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Teena was a very clever financial analyst; therefore, recently she got the promotion to the marketing department of Bright Star Enterprises. She had to examine every rupee spent, especially for travel expenses. Even though it seems very simple on paper, she knew that it was difficult in practice. With that mentality, she walked into the large meeting room in Bright Star Enterprises.

When she entered the room, Dev, the marketing head, was seated with his usual relaxing smile on the other side of the room. Teena thought he was a carefree person because of his constant jokes.

Dev was a strict man, but he was always ready to be flexible in company rules if it helped to increase the performance of the team.

At first, Dev and Teena worked together quite amicably. Teena handled bills, while Dev managed campaigns. But one day, unexpectedly, a clash began among them.

Once, when Teena checked the travel bills, she noticed that one manager had submitted the same taxi receipt twice.

She became enraged.

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At their next group meeting, she pointed out that matter and harshly said, "This type of thing cannot be approved. Everyone should be honest with themselves."

Dev immediately disputed her assertion, stating, "It's likely that he traveled late at night after work." We should not be too harsh, Teena.

Teena got infuriated with Dev's talk. She and Dev got into a heated argument. At last, Dev used his calm demeanor to silence Teena.

Once, when Teena checked the flight travel bills, she found that one employee had used a business class ticket, even though the corporate policy was only for economy class flights.

At the same moment, she met Dev and complained about the incident with her firm objection. But Dev only smiled and said, "Don't be excited; when we give the employees extra comfort, they are ready to give their maximum."

Teena was surprised by the way Dev was talking. As well, she became angry and said, "Rules are rules. If we ignore them, the whole system collapses.”

In this way, week after week, there were fierce arguments between them. The marketing team enjoyed the drama, but they worried about how long this tension would last. They were tired of Teena's inflexible manner, but they considered Dev their endearing big brother.

During the annual review presentation, the situation escalated. Teena presented a report highlighting all unnecessary expenses. She explained it through a chart, saying that “if these costs were controlled, the department would have saved 2.3 million rupees this year.”

"Sometimes, Teena, numbers don't tell the whole story," Dev expressed with a smile, instead of defending himself.

Teena argued heatedly with Dev; everyone thought that the two might never work together again.

---

But the incident took a strange turn. A few weeks later, the Bright Star decided to start a large-scale campaign in a different city. Teena had to go with Dev and his group in order to keep a close eye on expenses. It was the first time she saw Dev outside the office setting. He did not make jokes or spend freely. Instead, he carefully observed the staff performance. He encouraged the juniors and even tipped the drivers fairly.

One evening after a long client meeting, Teena and Dev were at a small roadside tea stall. She was unable to contain her curiosity any longer.

"How do you act so careless when in reality you are not so?" she said softly as she sat closer to Dev.

A great question! Dev remarked, stirring his tea with a smile.

"Are you aware that people perform better at work when they feel trusted? If I overcontrol them, they will increase their stress. But, Teena, don't misunderstand me. I check everything, without showing others."

"Then you know about the duplicate receipt and the flights," Teena remarked in surprise.

"Of course," Dev said. "But I personally talk to them instead of cutting their expenses. Sometimes their reasons are genuine. But they learn a lesson without being embarrassed in front of everyone. That is my way."

For the first time, Teena realized her fault. Her inflexible wall of regulations began to relax. Dev is completely different, but she realized all of that was not careless. Simply put, every employee is a human.

From then on, everything changed. Teena still kept her strict eye on numbers, but before rejecting a claim, she used to ask the reason. Hereafter, Dev and Teena worked together, and Dev explained his real reasons behind his decisions. Their cold war gradually evolved into a friendship. Her rules and his people skills balanced together, which made the department stronger.

Arguments slowly turned into respect and finally turned into unexpected friendship.

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