Page 202 of 12 Years
‘Payal’s parents.’
Mudit looked at me and burst out laughing. Even after the lift door opened on the thirtieth floor and both of us walked down the corridor towards our adjacent rooms, he continued to laugh.
‘What’s so funny, Mudit?’
‘That you still care about those uptight Ghatkopar people. Gosh, what a night that was no? Ending at the police station. Anyway, so what? Say whatever you want to. Make the most inappropriate jokes.’
‘I can’t. It’s a formal deal-closing dinner anyway.’
‘Dude, you’re the hero of the dinner. You did a multi-billion-dollar deal. They’re just there as guests. Stop getting intimidated by them.’
I sighed.
‘It’s three in the morning,’ Mudit said as we reached our rooms. ‘I’m going to crash. How about you?’
‘I’ll stay up a bit. May have to modify my act.’
‘At this hour?’
‘Yes.’
‘Seriously? For those old fogeys? Why? And who knows, maybe Payal won’t even bring them. You should just sleep, and take it easy.’
‘I can’t. You’re the one who got me into this in the first place.’
‘Watching you nervous is the best comedy. Good night, bro,’ Mudit chuckled as he closed the door on my face.
‘Cake? What’s this? A birthday party?’ I said to Mudit.
‘Everything is to create visuals for the media. Helps with PR, you see,’ Mudit said.
We stood in the Crayon Club bar area, which had been transformed for the dinner. The bar stools and chairs had all been removed, creating a large, open space. A small stage had been set up for the cake-cutting ceremony. Around fifty guests had already arrived, and more were trickling in.
The mini stage had a backdrop of the Blackwater, CloudX and SecurityNet logos. The cake itself was in the shape of the CloudX and SecurityNet logos, fused into one.
‘Congratulations again,’ Neeraj said, walking up to us.
Waiters carried trays with glasses filled with champagne. Neeraj passed a glass to Mudit and me.
One of the auditorium doors connected to the bar was open. I could see the seats and the performance stage inside. I would be performing here after more than a decade. My heart began to beat fast.
‘Money reached the bank?’ Neeraj said, clinking his glass against mine.
‘It did,’ I said. ‘Three days ago. Thank you.’
‘My pleasure,’ Neeraj said.
We were still talking when I noticed Payal arrive. She wore a navy-blue fitted dress with a white-gold necklace and matching earrings. She looked feminine yet formal at the same time. She stopped at the entrance and looked back, as if waiting for someone. A second later, her parents joined her as well. They looked considerably older, although just as uptight. I watched as they refused the various snacks the waiters offered them. Nothing Jain-friendly, you see.
Good, let them go home hungry.
I shifted a little, wanting to avoid making eye contact with Payal, and particularly her parents. Keeping my back towards the Jains, I forced myself to engage in a boring conversation with Neeraj about India’s expected GDP growth rate and its impact on cloud server space demand.
‘Hi Saket,’ Payal said, startling me as she came up behind me.
‘Oh hey, hi,’ I said, turning around.
‘Mom, Dad, this is Saket. He founded SecurityNet, the company CloudX just bought,’ Payal said, reintroducing me to her parents.
