The Unlikely Friendship

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Teena is a woman who knows her work very well. Financial analyst is not a joke, and she always stands like a pillar when it comes to rules. In the office, they call her “madam calculator,” because she balances everything as if it is life and death. If travel expense misses one naira, Teena will raise alarm and scatter the table. She does not fear the boss, she does not fear oga, she always speaks her mind.

Dev on the other side is the total opposite. Marketing head who knows how to cruise, gist, and take risks like a gambler. His motto is: “If we don’t try, how will we win?” Money does not really worry him because his family is already well off. In the office, people like him because he is easy-going, but Teena sees him as careless.

When Teena landed in the marketing department to monitor finance, everybody clapped, thinking it was an upgrade. Dev also welcomed her with a smile. But trouble started quickly.

First week, Teena checked the report. “This Abuja ticket does not balance, the money is more than normal.”

Dev just waved his hand: “No problem, it’s a client we are pampering. Marketing is different, not a classroom.”

Teena frowned: “Client pampering is not for company money. Rules are rules.”

From there, every week became a battle. Teena kept digging out faults, Dev kept defending his team. Staff began to gossip that the two would not last before a serious fight. Some even started betting on who would resign first.

But everything changed during one big investor presentation. Two days before the event, Dev’s right-hand man fell sick. Whole logistics scattered. Teena reasoned it was Dev’s carelessness, but she kept her eyes watching.

On D-day, Teena was shocked. All the money she thought Dev was wasting, he used it to set the ground well — premium lounge for investors, cultural gifts, dinner with class. When she saw the deal the company signed that night, she swallowed her pride.

Later in the office:

Teena: “So that is why you always bend rules? You see the bigger picture?”
Dev smiled: “I don’t bend rules. I play chess with money. But I need you, because if nobody holds the calculator for me, I can throw away a pawn that is supposed to save the king.”

From that night, things changed. Teena began to loosen a bit, Dev began to tighten a bit. The quarrels reduced, respect grew. Soon the two of them became unlikely partners.

But the real twist came one Friday night. Rain poured heavily as they walked to the car park. One old blind man was struggling near a puddle. Dev rushed to help, Teena joined. As they held the man’s hand, lightning flashed both of them froze. For one second, they saw a vision: not just the office, but themselves ten years later, running a foundation together, changing the lives of street children.

Teena was shocked, whispering: “Did you see it?”
Dev nodded slowly: “It is not a dream. The future is calling us.”

Weeks later, Teena discovered a file inside the archive. A hidden report from years back showing that Dev rejected a big bribe when he first joined the company. He covered it up because he did not want praise, but that act saved the company from collapse. That was when Teena understood that Dev’s careless style was a cover; the guy knew more than everybody thought.

That secret, plus the vision, sealed their bond. From enemies, they turned into trusted allies. Staff could not understand how two opposite humans could balance like that. Some said it was love, others said it was mystery. But Teena and Dev did not explain.

Their unlikely friendship became a legend in the office. Everybody learned that rules and risks are not enemies, they are twins. And till today, anytime heavy rain falls, Teena and Dev remember that night destiny flashed their future — and they smile, because sometimes friendship is not an accident, it is a hidden plan written by the universe.

I invite @imohmitch @promisezella @calculuseyo1 to take part in this contest