Free The Incredible Banker by Ravi Subramanian Page B

Head of HR
    'Yes, Bhisham. What is it about?'
    'Apparently there is an SMS that has gone out from you yesterday to someone in Karan's team, which seems to raise a finger at your personal integrity. '
    'What? What SMS are you talking about, Bhisham? I am not aware of any such message' Deepak seemed shocked and surprised at this allegation.
    'Look, ' said Bhisham and showed him an email. It was written by Karan to the head of HR and copied to the CEO and even to the head of retail banking.
     
    Dear Vikram,
     
    I am extremely disturbed by this incident. This has wider ramifications as we go about building our loans business and that's the reason why I am raising this to you.
    Background
    On Wednesday (24 August), 'Anil Williams' received a message on his phone from Deepak Sarup, which, I presume, was sent to him erroneously. I would like to believe, looking at the contents, that the message was meant for someone else but was sent to Anil by mistake. Anil too was extremely shaken up and showed it to me this morning. He showed it to me a day late because the day he received the message was a bank holiday. I am reproducing the contents of the SMS below.
    We must plot some dirty, manipulative stuff on shitface. Savitha hates him, Gopal hates him. We should somehow get Richard, Anil and Ganesh to hate him as well. Kuch kar yaar. We r so close to getting him bumped off!!
    I am concerned about the contents of this message because it speaks about me and I feel reasonably threatened by this malicious effort to plot against me. It also affects my ability to deliver on my job. Such behaviour by the seemingly responsible people of this organisation will be detrimental to organisational goals.
    Anil and I can come across and show you the message he received on his phone.
    Given that the message is manipulative, personal and against the collaborative spirit that all of us are working in, I would request you to take appropriate action.
     
    Regards,
    Karan
     
    'Would you like to say anything about this, Deepak?'
    Deepak did not know what to say. He definitely seemed to be searching for words in his defense.
    'What time was it sent?' Deepak asked.
    'Sometime yesterday morning, though the mail doesn't state that. That's what Vikram told me when he called. '
    'Hmm, now I understand. ' Deepak pretended to have suddenly discovered something
    'What?'
    'Wait, ' said Deepak as he pulled out a phone from his pocket. It was a new Iphone. 'Remember I had a different phone earlier. That one got stolen the night before. I bought this one yesterday. It's not even active. I have asked for a duplicate SIM which will come today. I have been using my Blackberry for making calls all day. If only someone had spoken to me before making it so big, I would have clarified. '
    'What exactly do you mean?' Bhisham looked perplexed by Deepak's explanation.
    'Obviously someone has found my phone in office, someone who knows about the issues Karan and his team have with my team, and he has exploited the situation. Or maybe someone just wanted to create some nuisance. Or wait a minute... '
    'What?' Bhisham was incredulous.
    'Could it be that Karan has an inkling of what's coming his way in the audit report? Maybe he is just trying to be aggressive here so that he can blunt the blow of the audit report by diverting attention, ' Deepak said, making an attempt at rationalizing Karan not approaching him prior to shooting out a mail to the CEO.
    'As in?'
    'By using this SMS he will claim that I am vindictive towards him and thus have been deliberately unfair in the audit report. Yes, yes... now I understand his game plan. What a mastermind he is!'
    'Hmm... possibly, Deepak. I always thought he was a clean guy. Anyway, now that you speak of this angle... ' he paused for a few seconds and then said, 'anything is possible in this world. Listen, why don't you draft a formal message for me to send to Vikram? Since he called me to discuss this, I will have to go back to him