One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

‘Thanks,’ I said.
‘And the bottom line,’ Josh said. ‘Your number, or your bonus for the year, is 350,000 dollars.’
My heart skipped a beat.
‘Wow,’ I blurted out, even though I didn’t intend to react.
Josh smiled.
‘That tells me you are happy. Good.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, still absorbing my gross compensation. My total base salary and bonus came
up to half a million dollars.
‘Keep up the good work.’
‘I am humbled,’ I said.
‘You deserve it. Your deals made a lot of money for the group,’ Neel said.
He smiled at me. I kept a straight face.
I came back to my desk. I called my mother. She gasped at the number, especially when I
converted it into rupees. My father went into shock.
‘Of course it’s all legal, dad. What are you saying? I promise it’s legal. Goldman Sachs is a
reputed firm,’ I said.
‘But three crores a year?’ he said.
‘That’s your little girl,’ I said.
He laughed.
‘You want to move to a new house in Gurgaon? One of those apartments with swimming pools
and gyms?’
‘No, beta. We are fine here,’ dad said.
‘If you need anything, just anything, let me know,’ I said.
‘You visit us soon,’ he said.
‘I will,’ I said. ‘Love you.’
Josh finally left Neel’s office at 6, after finishing all bonus announcements.
I knocked at Neel’s door a little later.
‘Hey, come on in,’ he said.
‘Tired?’ I said.
‘Busy day, yes,’ he said.
I sat down in front of him.
‘Happy with your number?’ he said.
‘Yeah. I just wanted to be sure of one thing,’ I said.
‘What?’
‘How much of this bonus is due to my work?’
‘What?’ Neel said, surprised.
‘How much is due to my work and how much is due to what we have?’
‘Are you kidding me, Radhika? This is all your good work. You know the profits on your
deals.’
‘Yeah, you said I deserve it. I just want to be sure,’ I said.
He shook his head.
‘I don’t believe it,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘You are paid because you are good. Actually, you deserved more. However, there are limits
to what first-year VPs can be paid. I could have asked New York to override the limit,’ he said as I