'Was William planning to follow Sam into the afterlife?' The thought made his hands tremble.
Ishan focused on the unopened letter in his hands.
He could confront William about it, try to convince him otherwise, but deep down, he knew if William truly had made up his mind, there was little he could do to stop him.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he carefully placed the letter back to the original place.
The next second Ishan left the office.
'What would William love?, books? No no I barely see him read. Maybe cigarettes?, no it will making him think of Sam, what should I do?'
Two office worker where walking past Ishan who was almost loosing his mind.
"Hey did you know it's bring you children to work day." The 1st guy laughed.
"Who even bring they're children to work such a stupid thing to create hahaha" the second guy followed.
Hearing that Ishan remembered that his children had been eager to visit his workplace, and today was "Bring Your Child to Work Day."
Since he had few unfinished papers for the day. He could introduce them to William, perhaps even invite him to a family dinner.
"Yes, that was it!" He happily smiled and started to drive to his home.
When Ishan arrived home, his family was a mess but they all stopped what they were doing when Ishan walked in.
Seeing their confused stares Ishan smiled. "You won't have to go to school today. I've already called your teachers."
His son cheered, jumping around excitedly, while his daughter asked curiously, "Dad, then what will we do? Stay at home?"
Ishan laughed and patted her head. "You've always wanted to see my workplace, right? Today, you'll get to see it. And after that, you two can play at the park while your mom and I do some shopping."
Both children jumped in joy. Meanwhile, his wife leaned closer "Are you sure about this? Won't they slow you down at work?"
Pulling her by her waist, "Don't worry. Besides, I was thinking we could invite my boss to dinner. What do you think?"
His wife was puzzled but just nodded.
"Kids, the car's ready! Chop, chop!" Ishan called out. As their children rushed to the car, brimming with excitement, Ishan looked at his wife and said, "Go change into something nice, dear."
His wife quickly went to get ready, taking about 30 minutes to finish, even without makeup.
---
At the office, William stretched and stood up from his desk.
Having completed all the paperwork for the day, there was no need for him to stay any longer.
Just as he prepared to leave, he noticed two young children, a boy wearing a shark T-shirt and blue shorts and a girl clutching a toy purse entering the room.
He frowned slightly. 'What are these kids doing here? Are they lost?' Just as he was about to approach them, Ishan walked in with a woman.
William quickly put the pieces together. These were Ishan's family members.
"Sorry, boss! It's 'Bring Your Kids to Work place.' I hope you're not mad," Ishan said with a polite smile.
William smiled. "Oh, that's no problem at all. I've already finished today's work."
The children, however, seemed intimidated by William's height.
Seeing her children scared, the wife stepped forward with a friendly smile. "Greetings! My name is Radhika. I'm Ishan's wife."
The boy took a deep breath "My name is Ganesh!" he announced.
Seeing her brother act so brave the girl followed, her voice shaky. "M-my name is Poonam. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
William smiled at the two cute children trying to act brave.
Ganesh's face turned red with embarrassment as he misinterpreted William's laughter as mockery.
Ganeah runned at William trying to hit him.
Sensing the tension, Ishan quickly calmed his son down before he could embarrass himself further.
"I want to ask if you would join us for dinner tonight?" Ishan was nervous that it might fail but his wife was nodding to support him.
William had a few seconds of silence "That sounds wonderful. It would be nice to learn more about Indian culture. If it doesn't disrupt your family dinner."
William has planned to visit Sam's grave. But his adoptive parents always thought him accept kind invitations.
Ishan and Radhika were overjoyed by his reply.
"I'm going to lock up the office since there's no more work for the day. Is that okay with you, Ishan?" William was going back to pick up office door keys.
Ishan glanced around the small office filled with cabinets and stacks of papers. "No, boss, we're good to go!"
After they left, William locked the doors and made his way to Sam's grave. Standing there, he spoke softly.
"Sam, today I met Ishan's family. I'm sad that you couldn't meet them."
William stayed at the grave for hours, reminiscing the old days when they both were happy, until a call from Ishan reminded him it was time for dinner.
Before heading to Ishan's house, William stopped by a store to buy some gifts.
When he arrived, the atmosphere was lively. The children were playing, and Radhika was almost done preparing dinner.
William sat down and watched the family interact, the nostalgia of him and his adoptive parents.
After dinner, he announced the gifts he'd brought, which made the children light up with excitement.
They waited patiently under their parents eyes.
Ganesh received a large shark plushie, Poonam got a long pink dress, and Radhika was gifted a new cooking pan along with $500.
Ishan was stunned, these gifts cost more than three months of his salary.
William then called Ishan and handed him an envelope.
Ishan, assuming it contained money, opened it with mixed emotions.
Inside was a letter that simply read: "to Ishan, from William."
William smiled "Go on, read it."
"From today's onwards William the previous owner will be stepping down from the company and my replacement will be Ishan!"
Ishan read the letter out loud, his voice shaking with disbelief.
It stated that he was now the president of the company and that all its assets and responsibilities had been transferred to him.
William extended his hand. "Congratulations, Ishan. You're the new owner of the company."
Ishan was speechless. His children, however, were overjoyed and amazed, cheering for their father, who had now become boss.
Ishan stuttering "b...but I...I"
William just placed his hand on his shoulders "if you need advice you're always welcome to call me."