The boardroom felt unnaturally quiet, the kind of silence that usually came before either a major promotion or a major explosion. A long glass table stretched between them and the CFO, shining under the artificial ceiling lights like it had personally done nothing wrong. Yet the tension in the room made even the table seem uncomfortable.
CFO Arvind Bhatt stared at Mehul and Nacikate as if they were two particularly mischievous deities sent to test his patience. His hands shook slightly as he set down the printouts of the viral clips—frames frozen mid-chaos: Mehul dangling from a server rack like a confused fruit bat, Nacikate trying to wrestle a glowing portal like an angry cricket fan arguing with a TV.
"I woke up," the CFO began slowly, each word trembling, "to twelve missed calls from the CEO, twenty-two messages from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and—" He paused, rubbed his forehead, and looked at them with pure despair. "—and a basket of cupcakes from HR congratulating you two on your 'bond progression milestone.'"
Mehul grinned. "They sent butterscotch this time. That's premium."
The CFO's eye twitched. He took a deep breath.
"Do you two understand," he said carefully, "that the bank has not trended online since the demonetization crisis?"
"That sounds like a good thing," Mehul offered.
"It is NOT!" the CFO snapped, smashing his palm on the table hard enough to make the water glasses jump. "We are a financial institution! Stability is our brand! Predictability! Professionalism! And now—" He gestured helplessly at the mute TV screen behind him, which displayed their faces frozen mid-argument with dramatic sparkles added by some overenthusiastic editor. "—now we have become a meme."
A small, traitorous snort escaped Mehul.
Nacikate shot him a glare sharp enough to cut marble. He sat perfectly straight, every muscle in his back locked with tension, desperately trying to salvage the moment.
"Sir," he said calmly, "with respect, this is all a misunderstanding. If we issue a formal clarification—"
"A WHAT?" the CFO barked.
"A clarification—"
"A clarification?" The CFO dragged his chair closer, eyes wide. "Son, half of India thinks you two are the poster boys of a new government partnership program! Do you know how many journalists emailed me today? THIRTY-SEVEN."
"Which ones?" Mehul asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"All of them!"
Mehul's eyebrows shot up. "Even FilterCopy?"
"EVEN FILTERCOPY!"
Mehul looked impressed. "Damn. We made it."
Nacikate closed his eyes and inhaled sharply through his nose like a man attempting meditation for the first time and immediately regretting it.
Before the CFO could continue his meltdown, the boardroom door cracked open. HR's senior manager, a woman with the soft smile of someone who thrived on emotional mayhem, stepped in carrying — God help them — another box of cupcakes. This batch was decorated with tiny edible logos of the bank.
"I thought a little sugar would brighten the meeting," she said sweetly, placing the box gently on the table. "You boys have had quite a morning."
"We are not boys," Nacikate said stiffly.
"We are definitely boys," Mehul corrected.
HR gave them both a knowing look.
"And I'm here," she continued, "to remind you that the partnership initiation was officially logged by the portal. So you are now, in system terminology, a 'high-visibility synergy unit.'"
The CFO looked like he was about to combust.
"A what?" he whispered.
"A synergy unit," she repeated gently, as though explaining colors to a toddler.
"We are a BANK," he said, voice rising. "We do not have synergy units!"
"Well," HR said brightly, "you do now!"
The CFO pressed his hands against his temples.
"And," she added, "the Ministry sent over a small… ah… congratulatory note."
She placed an envelope on the table.A pastel pink envelope.With glitter on the border.
The CFO stared at it like it was radioactive.
"What," he said faintly, "is that?"
"Their official response to the viral clip," she said.
"Why is it PINK?"
"They said it felt appropriate."
Nacikate let out a strained exhale. Mehul leaned forward eagerly like he was waiting for a magic show.
"Open it," he whispered.
"No," the CFO said instantly.
"Open it," Mehul repeated, more gleefully.
"No!" the CFO barked.
Mehul reached forward and plucked it off the table.
The CFO grabbed his wrist.Mehul grabbed back.For a solid two seconds, three grown men fought silently over an envelope like raccoons wrestling for a sandwich.
Finally, Mehul tugged it free and tore it open.
The note inside was printed in Comic Sans.
"Dear Synergy Partners," Mehul read aloud, voice trembling with suppressed laughter,"Congratulations on a successful Alpha-Beta Sync Event. As early adopters of this innovative pathway—"
"Innovative PATHWAY?" the CFO shouted.
"—we wish you smooth collaboration, mutual growth, and minimal system glitches."
Nacikate let out a quiet sound that might have been a sob or a prayer.
The HR manager clapped her hands cheerfully."Well! On that note, I'll let you gentlemen handle the crisis. Do tell me if you need more cupcakes."
She left.
The door shut behind her.
Silence fell again.
The CFO looked from Mehul to Nacikate with the hollow expression of a man standing at the edge of a cliff.
"Alright," he said slowly, "listen carefully. Since the entire country believes you two are some kind of revolutionary professional duo, we need to prove—at least internally—that your partnership is not a risk to this institution."
He opened a folder labeled EMERGENCY INTERVENTION PLAN.
Both of them leaned in.
"You," he said, pointing at both men with equal disappointment, "will undergo a Joint Audit Simulation."
Nacikate straightened. "A… what?"
"A simulation," the CFO repeated tiredly. "A cooperative test. Hypothetical financial scenarios. Teamwork requirements. Compliance tasks. A full joint evaluation."
"And if we fail?" Mehul asked casually.
The CFO stared at him.
"With the amount of media attention on you right now?" he said quietly."If you fail, we might all lose our jobs."
There was a moment of complete stillness.
Then Mehul grinned.
"Well," he said brightly, "no pressure!"