25th July 2023
AT THE GLASSGLOW COMPANY
"...The voting process is taking place in front of the media in order to maintain the transparency of this process. Three people from three departments have been selected for the position of CEO. The first contender is Ms. Mahasweta Banerjee, the head of the commercial department. She has completed her MBA from IIM Calcutta and has been with the company for seven years. The next candidate is Mr. K. Subramanian, the Marketing Head of the company. He has been with this company for almost ten years and has graduated from IIM Bangalore. Our last candidate is Mr. Kunal Yadav, who has completed his MBA from Harvard Business School and has been working in this company as the fill in CEO from the last year…"
Kavya looked around the conference room speculatively. The lavishly decorated hall was filled to the brim and yet the silence was astonishing. Perhaps it was the kind of respect that being one of the best companies in the country demanded. The absolute silence of the media seemed rare. They all tried to maintain a dignified silence, something she was not used to as the daughter of two of the company's largest shareholders.
The ten board members were seated around the conference table and a makeshift stage had been set up at the front behind the President's chair. The three candidates, the host and the "distinguished" Vice President Mr.Vikram Yadav were present on the stage. At the other end of the conference room, where Kavya was standing, the media representatives were present, constantly taking notes and snaps of the ongoing process.
The host continued in a low voice: "...it's been a year since the unexpected accident which led to the sudden demise of our ex-president late Mr Abhinash Singhaniya. It has been a year since Mrs.Anita Singhaniya was rendered senseless in the same accident. Unfortunately, she is still in coma and cannot join us today ."
Kavya clenched her jaw, angry at how easily the crimes against her family had been covered up and how quickly everyone had forgotten about them. She felt her suppressed rage swirling inside her as she listened to the fabricated tales that the host sprouted from his mouth. She closed her eyes, counted to ten with the breathing exercises she had learned last year and slowly opened her eyes.
Releasing a deep sigh,she whispered to herself, "Hold yourself together, Kavya. You can't lose your temper like this. If you lose your temper, you lose this game. You need to keep your cool to get what you're looking for. So calm down."
"...So Mr. Yadav, the only present shareholder who laid the foundation for this company, has decided to withdraw from the election process..."
Kavya watched with growing amusement and disgust as the election process continued. She recalled the conversations she had heard around her. All the directors who had followed her parents like lost puppies were now following Vikram, and the reason for this was not unclear to her. After all, he was the largest shareholder in the company.
It was clear already that the election process was pre arranged in secret that the majority of the directors would vote for Kunal. She was willing to bet that the directors who didnot choose Kunal were instructed to do so to not make it obvious how rigged the competition already was. Kavya stood still, disgusted at how these people are two faced and greedy for a high position and money.
Finally, the voting was done and it was time for Mr. Yadav, the longest serving director at the moment, who held the designation of Vice President, to announce the CEO in front of everyone. He stepped up to the podium to address everyone and Kavya's urge to ruin every moment in his life started to provoke her when she heard his voice for the first time in about a year.
He started with an innocent smile "Thank you everyone for coming here.Today is a day that will be etched in my memory for many more years to come. Our company is finally choosing a CEO amongst the best employees. This day holds mixed feelings for me. An excruciating deep pain does not allow me to be completely happy because my co-owners, my friends who were dearer to me than my own family, Abhinash and Anita, are not here unfortunately. The void that their loss has left in our hearts cannot be filled by anything. I hope Abhinash bless us from heaven and wish Anita to get well soon. As the Vice President ,I myself have seen the effort that each candidate has put in for the company. We are proud to have such employees here. We assure the candidates ,not selected a raise their salary for their hard work.
"Please display the voting result at the screen for everyone to see. As everyone can see Mr Kunal Yadav, was chosen as the most eligible candidate for this prestigious position in our company. Congratulations Mr Yadav, Please say a few words" said Mr Vikram Yadav, his face beaming with joy. As Kunal was about to take the mic proudly Vikram said, "As his father the pride I feel for him at this moment cannot be expressed through words. I know that Abhinash and Anita would have the same feeling as I do today if they were present here with us.
"Well I also wish they both were here to tell us about their opinion."- Everyone turned towards the direction of authoritative voice .It was a young tall woman impressively dressed in a fitted black pencil dress that hugged her curves in all the right places with a stylish white blazer. Her long hair was styled in loose waves, cascading over her shoulders and down her back.