If God Was A Banker (29 page)

'Sundeep, we have no business to interfere in your personal life. It's your look out. But the moment it starts reflecting on your work, it moves out of the realms of privacy.'

'We decided to act only when it became too serious to ignore. You have been with the group for over a decade and have done very well professionally. We use you as an example when we go to Ivy League campuses for recruitment, as the guy who has made his career with NYB in a short time through dedication and hard work. And here we are. Sundeep, we did not expect this from you.'

'Do you want to say anything or should we proceed?' Tedd was getting impatient. Aditya hadn't spoken yet.

'That's not it,' continued Mona.

'When will this end?' thought Sundeep. He showed no emotions.

'Nidhi Agarwal,' said Mona.

'What about her? We sacked her for her involvement in the mutual fund scam,' Sundeep asked.

'She produced a mail in which you had asked her to go ahead and transfer funds from deposit to mutual funds without the customer's consent. She did what you told her to. When it became too hot to handle, you sacked her. But that was an act meant for public consumption. You gave her a raving recommendation and helped her get a job with ABN AMRO Bank.'

'Your indiscretion screwed up the bank's reputation in India and had it not been for Swami's efforts, we would have had to exit the Indian market. I am sure you remember what happened to Citigroup in Japan. The CEO of the group was called to testify in a case in Japan. All this because they were indulging in certain advisory services without having the license to do so. They had to shut shop in Japan because of that. We came very close to that in India. You instigated your team to sell 'at any cost' and they got you the results. But, at what cost?'

'Someone is framing me. Nidhi is disgruntled with me for having sacked her from NYB.'

'Here's the mail, Sundeep. It has been taken out from the company's server wherein we have a record of every e-mail in and out for the last eight years. And your mobile phone records show that you were in touch with Nidhi Agarwal even after she was sacked. You would not be on phone from 11.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m. with an employee who you sacked a few days back. Not normal behaviour, I must say, Mr Srivastava.'

Sundeep retorted: 'Do not forget that I managed to deliver a 124-percent growth in one year when I was the Head of Retail Bank. I am sure that counts for something.'

'That's the reason why we are even sitting and talking to you.' Tedd was beginning to get irritated.

'We have evidence of many more acts of indiscretion. June 2004. Offsite at Goa. You got a stage artist to do a risqué private show for you. Anindyo Roy, Mohit Bakshi and you billed the bank forty thousand rupees for it. When your relationship manager managing the offsite raised a bill for that, it was turned down by the Financial Control unit. You got Anindyo Roy to raise it and signed it yourself. Ravi's audit detected this impropriety. The issue is not the amount, but the way the money was spent and the way it was billed to the bank. The bank is not here to satisfy your libido, Mr Srivastava. You pay for your personal quests.'

'And the worst is yet to come.'

Sundeep had almost slumped in his chair, overwhelmed by the multiple exposures. He had no choice but to resign himself to his fate.

'Karuna, the pretty girl you moved to Mumbai from Chennai. Do you remember her? You met her at a Chennai party and shifted her to Mumbai and her husband to Delhi so that you could have a free run?'

'Yes. But we moved her husband, I think his name was Nitin, to Delhi because the regional sales person in Delhi had resigned.'

'That's what everyone thinks. You got Vivek to terminate him so that you had an excuse to move him to Delhi.'

Sundeep was quiet now.

'Three days back Karuna tried to commit suicide. And before she attempted that, she sent me an e-mail. She had become a good friend when I visited India.'

Sundeep had his head in his hands now. Not knowing what to say or do.

'Do you want to know why she attempted suicide?' Silence.

'Come on, read this.' She handed him an e-mail print out. Sundeep knew what the mail would say, because she had called him earlier on the same day and he had ridiculed her.

Mona,

When you were here two weeks back, I was trying to tell you something. But I couldn't. I could sense that you wanted to ask me something, but you never asked till the last day. And when you asked me, I lied. I did not tell you anything. Maybe I should not have lied. But life doesn't give you a second chance.

If there is one person who has made my life miserable, it's Sundeep Srivastava, the current Retail Business Head of emerging markets. I was happy in Chennai, when he brought me to Mumbai and enticed me into a relationship with him. He sent my husband off to Delhi and took advantage of my being alone and him being a senior.

It didn't take Swaminathan more than a week to bring Nitin back to Mumbai and help me settle down in my life again.

Within a few weeks I realised I was pregnant. With Sundeep's child. When I spoke to him about it, he chided me saying how can one be so sure. Why will a girl lie on these things?

Now I am at a crossroad. My husband has stumbled on a few mails that I had written to Sundeep during my pregnancy, which, by the way, Sundeep never responded to. Nitin now knows that Ayush, my son, is not his child. He is extremely hurt and has stopped talking to me. I have been living like this for the last one week. This feeling of guilt has been killing me every single moment. I cannot continue to live like this and have decided to end my life. By the time you see this, I may not be alive. But please ensure that devils like Sundeep are eradicated from this system. I knew you came to India on a mission. Don't know whether you accomplished that. But please, please, help me achieve my mission. Ensure that Sundeep is punished.

Sd

Karuna.

'Sundeep, you nearly killed that sweetheart. How could you? You are nothing but an animal.' Tedd was extremely upset.

'You can do anything to be successful. I did not suspect anything when Ram Naresh kept calling me to recommend you, but now I know. You were paying Naresh a price for taking care of you, or, should I say, NYB was paying Naresh to be a spokesman for you. I am ashamed that you are a fellow Indian.' Chetan's voice thundered across the room.

Aditya had never seen Sundeep in such a position. Cornered from all sides. He was known to fight his way out of situations. Here, he was being clobbered and could not do anything whatsoever. The Sundeep he knew was a very confident mercenary. He was aggressive, pushy, and would have his way at any cost. But today he was a broken man. Sundeep was struggling to hold back the tears that were coming out of his eyes. His past was catching up with him, and there was no place to run and hide. There was no Ram Naresh to save him. There was no Joseph Fernandes to push him up the corporate ladder.

He did not know what to do. He got up, excused himself, and went to the washroom. He locked himself in and wept. Wept like a child. If he had the option to relive his life, he would have lived it differently. He would have been loyal to Natasha and the kids. He would not have fallen a prey to Naresh's temptation. He would not have indulged in a reckless pursuit of success, fame, power and money.

When he was finally able to control himself, he went back to Tedd's room. No one had moved.

'Sundeep.' It was Tedd's turn to speak. 'Our initial thought was to terminate you and put this out in tomorrow morning's press briefing. But we were forced to hold back our decision.'

For the first time, Sundeep looked up. Was he going to keep his job? Were they not going to sack him after all?

'You need to thank this gentleman,' Tedd pointed to Aditya Rao. Aditya figured for the first time in the discussion.

'He flew in this morning with two pieces of paper. The first one is a request from Karuna, who is at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, asking for her mail not to be made public. And she has been nice enough not to press charges against you, Sundeep. And the second is from Swaminathan, who has sent in an e-mail, a copy of which Aditya carried with him. He says that you have been drawn into your deeds by uninhibited passion for growth and your interactions with a suspect set of people. He has also said that it was Suneel Dutt who led you on in your relationship with Naresh, without you really knowing what you were getting into, and that once you got stuck, there was no getting out. He has stressed, which we also agree with, that you have been a different person once you moved out of India.'

'Why did Swami do all this?' Sundeep couldn't help wonder.

'So Sundeep, based on Aditya's request and Swami's report, we have decided to give you the option of an honourable exit. You will put in your papers today, and you will cease to be an employee of this bank from close of working hours today. You will not work with any competing organisation in the financial services business in India or abroad for a period of eighteen months from today. You will give us a written statement that you are resigning of your own free will and you have no issues pending with NYB.'

Tedd paused. 'Is it acceptable, Sundeep?'

No answer.

Tedd waited for half a minute, letting it sink in. 'Sundeep, is this acceptable?'

No answer.

'If this is not acceptable to you, Sundeep, we will terminate you with immediate effect and, as per the terms of our contract with you, you will be paid a month's salary in lieu of the notice period.'

'Tedd where will I go at such a short notice. I have worked in this organisation all my life. I don't even know how other organisations look like. Everyone makes mistakes. Can't I be given an opportunity to correct what I have done? You yourself mentioned that I have changed in the last eighteen months. I deserve one last chance, Tedd. My family will be devastated.'

'Given the variety of issues that have cropped up, Sundeep, I would like to believe that giving you another chance would be very inappropriate. I do not think we would even like to discuss it.'

'Where will I go, Tedd? Who will give me a job at such a short notice?'

'I will.' It was not Tedd. Aditya had spoken for the first time. Sundeep looked at him in bewilderment. Had Aditya really spoken what he thought he heard?

'I have always admired your energy, passion and drive. I have always been amazed at your will to achieve things. Surely, I have not always subscribed to the means that you have used to get to those goals. Sundeep, I hired you. You and Swami will always remain my protégés. When Chetan and Mona called me about this three days back, I knew that something would go wrong. So I asked him if I could join in and I'm thankful to Tedd that he agreed. You will come back with me to India and help me build my company. I expect you to be honest to yourself and go back to your roots and your family. No one needs to know about what has transpired in this room today. It will be difficult for me, but I will ensure that you maintain your current standard of living. Your salary will adequately cover your expenses.'

Sundeep was left speechless. Aditya was the God who had come to fetch him out of the depths of ignominy that his career had plummeted to. And Sundeep had treated the same Aditya so arrogantly when he had called him about Swami's move to BOCA. The same Aditya had come all the way to battle for him. To help him find his footing in life, even at this juncture.

'What will I tell Natasha? She will never forgive me.' Sundeep seemed repentant.

'No one needs to know. Right, Tedd. Only the people in this room will know,' said Aditya.

'Aditya, Sundeep is a closed chapter for us. What he does outside the organisation is none of our concern, unless the bank's name gets dragged into it,' Tedd confirmed.

Sundeep got up and hugged Aditya. Tears flowed from his eyes. 'Thank you, Aditya. In my wildest dreams I would not have imagined that you would come to my rescue. I have never been a believer in God. Aditya, today I know, if God was a banker, he would look like you.'

'Sundeep, I think you should thank Swami for this. Swami was the one who flagged this off with me and his mail to Tedd about you was the key influence on Tedd's decision not to publicly condemn you.' Sundeep had learnt that he had committed a grave mistake in distancing himself from Swami.

'That's the end of the discussion, and, if you guys don't mind, I'm getting late for my supper,' Tedd said as he walked out of the room.

A second later he returned and looked at the group, 'Michelle, will you take this to a logical closure?' She nodded.

'Thanks,' said Tedd and disappeared for the day.

Aditya's phone beeped again. It had been beeping throughout the meeting, but he had not taken the call as Tedd was in the room. This time he picked it up. It was Swami. All the previous calls were from him too.

'Hi Aditya. How's it going? How is Sundeep?'

'What we expected has happened. Speak to him.'

'Hey Sundeep. How are you, my friend? Don't lose heart, Sundeep. Come back to India. Come on mate, we haven't spent an evening together in a long time. Natasha and Kalpana will also be happy to be together.'

Silence on Sundeep's end.

'Sundeep! Sundeep. Are you there?'

Sundeep couldn't hold back his tears. He couldn't utter a word. Tears were steadily streaming from his eyes. Aditya took the phone from him. 'Swami, I will call you later.'

The exit formalities were over in an hour. Aditya stayed with Sundeep throughout the process and also drove him home. Sundeep had to leave back his car as it belonged to NYB.

Aditya helped Sundeep regain his composure before he entered his house.

'Natasha, look who is here.' said Sundeep as soon as she opened the door. He was not at his best, but acting came naturally to Sundeep.

'Aditya, what are you doing here?' Natasha hugged him. She was thrilled to see him at her door. Any visitor from India was welcome, and if that visitor was Aditya, then it had to be special.

'He has come to take us back to India. I have decided to join Aditya's business. Are you with me in this decision, Natasha?'