by Ananth
‘It is, especially the way you tell stories,’ I recovered.
‘Oh! Look at me, gossiping with a complete stranger, like a schoolgirl. Please don’t repeat these stories, because I will know where they came from,’ she said, slightly embarrassed but smiling, and poked me in the side.
‘But tell me, why this Texan Cowboy look? Surely someone told her she looks like a man, like a farm hand to be precise.’
‘That is something no one has figured out yet. You won’t believe this last story.
‘So, the whole senior management team from Ford North America is over for the launch of the Endeavor. These guys, a bunch of Americans, sit quietly while the whole campaign is presented, shout lines, text for print, mock images, video storyboard, everything. Everyone is silent. I was in the room too. No one can figure out if those guys like the campaign or not.
‘Then this American guy leans forward slowly and says, “Hmm, I don’t know how to say this, but, I don’t think this makes the cut.”
‘Moonshine was pretty surprised to hear this; she hates it if clients disagree when she is around. “Go on,” she says bluntly.
‘“It doesn’t seem like something that men will connect with,” he says and looks pointedly around the room. Besides Moonshine and me, our team of six had two other women, whereas they were all men.
‘“What exactly are you saying, Mr Nolan,” she asks him.’
By this time Nat was so engrossed in the story, something that had impacted all of them deeply, that she had begun dramatizing.
‘He hesitates, hems and haws and then says, “I think we need to redo this, the men won’t get this ad, and maybe . . .”
‘“We think they will get it,” she cuts him short. “I love it!” she says emphatically.
‘“That’s the point,” the idiot says, “you are not a Man, Ms Choorasia.”
‘I think his mispronouncing her name, another of her pet peeves, was what set her off. She stands up, all five feet of her, and yells, “Mr Nolan, you are right, I don’t have balls, and I suggest you leave the room now if you like yours that much!”’
‘She said that? To Ford?!’
‘Yep,’ Natasha replied, smiling.
‘What happened then?’
‘There’s a deathly silence in the room. The Ford India guys want to hide under the table; Nolan’s red in the face and looks like he’s going to have a stroke; and Moonshine leans back in her chair, coolly waiting for what she has said to sink in. I was mortified. Then, seeing that no one was saying anything, Nolan stood up and left the room quietly, and his team filed out after him. One of my colleagues saw them out.’
‘No one said anything?’ I asked, surprised.
‘No. We couldn’t even gossip about it! Can you imagine, asking Ford to fuck off!’
‘Crazy, man!’ (I must admit here that I didn’t quite like hearing her using the F-word, strangely.) ‘What happened to the account?’
‘Well, no one spoke about this for a week. And then we found out that the local guys pleaded with Nolan to forget the incident and they got to keep JWT. Nolan went back to the US and the rumour is he found Chandramukhi hot!’
She burst out laughing. And I laughed with her.
Both of us had finished our drinks by then so I asked her if she wanted to return to the bar. We ordered another round of drinks and as she began to say something, I interrupted her.
‘Do you want to work with us?’
‘What do you mean? Where?’ she asked, surprised.
‘I have just broken out of a full-time job and started Alpha. It’s primarily a stock agency for advertising photography but we intend to do a lot of design stuff too, and pick up anything creative around photography and video, maybe even films . . .’
‘And what do you want me to do there?’
‘Bring in clients.’
‘Hmm. Right.’
And then she smiled. For a very small moment I wondered if she thought I was hitting on her. And figured I ought to clarify.
‘Yeah, I must admit I don’t know your work or what you do but it will be a fun place. We are just beginning, so things can only go up, and you are great, I think, I’d love to work with you!’
She had just about put her lips to her Martini glass, and she stopped and stared at me.
That’s it, I thought, I’ve screwed up.
‘Okay, let me think about this. I’ll find you.’
I thought that was going to be the end of the conversation, but two weeks later she called, and a month after that she joined Alpha.
Nat and I have continued to enjoy that ease right from the beginning. After joining us she methodically made changes to how we present and sell ourselves, rubbishing any and all creative quirks and idiosyncrasies, making it clear that we could break rules when we created stuff, but had to be disciplined and deliver what the client wanted. She taught the team to be practical and clinical when it came to charging clients while getting paid well themselves and, importantly, taught them to park their egos at the door when they walked into work.
9
Matt never came to the office. A week later, just when we had begun to give up hope, he called Aanya about the meeting and then (strangely enough) sent her an email saying he didn’t have all our contacts and would appreciate it if his message was sent to everyone. He was pursuing us, as much we liked to pursue him. He had liked the brief chat he had had with us, and wanted the meeting to happen as soon as we could organize one. In New York. He wasn’t promising anything but he thought that we should come over and make a presentation while everyone was still basking in their victory and our agency’s name was fresh in their memory.
Roy thought it would be best if Nat and I went over and made the first presentation. I had actually wanted Roy to come along too, because he was the winner.
‘Sid, you should go. We do need to make the first impression,’ Roy insisted over email.
CD immediately replied with an ‘I agree’.
Matt had suggested the week immediately after 4 July. Everyone would be back from their holidays – he would be holidaying in Nantucket himself – and he thought they’d be in the right frame of mind to see something new.
CD called for a quick meeting to brainstorm.
‘So what are we going to do?’ he asked. Roy, CD and I were in the room. Nat was calling in from home; she’d had a doctor’s appointment. Her voice, through the microphone, sounded lovelier than usual – it would be great for audio books or a voice-over in our ads, I thought.
‘Is Cara there too?’ Nat asked.
‘What do we need her for?’ Roy demanded rudely and then quickly tempered his tone. ‘I mean, do we need her for this one too?’
‘She’s a smart cookie. It always helps having one more opinion, don’t you think?’ Nat retorted.
I was getting uncomfortable and sat there running my hands through my hair.
‘I don’t think Sid likes the idea,’ Roy replied, making me the scapegoat.
‘Is that right, Sid?’ asked Nat.
‘Of course not. I was just distracted. If everyone thinks we should have her in the meeting, let’s do it. Why don’t you call her, Roy?’ I asked, smirking at him.
‘Bastard!’ he cursed. And then he texted someone from his phone.
‘Did you just text Cara?’ I asked, completely surprised that he was on texting terms with her.
‘No, I texted Aanya,’ he replied.
CD was looking at us in turns, like he was watching a tennis match. ‘Can we just get on with the meeting, please?’
‘Guys, this is what I think,’ began Nat. ‘They want a fresh campaign around the new range of cars they are going to launch next year and they want to make short films, not necessarily about the cars themselves, because America has been doing that for a hundred years. And for their print campaign, which we are sure to get, it should be beautiful shots of the cars and I think we should shoot in south India.’
‘Whoa, Nat, that is a lot of thinkin
g in one sentence,’ said Roy.
‘I have been thinking about this, Roy.’
‘Let her finish,’ said CD.
‘No, CD, don’t get me wrong,’ Roy continued. ‘As surprised as I am, I think this is a completely new direction.’
‘So not just print ads?’ CD asked.
‘That too,’ came in Nat. ‘We need to make something that shows them how seamless living with a GM car can be. Simple things like mommies leaving baby stuff in the right pockets, men leaving behind keys, or finding maps, how bad drivers can’t abuse the car – we’ll have to show that carefully, how GM cars are perfect for a family that has dogs, how low maintenance they are and things like that. I have ideas to mock up.’
Cara walked in.
‘Hi, guys, what’s up?’
Roy shushed her.
‘Hi, Cara,’ Nat yelled through the phone. ‘We are talking about what we want to show JWT in New York later this month, for the GM pitch.’
‘Awesome!’ She sat down.
‘You think we can mock all of this up so quickly, Nat?’ I asked.
‘Of course,’ Cara replied, surprising all of us. ‘Also, how about we create a who-we-are video? They know us already, but we don’t want to show them what they might know about us, or may have already seen.’ Clearly Nat and Cara had had a chat about this.
‘And how will we do that?’ asked Roy, unsure.
‘We’ll work something out, Roy. Ideas, anybody?’ Nat piped in.
CD had this I-don’t-know-what-she’s-talking-about look on his face.
‘Why don’t we show them how we do things?’ That was Cara.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Roy.
I turned to Cara. She was sitting in her chair, legs pulled up, leaning her knees on the table, showing a lot of thigh. It was typical of her, knowing exactly the effect she had on men, and usually she had them where she wanted them. When she had walked in in her long beige bush shirt it had looked like she wasn’t wearing anything else. Now that she was sitting down I noticed her green hot pants.
‘I think we should show them why we are the best agency to work with: the way we think and do things, our attention to detail, how we appreciate clients who are and want us to be particular, and how we like to have fun while doing what we do. Everyone knows we have done great work, and have won awards, but the video will say as much about the people we have worked with as it does about us.’
I kept looking at her as she spoke, thinking about first impressions and how misleading they can be. There was a lot more to Cara than I had bothered to notice!
‘How are we going to do this, Cara?’ asked Nat. I wondered if she should have opened out the conversation but refrained from saying anything.
‘We’ll shoot a video, in black and white. Sid loves black and white—’ and she looked me in the eye; I knew Roy and CD were surprised and turned to look at me too – ‘of the crew, editing conversations, how we shoot on location, pre- and post-edit campaigns – I can find some from the archives – and maybe shots of all of us just talking about what we do and how much we love it. Nat will look great on camera, walking them through who Alpha are. We can even do a print campaign, with each of us sitting or standing at our comfortable best and a short bio.’
At this last, CD frowned.
Cara noticed that, smiled and, turning to him, said, ‘So maybe not a print campaign. Just saying. We can do this very nicely.’
‘Is everyone fine with this idea? I think it is a good idea and definitely not something I have heard other agencies do. We should give it a shot.’
Roy said, ‘Fine,’ giving no indication of whether he was happy with it or not.
‘Will you do this, Cara?’ asked Nat.
‘Sure.’
‘Great! Sid? Thoughts?’ Nat asked me. ‘You’ve been unusually quiet.’
I couldn’t tell her that I had probably lost the ability to disagree with Cara. Worse still, handed her my ass on a platter to whip at will, though this wasn’t such a moment. Nor could I admit that I had begun to admire her.
‘I am fine, Nat. I think it’s a great idea,’ and I winked at Cara, not caring if Roy or CD noticed. ‘But can we pull this off in two weeks? Cara will need time to get it done and then we’ll need a few days in hand to see it and allow for making changes. Isn’t that cutting it a bit too close? When are you back?’
‘Oh. Yes, that is tight. I am back day after.’
‘I think we can do this,’ said Cara. ‘I’ll begin today.’ Turning to Roy and CD, she said, ‘I’ll need a day each with you gentlemen, preferably the mornings.’
They nodded.
‘Okay, that settles it then.’
‘Thanks, Cara, we really appreciate you volunteering and doing this. Really,’ Nat said.
‘THENKYOUU!’ Cara squealed in her American accent and got up to leave. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she walked away, and I knew that Roy and CD couldn’t either.
When the meeting was over, all of us went back to our respective offices. Aanya came into my room a little later.
‘Hi.’
‘Hey, what’s up?’
‘Did you see what Cara is wearing? Or not wearing as it were.’
This was getting into dangerous territory.
‘Yes, we were in a meeting together.’ I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
‘I know, that’s why I asked if you saw what she was wearing. And why’re you smiling?’
‘She’s a kid,’ I said and winked.
‘You have no idea, Sid. The girl doesn’t like to wear clothes, does she?’
I laughed. ‘You came here to ask me this?’
‘No. Don’t be silly. CD told me Nat and you are going to New York, and I am not—’ she made a sad face – ‘so tell me when you want to go and where you guys want to stay and all that.’
‘Okay. I’ll send you an email. Call Nat and ask her about her visa. I have one.’
‘Okay, will do.’
As soon as she left I called Cara.
‘Someone is looking very hot today!’
‘You want to do something about that?’ she asked, sounding naughty.
I laughed, ‘Can’t wait to.’
‘Come home.’
‘Tonight?’
‘Actually, why don’t we meet now?’ she asked.
‘Okay,’ I agreed almost instantly.
‘Cool. See you in the parking lot,’ she said and hung up.
When I got to my car she was already standing next to it and we got in as soon as I unlocked the doors. Before I could say or do anything, she bent over and unzipped my jeans.
‘Cara!’
‘I told you I owe you one,’ she said, before going down on me.
10
It happened two weeks later.
I was running late. I had to pick Nat up from her home and take her to the embassy for her visa appointment. I had tried calling Nat to tell her I might need another fifteen minutes, but she didn’t answer the phone. Just as I got out of the apartment block and turned into the freeway, the traffic light at the end of the road began its countdown. I had thirteen seconds to beat it. I stepped on the accelerator and the car bolted forward. My eyes were glued to the countdown clock; the light had already turned red when I crossed the line, beating me by just three seconds. I heaved a sigh of relief, momentarily closing my eyes. That’s when the truck hit me.
When I came to, I had a splitting headache and was lying on a bed in a hospital. An IV tube was hooked to my left arm, my right shoulder hurt like hell and I had to squint to focus. There was a blinding light in the room and involuntarily I turned towards it. I couldn’t have gotten up to shut the blinds myself but turning towards bright light must have been an instinctive impulse, considering it was the first time I had opened my eyes after the accident.
‘Hey!’
I looked up and saw Nat standing by the bed.
‘What were you doing?’
‘Rushing to pick you up,’ I mu
mbled. ‘What happened?’
‘That’s what I thought. You got hit by a truck and the car turned turtle. You were lucky. Just a mild concussion and a bruised shoulder, but otherwise you are fine. Thank God!’ she said, gently stroking my forehead.
‘The car?’
‘I haven’t seen it. How are you feeling?’
‘Numb.’
‘Hmm.’ She made an unhappy face. ‘When I saw a missed call from you I assumed you were calling to say you couldn’t come, so I asked Rajat to drop me. Which ruined his morning and we ended up fighting.’
Even my concussed brain could tell she was exasperated.
‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘mine was the last number you called and when someone redialled the number Rajat picked the phone. They told him you’d had an accident, so he checked you in here, then came back to pick me at the embassy and is now sulking in the lobby.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Rubbish. Don’t worry.’
‘What time is it?’
‘Four.’
‘What a waste.’
‘Shut up, Sid! This could have been worse. I told CD what had happened. They were all here a couple of hours ago, you were still asleep.’
‘Isn’t Roy in Goa?’
‘Yes, he is. CD and Aanya were here. CD said he’ll come by and check in on you later.’
And Cara? I almost asked but certainly couldn’t.
‘Don’t worry, the office is fine. CD took care of your insurance and things. He also knows someone here so everything is in control. You just get back on your feet soon.’
I smiled and then winced at the sudden pain.
Nat ruffled my hair again. ‘Rest,’ she said soothingly, ‘you will hurt now for a while. Do you want something?’
‘Water.’
She poured me some in a small dispensable glass and held it to my lips while I took a few sips. I didn’t know water could feel this good. I drank some more. Then I closed my eyes and lay back on the bed. My shoulder was hurting and I was extremely uncomfortable. I squirmed around a bit trying to find the right position to sleep in.
‘Aah!’ I winced in pain again, having twisted in the wrong direction.
