Sinner's Game: Karma will chase!

by Sandeep Sharma

  ‘Thanks Monika! However, right now, I am starving and I can only think about food. I will worry about work later.’

  ‘So you have still not shifted to your own place.’

  ‘Well my friend, Reema, is not letting me go. She lives in a nice society and so far there is no problem.’

  Tanuja was assigned to two important projects that Akshay was himself looking into. As a consequence, the next few months, Tanuja spent significant time with him. While this was not normal for a new joiner, this didn’t raise any eyeballs because of Tanuja’s qualifications.

  Akshay stayed very professional with Tanuja. In the past, some female employees had tried to get his attention but he was a certified workaholic and was never interested. Akshay was not the type of person who would get into a physical relationship without an emotional connect. His professionalism and no-nonsense approach were highly regarded in the workplace.

  Tanuja was apprehensive of Akshay in the beginning. This was her first job and Akshay had high expectations. Tanuja wanted to succeed at any cost as she had her own plans. This meant that she put in more work and was well-prepared. Tanuja wanted to impress him with her work quality, so she noted all his suggestions and reviews and comments. Soon she understood his mindset and started thinking just like him. Akshay congratulated Tanuja for her excellent work after some months.

  Well done Tanuja! You have understood our market positioning and competition quite well! Let me send you our latest business plan for review. Review it and send me your inputs by end of this week so that we are ready for our board meeting next week.’

  This unexpected praise and confidence reposed in her made Tanuja very happy. Her confidence got a major boost. Tanuja’s analysis and inputs were impressive and Akshay also got some pertinent inputs for his deck and business plans. He decided to let Tanuja present to the board the coming week.

  ‘Hi Tanuja! I must admit that you have done excellent review of our business plan. Can you present this to our board in the next board meeting? I need to introduce you to them as well.’

  ‘Thanks Akshay; I must admit that I have been trained by the best! However, I would need a dry run before the meeting. Would you be available for the same?’

  ‘That is a good idea. I will ask Monika to set up the dry run with me and she will invite you to the board meeting. .’

  The board meeting was successful as she made a significant impact during the meeting. One of the board member, Alan suggested Tanuja to join the management committee and other members immediately agreed to it. This was a big achievement for Tanuja and things were moving ahead as per her expectations.

  She could not have asked for more.

  The New York Funding

  A year had passed and Tanuja was now thoroughly enjoying her stint at Hailthy. Despite her half-hearted attempts to find a new place in the first few months, she continued to stay with Reema. They shared a good bonding. Tanuja and Reema would share a lot. Tanuja would often talk about her achievements to Reema. The day she joined the management committee of Hailthy, she desperately wanted to share this good news with Reema. On her way back from work, she decided to pick a bottle of wine for Reema.

  Reema was already at home when she got back. She hugged Reema.

  ‘Tanuja, Don’t tell me that you have found your dream apartment!’

  ‘Nothing like that; I had to present in front of the board members of Hailthy.’

  ‘Wow you never told me.’

  ‘I was little nervous. Just listen. They not only loved my presentation but have recommended me for the management committee.’

  ‘That’s cool! I am so happy for you. Aha that’s the reason for the wine bottle. ’

  ‘Yes let’s celebrate. If you want we can go out as well but I would prefer that you throw up at my home, in front of me!’

  Reema smiled and said, ‘For big occasions that is my preferred mode too. You freshen up. I will order food in the meanwhile. This is Big!’

  After few drinks, as Tanuja spoke about Hailthy, Reema said, ‘Look I don’t understand these management jargons much. I worked for a call center and my life is around office gossip and affairs. Tell me, is your boss good looking?’

  ‘Reema, wake up! Akshay is married?’

  ‘Is he happily married or can you make him happier?’

  ‘Just shut up. Tell me something from your office.’

  ‘Aha let us see how long you can remain like this.’

  ‘Arre, Akshay is too serious yaar. He is said to have a great sense of humor but I am yet to see that side of his personality.’

  ‘You must try to see something else! What is there in sense of humor? It has not taken me anywhere. I find my boss very attractive and he feels the same way about some other girl.’

  They both laughed.

  ‘Reema, let me take you out for dinner tonight.’

  ‘Sure why not. Let’s celebrate. No late night excuses tonight.’

  ‘Sure boss.’

  They enjoyed pub hopping Cyber Hub till late night.

  Next morning Tanuja woke up with a hangover. It was fun last night but she cursed drinking too much. After a quick bath she rushed to her office. Monika called her and said, ‘Akshay wants to meet you right now if you are available.’

  ‘ OK I will go right now.’

  This was a little surprising for Tanuja as most of her meetings with Akshay were scheduled ones. Tanuja expected a work-related discussion so she came prepared with her status report. Akshay was in a different mood today and said, ‘how are things at your end? I hope Gurgaon is treating you well!’

  This surprised Tanuja. ‘All is well, Akshay. I am still staying with my friend.’

  ‘Really? In a way it is good; she is your close friend if I remember.’

  ‘Yes she is.’

  Akshay said, ‘An update for you. We are planning to expand outside India. Our next funding will be from global investors.’

  ‘But why global investors? We have enough funds in India.’

  ‘All this depends on the quantum of fund raise and we are planning to raise more than 100 million USD for Hailthy and Indian funds are not ready for this. I don’t want to dilute my shareholding too much right now so I need to raise foreign capital.’

  To realize her dream, fund raise exposure was important for Tanuja.

  ‘Oh these developments are thrilling! Geographical expansion is a great idea, as we not only have a good product, our technology platform is also scalable. Personally for me there would be a lot to learn from our interaction with the global investors.’

  ‘I want you to travel with me for the investor meetings. You will learn a lot more about the company including our future strategy. The question is are you ready for this role?’

  ‘I am thrilled and will do anything for this role!’ said Tanuja with full enthusiasm. She was feeling embarrassed after making this statement but she did mean every word of it.

  ‘Good. Then we are all set! Do you have a US visa? We will start from US and most of the investors we will be meeting are around New York and San Francisco.’

  ‘Yes I got my US visa recently and I have it stamped for the next 10 years.’

  I hope you have no restrictions for travelling outside India, asked Akshay.

  ‘What kind of restrictions? I was anyways planning a vacation with my friends. My parents are liberal and give me the freedom to chase my dreams. How else do you think I managed IIMA?’ replied Tanuja.

  Akshay smiled, ‘Good then. I am sure now work will take care of all your hobbies and passions!’

  ‘How?’ enquired Tanuja.

  ‘Quite simple. Because of our future expansion, you will have to travel a lot. New York and SFO are two good cities to explore. I am sure you’ll enjoy the trips.’

  ‘True, I was busy thinking about business. New York is on top of my list! I can’t wait.’

  Akshay said, ‘Look, raising funds from outside India will involve multiple visits but we can plan our first trip
in the beginning of the next month. June is a good month for both New York and San Francisco, considering the weather.’

  ‘Are you familiar with these cities?’ asked Tanuja.

  ‘Yes in a previous role, before Hailthy, I traveled a lot but I never enjoyed it much. I tend to get lonely and invariably feel homesick.’

  ‘I hope I will not have this problem!’ replied Tanuja with a smirk.

  There was a moment of an awkward silence between the two of them. After some time, Akshay said, ‘Good then we are all set! I will ask Monika to make our travel arrangements and she will keep you posted.’

  ‘Thanks for the opportunity Akshay. Good night!’

  It was quite late in the evening but Tanuja was still full of energy. On her way back home, she kept thinking about the trip. She was thrilled about this opportunity. She wanted to share this with her mother but decided to call her later. Her whole trip in the cab went in dreaming about her upcoming trip to her favorite city, New York.

  What Akshay had just discussed was too good to be true. Exposure to the fund raising process would give Tanuja necessary experience for starting her own business. Betting on Hailthy for her career was turning out to be a smart choice. Things were moving quite fast and looking favorable. On reaching home, Tanuja decided not to share this with Reema. Things were moving too fast for Tanuja. Therefore, the announcement about the US trip could wait.

  From the next few weeks, Akshay got busy with his investor presentations. Creating a plan for global expansion was not easy. The US market was different with limited knowledge about the competition. Hailthy engaged a research firm for this assignment. Akshay delegated a few sections of the investor presentation deck to Tanuja. He was leaving no stone unturned to make an impression on the potential investors and did his spade work.

  With each passing day, before the big NY trip, Tanuja was getting more anxious. She was worried about everything, be it important matters like the deck or trivial such as shopping for the trip! The thought of shopping for the trip and during the trip increased her excitement. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for her dreams.

  Even though Tanuja wanted to share this enthusiasm, she didn’t speak about it to anyone. Reema or her colleagues. Tanuja didn’t even tell her mother as she didn’t want to be lectured on the protocols of her trip. The office always had risk of gossip and she did not want to become a victim of that.

  Tanuja told Reema when the trip was just a few days away.

  ‘Reema, I am flying to New York for our fund raise.’

  ‘That is great Tanuja, when did you get to know about this trip?’

  ‘Oh only today.’

  ‘And you are leaving next week. Wow, that was quite quick!

  ‘Yes, Akshay asked about my US visa last week and Monika handed me my tickets today.’

  ‘Wow you are going to my dream city! I am giving you my shopping list.’

  ‘Sure what do you want?’

  ‘Well maybe a few things from the adult store there!’

  ‘Are you crazy? I am traveling with my boss!’

  ‘So, is he going to pack your bags on your way back?’

  ‘What about Customs? How would I feel if they decide to open my bag?’

  ‘I am sure they will understand. You are gorgeous and single!’

  ‘Shut up. Look I will try, but send me your actual list through WhatsApp.’

  ‘Don’t worry too much and enjoy your trip Tanuja. Get some good liquor from the duty-free shops and oh yes, some cosmetics. And chocolate is mandatory.’

  ‘Good you told me this. I will definitely remember that. Listen I need to buy new suitcases. I am planning to go to the Mall. Wanna come with me?’

  ‘Yes babe! Provided you take me to the DLF Cyber Hub for drinks again. I am not a big fan of going to the malls.’ Reema took her to the Ambience Mall close to the Delhi border first. The Mall was known for all High Street brands. Tanuja did not have a long list in any case and soon they headed for Downtown club in the Cyber Hub. Tanuja shared some of her anxiety related to the travel but she still could hide her travel related excitement from Reema.

  On the night of travel, the office had arranged a cab for her to get to the airport. She reached the airport early - exactly four hours before the flight. She was rather anxious and travel made it worse. As she looked outside the cab, she looked at the clear skyline. The sun was just setting and slightly visible behind DLF Cyber Hub. She looked at the massive infrastructure and state of art buildings altogether with a different perspective.

  She lowered the windows and looked out at the skyline of DLF Cyber City. The driver looked at her in the rear view mirror and asked, ‘Madam something wrong with the car? AC is on right now. Are you feeling alright?’

  ‘Thanks, Bhaiya, I am good! I want to enjoy the nice weather right now.’

  The check-in process was quite smooth and within less than an hour, Tanuja had cleared immigration and security and had more than three hours to pass. She wanted to call Akshay to know his schedule but did not. That probably was a wise decision as at that moment, Akshay was with Garima on his way to the airport. Tanuja busied herself shopping until Akshay bumped into her sometime later.

  Akshay said, ‘Look who is early today?’

  Tanuja smirked ‘Do you think that I do not come to office on time?’

  Akshay patted her shoulder saying ‘Hey I am kidding.’

  Tanuja said, ‘I came an hour back. I wanted to check with you but…..’ She did not complete the sentence; she wanted Akshay to continue so that she could get into his mind.

  Akshay said, ‘My wife decided to drop me to the airport as this would be a longer trip, so I forgot to call you, but we have a lot of time to kill now! Have you finished your shopping?’

  ‘Yes, just finished my window shopping routine but the real shopping will be in US now.’

  ‘Do you want to buy anything?’

  ‘Not really, I will prefer to spend time in the lounge. We can go there if you are free.

  ‘Sure; I can give you some company!’

  The business lounge experience was quite good for Tanuja. Akshay grabbed two glasses of wine when they were seated in the lounge. When he came back, he saw Tanuja with hot soup. This disappointed him a bit, as he wanted her to relax and open up a bit more. He didn’t show it and just kept one glass aside. Tanuja noticed the second glass but said nothing. Out of anxiety, Tanuja had skipped her dinner and she was quite hungry. She said, ‘I am quite hungry. Would you like to eat right now?’

  Akshay said, “I had my dinner. I am not a big fan of lounge food. In any case, wine is giving me company right now. Please go ahead.’

  ‘Sure, I will be right back.’

  There were many food options in the lounge. She didn’t care much about taste at that point of time. She grabbed some snacks and pasta and got back to her seat. Akshay had finished his first glass of wine and was on to the next one.. Tanuja sat down and immediately started eating. Akshay was observing her closely. With one drink down, Akshay had lesser inhibitions and this was not his office. He said, ‘What do you do during a flight?’

  ‘Usually I finish watching my quota of movies that are not available on Netflix or OTT in general. Then I catch up on my sleep. Once I am fresh, I switch to my music.’

  ‘How about you?’

  ‘It is similar but I also find time for gaming! It is good that Cathay has internet available on its flights. I try to keep myself from WhatsApp and social media in general during the flight. I catch up at Cathay’s Hong Kong lounge for urgent emails and messages. Monika typically sends me a summary of all items that require urgent attention.’ Tanuja had planned to post pics on Instagram of her in business class but she remained quiet on this. ‘Yes there is no use of WhatsApp during the flight. I feel that I am in a different world and much above everyone else – literally.’

  ‘Yes but still in a metal tube flying at a height!’

  Tanuja smiled, ‘l I never thought about it in th
is way!’

  ‘We will land on Sunday morning in New York. I always try to fix my jet lag from day one itself. I plan to go shopping on Sunday and keep myself awake.

  ‘It looks like a set routine.’

  ‘Yes shopping followed by stroll in the Central Park; and then a short snooze to charge batteries and then off to drinking. Would you like to join me?’

  ‘Sure I would love to! I am carrying a shopping list but if we are together then you need to be patient.’

  ‘In what sense? Although, Garima has taught me a lot of patience!

  Tanuja didn’t like the mention of Garima in this conversation but she kept a straight face.

  ‘I don’t expect you to hang around and approve my dresses but at the same time I don’t want to be alone in a shop.’

  ‘You don’t have to worry; New York is designed to entertain all options. Let’s head towards our Gate.’

  As they reached closer to the gate, Tanuja asked Akshay what his seat number was. ‘

  Akshay immediately replied, ‘1A. Monika knows my preference. I prefer the window seat. What’s yours?’

  Tanuja replied ‘10A’

  ‘One zero has created a lot of distance, I must say. I will ask Monika to check you in as well on our way back.’

  ‘Fine. We will have more things to discuss on our return flight.’

  ‘I don’t mix work and flight though but yes you are right!’

  ‘I never got a chance to know you on the personal front.’

  What would you like to know? I had shared most of it during the interview.’

  ‘And you expect me to remember personal details of all of employees?’ joked Akshay.

  Tanuja smiled, ‘Well, on a serious note my father is still running his business in Bangalore and my mother is a housewife. I am the only daughter of my family.’

  Akshay interrupted, ‘I want to know more about you Tanuja. So tell me something about yourself. Your hobbies for example or anything you would like to share.’

  Tanuja was not ready for Akshay’s sudden queries but decided to respond nonetheless. On the other hand, she felt good that Akshay was finally showing some interest in her, beyond work. In her discussion with other colleagues, she already knew about Akshay’s passion. She remembered Akshay’s deep interest in music and decided to strike a conversation around the same.