One Indian Girl(61)

‘What?’ Arai said, his face serious.

‘We look for fit in a partner. Sorry, Arai-san, we won’t be able to do business with you,’ Neel said.

‘We have billion dollals to invest. Lot of fee for Goldman Sachs on that.’ Arai looked stupefied.

‘I understand,’ Neel said, ‘but. . .’

‘Actually, it’s okay, Neel,’ I said. ‘Arai-san, if I can tell you about the portfolio. . .’

Neel shook his head.

‘Arai-san, Tanaka-san, Shin-san, thank you for coming. I am sure you will find a great partner. We will pass. We anyway have a lot on our plate,’ Neel said. Josh and Peter stood up, somewhat surprised. The Japanese bankers looked at each other.

‘Josh will see you out,’ Neel said and left the room.



‘Hey, Radhika, come on in,’ Neel said.

I went into his office and sat down in front of him. He wore a pink shirt and a red Hermes tie. His face reflected a bit of pink from his shirt.

‘By the way, happy birthday,’ he said.

‘Thank you for the flowers.’

‘They are from the team,’ Neel said.

‘Bianca told me you chose them.’

‘Oh, she did? She doesn’t understand confidentiality.’ Neel grinned.

He played with his cuffs. He would do that when he was nervous. Or excited.

‘Neel, about the meeting with the Japanese bankers. . .’

‘Yeah. What douchebags.’

‘You cancelled the deal?’

‘Well, we can’t work with sexist people like that. They made you so uncomfortable.’

‘I was taken aback a bit, yes. But an odd comment here or there doesn’t bother me.’

‘It’s not okay, Radhika,’ Neel said, raising his voice loud enough for even Bianca to notice.

‘There was business there,’ I said.

‘So?’ Neel said.

I looked at him. We exchanged a glance. I don’t know if I imagined it, but it lasted a heartbeat longer than it should have between a partner and an associate.

‘Listen, Radhika. I am not going to allow anyone to treat you like this,’ he said and immediately corrected himself. ‘I mean, not going to allow anyone in my team to be treated like that.’

‘All right. But I was fine,’ I said.

‘No. Don’t be fine. No business is worth that. We can let it go, okay?’

I looked at Neel.

‘Thanks,’ I said in a subdued voice.

‘You are welcome,’ he said. ‘Now, what are your birthday plans?’

‘I have a few calls with prospective El Casa buyers tonight.’

‘Gosh, you are incorrigible,’ Neel said.

‘It’s not so bad. Simon has organized drinks. A couple of Goldman associates are coming.’

‘Nice. Have fun,’ he said.

I wondered if I should invite him. He read my mind.

‘I would have come, but it will be awkward for the rest if a partner shows up.’

‘I understand. No issues,’ I said.

‘Happy birthday again, Radhika,’ he said.

I came back to my desk. I touched the petals of one of the twenty-six roses. My phone rang. I had a call from India. I picked up the phone.

‘Hey, sister,’ Aditi didi said. ‘Happy birthday. I came home today. We miss you.’





25


One month later


‘Here you go, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and honey,’ Neel said and passed me my breakfast. I gestured him a thanks with a thumbs-up. I was on a conference call. I was now vice president; my expected promotion had become official two weeks ago. We sat in the Goldman café at 7 a.m. We had a potential buyer for El Casa called Greenwood Hospitality, a US-based company that owned fifty boutique hotels worldwide. On the call were Maddox Dean, MD in the mergers’ department in New York; Philippe Greenwood, owner of Greenwood; Neel and I.

‘Philippe, the docs are watertight here. I think we should close this soon,’ Neel said.

‘I don’t mind,’ Philippe said, ‘just that your price of fifty million is too high. How about forty?’

Neel looked at me. I shook my head.

‘Too low,’ Neel said.

‘Let’s lock at forty-five,’ Greenwood said.

Neel looked at me.

I nodded.

‘Done,’ Neel said. ‘Can we close the docs soon, please?’

‘This is fantastic,’ Maddox said. ‘We have a deal.’

‘Super. We’ll go down to the Philippines and close it with El Casa next week,’ Neel said.

The call ended.

‘Congratulations,’ I said.

‘How much is the final profit?’ Neel said.

‘Twenty million, net, to us,’ I said.

Neel and I high-fived each other.



‘How did you guys do it?’ Marcos said, as he flipped through the documents. Even though he tried to hide it, the smile wouldn’t leave his face. He had a bankrupt business that faced foreclosure and mass lay-offs. Now he would get five million dollars next week in his account as a settlement fee for his cooperation. Not to mention a global buyer who would keep his resorts alive.