The Takeover

Chapter 15 It was a typical day for Veeru. He had just finished his morning coffee brought by Priya. He had cleared the mails received overnight. While having coffee, he got quick daily updates from his informal network. Of course, some things were looking different. Like most of the days in the recent past, there was no early morning meeting with Dipika on that day. Apparently, Dipika was getting busier every day with Ross Youngblood taking ESL HR under his control. Off late, he had sensed that Dipika was trying to avoid him. Her performance was almost flawless. And there was no change in her performance levels. Why did he feel so and since when? He tried to remember all the recent events. He could trace the relationship becoming little cold after the Open Forum announcing the ESL takeover. Somehow, the meetings with Dipika became irregular and thereafter, they never seemed like the earlier ones. He had to do something about it. He had even hinted the same to Dipika but she denied any problems and gave some logical explanations for not coming for the early morning meetings. I am not some teenager chasing a teenage girl. He kept reminding himself. In any case, he could demand the HR services from her on a regular basis. However, with the trust and rapport between them diminishing, his information network and ability to understand the needs of his staff would have been adversely affected. Off late, Sanjay was sounding more nervous. But for the fact that the bonus issue had to be resolved, Sanjay appeared mentally resigned to the fact that his days in ESL were numbered. While he never stated that in so many words, Veeru could read between the lines. After Prasad’s departure, there was a fear that there could be a mass exodus. But thanks to the worldwide economic crisis, the markets were not moving. The recruitment activity in most of the companies was very low or even totally down. That helped Veeru, Kedar and all the other business leaders to hold on to their teams to a great extent. Of course, the people were afraid, confused, and demoralized. But they had chosen to continue with ESL. While Veeru was thinking about Dipika, Sanjay, Prasad, his own job application to Accenture India, all at the same time, Priya barged into his office along with Prabhat and one of the junior employees. Veeru was taken aback as this was quite unlike Priya to come in without knocking the door. Looking at her expressions, he could instantly sense that there was some big trouble. ********** “Haridas....” Priya appeared tense and frightened. Her voice was shaking. “What about Haridas?” Veeru instantly got up from his seat. Haridas was perhaps the most hardworking and respected techie in ESL. Everyone in the New Products Division depended on him for any technical issues to be resolved. He was a very soft-spoken and silent worker. But his presence was sought in every technical review and planning meeting. Like many others, he had joined ESL straight from the campus placement and stuck around for 16 years. “Haridas is ... is unwell.” Priya mumbled while showing some urgency that Veeru should rush to Ground Floor, A Wing where Haridas and his team was working. “What happened to Haridas?” Veeru inquired while rushing out of his office. “He is ... he is ... you should see ...” Priya was unable to say anything more. Almost running to the ground floor without waiting for the lift, Veeru turned to Prabhat and asked him what was going on. “The ambulance should be coming any time.” Prabhat responded while talking to someone on cell phone. Well, at least, in an emergency, these guys can move fast, Veeru thought. It took hardly two minutes for Veeru to reach the ground floor. He saw a group of about 25-30 people crowding in the reception. When they realized that Veeru had come, they moved away to give him way. Haridas was lying on the sofa. That was probably the best arrangement possible. Prabhat was planning for a general-purpose room to handle emergencies and otherwise allow people to relax for some time. But that room was not yet ready. “Where is our doctor?” Veeru asked Prabhat. “Doctor comes only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But we have called the hospital and the ambulance should be coming any time.” Prabhat repeated the information. With one look at Haridas, Veeru felt a chill in his spine. Once he had visited his elder brother who was attending the OPD in Asian Hospital. Since his brother was busy, Veeru decided to wait in the OPD, watching his brother in action. The ward boys hurriedly brought in one patient on stretcher. Looking at the face of that patient, Veeru intuitively realized that the patient was already dead. He looked at his brother. The doctor brother nodded to confirm what Veeru was suspecting. After all these years, Veeru could never forget the expressions on the face of the dead man. Now looking at Haridas, Veeru vividly remembered the face of the dead man in Asian Hospital. His heart started pounding. He had seen a few more deaths in his life. But it was for the first time that he was watching it happen with a colleague and a close friend. Also, he was the senior-most person at the scene and everyone was looking up to him for further instructions. Veeru suddenly felt helpless and weak in his knees. He did not have to go through that phase for very long. An ambulance arrived and it took Haridas to the hospital. Prabhat and two other employees went in the ambulance. A few others followed the ambulance in a car and mobikes. Veeru told Prabhat to do whatever was required at the hospital and call him if anything was required.