The Promotion Games: How to stay sane in a crazy office?

  Last night was magical.
       Can’t wait to hold you again, run my                hands through your hair
   and whisper in your ear how much I crave for you.

I can still feel the warmth of your body, the taste of lips.
                  The way your nails dug into  my back, leaving little marks of ownership
                    The way you gasped my name. The way we........

Oh holy moly, why did I click "delete for me" instead of "delete for everyone"? Why did I send it to the office group? Why? WHY? My fingers betrayed me. My brain betrayed me. My life is over.

I had sent a full-blown romantic , hot, steamy, full-of-horny-energy text text-meant for my girlfriend - to the office whatsapp group instead.

My name is Vidut. I saved my girlfriend's name as "Babe" and my office group as "B B E.". In my post-sleep daze, still dreaming about last night's cuddles, i sent this gem to office chat.

Is this going to be so embarrassing? And Avantika will definitely make a mountain out of this molehill...

"Rahul sir, this is not our culture, sir. This is beyond ethics... How can someone be so careless? I don't know how he's taking care of the project."

Avantika.

The self declared Queen of Morals and Ethics. 
The Boss’s Favorite.
The CEO of "Let Me Complain About Everything."

What should I do now? Should I take the day off? No... And then I saw my manager typing something: "Guys, today I'm suddenly going to a client meeting, won't be in the office."

The office walk of Embarrassment

I went to office

And there she was. Avantika.

Standing near the coffee machine, arms crossed, with a face like she was about to file an FIR against me.

She glared at me like I had texted her directly. Like I had sent her a personal love confession.

And then she walked away, flipping her hair like she was in a slow-motion revenge scene and dressed like she is walking on the Runway. But i should admit she look too beautiful and hot.

The Drama Queen in Action

A few days later, Rahul and I had a disagreement over a project.

 "Vidut, this is not how things work."

 "Rahul, this approach is good. The client hasn’t complained. We should evolve our strategies."

 Enter Avantika.

 "Sir, don’t get worked up. You have high BP. Please have some coffee, relax."

 I muttered under my breath,

"What a wife she would make. Full-on daily soap drama."

 Rahul smiled, "Thanks, Avantika. By the way, I really liked your presentation. The client was impressed."

 I nearly choked on my soul. What presentation?

 The one with copyrighted stock images and Comic Sans font?

 I left before I could break something.

 The Fake Strategy Genius

We had a strategy meeting for a new client.

 I was quiet. Avantika was loud.

"Rahul, we need to think out of the box. Something we never done before. We should make client proud on us."

 Rahul: "Yes, Avantika, great thinking."

 Megha: "Yes, sir, we need to work hard."

Rahul: Yaa we know , we are supposed to work  hard only. what's the idea?

 I fake-coughed and ran outside to laugh my lungs out. I felt pity on Megha but cant stop laughing

 When I came back, I pitched an actual idea.

 "We should place brand representatives inside the mall, casually shopping with our bags, making it seem popular."

 Avantika—obviously—stole it immediately.

 "Yes, Rahul, this is the basic step before anything. And we should do an Insta campaign!"

 Rahul: "Great thinking, Avantika. Lead the team."

 At this point, I was dead inside.

 Megha and I just exchanged a pity glance.

 And later, in the pantry, we laughed till our stomachs hurt.

 

The Client Meeting

Our plan worked, and the client was happy.

 In the next meeting, Rahul said,

 "Avantika and the team have been working on this."

 Avantika. AND. THE. TEAM?!

 The client, Mr. Joss, asked her, "What do you think we should do next?"

 She froze.

 I jumped in: "We have a much bigger approach planned. It’ll be exceptional."

 Avantika—being Avantika—repeated the same thing.

 Client: "I like it. But what's the approach?"

 "We’ll use the same mall strategy in nearby high-end cafés to create buzz." Megha and I explained this briefly to client.

 Avantika: "Yes, exactly, Joss. Same idea, different places. Then we’ll hire influencers."

 Again, she stole it and added fancy words.

 Rahul: "Thanks, Avantika and team!"

 My soul left my body.

 Megha’s Bollywood Transformation

A month before appraisal meetings, Megha had a makeover.

 She entered like a fashion goddess.

 🔥 Red lipstick.

🔥 Highlighted hair.

🔥 A deep-neck dress with a power suit.

 She was the Amrita Rao in "Main Hoon Na."

 Avantika’s mouth fell open.

 Megha smiled sweetly, flipped her hair, and said, "Sorry, I’m late. Let’s continue."

 I was living for this moment.

 She cut Avantika off at every step in the meeting.

 Then, she casually mentioned how she and I stayed up late working.

 "Of course, Avantika helped a bit too."

 Rahul: "Yes, Megha, I really appreciate it."

 Avantika? Boiling in rage.

 Me? Enjoying the show.

 
The Appraisal Climax

Megha went in first.

"You know, Vidut, what happened? Rahul was saying that this time you did good, but you should be more proactive "

"Proactive what? Do you ever let me speak? It's not about Avantika... Rahul sir, I can't just dress up nicely and ask you about 'Sir, should I bring coffee for you? Sir, you're getting BP. Have you taken your medicine?' Rahul this, Rahul that... I'm a career-oriented woman, not here to lure you, repeating what you keep on saying..."

"What's my appraisal?" She just moved his laptop in front of her and checked her appraisal... 1.5%.

"Please give it to Avantika... She can have more red lipstick... She will look hotter, hottest."

"Here is my resignation letter, Mr. Rahul... I wish you would be a great boss."

 "Sir, I’m here for my career, not to bring you coffee and ask about your BP." 

 I was on the floor laughing.

 The Unexpected Promotion

Rahul called a meeting.

 "Congrats, Vidut. You’re promoted."

 I was NOT expecting that. Avantika? Already looked dead inside.

Megha smirked at me,

"Sir, should I bring you coffee? Please don’t get overstressed, sir." Mimicking Avantika

We burst into laughter and Avantika left looking at us.

And I was in a dilemma, as I already had an offer letter from a good company. Should I stay or should I leave?

 Moral of the Story

If you ever accidentally send a romantic text to your office group, here’s what to do:

 OWN IT. Laugh before others do.

Act unbothered. If you look embarrassed, you’re doomed.

Divert attention. Drop another message or pretend it was a dare.

NEVER save office and girlfriend contacts similarly.

And if an Avantika exists in your office—just sit back, laugh, and let karma do its thing