02-01-2019, 12:41 PM
Ramesh
The news had circulated fast. First it was the two lads who came into the room and learnt it from Preeti. Discarding his severe admonition that nothing was final till the boss had actually signed the order to which they had replied that who cared for a formality; they had trooped out and broadcast it to the entire office staff.
In the conference room, he then faced the stream of colleagues streaming in to pour their congratulations and some like the senior manager Sekhar, who were too busy to come, had called him up on his phone. Their tones varied too – ranging from genuine happiness to pure envy and shades in between as well. It was a harrowing time for him, having to respond to each of them. His face had started to ache as well trying to fake a smile each time while trying to fathom which of the compliments were genuine.
Then the two idiots of his team had come up with the bright idea.
‘Party tonight boss! And no excuses.’
He sank into his chair and put his head between his hands. Let the madness subside on its own. Taking that as a cue for his assent, the boys had let out a war cry of victory and immediately gone out to spread the invitation.
With their departure, the conference room had become empty and he felt relief. It had been an hour of full madness and he was grateful for the breather now…
Half an hour later, the euphoria was starting to vanish. A vague sense of uneasiness started to prick at the back of his neck. Why was the confirmation taking so long? That was very unlike Mr. Rao. And also, the matter having been decided by the Group HQ certainly should have come through in a routine manner. A slow sweat started to build up.
Preeti walked into the conference room. He was puzzled as she locked the door from inside and walked over to him. Her face was expressionless.
She stood silent for a second as if deciding what to say.
“Speak Preeti”, he said, his stomach definitely churning.
She sat down in the nearby chair and placed her hand over his.
“Boss has decided not to send you”, she said simply.
For an instant, he couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“What? Who is going then?”
She averted her eyes, feeling his pain. “No one. Just that he had us mail that due to pressing client business situation, you can not be spared from the office for the training.” Then she took a deep breath and continued like a robot, “And the confirmation from London has also been received as well. They said that they quite understand and have taken off your name from the list of selectees.”
The wind was knocked out of him. His entire world seemed to have collapsed. He shot a brief look at her and put his head down on the table. ‘What a humiliation, bloody humiliation’, a sob rose inside him.
“Just the thing that was needed to make me a fool before the whole office”, he cried out.
Preeti placed a hand on his shoulder and didn’t utter a word, till the initial wave of grief had passed. He was grateful for her remaining silent.
Later, he had composed himself and got out to wash his face. Returning, he found her still standing where she had been.
“I must see him”, he made a motion towards the door but Preeti’s voice stopped him.
“He has gone out and said that he won’t be returning today. Also said that no one was to call him for something that couldn’t wait till tomorrow.”
Ramesh looked at her puzzled.
“Why don’t you sit out a while”, she suggested, “I will make sure no one drops in on you. If you want to leave for home early, better still.”
With that she had gone out and softly closed the door.
He was now left to his own thoughts. He had no clue, how such a thing could have happened. The same Mr. Rao who had recommended his name had now prevented him from going over once he had been selected… His mind rambled on the various possible reasons that could have led to this fiasco … Had he fouled up sometime earlier or been less than polite to him at any instance … Or was it that Singapore presentation … and had he fucked up on that? … His mind went over all aspect of his performance and conduct over the last couple of months … Try as he might, he couldn’t come up with any reasonable answer.
It was then that his mind latched on to the only possibility that was left. Must have been the incident with Kajol. He felt a stab of anger towards her. What business she had making a spectacle of herself before the boss and his wife. ‘My God! She had kissed him’, he shut his eyes in horror, ‘and Mrs Rao as well like a lesbo. That was atrocious.’
He looked at his watch, it was still an hour to closing time. He couldn’t stay a minute longer in the office. Standing up, he switched off his mobile, to ward off any of the commiserating calls that would surely follow. Lifting his bag he set off for home. Kajol had said that she would be late.
“Well, let her come. She would find him dead drunk. And all because of her behavior.”
The news had circulated fast. First it was the two lads who came into the room and learnt it from Preeti. Discarding his severe admonition that nothing was final till the boss had actually signed the order to which they had replied that who cared for a formality; they had trooped out and broadcast it to the entire office staff.
In the conference room, he then faced the stream of colleagues streaming in to pour their congratulations and some like the senior manager Sekhar, who were too busy to come, had called him up on his phone. Their tones varied too – ranging from genuine happiness to pure envy and shades in between as well. It was a harrowing time for him, having to respond to each of them. His face had started to ache as well trying to fake a smile each time while trying to fathom which of the compliments were genuine.
Then the two idiots of his team had come up with the bright idea.
‘Party tonight boss! And no excuses.’
He sank into his chair and put his head between his hands. Let the madness subside on its own. Taking that as a cue for his assent, the boys had let out a war cry of victory and immediately gone out to spread the invitation.
With their departure, the conference room had become empty and he felt relief. It had been an hour of full madness and he was grateful for the breather now…
Half an hour later, the euphoria was starting to vanish. A vague sense of uneasiness started to prick at the back of his neck. Why was the confirmation taking so long? That was very unlike Mr. Rao. And also, the matter having been decided by the Group HQ certainly should have come through in a routine manner. A slow sweat started to build up.
Preeti walked into the conference room. He was puzzled as she locked the door from inside and walked over to him. Her face was expressionless.
She stood silent for a second as if deciding what to say.
“Speak Preeti”, he said, his stomach definitely churning.
She sat down in the nearby chair and placed her hand over his.
“Boss has decided not to send you”, she said simply.
For an instant, he couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“What? Who is going then?”
She averted her eyes, feeling his pain. “No one. Just that he had us mail that due to pressing client business situation, you can not be spared from the office for the training.” Then she took a deep breath and continued like a robot, “And the confirmation from London has also been received as well. They said that they quite understand and have taken off your name from the list of selectees.”
The wind was knocked out of him. His entire world seemed to have collapsed. He shot a brief look at her and put his head down on the table. ‘What a humiliation, bloody humiliation’, a sob rose inside him.
“Just the thing that was needed to make me a fool before the whole office”, he cried out.
Preeti placed a hand on his shoulder and didn’t utter a word, till the initial wave of grief had passed. He was grateful for her remaining silent.
Later, he had composed himself and got out to wash his face. Returning, he found her still standing where she had been.
“I must see him”, he made a motion towards the door but Preeti’s voice stopped him.
“He has gone out and said that he won’t be returning today. Also said that no one was to call him for something that couldn’t wait till tomorrow.”
Ramesh looked at her puzzled.
“Why don’t you sit out a while”, she suggested, “I will make sure no one drops in on you. If you want to leave for home early, better still.”
With that she had gone out and softly closed the door.
He was now left to his own thoughts. He had no clue, how such a thing could have happened. The same Mr. Rao who had recommended his name had now prevented him from going over once he had been selected… His mind rambled on the various possible reasons that could have led to this fiasco … Had he fouled up sometime earlier or been less than polite to him at any instance … Or was it that Singapore presentation … and had he fucked up on that? … His mind went over all aspect of his performance and conduct over the last couple of months … Try as he might, he couldn’t come up with any reasonable answer.
It was then that his mind latched on to the only possibility that was left. Must have been the incident with Kajol. He felt a stab of anger towards her. What business she had making a spectacle of herself before the boss and his wife. ‘My God! She had kissed him’, he shut his eyes in horror, ‘and Mrs Rao as well like a lesbo. That was atrocious.’
He looked at his watch, it was still an hour to closing time. He couldn’t stay a minute longer in the office. Standing up, he switched off his mobile, to ward off any of the commiserating calls that would surely follow. Lifting his bag he set off for home. Kajol had said that she would be late.
“Well, let her come. She would find him dead drunk. And all because of her behavior.”
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