02-01-2019, 03:36 PM
Preeti Jain
The moment the three of them had walked in for a repeat discussion on the business entry strategy, Ramesh had felt a new kind of enthusiasm. Mr. Rao and Preeti had arrived in the evening and the latter, unused to air travel had been sick all through the flight. She had looked awful and after dinner had retired early. Mr. Rao had taken off with his Singapore counterpart. Ramesh and Preeti had walked back to their room, which were side by side. As she swiped the plastic key at her door she had called goodnight to him, pleading with him that she really needed to get back to bed. “Sure”, he had said.
This morning, at breakfast, she was her normal self. The early night had brought back the color in her cheeks and the three of them had chatted normally, discussing their agenda points. At the JHC hq, Mr. Rao had taken command. He had strode purposefully to the Chairman and had pumped the latter’s hands enthusiastically. Then he had introduced Preeti as a bright young woman, who had been equally involved in the project. The Chairman had said the appropriate things to Mr. Rao and also shook hands with Preeti. Thereafter, much to his surprise, he had commended Ramesh’s efforts. It was all politeness and mutual respect. Then all of them had sailed into the conference room, where Preeti stood up with a fresh presentation.
Preeti’s presentation contained basically the same points which he had covered the days before, but it was the way that she delivered, emphasizing where he had glossed over, bringing out the subtle nuances, that mesmerized the audience. In no time, she had the whole board listening to her words, as if they were listening to something new this time, and they frequently interrupted her to hold discussion among themselves – sometimes in English but mostly in Mandarin. Of course, in the absence of Jim; they had no clue as to what was going on inside their minds. Mr. Ching, the marketing head, the one who had mauled him yesterday, put up a couple of searching questions and also repeated his objections. How Preeti countered him was simply amazing. She turned his questions on him, hammering in the basic point that Mr. Ching’s appraisals were indeed valid for this country only and not for India, where the company was planning to enter. Mr. Ching scratched his chin a couple of times, tried to say something and then thought better of it. Clearly, Preeti had put it past him.
The presentation and the Q&A session was over. A pregnant pause ensued. Mr. Rao also kept silent.
Finally it was Mr. Ching, who spoke. “Mr. Rao, as you can be sure, we will be evaluating all these with utmost care. May I suggest, if it is not inconvenience you, please, let Mr. Ramesh and Miss Jain visit me tomorrow with all the raw data. We need some due diligence, you know.”
Mr. Rao spread his arms wide. “Certainly, they will be here tomorrow. Please also do not hesitate to call me, if you need.”
“No, no”, Mr. Ching spoke, “We are sure, them will do. I am sure, you have other things to do in our beautiful city.”
“Sure, sure”, Mr. Rao spoke catching the drift, “ I will hop over to see some of our old clients. And in any case, I am just a phone call away.”
* * *
On the way back, Ramesh couldn’t control himself. “Sir, what does this mean? Do we get the deal?”, he had blurted out.
“It means”, Mr. Rao had a put on serious tone, “We will celebrate this evening, to the excellent effort that you two have put on.”
“Wow”, Ramesh exclaimed. Just the presence of Mr. Rao made all the difference.
Mr. Rao smiled.
* * *
The trio met at the downstairs restaurant at nine. Mr. Rao was in excellent mood. He ordered an expensive wine ( champagne only when the deal is clinched – he said). Preeti started to protest that she had never touched any alcohol, but Mr. Rao would brook no opposition. Amidst his retelling of many past business deals, how they had been achieved and what a sterling performance that Preeti had dished out today after Ramesh had effectively laid the groundwork; he had toasted several times and Preeti had downed glass after glass. Dinner over, they had made their way back to their respective rooms and by that time Preeti was thoroughly drunk, she clutched Ramesh for support as she neared her room. He took the key off her, opened the door and watched her walk on unsteady legs. Then he bid her goodbye and came to his room.
An hour later, still in that happy funk, he thought of raiding the mini-bar once again. As he neared the fridge, he heard a soft knock on the door. He opened. It was Preeti. She had changed into a faded cotton nightie.
“Going up to Sir”, she said, before he could say anything. “ He said some important clarification asked by JHC”, she slurred, the effects of the drinks showing clearly. “Will call you, if necessary. Otherwise goodnight.” She shuffled to the lift and pressed the bell.
It was only after she had gone up, that something started to prick at the base of his neck. He looked at the watch. It was beyond eleven. What did sir want with her now? He got up and got out another bottle from the mini-bar. Was it something that he made missed out? No, no; how could that be. In any case they were going to JHC the next afternoon too. What then? He started pacing the room. Probably, it was something that their Chairman had asked in an off hand manner and sir wanted to give a reply right away. That must have been it.
In any case, something didn’t quite add up, he figured. The suspense was killing him. And he couldn’t possibly ring up sir to find out. He tapped at his head. Okay, the next best thing to do was to hear it out from Preeti herself. That he could do.
He walked over to the door, opened it and wedged a small magazine there. That way he would know when she came back, for her room was next to his and then he would find out …
He must have passed out for he woke up with a start. Someone was walking in the corridor in soft slippers. The footsteps went beyond his room and then stopped. A minute past, he heard the faint creaking of his own door, then a shadowy figure walked in and looked at his bed, without switching on the light. Next, she climbed into his bed, and Ramesh who was wide awake now, found Preeti adjusting her back to him, spooned up. She started sobbing softly. He was flabbergasted. “What hap..”, he whispered. In reply, she took his arm and buried it across her chest and held tightly. “Don’t ask”, she sobbed, “Just let me stay please.”
He held her tight while the sobs tore through her. He had a million questions of her, but probably, he knew all the answers. With a fit of rage, he started to get up, “I will kill that bastard”, he shouted. Preeti pulled him back, again adjusting his arm across her and holding on tight. His blood was on the boil, but he couldn’t do a thing. With his free hand, he started smoothing her hair, noting that this calmed her down. Her sobs had stopped and she was breathing evenly. Perhaps, she had gone to sleep – thought and that of course would be the best thing. He kissed the back of her head, taking care not to dislodge his wedged arm for that might wake her up. Then he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to catch up…
When his eyes opened, he found her standing at the foot of her bed, looking at something besides him. He looked sidewise. She then pointed at the dark patch and he understood.
“It was my first time”, she said in a matter of fact manner.
He looked at her face, at her faded gown, which had a bigger patch of blood stain. Then he put his face down, down on his chest – for he felt so inadequate, so ashamed of belonging to the gender where a man, someone he respected, had deflowered a girl half his age. He couldn’t bear to look at her.
“Thanks Ramesh for the support. One request though, do not do one single thing about this incident.”
“I will kill that bastard! Let’s report it to the security officer. Let him rot in jail motherfucker…”, his tears were flowing.
She came over near him and placed a hand over his. “Promise me, you will do no such thing – if you ever had the slightest feeling for me. Promise that you will behave with absolute normalcy, come what ever. Promise me ..”, she had taken his palm in both of hers.
He couldn’t trust to speak. He just nodded.
“I will spend the whole of tonight with him. Tomorrow, you and me return home. We talk then only.”
He clutched the towel to his face and made way towards the bathroom. When he emerged, she had already left. They met at the restaurant for the complimentary breakfast, but Mr. Rao was not to be seen. Preeti had turned into her professional self again as they discussed the project papers. This also served to take his mind away from the horrors of the previous night. At noon, both made way for the JHC hq.
Mr. Ching received the two of them with an unusual warmth. Ramesh was astonished to find that this person, who had been so combative just the days before, had turned in so cordial. He took them out for lunch, at a fairly decent restaurant. Preeti handed him over the backup papers and Ramesh started to explain. However, Mr. Ching stopped him mid-sentence with a smile. He started discussing about his family, his ancestral roots; the origins of JHC, their global spread etc. etc. Thereafter, he inquired about their office back home, the work ethics, who all had worked on the project, how they had gone about it; which ideas came from whom. It all seemed very odd to both Ramesh and Preeti, but they dismissed it to the eccentricities of Mr. Ching. Or maybe it was the local culture …
The lunch had lasted for over three hours and neither were feeling any strain. Rather, they had been able to glimpse a bit of the soul of each other. With profuse goodbyes, Mr. Ching had seen them off and they had returned to their hotel.
“Going for a snooze”, Preeti had said at the door.
“Me too”, he had replied and both had gone in their respective rooms.
Around seven, Preeti had called him. “Will be dining with him, in his room. Get a bottle of whatever, in your room.”
Later on, she had downed peg after peg of the whiskey.
“Slow down”, he had advised, “you will pass out.”
“I sincerely hope I do that!” She downed the last drop in her glass, made a face and then walked out.
* * *
He met her next morning at the lobby. Both of them had their bags ready. In the breakfast buffet, he moved closer to her and shot her a questioning glance.
“I don’t want to talk about it”, had been her curt reply.
Mr. Rao, who he didn’t see this morning as well, was staying over for some other business leads. Ramesh called him, announcing their departure. He wished them both a pleasant journey and asked them to take tomorrow off. Ramesh’s blood curdled as he spoke to this monster, but he kept quiet.
During the three and half hour flight, Preeti slept almost the whole time. He nudged her awake as the disembarkation forms were being handed out. She woke up groggy, made way for the bathroom and returned with her face still wet.
Later at the airport, he had invited her to come in his taxi, as her residence was in his route itself. She assented and when both sat inside; went completely mute. He took out his mobile and called Kajol to let her know that he had reached. Kajol was already in the University. She mentioned something about some seminar being going on in her department and that she would have to stay till the conclusion. She was sorry, not to have been there when he returned. But surely, they would be meeting in the evening.
After he had talked with Kajol, Preeti towards him and said.
“Can I make a request.? Would you mind stopping in my home for a while.”
He exhaled. How did it matter, now that Kajol won’t be waiting for him at home.
“Ok”, he said. She squeezed his hand.
They dismissed the taxi before a small but neat standalone house. Preeti rang the bell. A woman, most definitely her mother, opened it and gave out a squeal of pleasure.
“Preeti bete, …”, she hugged her.
“Maa, this is Ramesh, works in my office.”
Ramesh did a namaste to her mother. She raised her hand in acknowledgment.
“Come in beta, come in, come in”, she exclaimed brightly.
He settled into the small sofa. A boy came out and folded his hands in namaste.
“My brother”, Preeti introduced, “ now in the 12th.”
Then a pimply giggly girl followed in. She was the sister and in 10th.
Preeti had vanished inside being clobbered by her siblings, whose excited voices could be heard from the other room, exclaiming the foreign gifts. Her mother came and sat near him, giving him a glass of lemonade. In the space of fifteen minutes, he had understood Preeti's situation. After the death of her father last year, she had been forced to take up a job, as otherwise the whole family would have starved. Her mother told him proudly that she drew twenty thousand a month, which was grand! Later on, he had lunch with them – a very simple affair of dal roti and sag – but something he couldn’t say no to all their sincere and loving eyes.
Finally, it had been time to go. While waiting for the incoming ride, Preeti had sidled up closer. “That night, my salary went up from twenty to thirty. Samir goes to a technical course next year. Where do you think that extra money will come from!”
The moment the three of them had walked in for a repeat discussion on the business entry strategy, Ramesh had felt a new kind of enthusiasm. Mr. Rao and Preeti had arrived in the evening and the latter, unused to air travel had been sick all through the flight. She had looked awful and after dinner had retired early. Mr. Rao had taken off with his Singapore counterpart. Ramesh and Preeti had walked back to their room, which were side by side. As she swiped the plastic key at her door she had called goodnight to him, pleading with him that she really needed to get back to bed. “Sure”, he had said.
This morning, at breakfast, she was her normal self. The early night had brought back the color in her cheeks and the three of them had chatted normally, discussing their agenda points. At the JHC hq, Mr. Rao had taken command. He had strode purposefully to the Chairman and had pumped the latter’s hands enthusiastically. Then he had introduced Preeti as a bright young woman, who had been equally involved in the project. The Chairman had said the appropriate things to Mr. Rao and also shook hands with Preeti. Thereafter, much to his surprise, he had commended Ramesh’s efforts. It was all politeness and mutual respect. Then all of them had sailed into the conference room, where Preeti stood up with a fresh presentation.
Preeti’s presentation contained basically the same points which he had covered the days before, but it was the way that she delivered, emphasizing where he had glossed over, bringing out the subtle nuances, that mesmerized the audience. In no time, she had the whole board listening to her words, as if they were listening to something new this time, and they frequently interrupted her to hold discussion among themselves – sometimes in English but mostly in Mandarin. Of course, in the absence of Jim; they had no clue as to what was going on inside their minds. Mr. Ching, the marketing head, the one who had mauled him yesterday, put up a couple of searching questions and also repeated his objections. How Preeti countered him was simply amazing. She turned his questions on him, hammering in the basic point that Mr. Ching’s appraisals were indeed valid for this country only and not for India, where the company was planning to enter. Mr. Ching scratched his chin a couple of times, tried to say something and then thought better of it. Clearly, Preeti had put it past him.
The presentation and the Q&A session was over. A pregnant pause ensued. Mr. Rao also kept silent.
Finally it was Mr. Ching, who spoke. “Mr. Rao, as you can be sure, we will be evaluating all these with utmost care. May I suggest, if it is not inconvenience you, please, let Mr. Ramesh and Miss Jain visit me tomorrow with all the raw data. We need some due diligence, you know.”
Mr. Rao spread his arms wide. “Certainly, they will be here tomorrow. Please also do not hesitate to call me, if you need.”
“No, no”, Mr. Ching spoke, “We are sure, them will do. I am sure, you have other things to do in our beautiful city.”
“Sure, sure”, Mr. Rao spoke catching the drift, “ I will hop over to see some of our old clients. And in any case, I am just a phone call away.”
* * *
On the way back, Ramesh couldn’t control himself. “Sir, what does this mean? Do we get the deal?”, he had blurted out.
“It means”, Mr. Rao had a put on serious tone, “We will celebrate this evening, to the excellent effort that you two have put on.”
“Wow”, Ramesh exclaimed. Just the presence of Mr. Rao made all the difference.
Mr. Rao smiled.
* * *
The trio met at the downstairs restaurant at nine. Mr. Rao was in excellent mood. He ordered an expensive wine ( champagne only when the deal is clinched – he said). Preeti started to protest that she had never touched any alcohol, but Mr. Rao would brook no opposition. Amidst his retelling of many past business deals, how they had been achieved and what a sterling performance that Preeti had dished out today after Ramesh had effectively laid the groundwork; he had toasted several times and Preeti had downed glass after glass. Dinner over, they had made their way back to their respective rooms and by that time Preeti was thoroughly drunk, she clutched Ramesh for support as she neared her room. He took the key off her, opened the door and watched her walk on unsteady legs. Then he bid her goodbye and came to his room.
An hour later, still in that happy funk, he thought of raiding the mini-bar once again. As he neared the fridge, he heard a soft knock on the door. He opened. It was Preeti. She had changed into a faded cotton nightie.
“Going up to Sir”, she said, before he could say anything. “ He said some important clarification asked by JHC”, she slurred, the effects of the drinks showing clearly. “Will call you, if necessary. Otherwise goodnight.” She shuffled to the lift and pressed the bell.
It was only after she had gone up, that something started to prick at the base of his neck. He looked at the watch. It was beyond eleven. What did sir want with her now? He got up and got out another bottle from the mini-bar. Was it something that he made missed out? No, no; how could that be. In any case they were going to JHC the next afternoon too. What then? He started pacing the room. Probably, it was something that their Chairman had asked in an off hand manner and sir wanted to give a reply right away. That must have been it.
In any case, something didn’t quite add up, he figured. The suspense was killing him. And he couldn’t possibly ring up sir to find out. He tapped at his head. Okay, the next best thing to do was to hear it out from Preeti herself. That he could do.
He walked over to the door, opened it and wedged a small magazine there. That way he would know when she came back, for her room was next to his and then he would find out …
He must have passed out for he woke up with a start. Someone was walking in the corridor in soft slippers. The footsteps went beyond his room and then stopped. A minute past, he heard the faint creaking of his own door, then a shadowy figure walked in and looked at his bed, without switching on the light. Next, she climbed into his bed, and Ramesh who was wide awake now, found Preeti adjusting her back to him, spooned up. She started sobbing softly. He was flabbergasted. “What hap..”, he whispered. In reply, she took his arm and buried it across her chest and held tightly. “Don’t ask”, she sobbed, “Just let me stay please.”
He held her tight while the sobs tore through her. He had a million questions of her, but probably, he knew all the answers. With a fit of rage, he started to get up, “I will kill that bastard”, he shouted. Preeti pulled him back, again adjusting his arm across her and holding on tight. His blood was on the boil, but he couldn’t do a thing. With his free hand, he started smoothing her hair, noting that this calmed her down. Her sobs had stopped and she was breathing evenly. Perhaps, she had gone to sleep – thought and that of course would be the best thing. He kissed the back of her head, taking care not to dislodge his wedged arm for that might wake her up. Then he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to catch up…
When his eyes opened, he found her standing at the foot of her bed, looking at something besides him. He looked sidewise. She then pointed at the dark patch and he understood.
“It was my first time”, she said in a matter of fact manner.
He looked at her face, at her faded gown, which had a bigger patch of blood stain. Then he put his face down, down on his chest – for he felt so inadequate, so ashamed of belonging to the gender where a man, someone he respected, had deflowered a girl half his age. He couldn’t bear to look at her.
“Thanks Ramesh for the support. One request though, do not do one single thing about this incident.”
“I will kill that bastard! Let’s report it to the security officer. Let him rot in jail motherfucker…”, his tears were flowing.
She came over near him and placed a hand over his. “Promise me, you will do no such thing – if you ever had the slightest feeling for me. Promise that you will behave with absolute normalcy, come what ever. Promise me ..”, she had taken his palm in both of hers.
He couldn’t trust to speak. He just nodded.
“I will spend the whole of tonight with him. Tomorrow, you and me return home. We talk then only.”
He clutched the towel to his face and made way towards the bathroom. When he emerged, she had already left. They met at the restaurant for the complimentary breakfast, but Mr. Rao was not to be seen. Preeti had turned into her professional self again as they discussed the project papers. This also served to take his mind away from the horrors of the previous night. At noon, both made way for the JHC hq.
Mr. Ching received the two of them with an unusual warmth. Ramesh was astonished to find that this person, who had been so combative just the days before, had turned in so cordial. He took them out for lunch, at a fairly decent restaurant. Preeti handed him over the backup papers and Ramesh started to explain. However, Mr. Ching stopped him mid-sentence with a smile. He started discussing about his family, his ancestral roots; the origins of JHC, their global spread etc. etc. Thereafter, he inquired about their office back home, the work ethics, who all had worked on the project, how they had gone about it; which ideas came from whom. It all seemed very odd to both Ramesh and Preeti, but they dismissed it to the eccentricities of Mr. Ching. Or maybe it was the local culture …
The lunch had lasted for over three hours and neither were feeling any strain. Rather, they had been able to glimpse a bit of the soul of each other. With profuse goodbyes, Mr. Ching had seen them off and they had returned to their hotel.
“Going for a snooze”, Preeti had said at the door.
“Me too”, he had replied and both had gone in their respective rooms.
Around seven, Preeti had called him. “Will be dining with him, in his room. Get a bottle of whatever, in your room.”
Later on, she had downed peg after peg of the whiskey.
“Slow down”, he had advised, “you will pass out.”
“I sincerely hope I do that!” She downed the last drop in her glass, made a face and then walked out.
* * *
He met her next morning at the lobby. Both of them had their bags ready. In the breakfast buffet, he moved closer to her and shot her a questioning glance.
“I don’t want to talk about it”, had been her curt reply.
Mr. Rao, who he didn’t see this morning as well, was staying over for some other business leads. Ramesh called him, announcing their departure. He wished them both a pleasant journey and asked them to take tomorrow off. Ramesh’s blood curdled as he spoke to this monster, but he kept quiet.
During the three and half hour flight, Preeti slept almost the whole time. He nudged her awake as the disembarkation forms were being handed out. She woke up groggy, made way for the bathroom and returned with her face still wet.
Later at the airport, he had invited her to come in his taxi, as her residence was in his route itself. She assented and when both sat inside; went completely mute. He took out his mobile and called Kajol to let her know that he had reached. Kajol was already in the University. She mentioned something about some seminar being going on in her department and that she would have to stay till the conclusion. She was sorry, not to have been there when he returned. But surely, they would be meeting in the evening.
After he had talked with Kajol, Preeti towards him and said.
“Can I make a request.? Would you mind stopping in my home for a while.”
He exhaled. How did it matter, now that Kajol won’t be waiting for him at home.
“Ok”, he said. She squeezed his hand.
They dismissed the taxi before a small but neat standalone house. Preeti rang the bell. A woman, most definitely her mother, opened it and gave out a squeal of pleasure.
“Preeti bete, …”, she hugged her.
“Maa, this is Ramesh, works in my office.”
Ramesh did a namaste to her mother. She raised her hand in acknowledgment.
“Come in beta, come in, come in”, she exclaimed brightly.
He settled into the small sofa. A boy came out and folded his hands in namaste.
“My brother”, Preeti introduced, “ now in the 12th.”
Then a pimply giggly girl followed in. She was the sister and in 10th.
Preeti had vanished inside being clobbered by her siblings, whose excited voices could be heard from the other room, exclaiming the foreign gifts. Her mother came and sat near him, giving him a glass of lemonade. In the space of fifteen minutes, he had understood Preeti's situation. After the death of her father last year, she had been forced to take up a job, as otherwise the whole family would have starved. Her mother told him proudly that she drew twenty thousand a month, which was grand! Later on, he had lunch with them – a very simple affair of dal roti and sag – but something he couldn’t say no to all their sincere and loving eyes.
Finally, it had been time to go. While waiting for the incoming ride, Preeti had sidled up closer. “That night, my salary went up from twenty to thirty. Samir goes to a technical course next year. Where do you think that extra money will come from!”
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