‘T
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his is your desk,’ said Bianca, a secretary in the Distressed Debt Group. ‘Look outside, you
even have a Hong Kong harbour view.’
It took me a while to adjust to my new surroundings. Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong is located
at the Cheung Kong Centre skyscraper in Central, occupying the sixtieth to the sixty-eighth floors. The
distressed debt team is located on the sixty-seventh floor. From the floor to the ceiling windows of
the glass-and-steel building, one can see the Hong Kong skyline and harbour towards the north. In the
southern direction, one has views of the Peak, the top of the green hill on Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong is an ex-British colony, now under Chinese control. The British exited in 1997, but
left behind one of the most modern, developed and efficient cities in the world. Consisting of the
Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula and New Territories, this city of seven million inhabitants
is one of the busiest global financial centres. Compact, brightly lit and buzzing, Hong Kong
overwhelms you upon arrival with its insomnia and beehive activity.
‘A company broker will call you. To help with the house-hunting,’ Bianca continued. ‘And
here are some other helpful contacts.’
She gave me a file of all the people who would help me in my relocation.
‘Neel will meet you in his office at 9,’ Bianca said and left.
I logged into my computer, arranged the stationery on my desk. I put up a few family pictures
on my cubicle walls. At 9, I walked up to Neel’s corner office.
‘Ah, Radhika. Come right on in,’ Neel said.
He wore a white shirt, silver cufflinks and a blue Hermes skinny tie. I had not seen him since
associate training two years ago. His office had panoramic vistas of Hong Kong. The sunshine
pouring into the room made his skin glow.
He gave me a firm handshake.
‘Thank you for having me in your group,’ I said.
‘It’s our pleasure. We don’t normally get high performers from New York here. How are you
settling in?’
‘I am good. Just arrived over the weekend.’
‘Where are you staying?’
‘Shangri-La.’
‘Nice. Hey, did you have any breakfast? Want to step over to the breakout area for a coffee?’
‘Sure,’ I said.
We took the elevator down to the sixty-first floor. The Goldman breakout area is a café of
sorts, where the staff often take a break for meals.