Bob had studied
along with Shivaji, Sambaji, Aurangzeb, The Knight and The Buffer (aka The
Conquerors) at The LLM (The La La Land of Management).
Bob was somewhat
similar to Aurangzeb in terms of his innocent looks but did not share his Machiavellian nature. In between his strict liquid diet consisting
of Feni shots, Romanov and Old Monk he had managed to have an eddication at LLM
and hence got through to La La Spirits through his campus placement.
Now,
La La Spirits had a very nice training program in which they made all the new
joinees trawl through the length and breadth of India so that they could get up
close and personal with the spirit loving masses of the country. What did Bob
do? He trawled along with the rest of the new joinees and just about managed to
complete the training program and got his first role in La La Spirits. And that
is where he encountered his first Boss, Red Rackham.
So,
who was Red Rackham? Red Rackham was tall and thin with a straggly greying
beard and used to think of himself as a modern manager (whatever that meant).
He was a senior guy and a lifer at La La Spirits and had risen through the
ranks. He was a workaholic, suffered
from an inferiority complex and also had this sadistic streak which Bob was
soon to discover. Quite a jolly fellow on the whole then.
After
working for a couple of months with Red Rackham, Bob encountered some of his
aforementioned qualities. There was a reunion planned at LLM and Bob was eager
to meet up with The Conquerors and his other comrades and thus went up to Red
Rackham and requested for a day’s leave on the following Thursday. Friday was a
holiday for Holi and he would therefore be back in office on Monday.
Red
Rackham sanctioned his leave immediately and even enquired into the reason for
it seemingly innocently whereupon Bob shared with him his grandiose reunion
plans. It was not till much later that the real reason for this enquiry dawned
upon Bob. The weekend came and went and on Monday Red Rackham casually asked
him when exactly was he going on leave and Bob said Thursday. On Tuesday, Red Rackham again unconcernedly
asked him as to the day of his leave. Bob was a bit puzzled but again replied that
it was from the coming Thursday. On Wednesday, Red Rackham reconfirmed his
leave for the next day and Bob as had become the norm confirmed it again.
By
now, Bob was sensing real trouble. Being of Mangalorean descent, some of the
genetic cunning and shrewdness which that race has been blessed with had
trickled down to him as well. Therefore on the stroke of 5.30 on Wednesday, Bob
left office and caught a train to his residence. He reached home by 7 pm and
just as he was packing his bags to be ready for his 9 pm bus, his phone rang.
It
was Red Rackham. He enquired into Bob’s well being and then asked him where he
was. Fortunately Bob had the POM (Presence of Mind) probably attributable to
the aforesaid Mangalorean qualities to say that he was already on the bus to La
La Land. Red Rackham gave a sigh and went on and the conversation went
something like this:
Red Rackham: I
am very sorry buddy but we have a situation here (yes it was buddy and not bro
back then)
Bob:
Tell me Sir
Red Rackham:
Some urgent work has come up and I was hoping that you could cancel your
holiday
Bob:
Silence
Red Rackham:
Hullo, Hullo, Hullo, Bob are you there?
Bob:
Sir, I would have gladly cancelled my holiday but unfortunately am already on
the bus and err you know and all that (silently congratulating himself on his
quick wittedness)
Red Rackham: that’s
really sad, we need to mitigate this situation (frickin liar this Bob, aint as
innocent as he looks)
Bob:
Hullo, Hullo, Hullo
Red Rackham: Are
you there? (bloody bugger)
Bob: Yes
Sir, I can hear you now, range is a little low probably as I am travelling
(real smooth)
Red Rackham: Why
don’t you do one thing?
Bob:
Tell me Sir
Red Rackham: You
will reach La La Land tomorrow morning, you can meet your friends and then take
the evening bus and come back. We can then meet in office on Saturday (gotcha)
Bob:
Hullo, Hullo, Hullo (should I cut the call and switch on airplane mode?)
Red Rackham:
Bob, please confirm
Bob: Errr,
you see, ummm, I say, let me reach La La Land and figure this out
Red Rackham:
Okie, ta ta, have fun!!!
What
did Bob do? He reached La La Land, switched off his phone and partied with The
Conquerors for the next four days and got back to office on Monday morning.
Fortunately for him, the matter ended with a tongue lashing from Red Rackham
and work went on as usual.
Note:
1. All characters are fictional. Resemblance, if any, is purely coincidental.
2. Kindly refer the opening post on Buffering Theories for any reference to the main characters.
