30 The burn

Raymond was very excited after getting the deal at first. But all his happiness turned into sour curd after listening to Vikram's condition. He was enraged because the entire deal felt like a sham. It felt like he gave the deal to them because in return he wanted his special person to be employed in his company. All the hard work which he had put along with his entire team was nullified because of that one single clause which Vikram had verbally put in their contract.

His entire project team was celebrating. Finally, all the hard work, all the sleepless nights and the numerous cup of coffees had paid off. But his insides were dying out of humiliation. He felt like Vikram has kicked his brainchild project off to a far field. He was unable to control his rage because he was unable to accept that the value of his project was nothing as compared to this person whom Vikram wanted to be hired. He might have signed the contract with a pen on a paper but only he knew that it felt like he was signing his own heart with a hot iron rod.

But instead of spilling out anger he decided to contain it within himself for the sake of his people because he knew how much this success mattered to them.

historical

He had ordered pizza and beer for everybody in the office. That evening was a moment to rejoice for everyone as their hard work had paid off. They had put on music and were playing games with each other. They all felt like they all passed in the exam which life had thrown at them.

After the celebration was over in their office, Raymond decided to leave for his house as soon as possible. He reached his house and went to take a bath. He wanted to sort out all the negativity that was present inside his head. He decided to stay positive and focused to convert his project into a success. He was even more determined to show it to people that his idea and his vision wasn't a piece of garbage. He knew there will be even stronger forces which will come and try to block his path but he was determined to move ahead with one single goal.

Once he cleared up his head, the whole issue with Vikram seemed like nothing, like just a speck of sand. His goal was much bigger than that, so he decided not to be affected by Vikram's special request.

Then he went to his desk and looked at the picture of his mother. Slowly his eyes started stinging and tears started rolling down his cheeks. He paused for a while for his pain to subside and said - "I will never fail you mom. Just give me some time and I will prove it to everybody."

He hugged the picture of his mom tightly to his chest and closed his eyes. He just wanted to have some alone time with her. He knew she was not around her, but just being with her picture used to make him feel much better. He knew if she would have been alive today, then she would have felt extremely proud of his achievement today.

He got up from his seat after a while, placed the picture of his mom on the table where it was before and silently went to the kitchen. He brewed himself a cup of coffee, and then picked up the contract paper and started reading it very carefully line by line, word by word. He just wanted to be double sure that there was no hidden clause put by Vikram using which he could have any leverage against him.

After reading it twice he relaxed. He realized Vikram was a man of his words. His personal request had nothing to do with the contract. It was indeed only a verbal clause.

To respect Vikram's condition, he immediately switched on his laptop and sent a mail to Delphie's HR to start the recruitment process as the project needed a bigger task force now.

Requirement -> five graphic designers full-time, three software engineers, one senior level gaming guild expert, and ONE graphic designer intern.

After sending the mail he had just relaxed when he saw a message popping on his phone.

"I hope the 'NO - DISCLOSURE' under any circumstances will be strictly adhered to. And no matter what happens this verbal contract stays between us. Hope you can assure that?" - VIKRAM

Raymond sighed and looked at the message for a while. Then he replied.

"It's assured."