pleasantly as they look up from whatever they were busy with and make small talk with them. They respond back jovially. This is a young, friendly bunch and I instantly feel comfortable with them. Ashok, Julie, Divya, Kamal, Nitin, and Mihir—all their names spinning around in my head, as I try to remember their faces and names.
Then I stop dead in my tracks when she introduces me to the next person. It is Leena, the gorgeous woman whom Prashant had walked off with in the party.
‘Hi,’ she says and then she frowns, ‘I have seen you somewhere but I don’t recall where,’
‘Yeah, we met at the Magellan party. I was with Prashant,’ I say dryly.
‘Oh yes, I remember now,’ she says curtly.
I force a smile, and as soon as my back is turned, I see her making a phone call. I intuitively know through her hushed whispers that she must be calling up Prashant to inform him about my recruitment. Somehow this irks me. But I say nothing, and the rest of the day flies by as Latha briefs me and takes me through all that she has been doing. I am very interested and fascinated with the scope and details of my new job and don’t even feel the hours pass. At Point to Point, I would stare at the wall clock all day, waiting for the shift to end. I would leave at 5.30 p.m. sharp to catch the local at 5.42. But here at Magellan, it is already 6.30 p.m., and I have not even realized it.
Samir is travelling abroad and would be back only a week later, she informs me, by which time, I should havesettled well into the job. She tells me that I can speak to her if I have any doubts or queries and says that she is happy that I am taking over immediately.
‘It is so difficult to work with this,’ she adds, as she flops down wearily into an armchair, pointing to her huge belly which looks like it will explode any moment. I feel a little sorry for her and assure her that I will be okay.
In four days, I have eased very well into my new role and feel so much at home—as though I have been working here for ages. My cubicle faces his cabin, and I ought to be able to get a clear view of him when the blinds are pulled up.
When Samir returns, the first thing he does is greet me with a ‘Hey Nisha! Good to see you settled here. Come on right in.’
Smriti smiles at me knowingly and winks as I walk into his cabin.
He asks me if there is anything at all that I need, or whether there is any clarification that I want regarding my job. I tell him that Latha has briefed me well and I have been checking with her about a few doubts that I have.
‘That’s great then!’ he says.
I tell him that I have drafted replies to almost all the routine correspondence, and I want him to go through it once to see if my replies are okay, before I send them out. I assure him that this is a one-off thing and I would be handling it on my own once this is approved by him.
He laughs as I reiterate this and says, ‘Relax, Nisha, I know you are efficient. Why else do you think I offered you the job in the first place?’
I smile then and know I am going to really enjoy my time here.
In a month’s time, it feels as though Samir and I have been working together as a team forever. I badly want to prove myself, making sure I take care of every single thing. I organize his appointments, schedule his meetings, handle routine correspondence, screen his phone calls and visitors, and also give him my inputs on important projects that Magellan is considering when he asks for them. I even see to it that his coffee is kept ready just before his arrival and is just the way he likes it. I, for the first time in my life, am thoroughly enjoying my job and feeling valued. Besides, I am also getting paid well for it. And having an attractive and understanding boss like Samir is truly the cherry on the cake with an already rich icing. He says he cannot understand how in the world he managed before me, and that I have made myself indispensable to his professional life. He says he
Then I stop dead in my tracks when she introduces me to the next person. It is Leena, the gorgeous woman whom Prashant had walked off with in the party.
‘Hi,’ she says and then she frowns, ‘I have seen you somewhere but I don’t recall where,’
‘Yeah, we met at the Magellan party. I was with Prashant,’ I say dryly.
‘Oh yes, I remember now,’ she says curtly.
I force a smile, and as soon as my back is turned, I see her making a phone call. I intuitively know through her hushed whispers that she must be calling up Prashant to inform him about my recruitment. Somehow this irks me. But I say nothing, and the rest of the day flies by as Latha briefs me and takes me through all that she has been doing. I am very interested and fascinated with the scope and details of my new job and don’t even feel the hours pass. At Point to Point, I would stare at the wall clock all day, waiting for the shift to end. I would leave at 5.30 p.m. sharp to catch the local at 5.42. But here at Magellan, it is already 6.30 p.m., and I have not even realized it.
Samir is travelling abroad and would be back only a week later, she informs me, by which time, I should havesettled well into the job. She tells me that I can speak to her if I have any doubts or queries and says that she is happy that I am taking over immediately.
‘It is so difficult to work with this,’ she adds, as she flops down wearily into an armchair, pointing to her huge belly which looks like it will explode any moment. I feel a little sorry for her and assure her that I will be okay.
In four days, I have eased very well into my new role and feel so much at home—as though I have been working here for ages. My cubicle faces his cabin, and I ought to be able to get a clear view of him when the blinds are pulled up.
When Samir returns, the first thing he does is greet me with a ‘Hey Nisha! Good to see you settled here. Come on right in.’
Smriti smiles at me knowingly and winks as I walk into his cabin.
He asks me if there is anything at all that I need, or whether there is any clarification that I want regarding my job. I tell him that Latha has briefed me well and I have been checking with her about a few doubts that I have.
‘That’s great then!’ he says.
I tell him that I have drafted replies to almost all the routine correspondence, and I want him to go through it once to see if my replies are okay, before I send them out. I assure him that this is a one-off thing and I would be handling it on my own once this is approved by him.
He laughs as I reiterate this and says, ‘Relax, Nisha, I know you are efficient. Why else do you think I offered you the job in the first place?’
I smile then and know I am going to really enjoy my time here.
In a month’s time, it feels as though Samir and I have been working together as a team forever. I badly want to prove myself, making sure I take care of every single thing. I organize his appointments, schedule his meetings, handle routine correspondence, screen his phone calls and visitors, and also give him my inputs on important projects that Magellan is considering when he asks for them. I even see to it that his coffee is kept ready just before his arrival and is just the way he likes it. I, for the first time in my life, am thoroughly enjoying my job and feeling valued. Besides, I am also getting paid well for it. And having an attractive and understanding boss like Samir is truly the cherry on the cake with an already rich icing. He says he cannot understand how in the world he managed before me, and that I have made myself indispensable to his professional life. He says he
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