Page 98 of One Indian Girl
‘I want you to speak up. I encourage people to raise questions so we challenge each other,’ Neel said.
‘Of course.’
‘Feel free to come into my office. Josh is your immediate boss, but we don’t really believe in formal roles here. There’s some peanut butter on your lip.’
‘Oh, really?’ I said and wiped my lip with a tissue. ‘I am sorry.’
‘The other side.’
I shifted the tissue and felt my face turn red. Neel smiled. He looked even more gorgeous when he smiled.
‘Welcome to Hong Kong,’ he said.
‘We have a Bank of East Asia distressed debt auction coming up. There are fifty loans, sold as a portfolio. Bids due in two weeks,’ Josh said at the morning meeting.
‘Two weeks? That’s tight,’ Peter said.
All banks accumulate bad loans over time. Sometimes the bank feels it is easier to sell off those loans at a discount rather than chase the borrowers. To speed up things, they sell those loans as a portfolio, or in a bunch. In a sense, it clears their entire dirty plate in one shot. However, for bidders like us it means a crazy amount of work, evaluating what is on the plate.
‘We can pass. People are busy with other deals, right?’ Neel said.
‘Actually, I could look at it,’ I said. All eyes turned to me.
‘I can. I don’t have too much going on,’ I said.
‘It is fifty companies. You’ll have to go through them all. You sure?’ Josh said, in his mixed American and Chinese accent.
‘We have two weeks. I can work weekends too,’ I said.
‘I could spare two days too,’ Peter said.
‘So can I,’ said Simon, another Taiwanese analyst in the group.
Neel tapped his fingers on the conference room table.
‘Let’s do it,’ he said finally, and stood up to signal the end of the meeting.
For the next two weeks, I camped in my cubicle. Boxes of documents to be reviewed for the bid surrounded me. I only went back to the hotel to sleep, shower and change. One Friday night I didn’t even do that. I worked straight through the night and watched the Saturday morning sunrise from the office window.
‘Radhika, what are you doing here?’ Neel’s voice startled me.
I turned around. In workout clothes, he looked different from his usual formal self. He was wearing a black Under Armor T-shirt, a brand that reminded me of Debu. The portfolio work had kept him off my thoughts over the last few days. But now I felt pain flood my heart.When will I get over that man? I wondered.
‘Good morning, Neel,’ I said. ‘Just wrapping up the bid. Will have it ready Monday morning.’
‘You have dark circles under your eyes. Did you even go back last night?’
I smiled and shook my head.
‘This is too much, Radhika. You have to maintain a balance.’
He placed his hand on the edge of my cubicle door. I could see his bicep flex through his sleeve.
‘Going to the gym?’ I said.
‘I’m going on a mountain hike. I prefer working out outdoors.’
‘That sounds like fun.’
