One Indian Girl(27)

‘Well, you are speaking to a senior creative director of BBDO,’ he said.

‘Oh my God! It happened! Congrats, Debu. This is headline news.’

‘Thank you. You are the first person I called.’

‘Of course. We totally need to celebrate this.’

‘It’s okay. They promoted two others too.’

‘It’s huge. You know it is. Anyway, I got to go. Need to make some calls. What time will you be home today?’

‘7.30. Why?’

‘Nothing. I might get a little late. Okay, Mr Senior Creative Director, bye!’

I hammered out a quick plan. I messaged Avinash, Ashish and Nidhi.

‘Kind of big news. Debu got promoted. My boyfriend is a senior creative director! Surprise celebration drinks. Our place. 7 p.m. sharp. 55B, 50 Franklin Street, Tribeca.’

Within minutes everyone confirmed. I messaged a few others. Some wanted to bring their friends along. In half an hour, I had a mini-party organized with about a dozen confirmed guests. Finally, I dashed Debu a message.

‘Busy day. May get late. Have dinner and sleep.’



‘Surprise!’ everyone shouted in unison as a clueless Debu opened the door. His shocked and dazed expression had everyone bursting into laughter and made my hours of frantic preparation worthwhile. I had ordered pizzas from Ray’s. The salads, nuts and bar snacks came from Whole Foods. Champagne was chilling in the freezer. It was the first time Debu and I had so many guests in our little apartment. Chatter and laughter filled the living room. It made my world seem complete. My house felt like a home. I dimmed the lights and turned up the music.

‘What a great party!’ Nidhi said.

‘Template for you. You never do such surprises for me,’ Ashish, now her husband, said.

‘We are married. They are boyfriend and girlfriend. There’s a difference.’

‘Whatever,’ Ashish said. Nidhi laughed.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around. It was Debu. He looked deep into my eyes.

‘I love you,’ he said.

‘I love you too,’ I said.

Debu pecked me on the lips. Avinash whistled. Everyone looked at us. I covered my face in embarrassment. The house felt warm and fuzzy. I had never been happier in my whole life.

‘I just told you this afternoon. How did you do all this so fast?’ Debu said.

‘I took the rest of the day off.’

‘Thank you for making me feel so special, superwoman.’

‘You are welcome. But you are still helping me clean up after the party, okay?’ I said.



Three months later

‘Superb job on MegaBowl. We will recover thirty million, not twenty-five. Well done, Radhika!’ I read Jonathan’s old email on my laptop. He had copied Jon Cruz, a partner in the Distressed Debt Group. Jon had sent a ‘well done’ email as well.

‘Baby, shut your laptop. Come, lie down,’ Debu said in a drowsy voice. I was sitting next to him on the bed. I had switched off the room lights. However, the glare of the laptop screen bothered him.

‘It’s still too bright. What time is it?’ Debu said.

‘11.30,’ I said. ‘Only a few more minutes, I promise.’

He exhaled noisily.

‘What are you working on?’ he said, putting his arm around my waist. I nudged the laptop higher to accommodate him.

‘My own performance review. I have to turn it in tomorrow.’

‘You are amazing,’ he said and nuzzled my shoulder.

‘Unfortunately, no such option here. I have to write details on all the deals I worked on in the past year.’

‘They know you are good. Come, sleep. Let me hold you.’ He pulled me closer.

‘You sleep. I know the laptop is bothering you. I will sit in the living room,’ I said.

‘It’s cold.’

‘I’ll turn on the heat in the hall,’ I said. I kissed Debu on the forehead, climbed off the bed and shut the door.

I went into our living room, adjusted the thermostat and sat on the couch. I opened my laptop again and read the performance review form.

List instances where you added significant value in a deal.

I had worked on three deals this last year; MegaBowl was the deal I had contributed to the most. I entered the details. Last year, when I joined the firm fresh out of college, we had had a fixed bonus. My performance review would decide my bonus this year.

I reached the last question.

What is your overall assessment of your performance on a scale of 1–5, based on the classification below: 1: Significantly below expectations 2: Below expectations

3: Meets expectations

4: Better than expectations





5: Significantly better than expectations


I pondered on my overall rating for a few minutes. Choosing a ‘5’ felt pompous. I settled for a ‘3’ and pressed ‘submit’.

‘Done?’ I heard Debu’s voice from the bedroom.

‘Yeah, coming,’ I said.



I tiptoed across to Partner Jon Cruz’s cabin; his secretary asked me to wait as Jon ended a call. Bonus day in Goldman altered the air in the office. Inside, people felt huge anxiety and excitement. Outside, they had to pretend to be cool, like it was any other day. Of course, it was anything but that. Bonus is what bankers work for, and the ‘number’ defines whether you are good or not. A zero bonus or a ridiculously low number could even mean a signal to leave the firm.