17-02-2019, 12:41 PM
I keep looking at the door all day, expecting Trupti to return any moment. But she doesn't, not all day nor the next. The next week starts and I immerse myself in my work. I do my best to let work distract me from all the debauched weirdness that the crazy woman had recently put me through. Compared to Trupti's psychotic behavior, even Jan seems normal for a while. But only for a while.
"I was going over your reimbursement request." she strides up to my desk one day looking upset.
"Yes, Jan?"
"That Baltimore trip...why is there an Amtrak charge there?"
This confuses me for a bit. I had planned to just leave that part out and pay for it myself. How had that gotten in there? For a moment, I think about saying, it was a mistake. But then I feel anger rising up my ears. Starlight had given us the order. The deal is worth millions. Why is my boss bitching about a couple of hundred dollars?
"Jan, I took the bus on the way back. But going there, I took a train."
"I explicitly told you to take a bus, young lady." she says in that stern college principal-like voice.
"Fine, I will pay for it myself. I will pay for the whole fucking trip myself, even the bus." I say angrily.
Jan is silent as she glares at me.
"Are you giving me attitude?"
I meet her angry gaze. But then look away.
"Sorry, Jan"
"You think this is about just a couple of hundred dollars? Here, I'll show you what that means to me." she takes out her purse and fishes out a bunch of $20 bills. And then she rips them into little pieces. "That's what it means to me!"
"Jan!" I have no idea what to say. This is all so bizarre.
"You stupid cow...you have no idea what you have done!" she yells as a few people stare at us. "There is a big prize for the team that has the best return on investment. It's a big bonus for all of us. It was between my team and Jerry's team, by a tiny margin. Even with the Starlight account, what matters is the cost. And it turned out to be really razor thin. Second or third decimal type calculation."
"What are you saying?"
"Your reimbursement claim is already in the system. You can't take it back. We have lost by the smallest margin. If our costs had been lower by just two hundred bucks, we would have been on top. And all of us gotten big bonuses!"
"Why didn't you tell me the reason in the first place?" I vehemently ask.
"Who the fuck do you think you are that I owe you an explanation, you fucking dot..." her voice trails away as she looks around at all the people, or witnesses watching, as she is on the verge of using a slur that could get her fired. She takes a deep breath and walks away.
Three days later, there is a party in the office to celebrate the great quarter that we had. And prizes are given away to the top teams. Jan's team that I was part of comes second, by the tiniest margin possible. We still get a bonus, but the winners get a bigger one. And the difference in the bonuses is substantial. Jan had let it be known to everyone else in the small team that my decision to take an Amtrak was what cost us the first place.
It is a horrible party to be at. No one is talking to me, not even my own team. All the senior executives are there, as are many top clients, and all employees with their families. Everyone is mingling and socializing, having a good time. But I feel like an outsider in all that. I just park myself in a corner with a glass of diet coke and my tablet, pretending to work, even as I feel gutted. But I would soldier on, as I always did. It can't get any worse.
And then it gets worse. Trupti walks in, looking cheerful and radiant as always.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I sprint up to her and whisper, trying to pull her to the side.
"Shhh." she shakes me off and jumps into a big group of employees and family members talking about something or the other. Soon she is the center of attention.
Why is she here? How did she even know about this event? I ponder the questions as I watch her circulate through the room, making pleasant small talk with all the senior executives and managers, even flirting with a few. I just stand in the corner and sulk. Forget it, I tell myself. I will just ignore her. And ignore her I did as I focused on my work, without really focusing. Just staring at a blank screen.
After a while, people started getting more and more drunk. The party started getting louder and friendlier. My head starts throbbing. I was still going through a phase of almost no sleep. I decide to just leave and go home. As I walk out, I see Trupti was in a dark corner, talking flirtatiously with an older white man who looks vaguely familiar. As she throws her head back in a fake laugh, I look into her eyes. She doesn't acknowledge my gaze. I walk away.
----
"I was going over your reimbursement request." she strides up to my desk one day looking upset.
"Yes, Jan?"
"That Baltimore trip...why is there an Amtrak charge there?"
This confuses me for a bit. I had planned to just leave that part out and pay for it myself. How had that gotten in there? For a moment, I think about saying, it was a mistake. But then I feel anger rising up my ears. Starlight had given us the order. The deal is worth millions. Why is my boss bitching about a couple of hundred dollars?
"Jan, I took the bus on the way back. But going there, I took a train."
"I explicitly told you to take a bus, young lady." she says in that stern college principal-like voice.
"Fine, I will pay for it myself. I will pay for the whole fucking trip myself, even the bus." I say angrily.
Jan is silent as she glares at me.
"Are you giving me attitude?"
I meet her angry gaze. But then look away.
"Sorry, Jan"
"You think this is about just a couple of hundred dollars? Here, I'll show you what that means to me." she takes out her purse and fishes out a bunch of $20 bills. And then she rips them into little pieces. "That's what it means to me!"
"Jan!" I have no idea what to say. This is all so bizarre.
"You stupid cow...you have no idea what you have done!" she yells as a few people stare at us. "There is a big prize for the team that has the best return on investment. It's a big bonus for all of us. It was between my team and Jerry's team, by a tiny margin. Even with the Starlight account, what matters is the cost. And it turned out to be really razor thin. Second or third decimal type calculation."
"What are you saying?"
"Your reimbursement claim is already in the system. You can't take it back. We have lost by the smallest margin. If our costs had been lower by just two hundred bucks, we would have been on top. And all of us gotten big bonuses!"
"Why didn't you tell me the reason in the first place?" I vehemently ask.
"Who the fuck do you think you are that I owe you an explanation, you fucking dot..." her voice trails away as she looks around at all the people, or witnesses watching, as she is on the verge of using a slur that could get her fired. She takes a deep breath and walks away.
Three days later, there is a party in the office to celebrate the great quarter that we had. And prizes are given away to the top teams. Jan's team that I was part of comes second, by the tiniest margin possible. We still get a bonus, but the winners get a bigger one. And the difference in the bonuses is substantial. Jan had let it be known to everyone else in the small team that my decision to take an Amtrak was what cost us the first place.
It is a horrible party to be at. No one is talking to me, not even my own team. All the senior executives are there, as are many top clients, and all employees with their families. Everyone is mingling and socializing, having a good time. But I feel like an outsider in all that. I just park myself in a corner with a glass of diet coke and my tablet, pretending to work, even as I feel gutted. But I would soldier on, as I always did. It can't get any worse.
And then it gets worse. Trupti walks in, looking cheerful and radiant as always.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I sprint up to her and whisper, trying to pull her to the side.
"Shhh." she shakes me off and jumps into a big group of employees and family members talking about something or the other. Soon she is the center of attention.
Why is she here? How did she even know about this event? I ponder the questions as I watch her circulate through the room, making pleasant small talk with all the senior executives and managers, even flirting with a few. I just stand in the corner and sulk. Forget it, I tell myself. I will just ignore her. And ignore her I did as I focused on my work, without really focusing. Just staring at a blank screen.
After a while, people started getting more and more drunk. The party started getting louder and friendlier. My head starts throbbing. I was still going through a phase of almost no sleep. I decide to just leave and go home. As I walk out, I see Trupti was in a dark corner, talking flirtatiously with an older white man who looks vaguely familiar. As she throws her head back in a fake laugh, I look into her eyes. She doesn't acknowledge my gaze. I walk away.
----
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