My mind was still on the morning encounter as I walked into office. It had pushed even the high of my morning achievement to the back of my mind.
My teammates, however, started congratulating me. Sagar must have given them a detailed account. Their camaraderie brought me back to the present.
It had been nearly three years since I had been part of the team which was responsible for the regional sales of a major IT services MNC. It was a good team as we watched each other's backs. We were also good buddies with the other six member sales team for the region.
Thus, it was in the bustling heart of a major Indian city, I found myself immersed in the world of B2B sales. It was a complex and exciting world and each day unfolded with the promise of new challenges and triumphs. It may have been a bit overwhelming for some, but I was content in my role as a sales manager within the IT services company.
I was part of the B2B sales team and reported to the area sales manager who in turn reported to the AVP Sales who oversaw the region.
But this is not a story of the usual corporate skullduggery.
No, it is a story about the enigmatic figure of the newly appointed AVP herself.
Her name was Anjali Ahuja and we were about to be introduced to her that day as she had just made the move from the corporate HQ to the regional HQ.
Bhuvan's voice broke into my reverie, "There she is, our new super boss!"
Then his voice changed to an ardent whisper, "Wow guys, she is a beauty"
Most of the team craned their necks to catch a glimpse. I also took a peek and then quickly ducked down in horror.
She was indeed captivating – a pretty, fine-boned face, a height of around five-foot-four with black hair cascading past her shoulders to the middle of her back and curvy but slim in an athletic way. She was also the young woman who I had bumped into so unceremoniously in the morning.
I quickly turned my head the other way till the sound of her heels passed my bay. Then I felt safe to peek out since her cabin was some way ahead of where I sat.
But this woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. As my head left the safety of my cubicle, her head spun around fixing me with an icy cold stare. I could only rue my misfortune as I quickly ducked back in.
Soon we were called into one of the conference rooms by our respective area managers. I sat at the farthest end and kept my head down. Quite difficult considering my rather imposing size, but hopefully successfully done.
Our managers introduced their respective teams. When my name came, I looked up to see our new AVP looking at me coolly. Our eyes connected for an instant and what I saw there caused a thrill of danger in me. I said a quick hello and averted my eyes.
Anjali was a model of polished professionalism, attired in crisp Western formals that accentuated her lithe, athletic curves. It was enough to set our imaginations on fire. Well, mine flared up and then died down when I thought of the not so ideal nature of our interactions so far. I had definitely caught her eye and not in a good way.
I was quite glad to get out of there and when the day got over.
A couple of weeks passed and Anjali settled into her duties. Her interaction with us was rare, to my delight and the rest of the team's chagrin. We did try to find out about her discreetly but were not very successful.
Beyond the basic facts – that she was a Delhi girl who had completed her MBA from a prestigious Indian institute, we did not know much about her. Anjali was unattached, a fact that piqued our salacious interests, for she was undeniably beautiful. Yet, at her mid-senior position, she existed in a rarified professional circle, quite out of reach for mere bottom of the food chain sales managers like us. We could admire from afar, but dared not entertain any fanciful notions of bridging that vast hierarchical chasm.
Also, she was a boss lady; our boss's boss and we dared not pry too much.
Hierarchy wise she had two area teams reporting to her each led by an area sales manager. She was a rising star in the company, part of the leadership development program and must have been damn good at her job. At least she was till she was assigned to head our region. The two area managers (one of them being my boss) were in their late forties and had been in the company for over a decade, well entrenched in the system and were good buddies with each other.
The problem for Anjali was that neither of them took kindly to reporting to her. They were career sales people and felt that women had no place in sales and that too one nearly half their age. Also, they had expected that one of them would get promoted to AVP. So, they got together and started creating problems for her.
At the start of the next quarter my boss had a quiet meeting with our team (and so did the other manager with his team) and we were asked to go slow. We were told to ensure that few deals got closed that quarter and our targets were not met. We slowed down our follow-ups and prospecting for new leads and the results were there to see at the end of two months. Both the teams missed their monthly targets two months in a row (which the managers blamed on tight budgets of the companies we were targeting) and the reported numbers showed that the region overall was far behind the quarterly targets.
This was a huge problem for Anjali. The higher you go the greater is the pressure to meet targets. At her level they were almost sacrosanct. And if she failed this assignment, she would likely be dropped out of the LDP which was like a fast track to senior management. And she would not be given a second chance.
The second monthly meeting was nasty. Both the teams (12 sales managers plus two area managers) were there along with the AVP. Throughout the day long meeting Anjali kept on probing to get to the root of the problem. She was a razor-sharp lady but our managers were veterans and just drowned her with volumes of manipulated data.
We could see that she was under immense pressure. Her fair skin was white and her face taut. She had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. She was furious and guessed what was going on but could not find proof to pin down the problem. The story and the data were just too well scripted.
All the Sales Managers felt sorry for her since we had a very good idea of what was going on. But this was a game that was way above our pay grades and none of us wanted to risk our jobs. Our managers were veteran bastards and extremely well entrenched in the company system. We just kept our heads down, averted our eyes and spoke only when spoken to.
Finally, the day came to an end. All twelve managers grabbed our stuff at super speed and ran out to reconvene at our usual bar to discuss the day and drown our sorrows. It was a safe place for us since it was some distance from the office and was a pretty low key place. We knew that no one else from the office would come here and we were careful never to mention it to anyone outside our group (especially not our managers).
We ordered our first round and snacks and sat back. Everyone was a bit subdued that day and quietly nursed our drinks once they came. Our table was to the right of the door and we had a view of the bar floor but not the door itself.
Suddenly, there she was in front of us asking politely, "Can I join you guys? "
Everyone froze. The same thought must have flashed through everyone's minds, "How did she find us here? "
Still in shock, one of the guys stood up and offered her his chair which she took without question. The waiter got an extra chair and we settled down in silence.
The silence was still unbroken, so Anjali broke it by smiling disarmingly and saying, "I would like to apologize but I followed one of you here. It wasn't really hard"
Sagar, being more outgoing, finally spoke up, "Not an issue ma'am. Its our pleasure, though you did give us a shock"
"I really wanted to speak with you guys", said Anjali. "I know this is a place where you come to get a respite from your managers and what I did was not quite right. I'll make up for it by sponsoring your session today"
That got through. Everyone relaxed a bit, though there were a few half-hearted noises of, "Oh no ma'am, we can't allow that" and "No, no ma'am, your presence is enough" and all that.
Anjali simply silenced them with another smile and a wave of her hand and asked us what we were having. On hearing the brand she was like, "That's a bit strong for me. I'll have a Johnny Walker, black if they have it"
Rupam, another team member, called the waiter for a 60 ml of JW but Anjali was not having it.
"Let's get a couple of bottles of that"
We got a couple of bottles of JW black and everyone was relaxed.
First there was a round of introductions. Anjali asked a few questions here and there and being a sharp judge of people, sized us all up pretty well within a few minutes. She also introduced herself briefly but nothing we didn't already know. We did get to know that she was around a couple of years older than us. Then she got down to business.
"Guys, I know where all this is coming from. I have studied the markets and I know that the situation is not as bad as our sales figures show. I also know that you are not the responsible parties. You doing as you are told"
We were relaxed but still did not know how far we could trust her. I mean today was the first time we were speaking with her outside a meeting.
Then Sudhir, a team member who was also the fastest to get drunk, took matters into his hands ( or glass) and spilled the beans.
"We are so very sorry ma'am. We did not do this deliberately. We were told to not meet our targets for the quarter. Two months ago when you had joined our team, our managers told their teams to go slow on purpose so that we would not meet our targets. We did not know you then ma'am and didn't know it would come to this"
Anjali smiled wanly (she did have a lovely smile) and said, "I know you wouldn't have"
That opened the floodgates. I think the alcohol played a big part in loosening our tongues and we threw caution to the winds and gave her all the dirty details or at least what we knew and thought had happened.
Anjali listened intently and I could see her connecting the dots and putting together the full picture.
Finally, everyone was done venting and a bit out of breath as well. Now Anjali held up her hand for silence.
Then she said, "So we have just about a month to hit the quarterly targets"
All of us nodded sadly. There was very little chance of hitting the numbers now, especially with those two old farts blocking the way.
Suddenly Anjali threw a question at us, "Can you guys do it?" Before we could say anything, she pressed home her point, "I mean, can you guys achieve the numbers if your managers were out of the way? "
It took some time for her words to sink in. Then complete pandemonium broke. Most were shaking their heads and giving reasons why it was impossible.
I stayed silent and was looking at her sitting beside me. She was listening silently with a dangerous sparkle in her eyes. Again, she raised her hand for silence.
"I can guarantee all of you an extra 15% over your quarterly variable payouts"
Still there were shaking heads.
Anjali was definitely breathing harder now, her nostrils flared and her chest rising up and down faster.
"Fine" she said, "You hit your targets, you get all this" she started her hand from her head and moved it down her bosom and midriff and below the table down her legs, "For one whole weekend"
I was the only one who understood at first. I stared at her and involuntarily my eyes traveled down her body while the blood rose to my face. She saw me looking and again repeated in a lower voice so that only I could hear,
"Yes, you guys can have me for two whole days and nights. And the sky is the limit"
I said to her quietly, "Anjali, we are twelve guys"
With that dangerous sparkle in her eyes and a crooked smile, she leaned in closer to me and said, "You think I can't take all of you? You hit the numbers and I will. I have never had s*x with more than one person at a time but I will take in the whole team, no matter what it takes. Like I said, the sky is the limit, for you and for me"
Then her face hardened and in a blink she turned from alluring to pure steel.
"But if any of you ever speak of this to anyone else, I will destroy every one of you completely. Make this very clear to the team. This will be our secret and if it gets out, you all will pay"
I was lost for words. She gave me her card. "Pay the bill with this and give it back tomorrow morning"
Then she got to her feet and pointed at herself, "Hit your targets and all this is yours for a whole weekend"
There was pin drop silence as the whole team finally understood. She turned and walked out with twelve pairs of eyes transfixed on her back.