. No frantic calls tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine, I will call Cabir if I have to", he said.

Nyonika groaned. "Where is your leave application?"

"I haven't written yet", he said.

Nyonika glared at him. "You could tally the numbers within a few minutes instantly in a meeting, but it would be too difficult to write an application letter, right?"

"Actually, I forgot about taking a leave", said Manik.

Nyonika rolled her eyes. "Did you forget there is an exam tomorrow?", she asked. When he shook his head, she huffed. "Get out of my office. Mail me the leave letter and go home. Don't come back until you finish your exams."

A/N: Any ideas are welcome. :P