I would like to tell my readers that those looking for quick, fast and furious action will probably be better off looking elsewhere but I hope that those who want to read a good story will find this one rewarding.
Conversations that took place in Hindi are recorded in italics followed immediately with an English translation. Those familiar with Hindi may find it rewarding to read the original. Others can conveniently skip those parts.
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I urge my readers to read Ch. 01 and Ch. 02 for the sake of continuity.
***
Kalpana joined Sigma Marketing Consultancy's office in central Mumbai after a ten day break. Mr. Srinivas was happy to see her back. After her excellent performance on the Trident project, he was eager to give her a bigger role in the next couple of projects he had lined up. He gave her a briefing on the up-coming projects and asked her to do some background studies and gather information from archival material which would be helpful later on. He told her to expect a decent raise "pretty soon". He also admonished her that she would need to devote more time to her job, now that she would be handling greater responsibilities. Mr. Srinivas and Kalpana became totally engrossed in talking about the new projects. She was thrilled by his praise and the promise of an increase in her salary. She also realised that she would not be running into Shyam Belekar on her new assignment and so there was now no need for her to quit her job in a rush.
"Kalpana, things are looking pretty good for our company. But the next couple of years are critical. All of us need to stay focussed and work hard. I am counting on you to do your bit!" Srinivas said.
Kalpana assured him of her full commitment. She also told him that she had the full backing and support of her hubby Kapil.
"Oh, it's wonderful to hear that! To tell you honestly, I wasn't sure whether you wanted to pursue this job on a full time basis, since I know you have family responsibilities too. But now you have set my mind at rest. Great!" Srinivas boomed enthusiastically and shook her hand.
"By the way, I think maybe for the next few days you need to spend some time on the Trident project. To tie up the loose ends and hand over the project to Trident executives for implementation, you know..." Srinivas told her.
"Of course Mr. Srinivas. I will see to it immediately." Kalpana replied.
Her heart thudded against her ribcage and she felt breathless as she came out of Mr. Srinivas's office.
"Hey Bhagwan! Ab toh Sir se milna hi hoga!"
"Oh God! I can't avoid meeting "Sir" now!" She thought...
She spent a few hours going through the Trident papers and studied the summaries and implementation plans prepared by her team. She was now ready to go to the Trident office, at least as far as the official paperwork was concerned. As can be imagined, her emotional state of readiness was another matter altogether. Her heart sank. Yet, she did not for a moment think of chickening out. She gritted her teeth, summoned up her courage and walked into the Trident office the next day. It was Thursday afternoon, twelve days after the presentation.
***
The Trident office as usual was humming with activity when Kalpana entered. She was enthusiastically welcomed by Trident staffers as well as by residual members of the Sigma team. They knew that soon it would be time for Kalpana and the Sigma team say goodbye to Trident and move to other assignments. Her team members kept Kalpana busy, briefing her about what had been done in her absence. Kalpana forced herself to pay attention to what was going on around her, but her heart was not in it. She was anxiously trying to find out where "Sir" was, without actually asking. Finally, her patience ran out.
"Where is "Sir"?" She asked.
"Oh! Didn't you know? He had to go on an urgent business trip last week. Nobody is sure when he is returning." One Trident staffer told her.
Kalpana should have been happy to be spared an awkward, unwelcome meeting. Instead, she felt a palpable sense of disappointment. Her disappointment slowly turned to anger. First she felt angry at herself.
"Why am I so disappointed? "Sir" is after all the big boss of Trident. He can go and do whatever he wants, for all I should care." She thought.
Then her anger turned on Shyam.
"Is "Sir" playing games with me? Is he doing this deliberately to make me long for him?" She wondered.
Her brow furrowed in a frown. She tossed her head in anger and tried to keep her attention focussed on the matters at hand.
"Am I never going to meet him again?" A thought crossed her mind.
Her mind kept going back to the many hours she had spent in Shyam's company. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she choked back a sob as a sense of deep loss hit her. She quickly excused herself and went to the ladies room to compose herself and refresh her light makeup. She hoped no one had seen her tears...
It was a little before closing time and everyone was wrapping up the day's work and preparing to go home. Then suddenly there was a flurry of activity as Shyam strode in...
***
Shyam had been asked by the MD of Trident to attend a couple of urgent business meetings out in the East. He had spent a busy few days in Singapore and then another few days in Hong Kong. He had called his MD back and briefed him regarding the business he had concluded in the meetings. His wife had joined him in Hong Kong and they had flown to Honolulu to spend time with their daughter, who worked in the University of Hawaii. After a pleasant interlude with their daughter, his wife had flown to the US mainland to meet her friends and relatives, while Shyam had returned home.
Shyam felt refreshed and full of energy after returning from the business cum holiday trip. He had spent a few hours at home catching some sleep and then come to the office, impatient to clear the work backlog. It was a Thursday evening when he strode into his office...
***
As Shyam exchanged greetings all around, his eyes settled on Kalpana.
"Ah! She's back. Just as I expected!" He thought, pleased.
"Hello Kalpana! Nice to see you!" Kalpana's heart somersaulted as he greeted her.
"Hello Sir! Welcome back!" She greeted him diffidently.
He asked senior Trident staff to assemble in his cabin in twenty minutes, while he sorted out the documents he had brought with him. There was a lot of things that needed to be done urgently, consequent to his business meetings. After asking for some coffee, he called Kalpana in.
"The MD has given me some important work. Looks like that will keep me busy for a while." Shyam told Kalpana.
She nodded.
"But we also need to tie up the loose ends on our marketing strategy. We must not lose momentum. Are we ready with the final documents?" Shyam asked.
"The reports are ready Sir!" Kalpana replied.
Her heart warmed at Shyam's use of the inclusive "we" rather than the interrogative "you".
"Good. Good. Umm... Why don't you meet me this Saturday with all the papers? I will be able to give you my undivided attention then. Does that sound OK?" Shyam asked.
"Yes Sir." Kalpana responded, her eyes averted.
"Tell you what. Let's meet downtown." He named the business centre of the downtown hotel where they had had the presentation about a fortnight back.