Long Distance Call

After a hiatus of about 4 months, the pure blood was beginning to come out of his cocoon again. It was akin to a cricketer going for practice once again after an injury break. Only in this case, it was not an injury break so to say, but rather a heart break! After as many as 3 attempts which came a cropper, self doubt had gnawed his soul and crept into his otherwise sharp mind. Somewhere deep down he had accepted self-defeat. This had some sort of a depression effect on him and consequently he had withdrawn into a shell. He existed only for his office, flow of assignments keeping him busy, superior’s continuous delegation of work leaving no room for any other thought - all of which had now become quite the order of the day and did not require much application of mind. So this way continued his mind more mechanically than ever.

 

This went on till one afternoon when something, that was long forgotten and a fading memory now, jolted him out of his autopilot mode. It was a call from a faraway consultant. His profile had been spotted by this lady in another city. She had a suitable position in a law firm in that city – would he be interested – she inquired. This option was comparable to a call received by a budding cricketer from a different IPL franchise after being rejected by his own city franchise. Without the slightest hesitation he agreed to share his latest profile. Outside his office window, the rain had just stopped and a rainbow was vaguely visible.

 

True to her words, the consultant arranged for an interview the next Saturday. Although it was a working day for the pure blood, he decided to take a leave. He stayed put beside the landline all morning. The call came at the appointed time but confirmed his worst fears. His mobile’s connection was generally fluctuating due to frequent loss of tower and now he would be doomed. After three rings he had no option but to press the green button. (p.s. those were the good ol’ times of keypad phones!).

“Hello Good Afternoon!” were the first words that he blurted out, out of pure nervousness and miscalculations of the call on his mobile. It was just past 11 o’clock. Fortunately, the bad connection came to his rescue – on the other side an echo appeared to say “Hello, can you hear us?” The momentary confusion had given the pure blood quick time to regain his composure. He continued the rest of the conversation in his usual confident and convincing style. There were 2 interviewers on the other side and being on ‘speaker’, at times their voices garbled. There were some further disruptions due to the mobile connection, but by now the pure blood had picked up momentum and continued with élan.  

 

It was more than an hour and more than one call (landline was the last resort!) before the interviewers got a sense of satisfaction. The pure blood could feel it in their voice as well as the choice of words and expressions. While at the start it was more of probing, now it was more of agreement. They seemed to be opening up more and more. So he took the opportunity to ask more about the role and work. The interviewers explained to him in detail. The job description was different from what he had done and he knew that his past experience would not count much. Yet he was intrigued that he was being considered for it. He also played along and listened attentively. Finally they came to the moot point – would he be interested in exploring this opportunity. “Why not?” he burst out instinctively, enthusiasm ringing high in his tone. One aspect of life that he had imbibed quite early, and followed it to the letter, was that he would not join the bandwagon.

 

The interviewers showed their keenness and did not waste another second in inviting him to their office. But law firms being law firms, they kept silent on the travel cost aspect. The pure blood was a perfect opportunist as well. He had just discovered a new opening, an estuary of new opportunities. And he was in no mood to let it go. He told them quite commandingly that if they would wait for a few days, he would arrange for the travel on his own. It was a win-win situation for the interviewers as well. They signed off on a positive note. It was settled that the pure blood would let the interviewers know of his travel plan.

 

An idea was brewing in the pure blood’s now active mind. After hanging up he sat on his mahogany desk and closed his eyes. It was important to create a blueprint in his mind. He could then draw up a plan and put it into action.