Free If God Was A Banker by Ravi Subramanian Page A

Just you, me and Swami.'
    'Sure, Aditya. Anything you want us to come prepared with?' Sundeep wanted to be sure.
    'No, Sundeep. We haven't gone out in a while. That's all. Will you be able to make it?'
    'Sure, Aditya.'
    'Will you inform Swami? He is not at his desk right now.' Then he hung up.
    The three of them left office at 7.45 p.m. and headed to the Rain Tree bar at the Taj, next to their office building. They were the only ones in the bar. It was too early and a weekday too. Aditya ordered a screwdriver for himself, whisky with soda for Sundeep, and a Thumbs Up for Swami.
    'Why has he asked us out?' Both were wondering at the same time.
    'Guys, both of you have been very close to me. I look upon you not as employees of NYB, but as my own younger brothers. You have in a short while become a part of my world. I didn't want you to hear this from someone else. That's why I have called you here.'
    Both Swami and Sundeep were fearing the worst. Was Aditya being called back to New York?
    'I am quitting NYB,' Aditya dropped his bombshell.
    'What?' the two of them exclaimed in unison. 'You can't be serious,' Swami went on. 'Is something wrong, Aditya?'
    'No.'
    'Then why, Aditya? Where is the need? Everything is going on so well.'
    In private, Aditya had harnessed a dream for over a decade. A dream of running his own company and turning it into a successful venture. He didn't want to continue working for someone else for long. He had always wanted to be his own boss. Aditya took pains to explain to them his dream, his aspiration, and his desire to create something from a scratch. But the two of them were in no mood to relent. They would have nothing of it.
    Both Swami and Sundeep felt they would be orphaned by his exit. Aditya had protected them all along and they could focus on the task given to them. But now, with Aditya going, they were also wondering what would happen to them.
    By the time they left the bar, Aditya was literally in tears. He had no answers to Swami's and Sundeep's questions. The fact was that he wanted to quit and start a new business when his confidence and market reputation were on a high. And given his recent achievements at NYB, this was the best possible time for him to quit.
    Two weeks passed. No one spoke about the discussion at the Rain Tree. They were hoping that if they ignored it, it would go away. That was not to be. When two uneventful weeks went by, Swami was sure that Aditya had canned the idea of leaving them.
    On an afternoon like any other, Swami had come down to see Natasha after lunch, and they stepped out into the compound for a stroll. Suddenly they saw Aditya's Mercedes pull up into the driveway. Aditya got down from the left. Swami was surprised to see a tall gentleman step out from the right. He had never seen him earlier and was wondering who he was. Aditya and the new guy walked straight into the building and disappeared into the lift.
    'Swami, did you see the guy with Aditya? Do you know who he is?'
    'No. What about him?' Swami asked.
    'I saw him for the first time this morning when he walked into Aditya's office. They have been closeted since. They stepped out for lunch a while ago. They are probably returning from there now.'
    'Is there anything I must know?'
    'I don't know, but Aditya has been asking for all your files and is showing it to him.' Though it was not right on Natasha's part to discuss this with Swami, but she felt obliged to do so. 'I thought you might know him. Don't know why, this time, Aditya didn't even introduce me to him.'
    'Come, let's go. Let's try to find out,' said Swami and started walking briskly towards Aditya's room.
    As he entered the floor, Aditya saw him and shouted, 'Hey, Swami! Come on in.' As Swami walked into his room, the other man there looked up and shook his hand.
    'Hello, Swami. Good to see you. Have heard a lot about you from Aditya.' Swami looked perplexed because he didn't know who that guy was.
    'Suneel, Swami will be one of your key