38 missed calls in 10 mins!

Rajeev woke up ten minutes before the alarm on his phone could go off. The phone showed a time of 4.50 a.m. He stretched his arms and legs a bit and then got up from his bed. He hadn’t been able to sleep too well and kept tossing and turning every now and then. The excitement, nervousness, stress and anticipation of the coming day were too much for Rajeev to get a sound sleep.

It all began three months back when an email message popped up on Rajeev’s screen which read like ‘You could be the next Executive Assistant (EA) to the Global CEO of Barney and Company’. This was an event that took place every two years across all the countries where Barney and Company had operations and it was an event that was most looked forward to by employees working in Barney and Company. Barney and Company had operations in 135 countries and being the Executive Assistant to Mr. Stephen Carpenter, the Global CEO was not a small thing. The EA was expected to be the shadow of Mr. Carpenter, which involved him/her to know the challenges and strategies of every market, sharing regular updates of financial market movements, interaction with CEOs of big companies, preparation of speeches for Mr. Carpenter for the shareholder meetings and many more such tasks. 

The role came with its share of perks which included travelling the world in Mr. Carpenter’s private jet, staying in the world’s best hotels and rooms, exposure to various markets, meetings and global heads and a great career ahead after finishing the role of an EA. The current roles and designations of the past EAs was a valid proof of the fact that getting on the role of an EA was nothing short of leapfrog in one’s career by at least 10 years and three grades. 

Rajeev had spent 15 years with Barney and Company, having joined them from campus from the country’s leading B School and had done very well for him and was now the General Manager for one of the verticals for South East Asia. He was seen as a star performer and was way ahead of his peers in his career. With a strong and ambitious mind, Rajeev wanted to go further ahead and he thought that trying for the role of an EA would be the best possible way to achieve that. He sent his application to the Head Quarters in USA a day after getting the mail and started preparing for it rigorously. 

Malini had seen Rajeev’s ambitious streak from the days they were dating on campus and she found it as one of the reasons she got attracted to him. Three years after their wedding, Malini and Rajeev got blessed with a beautiful daughter, who was named as Gitanjali. To take care of Gitanjali and ensure that Rajeev is able to concentrate on his career, Malini decided to take a break from her career of a banker and decided to become a home-maker and a full-fledged mother. She excelled in her new role and ensured that not only did Gitanjali turn out to be a great student but all a well developed personality. Gitanjali was being trained in Swimming, Martial Arts and Classical Dance and she was proving to be a natural at all three. Rajeev was delighted at the way Malini was grooming and taking care of their daughter and knew very well that he has to take no stress for the way Gitanjali is being brought up.

The day Rajeev sent his application to USA, he had a chat with Malini in the evening, where he shared with her his decision of sending the application and applying for the role of an EA. As he was expecting, Malini was extremely encouraging and gave a huge fillip to his morale by showing her confidence in his ability to get this role. 

What followed was a number of rounds of discussions, interviews, lunch meetings, video teleconferences with a number of jury members which led to elimination of a number of candidates across the world. Every time this contest was announced, it led to a barrage of applications and even after eliminating lots of them on the basis of the strength of their application, there would still be a number of potential contenders as Barney and Company is known to have some of the best talent in the world. 

After two months of intense rounds, there were only 10 candidates left for the EA post and out of that, two candidates were from India. One of them was Rajeev and the other was Sohail. Sohail was one year senior to Rajeev in Barney and Company and the careers of Rajeev and Sohail were moving at almost the same pace with one of them getting a particular role earlier than the other and then the other person moving to the next role faster. While Rajeev and Sohail maintained good professional relations, both of them tried to watch each other’s backs very keenly as they had a very strong competitive spirit among them. They both knew that the role of an EA is a stepping stone which will take one of them way ahead of the other.

The short-listed 10 candidates were invited to the Head Quarters at New York City to present their final case to Mr. Carpenter and the Executive Board. This was the day Rajeev woke up at 4.50 am as this was the day he had been waiting for so long. 

The session began at 8.00 am and every candidate had an hour to present his case and then be a part of the Question and Answer session. The first candidate to go in was a person from Japan, followed by Sohail. Rajeev was the third candidate. 

At 11 am, Rajeev was called into the Board Room. He had dreamt of this moment for years and he knew it very well that he has to grab this opportunity with both hands. He entered the Room and saw 15 men and women sitting there with Mr. Carpenter sitting in the centre. He greeted everyone as most of them knew him from their India visits in the past. Rajeev kept his mobile on the table and started his presentation. After 20 minutes, Mr. Carpenter asked him to stop. Mr. Carpenter had a short 15 minute telecom with the ministers of one of the countries which could not be avoided so he asked everyone to take a break. 

Rajeev picked up his mobile and saw 38 Missed calls in 10 minutes from Malini. He wondered what was going on as this was not usual of her and she knew very well where he is and would never disturb him like that. He got worried and stepped out of the Board Room to call her. Malini was sobbing on the other line and she informed him that Gitanjali has met with an accident and they are taking her to the hospital. This struck him like a bolt of lightning. As soon as he hung up, he saw Mr. Carpenter heading back to the Board Room. Rajeev walked in and informed everyone that he would not be able to continue with the case anymore due to what has happened to his daughter in India. 

Mr. Carpenter offered Rajeev to take his private jet and not waste any time. Rajeev flew back to India and got the best doctors to take care of his daughter. Four weeks later, Gitanjali was back on her feet and back to her usual self. Both Malini and Rajeev heaved a sigh of relief. 

A day later, an email popped on Rajeev’s computer screen with the message ‘Sohail bags the role of EA to Mr. Stephen Carpenter’. Rajeev looked out of the window and saw all his years of work flashing past him, but then smiled at the thought of having his daughter completely cured. 

Two days later, Rajeev got a letter from USA. It was from Mr. Carpenter himself, inquiring about Gitanjali’s health. He also offered Rajeev the role of CEO for Asia Pacific and finally ended the letter with the line ‘Hope to see you at the next EA contest in 2015’.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.