One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

‘Jon called me this morning to his room. I told you about Jon, right? The partner.’
‘Yes.’
‘So he told me I had received good reviews from other people.’
‘See, I told you. You are a star.’
‘Well, it’s nice when a partner praises you.’
‘What’s the number, babe?’
‘I will tell you.. .’
‘I can’t wait anymore.’
‘My bonus for the year is.. .don’t tell anyone, okay?’
‘Whom will I tell?’
‘A hundred and fifty.’
‘A hundred and fifty what?’ he said, sounding confused.
‘150,000 dollars.’
‘150,000 dollars?’ he repeated my words.
‘Yeah.’
‘You mean total compensation? You get 120 already, so thirty more bonus?’
‘No. One-fifty is the bonus. Total comp is 270.’
Debu’s mouth fell open. It stayed like that for a few seconds before he spoke again, one
deliberate word at a time.
‘You made 270,000 dollars last year?’ he said. His big eyes seemed even bigger.
‘Yeah.’
‘Oh,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Holy fuck! These banks.’
‘Well, not everyone had this number. They told me it is one of the highest for associates of my
level. I had a five rating.’
‘Nice,’ he said in a muted voice.
The waiter arrived to take Debu’s order. He opened the menu and took five minutes selecting
his dish; probably figuring out which item offered the best value.
‘One lamb kebab and one falafel, please.’
The waiter left.
‘You okay with the order, baby? Wanted anything else?’ Debu said to me.
‘No. Though you seem more interested in the menu than listening to me.’
‘No, no. Anyway. You were saying?’
I smiled. ‘That I had the highest bonus among the associates.’
‘That’s nice, babe. I mean, I can’t even imagine that kind of money. You know, I barely
reached an 80,000 compensation even after the promotion.’
Why does he have to tell me his salary now? I already know it.
‘You are doing very well too,’ I said. I regretted saying it the next instant.
Why did I have to add a reassuring and patronizing, ‘You are doing very well too’? As if
telling a kid who is second in a race, ‘You ran well too.’
Thankfully, I don’t think he noticed. I continued, ‘There’s no doubt you are awesome at BBDO.
You are one of their best.’
‘People are stupid in my company. You won’t believe what happened in this campaign.’
Okay, what just happened here? Why has it become about him? Isn’t this, like, my big
moment?
The waiter arrived with a bottle of red wine. Debu looked at him, surprised.