Ramesh sought a meeting with Mr. Srinivasan as soon as he got into office. He delivered Gayatri's coffee on his way, and headed into Mr Srinivasan's spacious office. The Lion's Den, as the office grapevine called it.
"Welcome, my boy!" Mr. Srinivasan beckoned Ramesh in, "Why the long face? Hope you haven't lost money."
"No sir, my P/L is still up 1800% YTD," replied Ramesh.
"Then, why do I sense uneasiness in your voice?"
"Sir, I want to request something from you, but without going into the reasons as to why," Ramesh replied.
"Go ahead and spit it out, my boy. You need a bigger bonus?"
"No sir. I request you to kindly promote Ms. Gayatri to VP in my place. And assign me as her research assistant," Ramesh said, in a polite voice.
"What? Why?"
"Sir, I would prefer not to go into the reasons, as I mentioned before," Ramesh replied.
"You don't seriously expect me to act on such a bizzare request without getting into the reasons?" Mr. Srinivasan thundered. He pressed a button on his office phone, and barked into it, "Send Gayatri to my office. NOW!"
"Good morning! You asked to see me?" Gayatri asked in an innocent tone as came into the cabin. She knew why she had been called but she put on an act of innocent ignorance.
"What is this I am hearing about Ramesh wanting to work as your assistant?" Mr. Srinivasan was not a man who wasted words on pleasantries.
"I don't know. I have no idea. I am flattered of course, but you will have to ask him why," Gayatri replied, continuing her innocent act. She shot a sharp sideway glance at Ramesh.
Ramesh understood the signal. He not only had to debase himself by becoming her assistant, he had to ask for the role.
" Sir, I believe I would benefit from working with... sorry, for Ms. Gayatri. She is the most talented analyst we have in our team. I think I have much to learn from her that will make me a better contributor to the team," Ramesh said, hoping his voice sounded sincere enough.
Mr. Srinivasan was a sharp man and it was not easy to fool him. He let out a sigh and said, "Well, my boy, when you put it like that... hmm, let me work out the modalities with my daughter then. Off you go, get back to making me some money!"
As Ramesh stepped out of the Lion's Den, Mr. Srinivasan turned to Gayatri and raised a solitary eyebrow. It was obvious he wanted more details.
"C,mon Dad, maybe he saw rhe talent in me that you never did, and...," Gayatri started when her father held up a hand.
"Stop insulting my intelligence, daughter. I know you have threatened him with something. I don't need to know the details. All I want to know is whether he is a flight risk? The boy is too talented, and I'd hate to lose him to competition," Mr. Srinivasan said, his voice low, but with a menacing undertone. He fixed his daughter with a glare, a technique he used to establish control in his high-powered negotiations. Usually, the other person looked away.
Gayatri met his eyes and returned his glare with an unyielding stare. She knew she had to prove to her father that she had things under control. "Don't worry, Dad. I have significant leverage over Ramesh, and he would not dare to quit from here. He will obey my commands like a trained pup. What leverage I have, how I got it, you don't need to know. You will have to trust me on this," she said, her voice confident and firm.
