Document Text Contents
Page 124
Chapter Thirteen
history trusts turmoil
and suspects stability
Page 125
Sailesh Rao’s office at Stark, Mumbai
Sailesh was in the midst of the quarterly review meeting and refused to be distracted by the
vibrating mobile, as he amused himself with complaints about BCL.
He finally picked up the phone and was about to put it on silent mode when he scanned
the first few words that appeared on the screen. He opened the text message and read it twice.
He rushed out of the conference room, towards his cabin on the same floor.
He had not been able to access emails on his phone and the technology support team had
been resolving the connectivity issue. He ran towards the laptop, typed in the password and
searched for an email from the Bangalore branch head.
He read the email twice and scanned the persons to whom it had been marked in the
organization. The branch head had used his discretion and had kept the mailing list to a
limited number, but all those who mattered had been covered including the CEO, legal head
and some of the other senior management team members. The email had however, been
addressed to him.
‘This is not a darling situation I guess,’ Sailesh muttered to himself and smiled.
The situation had predictably catalyzed an avalanche of messages.
Sailesh opened the emails and read them carefully.
Stark
Page 248
Nitin had nothing to do with any of this?’
Sailesh smiled.
‘Even Nitin has a messenger service on his mobile , you know?’
‘You bastard!’
‘The need of the hour, my friend. Don’t get personal! And don’t tell me you’re jealous?’
‘You’re a slimy…’
Sailesh cut him. 'Hold on to the pleasantries. You’re feeling cheesed off and possibly even
humiliated. You got played, fair and square, my friend. Take it in and move on.’
They didn’t speak for several minutes, and listened to the music being played on the cheap
radio.
Sailesh broke the silence. ‘So, what’s next for you?’
‘Surprisingly enough, Mark seems to have taken a fancy to me. He still thinks I’m a
maverick.’
‘Rumour has it that you’ve got a plum posting!’
‘Well, let’s see how it works out… But, I’ve started brushing up on my Mandarin!’
‘Not bad!’
‘They’re splitting China into two zones, so I’ve been asked to take on the CEO position for
one of them for now!’
‘How did you pull that off?’
‘My charm, Sailesh? But it wouldn’t have been possible without you!’
Sailesh laughed. ‘You know, Agastya, you’re not too bad a guy.’
‘Why? Coz I slept with your wife?’
‘You son of a gun!
Sailesh got up and extended his hand to Agastya to help him get up and stand on his feet.
‘Did I tell you?’
‘What now, Sailesh?’
‘I quit.’ Sailesh was smiling.
‘Why, congratulations!’
‘It wasn’t as much fun without you!’
They started walking back towards the bar.
‘Why did you guys play foul and still launch the promotional offer? I still don’t get that.’
‘That was a neat one, right?!’
‘That was a blood bath, Agastya. We had to retaliate. We must have both shelled out over
150 crores on that damn offer.’
‘I think we wanted to make a clear statement and send you a message.’
‘That set you back by over 100 crores! That’s quite a statement to make.’
Chapter Thirteen
history trusts turmoil
and suspects stability
Page 125
Sailesh Rao’s office at Stark, Mumbai
Sailesh was in the midst of the quarterly review meeting and refused to be distracted by the
vibrating mobile, as he amused himself with complaints about BCL.
He finally picked up the phone and was about to put it on silent mode when he scanned
the first few words that appeared on the screen. He opened the text message and read it twice.
He rushed out of the conference room, towards his cabin on the same floor.
He had not been able to access emails on his phone and the technology support team had
been resolving the connectivity issue. He ran towards the laptop, typed in the password and
searched for an email from the Bangalore branch head.
He read the email twice and scanned the persons to whom it had been marked in the
organization. The branch head had used his discretion and had kept the mailing list to a
limited number, but all those who mattered had been covered including the CEO, legal head
and some of the other senior management team members. The email had however, been
addressed to him.
‘This is not a darling situation I guess,’ Sailesh muttered to himself and smiled.
The situation had predictably catalyzed an avalanche of messages.
Sailesh opened the emails and read them carefully.
Stark
Page 248
Nitin had nothing to do with any of this?’
Sailesh smiled.
‘Even Nitin has a messenger service on his mobile , you know?’
‘You bastard!’
‘The need of the hour, my friend. Don’t get personal! And don’t tell me you’re jealous?’
‘You’re a slimy…’
Sailesh cut him. 'Hold on to the pleasantries. You’re feeling cheesed off and possibly even
humiliated. You got played, fair and square, my friend. Take it in and move on.’
They didn’t speak for several minutes, and listened to the music being played on the cheap
radio.
Sailesh broke the silence. ‘So, what’s next for you?’
‘Surprisingly enough, Mark seems to have taken a fancy to me. He still thinks I’m a
maverick.’
‘Rumour has it that you’ve got a plum posting!’
‘Well, let’s see how it works out… But, I’ve started brushing up on my Mandarin!’
‘Not bad!’
‘They’re splitting China into two zones, so I’ve been asked to take on the CEO position for
one of them for now!’
‘How did you pull that off?’
‘My charm, Sailesh? But it wouldn’t have been possible without you!’
Sailesh laughed. ‘You know, Agastya, you’re not too bad a guy.’
‘Why? Coz I slept with your wife?’
‘You son of a gun!
Sailesh got up and extended his hand to Agastya to help him get up and stand on his feet.
‘Did I tell you?’
‘What now, Sailesh?’
‘I quit.’ Sailesh was smiling.
‘Why, congratulations!’
‘It wasn’t as much fun without you!’
They started walking back towards the bar.
‘Why did you guys play foul and still launch the promotional offer? I still don’t get that.’
‘That was a neat one, right?!’
‘That was a blood bath, Agastya. We had to retaliate. We must have both shelled out over
150 crores on that damn offer.’
‘I think we wanted to make a clear statement and send you a message.’
‘That set you back by over 100 crores! That’s quite a statement to make.’
