On a normal working day, Rajat Gupta would be in some corporate meeting this time in the afternoon. But today was a light afternoon at work, to his delight. So he was sitting at his desk staring at the laptop screen, pretending to be busy. At his level in the company, he couldn’t afford to look as if he had no work. But actually he was reading news from some website. And in a corner of the screen, he had an eye on the stock market as it was time for its closing. His face belied the fact that he was free. It had an artificial expression of overwork. The face was not as uncluttered as his workspace. His cubicle, though, was always in order. It had photographs of his family, a coffee cup and some papers related to his work organised well. He looked at them, mused over his free afternoon, and thought life was not that bad. In fact, it was rather good.
His colleague, Kiran, dropped in at Rajat’s desk.
“I need a small piece of help from you. Are you free for a few minutes?” Kiran asked.
Rajat looked up from his laptop after a few moments, in which he closed the browser and shifted to his email. It’s a bit dicey to answer such direct questions in corporate circles. With experience, he had found smart ways to evade them.
“Let me check my calendar, one sec. By the way, what do you need?” Rajat asked.
Kiran paused for a few seconds and continued. “Well, it’s a personal favour.”
“Hmm. Ok – I have a meeting at 4.30 pm for which I need to go through some slides,” Rajat said. “Looks like I am open for the next thirty minutes. How can I help you?” Rajat asked, with a well-enacted keenness within his fake busyness.
“Great, it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes,” Kiran broke into a smile. “There is a friend of mine who has got an offer from Microsystems Corporation.”
“Oh OK, that’s wonderful,” Rajat exulted, and broke into a grin. He had genuine, fond memories of working there a few years back.
Kiran shuffled his feet. He stuttered a bit and his face showed some hesitation before he spoke.
“I was..umm.. chatting with him and… looks like…err..he would appreciate some help on..umm.. the company and their work culture. I wanted to check if you are open to..umm.. helping him with a brief chat as..err.. you have worked there earlier.”
Rajat patted Kiran on his shoulder, not losing any opportunity for one-upmanship. “Oh Sure, Kiran. Feel free to ask for help. No worries. Microsystems is a great place to work,” Rajat affirmed. “Give me his number. I will call him when I have some free time,” he said.
Kiran moved a bit closer to Rajat in small steps. He sneaked inside his cubicle and slipped on to an empty chair opposite Rajat. Then he whispered over Rajat’s shoulder. “Actually I am sorry for this sudden request, Rajat. But he has come over to the office. His name is Gautam and he is sitting in that meeting room in there.” Kiran pointed to the glass room on the other side of the corridor.
Rajat peeped over his cubicle to the meeting room. He saw a man inside the room from the glass wall.
“Oh, he is here? That’s cool,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, with eyebrows raised.
“Yeah,” Kiran mumbled, with a sheepish smile. Then he added, “If you could drop in and have a quick chat, that would be great.”
“Yeah sure. Anytime. I am here to help. Will go right away,” said Rajat.
“Thanks a lot, Rajat, for your help. Sorry for the trouble and the short notice,” Kiran said. “And by the way, could you let me know when you finish?” Kiran asked. Then he stood up to walk out of the cubicle.
“Will do. No worries. Happy to be of help,” said Rajat. He stood up and started walking towards the meeting room.
***
The meeting room had a large table with six chairs. It was in the corner of the office, so it had only one concrete wall and two glass walls facing outside. The wall facing inside was also of glass with a door. Rajat pulled that door and entered the room.
“Hi. Are you Gautam?” he asked.
Gautam stood facing the external facing glass wall. It had a view of the road below. He was looking at the traffic below. He wore a grey suit with his hands in his pocket. He had his back to Rajat as he entered. Rajat could sense a certain swagger in the way Gautam stood. On hearing Rajat, Gautam turned around.
“Yes I am Gautam.”
“Ok great. I am Rajat. Kiran told me about you,” Rajat said, and thrust his hand forward for a handshake.
The smile on Gautam’s face disappeared and his face turned pale. “Oh – is it?” Gautam asked.
Rajat’s extended hand stayed hanging. Gautam didn’t shake it, and asked Rajat to sit. Rajat pulled a chair with a scowl on his face. “So much for helping someone,” he thought, as he sat down, shaking his head, facing the floor to hide his scowl. He was about to ask Gautam to take a seat. But he noticed that he was already sitting when he looked up. “Quite an arrogant guy, this Gautam chap,” Rajat mused as he formed his first impression.
“What did he tell you?” Gautam asked.
Rajat gathered himself from his thoughts. “Kiran told me that you got an offer from Microsystems Corporation. Congratulations,” Rajat said and this time did not put his hand forward. “He said you needed some help before deciding.”
Gautam smiled staring into blank space. “Yes – that’s right. I am currently working with Net Solve Corporation and was wondering if it would be a good move. How long did you work with Microsystems?”
This was too abrupt for Rajat’s liking. He thought this guy will exchange some courtesies before coming to the point. Basic manners suggested he thank him first. After that, he could shoot his questions, with my permission, Rajat felt. But instead of that, it looked like Gautam was interviewing Rajat. “Anyway, it’s a personal favour I am stuck with now. Whether I like this guy or not,” Rajat told himself. The temperature in his head was rising though.
“Well I worked there for around four years. It is a nice place. They are a decent bunch of people, who….,” Gautam cut Rajat short mid-sentence. “Yeah, I have heard so,” he said. Rajat fumed this time. He looked Gautam straight in the eye to ensure he realised his displeasure. But Rajat found that Gautam was looking through him.
“Did you know anyone in marketing?” Gautam asked Rajat, and turned his head to the right, waiting for an answer to fall on his left ear.
“Yes I worked with Mr Roy, the chief marketing office of the company,” Rajat boasted.
Gautam flashed into a smile on hearing that. Rajat also noticed that Gautam was now staring at the window. He also glared at the table from time to time, as if trying to remember something. He was not quite sure why. Gautam continued.
“Wow. That’s amazing. I will be reporting to Mr Roy. How is he to work with?”
“Well, he is a decent guy. Quite good to work with. He supports you well….” Rajat paused because he got distracted.
Right in the middle of a conversation, Gautam turned his attention to the ceiling. It was distracting. He then looked at the window, and then the table. Rajat felt like this was a stress interview he was going through. Gautam asked him a question and pretended to look somewhere else when he answered.
“Why does this guy shift his attention after asking me something? Give me your attention dammit, or go to hell,” Rajat suppressed his rising irritation. He was the one who was helping. He expected a bit of attention when someone has come to ask for job advice.
Instinctively, he felt like stopping. But then he told himself that this was Kiran’s friend. He had already pretended to have a big heart, ready to help. So he continued.
“Mr Roy will give you all the freedom to operate. Generally, he will spell out his expectations upfront, but leave it to you beyond that.”
Rajat stopped again. He felt thirsty and got up to get some water. He walked to the other side of the table and got a bottle.
Gautam continued asking his questions neglecting Rajat.
I have never seen a more self-obsessed guy, Rajat mused. Let me get some water at least, he thought. What a self-absorbed jerk I am stuck with, Rajat told himself. Such people don’t deserve help, he thought.
“Great. That’s good news. And how is Microsystems as a company?” Gautam asked.
Rajat picked up the bottle of water and took a gulp.
“Well, it’s ok,” Rajat said. Enough of this help business now. I am not going to speak up. Let him keep asking. Now I will pretend as if I don’t care, Rajat thought.
“Is it a good place to work in general? Does it offer good growth?” Gautam continued.
“It is not bad. One sec.” Rajat said. He walked towards Gautam and asked. “Do you want some water?”
“No thank you.” Gautam said.
There was a moment’s silence as Rajat had another gulp of water. He waited for more questions. Gautam continued.
“Is it a nice place to work? Do they allow flexible work timings?” Gautam asked but Rajat stayed silent. “Is work from home part of the culture?”
There was an awkward silence. Rajat expected that this guy Gautam will get it. That he is no longer interested. That he had lost his attention. But that didn’t happen.
So Rajat gave a cold reply. “Yeah, it is decent. Everything depends on your situation,” he said.
“Yeah, that’s true, of course,” agreed Gautam flashing into a smile again.
“So when are you joining them?” asked Rajat, changing the topic. He was now getting ready to close out the conversation. He had had enough. What arrogance and swagger, Rajat thought. Constant fiddling, lack of attention and lack of basic courtesy to add, he thought. Enough of help, Rajat decided.
“They expect me to join next week. But I will be taking a month or so.”
“Alright then. Hope my inputs helped and wish you all the best.” Rajat was ready to finish. “I need to get into another meeting now.”
Rajat got up from the chair and prepared to leave.
Gautam got up too, and with a smile, he thanked Rajat. This time Gautam put his hand forward for a handshake. This time, Rajat left it hanging and left.
He walked down the corridor and went back to his desk. Good riddance, he muttered. Not a world to help people, he told himself. He checked his laptop to see if he had got any email. There was nothing new. He went back to the news that he was reading before this useless meeting with this self-important guy.
***
Later in the evening, Kiran dropped by.
“So how was it?”
“Well, it was fine. I gave him all the inputs on Microsystems he needed.”
“Ok great. Thanks a lot for your help.”
For a moment, Kiran thought of stepping out, but then stopped.
“By the way, how did you find him?”
Rajat looked at Kiran not quite sure what to say.
For a moment, he thought he should tell Kiran what he thought. That he found the guy haughty and that his behaviour offended him. But then, he decided against it. What’s the point? He was never going to meet him again. Why offend Kiran for no reason? Gautam was his friend after all, Rajat thought. But the anger in his head was fresh. It was difficult to keep it under a lid.
“Well, the guy seemed ok. Microsystems has selected him, so he must be good at the job,” Rajat shrugged his shoulders. “But if you ask me, he needs to work on his focus and humility,” Rajat said.
He didn’t exactly spill his heart out, but he got the message across. A corporate career of many years had made him an expert in such communication.
“Hmm. I am not surprised,” Kiran said.
“Well, of course there’s no surprise. Only a deaf and dumb person will not find him offensive,” Rajat laughed. He found Kiran receptive and decided to be direct. “The way he looks around and completely disregards someone whom he has asked help for. It’s atrocious, to be honest.”
Kiran looked down to the floor as if hanging his head in shame. He twitched his lips and twisted his cheeks in what seemed like disappointment.
Rajat noticed it and consoled Kiran.
“Anyway, don’t worry. I have given him all the inputs. Unlike him, I gave him whatever attention I could,” Rajat said. He stopped before spilling over his full emotions. “By the way, how do you know him?” He asked changing the topic.
“Hmm..He is my batch-mate from B-school. I know him for 15 years now. He wasn’t always like this,” Kiran confided and grew pensive.
“Yeah, well, people change with success. I have seen the humblest of people turn into high-handed jerks paying no attention to those in front of them. They neglect you as if you don’t exist.” Rajat laughed off from his experience.
“Hmm. This is not the case with this guy. It is something else.” Kiran went into some kind of thought after saying that. He paused, and then started speaking.
“I should have told you before the meeting. But he doesn’t like it, so I held back,” Kiran informed Rajat.
“Told me what?” Rajat asked, his curiosity now piqued.
“I forgot to tell you before you went in that Gautam is blind.”
Rajat looked up to Kiran from his desk. He stood up disturbed with this bolt from the blue. Stunned into silence, his face lost all its colour. His eyes turned white in shock.
Kiran continued.
“He lost his vision due to an illness over the past 5 years, and now he is 90% blind. He does not wear sunglasses or carry a stick or tell anyone,” Kiran murmured. “His eyes look like us. But he can only make out that you are there, but nothing more than that. So he keeps guessing where you are and looks there. Or if he can’t, he turns his face elsewhere. It is awkward. But it is because he is blind.”
Rajat did not quite know what to say. His mind went back to the meeting room. In his mind, he re-ran the sequence of events during his conversation with Gautam. Kiran patted Rajat on his back getting him out of his jolted condition.
“I should have told you earlier. But I missed it completely as I got busy,” Kiran said. Then he added, “He called me a while back. He asked me to say thanks a lot for your help.”
Rajat dropped down on his chair and stared back into his laptop screen. He tried to focus on what was on the screen but could not concentrate.
***