Devil in Pinstripes by Ravi Subramanian Page B

He plans to formally tell everyone else the next Monday.’ Monday was four days away.
    ‘Okay. Thanks. Read these manuals and let’s chat again tomorrow. Don’t kill yourself. If you can’t finish it today, it’s fine. We are not in any tearing hurry are we?’ and he smiled at her, probably for the first time, as he waved her away from his room. Chanda couldn’t help being surprised at this sudden change of heart.
    Gowri’s fingers couldn’t wait for her to leave the room, before they picked up the telephone and dialled a number. After a short ring, it was picked up. ‘
Kakke, thoda aana mere kamre mein
.’ It was Manish Kakkar at the other end. He was dying to share the news with someone else. Manish Kakkar’s room was two cabins away, but Gowri always called him to his room, rather than walking across. It kind of set the protocol right for other employees. They would infer on seeing Kakkar in Gowri’s room that he was probably the junior of the two guys – though this was far from the truth. He was just the less complicated and more amenable of the two.
    ‘
Yaar, bade kaam ki cheez hai yeh
!’
    ‘
Kaun
?’
    ‘Chanda! She is damn useful man.’
    Seeing a blank look on Kakkar’s face, he continued, ‘She knows everything that is going on in the bank. Well connected. Good that we hired her. She can now give us inside information.’
    ‘Why? What did she tell you that got you so excited?’ Kakkar was too smart and quick to realise what would have happened.
    ‘Apparently, Vikram Oberoi is quitting.’ Gowri was excited. Kakkar didn’t know Vikram and hence couldn’t understand why Gowri was jumping around at this piece of information.
    ‘So?’ He was wondering how it impacted Gowri.
    ‘Idiot! Vikram Oberoi is the head of branch banking at NYB. His job is up for grabs.’ The look on Kakkar’s face didn’t change. ‘Why can’t they give me that job?’
    ‘Aaah . . . but they will not give it to you.’ The dismissive tone in Kakkar’s voice was evident.
    ‘And why would that be?’
    ‘You are too junior. They would be looking at someone who understands that business.’
    ‘No harm in trying, my friend.’
    Gowri was extremely ambitious, wanting to quickly rise to heights unseen of and unheard of in one’s career. He could go to any extent to ensure that his aspirations fructified. Today, in Chanda, he found someone who could give him the fodder needed for his competitiveness. She could give him information of what was going on in the bank, and based on that, he could position himself accordingly.
    ‘But I thought you hated NYB. You could not stand NYBankers. What has changed now?’ Kakkar couldn’t resist a swipe at Gowri.
    ‘Arre yaar, they need people like you and me to go there and help them change into an organisation that we want them to be. The problem is that today they are not like us. We can help them become like what we were before they acquired us. What say?’
    The public façade that Gowri put up was one that portrayed him as someone who hated the bank. People from the bank were not welcome into NFS. And if someone did come in, Gowri would make life miserable for them. He was GOD in NFS and he wanted to remain that way. However, heart of hearts, he harnessed dreams of working in a larger business in a larger organisation. The bank provided him with that platform. A move to the bank as a business manager could do wonders for his career and he knew that. However, this public pretence and animosity towards NYB employees was necessary to keep his status intact in the finance company.
    The tit-bit that Chanda had inadvertently dropped in front of Gowri, had given her an unexpected break. It had shattered the outcaste image that had been given to her, thanks to her linkage with the bank.
    ‘Why the hell did you tell him about Vikram’s move?’ Amit was furious when he heard about this at dinner.
    ‘Don’t know. It just came out. And after that I couldn’t retract.’ And