One Indian Girl(63)

‘To El Casa, your first big deal in Asia,’ Neel said and raised his glass.

‘To Greenwood, their new buyer.’ I touched his glass with mine.

‘What a resort, isn’t it?’ Neel said. He pointed to the scenery ahead of us. Only half of the sun remained on the horizon. The deep orange-coloured sky had turned a silky texture.

‘The most beautiful place I have ever been to,’ I said.

‘Same for me. With one of the most beautiful minds I know,’ Neel said.

‘Yeah, sure. It’s only my mind that’s beautiful,’ I said. I am a fisherwoman. I fish, fish, fish.

‘Of course not. But it isn’t appropriate for me to comment on the rest of you. Protocol,’ he said.

‘We need to get something straight,’ I said and sat upright.

‘What?’ Neel said.

‘Are we friends or are we colleagues or are you my super-senior boss?’ I said.

‘That’s a tough one,’ Neel said.

‘Is it?’

‘Well, yes. Fact remains I am the head of the group. You are the VP. Cheers.’

We touched glasses again. I look a big gulp.

‘So that’s who we are. Colleagues?’ I said.

‘Well, no. I feel like after all those breakfast meetings I know you somewhat. You know me too. In fact. . .’ he said and paused.

‘In fact what?’

‘In fact, I am going to miss our breakfast chats the most after this deal,’ he said and stared into the horizon. ‘Our oatmeal and peanut-butter-toast conversations.’

‘Don’t forget the honey,’ I said.

He laughed.

‘I will miss our breakfasts too,’ I said.

‘Well, life goes on. Another day, another deal,’ Neel said.

‘Wait. So we are not friends?’

‘Can we be?’

‘Why not?’ I said.

‘Many reasons to not be. I am your senior. Twenty years older. Married. Two kids. You, on the other hand, young and single. Smart and attractive.’

‘Attractive?’ I said and smiled.

‘Yeah, of course. You are really attractive, Radhika. I am just being factual.’

Ah, the sweet, soothing feeling of receiving a compliment from a worthy man.

My life, at this moment, felt perfect.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘You are pretty cool too.’

‘What is this? An overworked bankers’ self-praise society?’ Neel said.

We laughed. The waiter refilled our champagne glasses.

‘We are friends,’ Neel said. ‘I don’t see you as a junior now.’

‘Do note I get too casual with friends. Tell me if I overstep the line. After all, you are my senior,’ I said.

‘I am not the typical senior. You can be honest with me. Speak your mind.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. Try me,’ Neel said.

‘Okay. What do you truly think of me?’ I said. ‘As a person.’

He wiped the water droplets on his glass with his thumb.

‘Go on, hit me. Be frank,’ I said.

He smiled.

‘You are smart, of course. But you are also simple and a little lost. You are one of the most attractive women I have met. Yet you need external validation, a lot of it. This could be because you have self-esteem issues. You are sensitive, but have closed yourself. After what has happened in New York perhaps.’

‘Wow,’ was all I could say, impressed and speechless at his observations.

‘A bit too frank?’ he said.

‘Yeah, ouch,’ I said and laughed. ‘But not bad. You do observe more about me than the financial models I create.’

‘Oh, but your work is stellar. You could be partner one day. Radhika Mehta, Partner, Goldman Sachs. Here’s to that,’ Neel said and raised a toast. He finished his glass in one shot. I followed him. The cloudless sky looked even more beautiful as little stars became visible at dusk. A slow French song began to play in the background. I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but could feel the pain of the singer.

‘Partner Radhika. With a lot of deals under her belt. But lonely, without love,’ I said.

‘What nonsense. Radhika with a lot of love,’ Neel said.

‘Whatever. I don’t think so. Which song is this? It’s beautiful.’

‘La vie en rose. Life through rose-tinted glasses. Famous French song. But seriously, that’s what you think? You won’t find love?’

‘Yeah. My biggest fear, perhaps.’

Neel gave me a look of disbelief.

‘You want to talk about New York?’ he said.

The waiter brought us another champagne bottle. Over the course of dinner and a few more glasses of bubbly, I told him my entire New York story. He listened with full attention, nodding at every significant moment.

‘And so, that’s it. I dropped the phone in the East River. Came to Hong Kong,’ I said.

I wiped a slow tear rolling down my cheek. I didn’t think of Debu much now. However, repeating the story was not a breeze.

‘You could have just dropped the SIM card, you know. And wiped the phone to factory settings,’ Neel said.

I looked at Neel. He kept a poker face. I don’t know why, but we burst out laughing.