The office had that lazy Saturday vibe — everyone pretending to work but mostly chatting, half-finished mugs of coffee scattered on desks. The air-conditioning hummed, someone was softly playing a Bollywood playlist from their phone, and even the usually serious audit reports looked less threatening today.

Shikha walked into the pantry, humming to herself, hoping caffeine would fix her post-lunch sleepiness. She pressed the coffee button. Nothing happened. Frowning, she pressed again. Still nothing.