The Sales Star Ch. 01

Shankar looked at me and then at Satish.

"Satish, Ketaki, you know I don't like to micromanage. And I trust the regional managers' judgment. But this account is way too important. So I am going to make an exception and step in."

"What do you mean?" Satish asked.

"From now on, Zincorp will be handled by...." Shankar looked down at his notes. "by Uday."

Uday was sitting towards the side of the room, slouched in his chair. He sat up at the mention of his name.

"Shankar, I don't know if that's a good idea. Uday is already stretched thin and...."

"He is stretched thin because he has been doing an amazing job winning new clients. And the most important new client for the Western region is Zincorp. No offense Ketaki, but I think Uday has a better chance at success there. We can transfer some of Uday's clients to someone else and give him Zincorp."

"I have no problems with that." I shrugged and said. I did not. I hated the Zincorp people anyway. Their procurement head Vinod Sharma was an insufferably creepy and disgusting old man who shamelessly leered at me during every meeting. His underlings were no different. Uday was welcome to take a crack at them.

"If Ketaki doesn't mind, I am okay with it too." Satish said and sat back.

"It's decided then. Uday, Zincorp is now yours." Shankar said.

"Thanks Shankar." Uday got up and brushed his hand over his shirt to straighten a wrinkle. Despite the setting, an image of his bare chest flashed in my mind and I looked away.

"But I have a request." Uday continued.

"Yes?" Shankar asked.

"I would like Ketaki to stay on the account with me. It's a big and complicated organization, and she already knows most people there. Her knowledge and presence will be of great help."

"It's okay Uday." I spoke up. "You don't need to do this. I am perfectly fine with you getting Zincorp. It's a nice gesture, but I don't mind being pulled off the account."

"It's not a gesture, Ketaki." Uday flashed me a warm smile. "I meant what I said. I will need your help."

"Okay, we've spent enough time on this." Shankar impatiently cut in. "Uday and Ketaki will both be working on Zincorp. Satish, it's up to you to decide how to divide credit between them."

"Thanks Shankar." Uday said, sat down, and smiled at me. I smiled back.

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"I am sorry. I know you found the idea outrageous couple of months ago, but I have to say it. This is a sign from above. The Gods that Manish keeps praying to want you to hook up with Uday!" Bhakti said as she sat down in our favorite coffee shop the next day.

"Not this again! It's just one account that we're working together on."

"Gives you the perfect opportunity to....."

"Let's change the subject!"

And we did. But maybe I was protestething too much because I had felt a small surge of excitement at the idea of working with Uday on this account.

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A week later. Wednesday night. It was almost 9 PM and I was sitting in a conference room with Uday preparing for our first joint sales call at Zincorp the next day. Over the last few days, Uday and I had talked in the office about our strategy, and I had filled him in with all the details that I knew. There still was that awkwardness but it was slowly wearing off. That night we were going over the specifications of their plants and machinery, and were making a rough chart of their local office's organization structure.

At one point, I sat back and started rubbing my neck.

"Sore neck?" Uday asked, seated across the table from me.

"Yeah. I think I slept wrong last night." I said.

"Allow me." Uday swooped out of his chair and was behind me. Before I knew it, his hands were on my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I said, half-heartedly trying to shrug his hands off. But even through the fabric of my blouse, I could feel the warmth of his palms on my skin.

"Just relax. I am good at this." he said.

I felt his thumbs press hard near my spine.

"Owww!!!" I said.

"It'll only hurt for a second."

Sure enough, the pain subsided, and instead, I felt relief. The muscles in my neck and back relaxed as Uday expertly massaged the sore area.

"Ummm....hmmmm......yeah that feels good." I closed my eyes and moaned.

Uday moved his fingers gently along the side of my neck and pressed. I pushed my head back.

"This is amazing! How did you get so good at this?" I said, between moans.

"I know my way around a woman's body." I heard Uday say in a soft whisper.

I opened my eyes. Uday's face was about a foot above mine, and it looked upside down. He gazed into my eyes with an intense piercing look. I was locked into his gaze. I noticed his face coming closer to mine, but somehow my brain didn't register it, or didn't want to act on it. His prominent cheekbones came close to mine. I felt his breath on my chin. I saw the quiver in his lips. And soon, I felt those lips on mine.

His hands stopped massaging me and stayed on my shoulders. His lips pressed into mine. I was frozen as he started kissing me. My brain told me to break away from the kiss but my lips refused to respond. I found myself kissing him back, our faces upside down towards each other. After what seemed like an eternity, but was just a couple of seconds, Uday pulled away. But his face stayed a couple of inches away from mine.

"Sorry.... you're so beautiful..."

I just stared silently. He seemed to be waiting for my reaction. I was waiting for my reaction. But the only reaction I had was heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat.

Uday waited for a couple of seconds more and then turned the swiveling chair so that I was facing him. And started kissing me again. I responded by putting my hand on the back of his head. This time the kiss went on for a full minute or so, and I only pulled away from it when I felt his tongue probe my mouth.

I stared at him in horror and pushed my chair back.

"I should go...." I said, getting up in a hurry. I started gathering the printouts that were spread on the table and stuffing them into my bag.

"Ketaki.... I am sorry if I...."

"It's getting late." I interrupted him.

Uday just stood there watching me scramble about to get everything in order. Avoiding looking at him directly, I moved towards the door of the conference room.

"Wait." Uday said and I stopped.

"I am married." I said, my back still towards him.

"I know. I am sorry." I heard Uday say. "I just wanted to ask you what time do you want to meet here for the Zincorp call."

"830 is fine." I said and almost sprinted towards the elevator.

---------------

It was 10 am the next day. Uday and I were sitting in the lobby of Zincorp's office in Powai. I had a slight headache because I had been unable to sleep all night. I kept struggling with my conflicting emotions about the kiss with Uday. In the morning, we met in our office and drove to Zincorp in his car. I was dreading the subject of the kiss. But thankfully, Uday joined me in pretending that nothing had happened. And here we were now, seated on different couches.

"Mr. Sharma is ready for you." the receptionist said.

Uday followed me as I walked down the corridor and knocked on the door of a corner office.

"Come in." said a familiar voice.

I opened the door and entered the office. Vinod Sharma, procurement manager for Zincorp's Western India operations was seated behind his desk. He got up and shot me a smile displayed his uneven nicotine-stained teeth. And as usual, his eyes drifted to my breasts and stayed there a moment before returning to my face.

"Ketaki! It is always a pleasure to see you."

As Sharma moved from behind his desk, his ample belly jiggled. I noticed that the circle of hair around his big bald patch was a salt and pepper gray, as opposed to the usual black. he must not have dyed his hair in a while. Sharma came to a stop in front of me, and with the leery smile on his face, extended his hand. I politely offered my own hand and he grabbed it and limply shook it.

"Hello Mr. Sharma. Nice to see you." I said, flashing him a half-smile with some effort.

Sharma held my hand in his and looked at me up and down. He always seemed to be shamelessly stripping me naked in his mind. Being an attractive woman in the male-dominated world of technology sales, I was used to men checking me out and letting their eyes wander. But most men did it instinctively, and tried to be furtive about it. And they usually curbed their lustful thoughts and looks after a few moments.

But Sharma was one of the, if not THE most shameless lecher I had come across in my career. He didn't try to hide the fact that he was ogling. In fact, he seemed to want to make it obvious, the dirty hog. Sharma continued to look at me as if I was on display. This despite the fact that I was wearing a very modest and formal blouse with no hint of cleavage and plain gray trousers with a comfortable fit. But the way he leched, I felt like I was a stripper on a pole.

Finally Sharma had his fill of staring at me and his eyes fell on Uday standing behind me. His lecherous grin subsided.

"Oh hello!" Sharma said politely, reluctantly letting go of my hand and extending it towards Uday.

"Mr. Sharma I presume?" Uday said gracefully taking a step forward and grabbing Sharma's hand. "I have heard a lot about you from Ketaki."

"Really?" Sharma threw me a glance with the leer reappearing.

"All good things I assure you. I am Uday Kaul."

"Nice to meet you Uday. Please, be seated, both of you."

Sharma turned around and walked back to his seat. Uday and I sat in the chairs in front of him.

"So how can I help you?" Sharma said, shifting into full leer mode as he stared at me chest.

I was about to start talking when I heard Uday's voice.

"Our Vice President of Sales has personally put me in charge of the Zincorp account. He is really committed to improving the relationship between our organizations."

Sharma's smile turned into a frown as he looked at Uday and then at me.

"So Ketaki, you won't be coming anymore? It'll be him?"

I was about to explain that I would still be on the account and that Uday would be working with me, when Uday spoke again.

"Oh, Ketaki will be reporting to me. And the VP has asked me to make sure that Ketaki helps me in every possible way to give you what you want. So I am in charge, but Ketaki is still on this account. Under me."

Before I could register any outrage at this blatant misrepresentation, I was taken aback when Uday raised a hand and patted my back with it patronizingly. What the fuck was this guy doing?

"Oh that's nice to hear." Sharma gave my chest another look and continued. "We like Ketaki here. And we like your product. But your prices are too high. Too high! And the installation and delivery times quoted are also unsatisfactory."

"Is this true, Ketaki?" Uday raised his voice as if scolding me. "Why are we quoting Zincorp such high prices and not assuring them of quick service?"

I was at a loss for words because of this ugly transformation in Uday. From being the genial charmer, he was suddenly acting like a surly boss. And he wasn't even my boss! I was senior to him in age as well as time spent in sales. But not wanting to squabble in front of a customer, I swallowed my anger and said,

"The delivery and installation terms Mr. Sharma wants can only be given at that price. And if we cut price...."

"Don't give me excuses, Ketaki." Uday interrupted me with a rude tone. He then turned to Sharma and smiled, "You will have to excuse Ketaki. She doesn't realize the pressing needs of your business. And how important the operations of Zincorp are for the Indian economy as a whole."

"Well, if you can match our price demands, we can start doing business." Sharma said, seemingly reveling in the dressing down I had gotten. For my part, I was livid with rage and was barely able to curb an instinct to slap Uday across the face.

"Of course Sharmaji." Uday dropped the formal salutation and switched to the informal but respectful Hindi one with the "ji", and sat back in his chair. "but we can talk about that at leisure. Today I am here just to get to know you. Man to man."

I detected an edge in the way he emphasized the word 'man'.

"Splendid." Sharma said, beaming at Uday. "Would you like some tea?"

"Absolutely." Uday said. He then turned to me and said, "Ketaki, I would like to talk to Sharmaji one on one. Go wait in the lobby."

Huh? No 'please', no respectful tone. More like an order. I seethed as I looked at Uday. He looked at me expressionlessly, then put his hand on my shoulder and pushing it said,

"Go on, get going!"

Again, exercising massive self-restraint, I got up, nodded at Sharma and walked out of the room.

"Close the door behind you." Uday said.

I was almost stomping towards the lobby, my ears burning with rage at the utter disrespect I had just been shown. I felt like punching one of the walls while I walked, pretending it was Uday's face. As I walked to the couch in the lobby and sat down, the receptionist gave me a confused look. I guess she was wondering why my meeting with Sharma, which usually lasted at least half an hour, had ended so soon. I picked up a newspaper and tried to read it. But instead I spent the time listing the different ways in which I would chew out Uday when he came out.

By the time Uday walked out to the lobby with Sharma, almost an hour had passed. The time had done nothing to lessen my anger. If anything, I was even more enraged as I kept replaying the scene from Sharma's office in my head.

I got up as Uday approached, but he barely acknowledged my presence. But Sharma was staring at me piercingly enough for the both of them.

"Great meeting you Sharmaji. I will be back soon." Uday shook Sharma's hand and started walking out rapidly. I said goodbye to Sharma and ran behind Uday, struggling to keep up. As the elevator doors closed, Sharma threw another look of longing at my breasts.

"WHAT THE FUCK....." I started yelling but Uday put a finger on my lips and said,

"Not yet. We're still in the client's building."

I angrily shoved his hand away from my mouth and stood there simmering with rage. We were silent as we walked to the parking lot and got into Uday's car. I was about to yell again when Uday's phone rang. He put his bluetooth earpiece on and answered the call.

"Oh hello Mr. Nath. Yes, I am going to take another crack at the specifications with your target price...."

I tuned out as Uday talked to a client. Uday started driving. The traffic was insane and we had barely moved a kilometer in twenty minutes. Uday's phone call seemed to be winding down. I was puzzled as he pulled the car off the road into the greenery near Film City. A few moments later, he finished his call and took his earpiece off.

"You have the right to be pissed off, Ketaki." Uday said in his usual soft voice, not the hard as nails asshole voice he had used at Zincorp.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" I finally unleashed my rage. "I told you I was okay with giving you the Zincorp account. You and that pervert Sharma can make babies for all I care. Why did you have to drag me over and then kick me out?"

"I am sorry but....." Uday said.

"And what the fuck is this bullshit about me reporting to you? I am NOT reporting to you, you dipshit."

"Of course, but you see..."

"I am taking this straight to Satish. The stunt you pulled in there should get you a warning, if not a pink slip. I have never been so humiliated........"

I went on in that vein, yelling at Uday for a good ten minutes until I ran out of breath. He gave up trying to interject and just listened to me yell with a contrite look on his face.

"Take me back to our office." I said, folded my hands and looked away.

"Okay, now that you have said your piece, will you let me say mine?" Uday said. I stayed silent.

"Ketaki, listen. I really like you. I think you are smart, talented, tough as nails, and of course very beautiful. Have I ever been rude with you before? Ever?"

"No...." I said.

"So shouldn't it be obvious that I was just putting on an act? Playing out a routine?"

"A routine?"

"Let me explain." Uday said turning sideways to face me. "You have been after Zincorp and this Sharma idiot for what, three years now?"

"Yes."

"And he's yet to give you an order?"

"I told you about the price demands and....."

"Forget all that. The point is, this guy does not....well....he does not like the relationship he has with you. He is not happy. I don't know exactly why. But whatever you have said or done for him in the past hasn't made him happy enough to give you even one piddly order."

I stayed silent. I still didn't see where this was going.

"Now, here's what I know. Three years, dozens of meetings, zero orders. And I saw the way he looks at you. Fucking lecher. To him, you're just a piece of meat."

"You noticed?" I asked sarcastically.

"I am not blind. But here's the thing. Other than wanting to trap you in a dark alley, this guy has problems with whatever he sees you doing as a sales rep. Maybe he is just a misogynist who thinks women should stay confined to the kitchen and bedroom. Maybe he perceives you as being too haughty."

"Haughty???" I said a little to loudly.

"The point is, if I am to come in and win this motherfucker over, I need him to like me and trust me from the word go. And quickest way to do it was act like an asshole there, blame you for not helping him out, and make him seem like I am on his side. That was the act, the routine. A bit like good cop bad cop, but instead, helpful salesman, unhelpful saleswoman."

I looked into Uday's eyes and saw an earnest sincerity. I felt my anger dissipate.

"Why didn't you tell me about it first?" I asked.

"I didn't know I would do it myself. I made that decision based solely on what I saw of him in the first minute or so. And the reason I asked you to leave was to not have to keep berating you. And to make him open up to me about you."

"So what did he say about me?"

"Whatever he said was utter bullshit and totally untrue. You're a great sales rep. He is the asshole. But the point is, we have to arm twist that asshole into giving us the orders. And this is the best way to get him to do it. I make him believe I am his savior, his friend, his advocate, and make him sign on the dotted line. At the prices we want."

I began to get some idea of why Uday had such a great record of winning unwinnable accounts. He seemed to have a take no prisoners approach to sales, one that made the customers believe he was on their side.

"So is this how it will be with Zincorp? You will be the preening asshole and I will be the bumbling idiot? I am not sure if I can take it."

Uday took my hand into his and gently squeezed it.

"Ketaki, it's your decision. If it makes you uncomfortable, we can drop it. Just be normal. But I am telling you, based on my conversations with him that he is much more likely to give the order to Uday the asshole than Uday the nice guy or Ketaki the nice lady."

I looked at Uday. He continued,

"Just remember, whatever I say or do will be an act. Because...well....it must be obvious to you how I REALLY feel about you."

He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed me on on the fingers gently. Awkwardly, I pulled my hand back.

"Uday...." I said, not sure about what to say next.

"Ketaki, surely you are attracted to me too." Uday said, leaning towards me until his face was a few inches away from mine.

I looked at his handsome face and into his deep brown eyes. He raised his hand and gently rubbed the back of his fingers against my cheek. His touch sent a shiver up my spine. At 26, he was about six years younger than me, but I was acting like a teenager with a huge crush on the coolest guy in school.