Hopefully For The Best

By Sachitra Samarakoon

Life as a Business Analyst for a leading Software company is never easy. Things get even worse in Lucy’s life as her boyfriend Peter starts to drift away from her, for some unstoppable reasons. Peter is handed over the multi-million-dollar business from his dad, and without even knowing he has to take care of their business which leads him to a whole new life.

It looks like the life never stops bothering Lucy’s life as she is sent to the other part of the world to save a project, which directly links to the reputation of the company she works. Even though they have a branch in Sri Lanka, she has only watched a documentary movie about monkeys and that is all she knows about the country that she is going to visit for the next couple of months. However, she finds herself again after a long time, and starts to enjoy her stay in that strange country after meeting some interesting new friends. With the help of them Lucy tries her extreme desires for new adventures, which once let her to be lost in a jungle and making her fall in love with her life again.

But the fate drags her to the same problem time to time, even though she wants a break from her love life. Eventually she learns that she can’t run away from the problem, and most importantly, there is a limit for a person for everything.

Amid all the action happening around her, Lucy tries to solve her relationship issues and win the hearts of the client together with the reputation of the company.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sachitra Samarakoon
• Release date: Dec 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310050534

Sachitra Samarakoon

I’m Sachitra Samarakoon, currently living in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Apart from being a Software Consultant, I enjoy being out there with people, and involve in team sports and even love jogging in the evening. But non of that can top my attraction toward reading and writing books.Reading was one of my favorite hobbies ever since I was a kid, and I still remember how I glued myself in the bed in the vacations with the storybooks piled up beside me. That made the person who I am today, who enjoys putting down the stories in my mind into words.I usually don’t like to pick a genre when it comes for reading, but I see myself pumping a lot of ideas and stories to write as contemporary romance fictions. But it doesn’t stop me from experimenting with other genres, as I love inter-connecting them as well, specially when the stories evolve.Apart from all that, I love to interact with people who also like to read and write stuff. May be we can find something in common to talk about and share.

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Hopefully For The Best

Sachitra Samarakoon

Copyright© 2015 by

Sachitra Samarakoon

www.sachitrasamarakoon.wordpress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Chapter ONE

It was a very busy week, and Lucy was startled by the alarm in the morning. She tried to open her eyes, but tiredness couldn't evaporate from them. She extended her hand toward the alarm clock which was on the bedside table, but couldn't gather up the strength to stop the constant buzzing. She tried to take her mind to the real world as her sleep was constantly disturbed by unrealistic and crazy dreams. Sometimes she struggled to convince herself that it's the morning.

Some distant cries echoed in her mind, someone whispered into one of her ears, sound of typing on a computer keyboard blocked the noises, and it was difficult to understand what she was hearing - a plane was gaining its speed along a runaway before a lift-off and its deafening sound could pull Lucy out of her dream world. She opened her eyes to find her arm in mid-air, half way toward the clock. Everything started to come to normal senses and she hated herself to see her life in such a mess. She hated everything around her, the bed, the clock, her phone, scattered clothes on the floor which she threw away the other night. She picked up her phone wondering why it didn't wake her up before the alarm. There were no any calls or messages. At least that was a good sign. She slowly got down from the bed and forced herself to walk into the bathroom.

It was another usual Friday morning traffic in London. Lucy could not find any motivation to drive as quickly as possible to her office during the past couple of months. It was not the usual case for her, as she loved her job very much. Nothing could prevent her from attending to her official matters earlier, but now she wondered when she would have a break from all that work.

Lucy Garland was a Business Analyst for a leading software company which was famous for their aviation solutions. NGAT (Next Generation Aviation Technologies) was ahead of their market competitors because of the masterminds behind their unique products. It's quite correct to say that they didn't have any sort of challenge from other software giants for their products. The solutions they had were the results of many researches done over a period of decade or so. Lucy was part of the company for the last three years and her skills could raise her up for the position of the main Business Analyst of the company.

Good morning, She wished everyone she met until she reached her cubicle, and threw herself into the chair.

Hey, good morning. It'll be a mad session today, too. I wonder what will roll onto us today. Robert Pearson peeped into her office and gave the least expected news in the morning.

Robert was the head of Business and Marketing department for NGAT and one of the masterminds to drive the company toward the ultimate heights in the industry. The strategies he had were irreplaceable and no one could compete with him in terms of marketing capabilities. Nobody decided to interrupt his speeches even in a meeting, no matter what their designations were. He had such a remarkable ability to attract everyone's attention to his speeches.

I don't expect anything better. Lucy said, glancing at him while arranging her gadgets on the desk.

Alright, see you in the conference room. Robert said and marched down the hall to his room. The whole department looked busy during the last month and everyone looked so attached to their computers and files, forgetting all the activities which were used to happen in the office before. Lucy could hardly manage to have a peaceful meal during the work hours, since her department started to face all sorts of problems. Her desk was a mess with files and unattended documents. Her daily planner was supposed to be smooth before, but now it's all about meetings from morning to the end of the day. Sometimes she wondered where to begin her day with the tasks she had.

The account they were working was running without any glitch for the last five months. NGAT got the project of delivering a super advanced customer handling software for a large private jet company, which covered more than sixty countries worldwide. It was the smartest solution for the customers, and they could do almost everything regarding their travels, from their computers or smart devices. Starting from check-ins, they could even track various flights around the world, so they would know where their loved ones during their travels. And it had other facilities like managing the vacations, tours around a place or a country and it was flexible enough to let the customers decide what was best for them. It was kind of an intelligent system, where after a full delivery; it would be an essential part of the everyday life, like smart phones. The project was the most important account for NGAT as they had signed a five million pounds contract for the solution. Everything was in place and they could successfully finish the designing phase with no drawbacks.

The problems started to rise when the customer demanded for sudden changes. A team of experts from NGAT were given the task of analyzing the requests and produce a report for the feasibility. Lucy was the main Business Analyst and they identified that they could include the new requirements into the current projections of the project. They finalized the dates and everything, because everyone was happy with the proceedings.

Alright people, we have to come to a conclusion about this today. Mark said starting the meeting even before everyone sat down. Mark Vernon was the CEO of the company and he was rarely seen in such meetings. But during this week, he was the chair and passing orders around to get the company out of the trouble. He was more concerned about the reputation of the company which he was not afraid to take any decision, no matter what.

We have less than three months. Remember, we are lucky to have that time period, folks. Nothing should go wrong this time. I want everyone's attention to this matter. Robert, what's the latest situation?

Well, I communicated with the development team. Looks like we don't have time to pass the latest requirements and go the usual QA rounds before handing over for development. Robert looked much serious as he glanced at Lucy. She also knew how bad the situation was. The predictions they had made have all gone wrong. They had found out that the new requirements couldn't be delivered within the promised time frame, due to some mismatches in the technical architecture of the software. Because of the tight deadlines, Lucy couldn't consult all the chief architects in the company for the best possible agreement with the client. They knew how much the client was concerned about the deadlines, and it was least expected to renegotiate it. Mark had a reputation for himself for driving his teams toward the ultimate goals of a project. But, he was not afraid to take hard decisions on people under him, specially the non-directors of the company. Robert and Lucy knew about it and that was the main reason for the nervousness for all those meetings.

Well, what do you suggest then? How can we do the transition? Mark asked.

Someone has to be with the development team in this, giving the information on the go. I don't see any faster solution than that. Robert replied.

Lucy looked at Robert when he said that, and found another glance at her. With all the tension building inside her, she could understand where this was heading.

Lucy? Mark said, now looking at her.

She looked at him but couldn't open her mouth. She was still wondering what Robert said. How can they be with development team? Their main software engineering team was located at the other part of the world.

Um… Yes, Robert is right. But, I was wondering how to align with the engineering team. She managed to reply.

Well, I think what he meant was that you will have to move there with all the updates. That's the quickest solution for the problem. Mark said and looked at Robert. Robert nodded approving the decision of their CEO, even though it was the same thing he had in his mind.

Lucy secretly expected something like this would happen at the end. But she didn't want to put her life in more trouble than this. She was not the happiest woman when it came to her personal life. Past couple of months was the ugliest in her life, giving all sorts of problems both in her love life and career.

Okay, I'll see what I can do about this. She replied, even though she was not in a position to make a decision for her own.

She realized that she needed to talk to her mother. Mary Garland had been the most influential person in Lucy's life. Mary was the chief journalist for a fashion magazine in New York and she consulted her mother almost at every difficult situation she came across.

I will make this clear Lucy, Mark said and looked at her with a much serious look.

You have to go there. I don't think you have much to decide on this. Prepare to leave in this weekend. I don't want any delays now. I've had enough on this account. It's all up to you guys. And he prepared to conclude the meeting and leave. That was his final warning for both Robert and Lucy, and he knew that he convinced it to both of them.

I will help you out with the materials. Robert said realizing the concerned look in Lucy's face, while preparing his documents.

Good luck guys. You know I can't tolerate any drawbacks on this. I hope you will make this work out. Let me know with the results. Mark left the room after glancing both at Robert and Lucy. Both of them knew there was nothing much to talk with Mark anymore. He had expressed his views on their project, and all he wanted to see was the end result. It was all on to them now.

I am totally screwed, Robert. Lucy said with a sigh and looked at her files laid in front of her on the table.

Hey, this isn't over. I know we can pull this up. None of us saw this coming, and we can't blame the development team either. Robert came around the table and touched her shoulder. We have to help the engineering team to overcome the situation. Do you have any concerns leaving the country for the moment?

Even Robert knew that she had no say in it. But, he knew the difficulties she faced over the months, and it was too much for a delicate woman like Lucy.

It's too much, but I know I have to face it. I have no other option either. Can you help me out after the lunch then? I need to make some calls. She said and looked at Robert with a innocent and helpless smile.

Anytime, see you later then. Robert patted on her shoulder and left the room. Lucy stayed there a bit longer, rearranging her documents, and buried her face in her hands before leaving the room. She knew she had to gather more strength in order to face the coming days.

Chapter TWO

Peter Wallace met Lucy Garland in the University of Cambridge in their undergraduate studies. Both of them played tennis for the university and Peter was in a senior grade than Lucy. Even though they followed different courses, they fell for each other as a result of playing tennis. Lucy found some extra time for sports in her Computer Science department where she managed to have some exceptional records under her belt for both tennis and her academic career. Peter was in Economics department, but he was not so competent in tennis with Lucy. They shared a lot of similar interests and later found out that their parents were also friends in their university times.

Lucy's farther served as a fighter pilot which he died due to a heart failure when she was in the university. As the only child in the family she had to live a lonely life after that, as her mother was quite busy with the magazine in New York. But, she never forgot to visit Lucy when she needed her. She told her mother about Peter when they started their relationship. Lucy was the most beautiful girl Peter had ever seen and her charming qualities made her shine among the others. Most of all, she had a benevolent heart. Sometimes she was so mischievous that Peter drove himself crazy. He adored everything about her and loved to be around her whenever he could. They became a famous couple among their friends and other tennis players from different faculties.

Lucy could never forget their lovely times together. Peter was a son of a multi-millionaire who owned several gold mines and running the business in major cities across several continents. His father appointed Peter as a director of the company and handed over a lot of responsibilities right after his degree. Because of that, he had to be a frequent traveler around the world to cope up with the business requirements.

We hardly see each other, Lucy had once told him over a telephone conversation. When will you be back in London?

I'm not sure. My father wants me to take over his business sooner than he had planned. Peter used to tell her many times about how much busy he was.

It's not that he didn't want to meet her, but his schedule didn't permit him to do what he liked. He didn't forget to pay her a visit to her London apartment from all the way from South Africa during last summer. Even Lucy got herself some holidays from work to spend more time with him. They went out for picnics, dinner outs and movies whenever the time permitted. But, their love affair started to see obstacles when Peter took over his father's position in the company, because his father wanted an early retirement to travel the world, this time only to holiday destinations. Peter was surrounded by meetings around the world where he was not allowed to spend time with his loved ones. Lucy was upset at first, but tried to convince herself about his situation. But, for everything there is a limit. Their conversations started to deteriorate over time. Daily calls were now happening once a week. What bothered Lucy was that she was the one who happened to drop him a message. He rarely initiated a conversation lately. She used to tell what was happening in her office at their usual chats over Skype, and he was eager to listen to those stories as well. But, day by day, he didn't pay much attention to them and he wanted to keep the calls shorter as much as possible.

It's a major problem Pete. I was partly responsible for it. I couldn't analyze with our software architects before the confirmation. She had told him.

Really? He sounded as if he didn't hear what she wanted to tell him. She wanted him to talk about it and make her relieve. She started to feel bad about his reactions toward her, and decided not to update him with all the details in her life.

The situation was as such when she was asked to go to Colombo. NGAT had their main software development center in Sri Lanka, but she never happened to interact with them in her tenure as the main Business Analyst. She wondered whether to tell Peter about the proceedings or not. Her situation was worsened even more by Peter's behavior recently.

So, don't you have an alternative? Mary Garland asked from her daughter.

Looks like I was not left with any. She told that Friday night.

Lucy didn't have anyone to talk to other than her mother. Mary was a bit upset about her daughter's situation in the company, and got even uncomfortable with the assignment in Colombo. She tried to stop her, but the situation was so complicated that both of them didn't have any option.

I will be alright mom. Jessica told me that one of her friends had visited the country before, and there's nothing to worry. Lucy tried to make up her mother's mind. Jessica Lawrence was a Junior Business Analyst who worked with Lucy in the same project. She had told Lucy about a trip to Sri Lanka by one of her friends, and it had been a pleasurable trip. That was the only information Lucy had heard from a person about the country, and she didn't have enough time to find out more. But she remembered a documentary program about monkeys which was happened to be filmed in Sri Lanka. Now that she had been assigned to visit there, she thought that it would have been nice if she had known something better about the reality of the place.

Let me know if you need me there honey, alright. I will re-schedule my work for it. Mary told her.

Thanks mom. I have to do the packing. I am taking the flight tomorrow morning.

Alright darling, keep me updated. Even though Mary was nervous for her daughter, she knew Lucy was capable of facing new challenges.

Oh, mom, one more thing, don't tell anything to Peter, in case he called you, alright?

Why? Didn't you tell him? Anything wrong between you two? Now she got ever more worried.

It's a long story mom. I will call you when I got to Colombo. I want to give him some space. Lucy said.

Mary didn't like the tone of her daughter's voice. She realized something was not right between Lucy and Peter. Whatever it was, she felt that she would not hear anything nice. At first, she had asked Lucy to think twice about their relationship, as Peter was not a guy who would be around her in most critical situations. However, she decided to give them some space.

That night Lucy packed for her sudden and unpredictable journey. The things happened so fast in Lucy's world, where she felt as if she was washing away with a tide. She didn't have enough strength to fight against them. Most importantly, Lucy was mentally down. Peter was slipping away from her world and NGAT worsened the situation by sending her to Colombo, which she had zero knowledge about. Robert had told that the guys in Colombo office were so friendly and they would help her out in her assignment. She hadn't personally communicated with anyone there, unless in email threads.

Hope you are all set, Lucy. Jessica phoned that night to check up on Lucy. Jessica was also worried about the sudden assignment of Lucy to Colombo.

Almost done, Jessie. I hope everything would be fine. She said. Lucy knew that Jessica was always there for her and she had done a remarkable job as a junior Analyst, and she was also a part of her success.

I talked to my friend again, and there is nothing for you to be worried about the country. He said that it's the most hospitable country he had ever visited.

Yeah, I also heard so. Robert has arranged everything for me there. Lucy said. I am totally fine to travel, but never expected this to happen too soon.

Me either. And considering the situation of the project, that's the best option to do I guess. Wish I could also come with you. Jessica sounded so caring and helpful.

I know, but they need you here. You finish those reports I sent you early today. It'll be a great help for me too, Jessie. Lucy said. She knew that Jessica finished the tasks assigned for her successfully, and she had a bright future in the company. She was glad to have a Business Analyst like Jessica in her team. And she liked to have Jessica at London office specially, so she could update with the latest situation. Lucy didn't completely trust on the telephone or videos conferences about to happen in the future. She's got a tremendous task ahead of her. The plans she made to transfer the knowledge to development teams, were to be reviewed by someone else. Her first preference was Jessica. But, since every plan happened to change within a matter of a day, she had no choice other than going through the plan again for herself.

With all the busy times in the office, she managed to talk to Steven Hudson later in that evening. Steven was the head of software development for the company. Even though he was responsible for many accounts within the company, his priory had been the project which Lucy was assigned to. With a short notice from CEO, he had managed to talk with the country manager in Sri Lanka to form a special team to facilitate Lucy, so that all the new requirements would be transferred into the engineering department through them. Lucy had only talked to Steven a few times in her stay with the company and that's also in some meetings. This was the first time she talked with him personally and she liked the person from the way he spoke with her. Despite from all the tension building in his role, he tried to help her as much as he could. He knew that Lucy's task was very critical from the company's point of view, too.