302 Movers & Shakers
Things were expected to fall apart and they did... no not because II was on honeymoon and she is so important etc.. but because, they had shielded her from the goings on at KMPG
for the last 2.5 weeks... Gurti had another job offer, not within KMPG but outside, in Blore at a multinational as Financial Controller for their snack foods division
He undertook all projects Bansal assigned to this team... and from the looks of it she was going to lose Bhavna to Treasury too, she had applied for a position and II saw an email where she had requested permission to go interview
R&B had "politely" shot down the Gurgaon HW upgrade, and cash based transactions (automobile workshops were ridden with those) everything from ..Rs.1800 wiper blades on M 800 model to Rs. 10,000 odd seat hutch replacement were tanking, falling like fall leaves... were fallouts everywhere
The same story repeated itself in showrooms, the more prestigious showrooms transactions were "check based" in showrooms in the outskirts and areas with many small businesses, transactions were cash based, even Rs, 2.4 lakhs was brought INTO the showroom IN cash
and it was failing, taking the whole system with it...
Gurgaon was "running" fine because 90% of transactions at Gurgaon showroom was check based, most people that bought cars at Gurgaon worked for multinationals or other companies of repute and cars were bought with "reliable trustworthy" "white transactions"
Outskirts was mostly "all black" and it was hosing everything...
Gurti's last day was March 31st... there was talks about Bally being "promoted", without pay😡 that it is to get through the debacle of Excelsior deployment
Bally and her spent until 4 PM in the center island conference rooms, her roti and stuffed bhindi languished at her desk... then broke the meeting for 5 minutes so she could heat it up and bring it back
"Ashwini joined them around then, and talked about the 8 things Bansal wanted tracked ROI before vs after etc... the new set of failures will not only delay them but also
throw the ROI off completely, and an already "not so attractive" project was beginning to look worse
For II the fact that she might be reporting to a new Manager was nerve wracking enough
"I JUST got married and disappeared for three weeks yaar, how did things falls apart"
"Why didnt you copy me on any emails?" "We got rid of R&B didnt we from the deployment altogether
"How come he continues to screw things up for us?" she was extremely unhappy
"Chill Iyer. Dont draw your weapons yet" Bally looked thoughtful
"To say I dont want to be in your shoes would be an understatement" Ashwini chuckled
II nodded stressed and agitated... "i dont want to be me either"
"when do u transition?" II asked Bally softly
"The week of April 5th" Bally said reluctantly
"So its almost official?" II asked
"Well Gurti's departure has been announced, it must be in your 200 unread emails or 500... but mine is still pending Corporate approval" Bally said
"So YOU ARE the permamnent pick?" II asked leaning back wearily
With his departure he was taking II's every shot at a Managerial role... it was in B&W now...
BallY: hey kiddo, dont be alarmed... we'll work something out...
II:You DO know you will no longer be HANDS ON with this deployment or ANY OTHER!!
Bally squirmed
Ashwini: Are they opening a req for your role?
Bally: After I transition or do two jobs for however long that will be (horrified)
II was clearly not going to get Bally's job, if you took Excelsior project out of her plate, may be then in a year? But definitely not NOW
Ashwini: We are testing in one section at the workshop with relatively new processors... they have 20 Cashiers, this sliver covers TWO
II did math furiously on her laptop, Bally and Ashwini saw the way she changed dates in her PM SW.. pushing things out...
extrapolating based on Gurgaon workshop delays
36 showrooms, 16 workshops and 8 inspection/vehicle Distribution centers in all... almost into the 5th month, and they had ONE GREEN out of 60
The entire timeline was of 12-15 months...
Infact II had deputed her team to work on smaller installations, 10 person companies, 50 person companies... etc
This was sucking her life out completely
Chanchal and Bhavna were the only one she had 50% of the time, and Bhava was quitting like rats deserting a sinking ship..
"Aur yeh bhi suna hai Ranjan is opening three or 4 new showrooms in 2016 and he wants to OPEN with TransPro" Bally sniggered
"Not happening yaar, we need to tell him" II panicked
"What is Mr B saying" Ashwini asked
"Woh kya kahenge.. he is bummed Gurti is leaving and he has to deal with me... I am not like Gurti right I dont chew people up, I am not an ass about failures, I use my words carefully
He must hate me" Bally whispered
Gurti was brilliant, no nonsense and blunt, Mr Bansal loved him for that... KMPG wanted their people to be educated, over worked AND acerbic
It was 6 PM ish... they were going nowhere... II wandered back to her cube, she hadnt even begun looking through email.
She was going to do a night out... her phone rang... it was R&B
"Hey" he said
"Umm ya" she was PISSED
"Busy?" he asked
"Haan shaayad" she said having NO CLUE how to to behave with a husband that happened to be a client too
AYYO!! SHIT II, DID U EVEN THINK WHAT U WERE GETTING YOURSELF INTO?
YOU ARE GOING TO TELL HIM YOU ARE ANGRY? IF YOU DONT HE WILL NEVER KNOW
HE SCREWED WITH YOU USING HIS POSITION OF INFLUENCE
WHATEVER LITTLE PROGRESS YOU WERE MAKING AT GURGAON HAS DERAILED NOW
RAKSHASAN!!
"Can I call you when I get home?" she asked politely, didnt want to blow up at the office
"Hey do u have a minute?" he asked
"Umm ya" she said walking out of her cube to get the company coffee, the Nescafe sludge... muddy and burnt... as it sat all day brewing
She singed her tongue as she sipped too fast...
"Umm, I might have to push out my return by a day... or two" he said softly
"Oh?" she said, the burnt tongue causing tears... or so she will defend herself
"Umm... I am looking at Thursday tickets" he lied
"Since you are already there, may be you should just take care of business?" she offered politely "another week or two is fine too" she said
hanging up!!!
She left her phone at her desk and picked up her purse and went to Daily Perk, it was 7 and so "YOU SHOULD BE GOING HOME" she winked
the morning coffee chick was leaving after completing her 12 hr shift , offering unsolicited advice...
"We are closed for coffee, u can get any cold snacks though, we dont operate the oven/toaster/grill after 7, its 7:07 PM" she said unapologetic
"Oh" II nodded😭
Went up to her desk and held her head in her hands staring at her toe ringed hennaed feet
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