their breath. ‘. . .Jasmeet Pahuja,’ announced Anand. ‘She has managed to close an insurance deal with a premium of rupees four lakh, one of the largest in the branch thus far. What makes it special is also the fact that this insurance has come to us from a customer who has never ever invested in anything but a fixed deposit.’
Everyone cheered and Jasmeet couldn’t control her emotions. Her face went red and she couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.
6
Mainland China Restaurant, Bandra
Early June 2011
Mainland China, the premium Chinese cuisine destination in Bandra, was buzzing with activity at 8.30 that evening. Almost all the tables were taken. On one long table, in a private corner, Nikhil and Anand sat with the management trainees. Twelve of the fourteen MTs were in attendance—five men and seven women, all impeccably dressed, out to impress the branch management team that included Nikhil and Anand, who had come straight from work. Nikhil had invited Vikram too, but despite confirming his attendance he had ditched them at the last moment. Typical of Vikram , Nikhil thought when Vikram called him to say he couldn’t make it.
At the head of the table was Nikhil, Anand to his right, and then the MTs. ‘Third person to my right,’ Anand nudged Nikhil and whispered into his ear. ‘The girl in white.’ Nikhil turned to look. That was the first time he saw Zinaida at close quarters. Anand had mentioned her on their way to the restaurant. Nikhil was curious to meet her. When he saw her, he just couldn’t turn his gaze away. But he gathered himself quickly and looked towards the other side, hoping Zinaida hadn’t caught him staring at her.
The dinner itself was quite a formal affair. The MTs were on their best behaviour. Nikhil interacted with everyone, even though he kept intermittently stealing a glance at Zinaida. Her fair skin complimented her lush brown hair streaked with coppery red. Her greenish brown eyes were so intensely deep, that she stood out in that entire batch of management trainees.
Post dinner, all of them walked out together towards the parking lot. As per protocol, Nikhil had to be seen off, being the senior most in the group.
It was windy that night. The road outside Mainland China was damp, the result of pre-monsoon showers. The monsoon had hit the coast of Kerala and was less than a week away from Mumbai. Strong winds were blowing, fuelled by the tunnelling effect of the portico of the restaurant. Zinaida was struggling to keep her hair in place and also manage her short skirt, which was flying because of the wind, exposing her silky thighs. Nikhil saw her struggle and stepped in front of her, which cut off the wind for a moment and helped Zinaida rearrange herself.
‘Thanks,’ she smiled at Nikhil.
‘Not a problem. The wind here can be notorious.’ He smiled back at her. ‘So I hope you had a good time at the branch.’
‘Yes sir. Learnt a lot.’
‘Any feedback?’
‘Only one, sir. In fact it’s more of a compliment. We have a fabulous sales team in the branch.’
‘Thank you. That’s nice to hear.’
‘Yes sir. Who else would be able to sell an insurance scheme to a 50-year-old lady, passing it off as a fixed deposit product?’
‘Sorry?’ Nikhil was horrified. ‘Say that again?’
‘Nikhil, your car has come,’ Anand interrupted.
‘It’s okay. Ask them to park it on the side. I’ll come in a moment.’ He looked at Zinaida and asked her, ‘What did you say young lady?’
‘Did I say anything wrong sir?’
‘No, no you didn’t. I just want to hear that again.’
‘I was with Jasmeet in my first week at your branch. And I saw her sell an insurance policy to a 50-year-old widow. She never told her that it was a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) policy. The only thing she said was that she would get good returns and her investment was safe.’
‘What did she tell her?’
‘She just told her that it’s like a deposit and that she would
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