One Shift Too Far - Chapter Three

If you haven't read the second chapter, check it out here.

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"Ajay!" Anirudh hissed, practically launching himself over his desk. “This is it! I’m doomed!”

He blinked, looking up from his keyboard mid-sentence. “What now?”

"Oliver Schmidt. German client. Wants updates on Sanvi’s work from last night." Anirudh hissed. “Why me?! I swear, does he think I own this company?”

Ajay grinned. "Ah, Schmidt. The guy who once spent an entire call explaining the importance of a 'seamless synergy environment.' Classic.”

“This is not the time!” Anirudh snapped. “What do I tell him? ‘Sorry, I’m incompetent and if I check with your Europe shift consultant, she might think I’m nosy’?”

Ajay snorted. “Or — hear me out — you could check the reports and actually answer him like a professional.”

Anirudh flashed him with a glare. “You think I didn’t try that? The folder’s empty. She probably hasn’t uploaded anything yet.”

“Classic Europe shift move,” Ajay said with a shrug. “They’re still asleep. Blissfully unaware of our APAC suffering.”

“And I’m stuck.” Anirudh groaned.

“Well,” Ajay said, leaning back like this was the most entertaining thing to ever happen, “looks like your girlfriend’s got you on your toes already.”

"She’s not my girlfriend." Anirudh snapped back.

"Not with that attitude." Ajay nodded knowingly.

Anirudh quickly drafted an email to Oliver.

Hi Oliver,

Thank you for reaching out. I’m currently checking on the updates from last evening. I’ll get back to you shortly.

Best regards,

Anirudh.

As Anirudh fidgeted at his desk, the Gods finally showered him with their blessings. Sanvi had seen his Skype message.

“Hey, so you’re now struck with my work, huh? You’ve CC’d me in your email to Schmidt.” Her message read.

“You could say that.” Anirudh quickly replied. “Help me!”

She sent a laughing emoji and quickly followed up with another message, “Relax. I finished it before I logged out on Friday night. It’s in the shared drive. The Europe drive — not the APAC one.”

“Sent it to you now,” she said cheerfully, two minutes later. “But I have to say, I’m kind of enjoying this.”

"Enjoying what?" Anirudh replied.

“The fact that I’m technically helping you from my sleeping hours. Europe shift perks.” Sanvi replied with a laughing emoji.

“You’re evil.” Anirudh replied with an emoji of a half-purple face with sweat.

“I prefer efficient.” Sanvi replied with an emoji of two eyes. “But, hey, at least now you know who to call when Schmidt gets too demanding.”

Anirudh couldn’t help but smile as he typed. “And here I thought we were on different shifts.”

Twenty minutes later, the unusually enthusiastic “Danke!” from Schmidt permitted Anirudh to take a deep breath.

Ajay leaned over from his desk. “So? Crisis averted?”

“For now.” Anirudh grinned.

“And did the Europe girl save your day?” Ajay enquired.

Anirudh rolled his eyes. “Technically, yes.”

He grinned. “Bro, you’re literally living the plot of a workplace rom-com. Next thing you know, Oliver Schmidt’s gonna ask when the wedding is.”

“Shut up, Ajay.” Anirudh snapped.

Anirudh spent the rest of the day with a small, silly smile plastered on his face. He only ever saw Sanvi once later, during teabreak, and she seemed to be in haste.

After that, Anirudh didn’t get to meet her. He didn’t think much of it at the time. Not until the following morning.

Tuesdays were usually the days in which people transitioned from weekend nostalgia and Monday dread to actual work. Or so Anirudh thought until he rounded the corner towards his desk, when he saw her.

Sanvi.

Except it wasn’t the same Sanvi he had grown used to. Gone was the radiant energy, the effortless charm. Her usual sunshine-yellow or breezy blues had been replaced by an oversized gray hoodie that swallowed her small frame. Dark circles clung beneath her eyes. Her hair was in a loose bun, strands sticking out in every direction. And her face — pale, drained — looked like she hadn’t slept in days.

Her laptop was open, its screen glaring back at her with an unforgiving spreadsheet. But she wasn’t typing. Just staring. Exhausted.

Anirudh froze. “Sanvi?”

Her head turned slowly, as though even that movement demanded too much energy. When her eyes met mine, they were red and glassy. “Oh. Hey.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Hoarse. Hollow.

“What… what are you doing here?” Anirudh asked, bewildered.

She let out a humorless chuckle, rubbing her temples. “Overtime. Schmidt is too demanding, you see.”

“Overtime?” Anirudh asked.

Sanvi nodded. “Late-night escalation. And apparently nobody in the Europe shift can handle that old tosser better than me!”

Of course. Schmidt.

“How long have you been here?” Anirudh asked, although the answer was painfully obvious.

She glanced at the wall clock, wincing. “Since… 4 PM yesterday.”

That was over 16 hours ago.

Anirudh glared at the screen, “Why didn’t you — I mean, why didn’t anyone take over?”

“They tried.” Sanvi’s voice was soft. “But I built the reports. No one else could fix it fast enough. It had to be me.”

Anirudh felt a surge of anger — not at Sanvi, but at the sheer cruelty of it. The relentless demands. The expectation that one person could bear the weight of a system failure.

Seeing the frustration on Anirudh’s face, Sanvi forced a faint, tired smile. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Really.”

Five minutes later, Anirudh had kept his things on his desk, logged into his system, and returned to Sanvi’s side.

“Come on,” Anirudh said firmly.

Her brow furrowed. “What?”

“You’re done. Close the laptop.” Anirudh said rather harshly.

“I can’t. Schmidt—” Sanvi began, but Anirudh cut her off. “Schmidt can wait.”

She hesitated, clearly wanting to push through. But her body and mind were too exhausted. With trembling fingers, she finally shut the laptop.

“Let’s get you something,” Anirudh said, already walking toward the break room.

Sanvi followed silently with a stifle of a yawn every few steps. Her steps were unsteady. Finally, she leaned against the counter as she held a cup of hot caffeine.

“Why do we do this?” she asked softly, her voice laced with bitterness. “All this effort. All these sleepless nights. And for what? Another email saying ‘Thanks for your dedication’?”

Anirudh had no answer to this, having asked himself the same question dozens of times before. He resorted to what he knew.

“You should go home,” Anirudh said. “Get some sleep. Or else your reputation as the cheerful Europe-shift girl will come crumbling down!”

She gave a weak laugh. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Neither of them moved, however. They stayed in the break room longer than necessary. Sanvi sipped her coffee slowly, and with each passing minute, some of the tension seemed to melt away.

“You should’ve seen me yesterday,” she murmured. “I was so sure the reports were doomed. Thought Schmidt would fly down from Germany just to personally haunt me.”

“Trust me,” Anirudh smirked, “he’d be no match for the vending machine ghost.”

She chuckled softly. “Oh, so you’ve heard the legend?”

“Who hasn’t?” Anirudh grinned. “Apparently an ex-employee of this company died here because of over-consumption many years back and now his spirit haunts every stale coffee!”

“Well,” she whispered dramatically, “if it’s seeking revenge on corporate suffering, I’m definitely next.”

“You and me both.” Anirudh declared, as the colour returned to Sanvi’s cheeks and her eyes lost some of that heaviness.

“Oi!” It was Ajay. The spell broke. Anirudh and Sanvi stared at the figure entering the break room. “Been looking for you, everywhere! Ms. Sanvi, since you’re here, Mrs. Triveni has told you to take the day off today as you worked late last night. And Ani, I need you here for a report.”

The rest of the day went by without incident. Anirudh hoped that Sanvi was getting a well-deserved rest at home as he navigated through his work.

The silent halls of the office floor were filled with the rhythmic tapping of keyboards on Wednesday. It was afternoon, and Sanvi had just arrived, clutching her purse and a cup of coffee. She walked past the familiar faces and saw Anirudh already at his desk, deeply engrossed in a spreadsheet.

"You're early today. Did you forget to set your alarm for 'fashionably late'?" Anirudh asked sarcastically.

Sanvi rolled her eyes, but grinned. "I love a good challenge."

"Happens! We turn up late by mistake, you turn up early by mistake!" Anirudh giggled.

“Silly!” Sanvi giggled and left for her desk.

Anirudh immediately turned to his coworker a few seats away from Ajay, “It works, Pranaya!!”

Ms. Pranaya, an enthusiastic professional, winked, “I told you! Be bold and friendly with her and she will love it!”

The rest of the day went by with Anirudh glancing over and making eye contact with Sanvi that lingered a moment longer than it should have. During teabreak, as a strand of Sanvi’s hair fell across her face while she sipped her coffee, Anirudh brushed it away from her, which resulted in her lifting her head to look into his eyes.

Anirudh was the first to come out of his reverie. Red in the face, he cleared his throat and fumbled with his AirPods. One of Ed Sheeran’s songs began playing, though loud enough for Sanvi to hear it.

“You listen to Ed Sheeran, too?” Sanvi asked, her eyes wide in amazement.

The next couple of days were like a breath of fresh air for Anirudh, thanks to Sanvi’s presence.

The office was quieter than usual the next Friday, a week after Anirudh had taken Pranaya’s advice about being bold and sarcastic with Sanvi. No cheerful banter. No sarcastic quips. Despite Anirudh’s best efforts, like working late hours, commuting long distances, and eating and sleeping less than he should have, there were mistakes in his work.

Mr. Verma was displeased.

As Anirudh walked out of his manager’s cabin, he turned to Ajay.

“I think I should quit, bro.” Anirudh said hopelessly.

Ajay’s usual gleeful energy was replaced with something rare — concern.

"Anirudh."

"I know." Anirudh didn’t look up. "I messed up, Ajay. It’s over."

"It’s not, Anirudh!" Ajay said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Where did I go wrong? How could I go wrong?" Anirudh lamented.

"Because you’re human. We all are!" Ajay said bracingly.

"I’d rather quit, Ajay." The words spilled out before he could stop them. "I’d rather leave than live with this!"

Ajay didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned forward, his voice low but firm.

"No. Mistakes do happen, Anirudh. It doesn’t mean you should dwell on it."

"But—"

"You’re not quitting. You’re facing this. Because you’re not defined by one deal. Do you get it? Let’s have a cup of tea, but no talk about leaving!" Ajay said firmly.

At precisely two in the afternoon, Sanvi arrived for her shift. The office was dimly lit, but Anirudh did not greet her. Rather, his shoulders were slumped, eyes downcast, and his hands fidgeting with a pen.

Something felt... off.

Sanvi frowned. She knew that look. Disappointment. Self-blame.

Without thinking, she walked over.

"Hey." Her voice was soft, careful. "What’s wrong?"

He startled slightly, as if he hadn't noticed her approach. "It’s nothing. Just... work."

"Anirudh." She pulled up a chair, sitting across from him. "Talk to me."

He hesitated. But Sanvi had this way — this unsettling way — of making people feel like their burdens weren’t theirs alone.

“After everything I did, nothing went right! And it’s all my fault!” Anirudh rued.

"Stop." Sanvi cut him off sharply. “You are not to be blamed, Anirudh! After everything you did, something going wrong is not on you! You still deserve to be credited for all those sacrifices you made!”

“But, they’re saying…” Anirudh began, but Sanvi interrupted him, “Let them! Soon enough, they’ll forget. And you will remember getting up and proving yourself. Not to anybody but to yourself! Don’t let others judge you. Only your judgment of yourself matters!”

The air around Anirudh relaxed, “Sanvi! Thank you!”

She smiled. Not the usual carefree, bubbly smile. This one was quieter. Stronger.

"Always." Sanvi said, before walking over to her desk. She would be logging in ten minutes after her usual time. But she did it for Anirudh. And for that, he felt grateful.

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Footnotes:

Chapter Two

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To Be Continued in Chapter Four.

Written By Tharun Kumar S