02-01-2019, 04:40 PM
Ramesh
The insistent ringing of the calling bell woke me up. I opened the door and it was Preeti. I stood aside while she walked inside. She took a good look at my disheveled state and asked,
“Not slept well, I suppose.”
I nodded and went to the basin to throw water over my face.
She walked behind me and went to the kitchen and I heard her making tea.
I had brushed my teeth when she offered me a cup.
“Not going to office today?”, I said looking at her.
“No, I am on my way. Thought of checking with you. Have you discussed with Kajol?”
I shook my head.
“Why not?”, she said, “The sooner the better, isn’t it?”
“No!”, I shouted emphatically. The tea had cleared my head. “How do you suppose I can raise the topic with her, eh! I just don’t know how to begin.”
She nodded. A while later she said, “Anyway, it has to be done sooner or later.”
‘So that’s the reason she got here’, I thought bitterly.
Changing tack, I asked, “Tell me how they are taking my resignation in the office.”
Her features tightened further. “The rumor going around is that, you are negotiating with our competitors for a better package, after having bagged the HKC deal.”
I covered my face with my palms. “That bastard”, I spat out.
Shortly afterwards she left. Before getting out, she asked for my new mobile, saved her contact in it and did likewise in hers.
“Let me know when you decide” she said. I nodded.
“Call me anytime if you need anything”, she said and then she was gone.
I was left alone with my churning thoughts which had returned in full force after I had wrestled with them since yesterday and the previous night’s rest had done nothing to abate the storm that was raging within. The problem was how I was going to raise the topic with Kajol – if at all. What would she think of me? Was I going to pimp her out to Rao. And the greatest tragedy of it all was that she had thought highly of the Raos, no doubt encouraged by me, for all the socializing with them. How was I to know that Mr. Rao, my erstwhile boss, the one who always radiated a sense of protective aura over his subordinates, was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Damn, how could I ever tell her that!
Wearily, I went over my current situation. There was some savings put away and everything taken together would last about a year. Maybe two years, if we drastically reduced the costs. Was that risk worthwhile? Could I get a new job in the meantime? Every avenue that I looked at, each alternative I considered, there wasn’t an iota of hope. The torment increased only. I had to consult Kajol. But how? I hadn’t the nerve to tell her yet that I had been sacked. And the blackmail – on top of that. How was I going to tell her?
There was no way out, at least not one that I could see. I knew it was going to be totally unfruitful; but at least what the heck, there was nothing to lose to from making a couple of queries. I went over to the card board box that contained the last of my office stuff and brought out the small plastic box, which stored the visiting cards. On the top were a couple of HK Corp executives’ names, with one mentioning that of Mr. Ching, VP (HR). The bile rose up in my throat as I looked at those names.
“Double-crossing bastards!”, I cried out and flung those cards away.
Then I came across several, of company executives whom I had met over the years – and I carried them over to the desk. I spent the reminder of the afternoon contacting each; getting through to their respective HR departments. The replies varied, from outright ‘sorry’ to ‘send over your cv, we shall consider’. I knew, what it all meant – it was all hopeless. I had just gone through the motions …
In a rage I got up from the desk and zeroed in on the HK Corp cards. Those were the bastards, who with their supercilious compliments and false assurances had brought me to this state. I looked at the card that carried the name of Mr. Ching and immediately was carried back to the cozy lunch that this chameleon with slant eyes had thrown to me at Preeti on our last day. How charming he had been, how so very considerate – aaagh – that bastard had been plotting my downfall ever since I had thrown the proposal before their board and he was the one who had thrown in the objections. The more I thought about him, the more I was convinced that he was the villain behind the whole ruckus – who for reasons best known to him had lead me up the totem pole – for eventual sacrifice.
I noted the email address and went over to the desktop. Opening my yahoo account I shot him a mail:
Dear Mr. Ching: Thank you for accepting the proposal, although I am no longer with the company. At my last interview with my employers; I had no answer to their question as to what I had done so as to make my resignation conditional to your acceptance of the contract. I hope you have the answer for that and that you are satisfied with that. Regards. Ramesh.
I felt much better now, having done the reckless thing. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to think of the problem now. I didn’t want to tell Kajol any now. Nor even would I hop over to Kolkata to confer with her – something which I was considering to do over the weekend. If that motherfucker Rao thought that I would dance to his tunes, let him. For now, I was free, even if it was for a couple of days…
The insistent ringing of the calling bell woke me up. I opened the door and it was Preeti. I stood aside while she walked inside. She took a good look at my disheveled state and asked,
“Not slept well, I suppose.”
I nodded and went to the basin to throw water over my face.
She walked behind me and went to the kitchen and I heard her making tea.
I had brushed my teeth when she offered me a cup.
“Not going to office today?”, I said looking at her.
“No, I am on my way. Thought of checking with you. Have you discussed with Kajol?”
I shook my head.
“Why not?”, she said, “The sooner the better, isn’t it?”
“No!”, I shouted emphatically. The tea had cleared my head. “How do you suppose I can raise the topic with her, eh! I just don’t know how to begin.”
She nodded. A while later she said, “Anyway, it has to be done sooner or later.”
‘So that’s the reason she got here’, I thought bitterly.
Changing tack, I asked, “Tell me how they are taking my resignation in the office.”
Her features tightened further. “The rumor going around is that, you are negotiating with our competitors for a better package, after having bagged the HKC deal.”
I covered my face with my palms. “That bastard”, I spat out.
Shortly afterwards she left. Before getting out, she asked for my new mobile, saved her contact in it and did likewise in hers.
“Let me know when you decide” she said. I nodded.
“Call me anytime if you need anything”, she said and then she was gone.
I was left alone with my churning thoughts which had returned in full force after I had wrestled with them since yesterday and the previous night’s rest had done nothing to abate the storm that was raging within. The problem was how I was going to raise the topic with Kajol – if at all. What would she think of me? Was I going to pimp her out to Rao. And the greatest tragedy of it all was that she had thought highly of the Raos, no doubt encouraged by me, for all the socializing with them. How was I to know that Mr. Rao, my erstwhile boss, the one who always radiated a sense of protective aura over his subordinates, was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Damn, how could I ever tell her that!
Wearily, I went over my current situation. There was some savings put away and everything taken together would last about a year. Maybe two years, if we drastically reduced the costs. Was that risk worthwhile? Could I get a new job in the meantime? Every avenue that I looked at, each alternative I considered, there wasn’t an iota of hope. The torment increased only. I had to consult Kajol. But how? I hadn’t the nerve to tell her yet that I had been sacked. And the blackmail – on top of that. How was I going to tell her?
There was no way out, at least not one that I could see. I knew it was going to be totally unfruitful; but at least what the heck, there was nothing to lose to from making a couple of queries. I went over to the card board box that contained the last of my office stuff and brought out the small plastic box, which stored the visiting cards. On the top were a couple of HK Corp executives’ names, with one mentioning that of Mr. Ching, VP (HR). The bile rose up in my throat as I looked at those names.
“Double-crossing bastards!”, I cried out and flung those cards away.
Then I came across several, of company executives whom I had met over the years – and I carried them over to the desk. I spent the reminder of the afternoon contacting each; getting through to their respective HR departments. The replies varied, from outright ‘sorry’ to ‘send over your cv, we shall consider’. I knew, what it all meant – it was all hopeless. I had just gone through the motions …
In a rage I got up from the desk and zeroed in on the HK Corp cards. Those were the bastards, who with their supercilious compliments and false assurances had brought me to this state. I looked at the card that carried the name of Mr. Ching and immediately was carried back to the cozy lunch that this chameleon with slant eyes had thrown to me at Preeti on our last day. How charming he had been, how so very considerate – aaagh – that bastard had been plotting my downfall ever since I had thrown the proposal before their board and he was the one who had thrown in the objections. The more I thought about him, the more I was convinced that he was the villain behind the whole ruckus – who for reasons best known to him had lead me up the totem pole – for eventual sacrifice.
I noted the email address and went over to the desktop. Opening my yahoo account I shot him a mail:
Dear Mr. Ching: Thank you for accepting the proposal, although I am no longer with the company. At my last interview with my employers; I had no answer to their question as to what I had done so as to make my resignation conditional to your acceptance of the contract. I hope you have the answer for that and that you are satisfied with that. Regards. Ramesh.
I felt much better now, having done the reckless thing. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to think of the problem now. I didn’t want to tell Kajol any now. Nor even would I hop over to Kolkata to confer with her – something which I was considering to do over the weekend. If that motherfucker Rao thought that I would dance to his tunes, let him. For now, I was free, even if it was for a couple of days…
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