7 Ground Rules
Ground Rules
Post-event coverage
to Samarth
cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Hello
Team,
It was a pleasure to partner with you for our recent event. We hope your team enjoyed the launch and had a great evening.
I’m attaching an Excel sheet with the social media links for the barter posts and additional influencer reposts, with stats on their performances. Do let us know your thoughts on the same.
Best,
Ananya Kapoor
Events Manager
TheManJournal
Re: Post-event coverage
29/5/23 1:29 p.m.
to Ananya
cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Hi Ananya,
Thank you for sending across the links. We’ve been keeping an eye on the content over the last two days, and we’re quite happy with the coverage + performance. @Aadar also filled me in on the events of the launch night, which he insists couldn’t have gone better.
Perhaps we could come down to your office one of these days to discuss the future of this association?
Regards,
Samar Khanna
Marketing Head
Stellar Spirits India
Re: Post-event coverage
29/5/23 2:07 p.m.
to Samarth
cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Hi Samarth,
So glad to hear the feedback!
How’s tomorrow for the meeting? I’ve got a very interesting project I’d love to hear your thoughts on.
Best,
Pooja Ghai
Events Head
TheManJournal
Re: Post-event coverage
29/5/23 3:19 p.m.
to Pooja
cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Hi Pooja,
Tomorrow looks good. Let’s say we’ll be there by 12:00 p.m.?
Regards,
Samar Khanna
Marketing Head
Stellar Spirits India
Re: Well, this is awkward
29/5/23 4:02 p.m.
to Ananya
Free for lunch after tomorrow’s meeting? We need to talk.
Regards,
Aadar Chauhan
Senior Marketing Manager
Stellar Spirits India
I spent all of last night trying to figure out what Aadar could’ve wanted to talk about.
Did he want to cancel the bet? Had he sobered up and realised that it had been a completely ridiculous idea?
I secretly hoped not. Even though I knew it was immature and silly, the bet had given me a strange rush of adrenaline.
I’d woken up the day after the event in high spirits, determined to find my soulmate, even if it was to spite another man.
Of course, I hadn’t had much luck. I had swiped relentlessly through the weekend, looking for qualities instead of pointing out flaws, and even then, I couldn’t find a worthy enough prospect.
The only dude I had matched with had not bothered to start the conversation, and my pride forbade me from sending the first text. So that was that.
By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, I’d prepared myself for the worst – Aadar was going to back out of the bet, and I’d have no choice but to go back to my predictable dating life.
Meh, whatever.
‘Did you book the conference room?’ Pooja rang me on the intercom ten minutes before the Stellar Spirits team was scheduled to show up.
‘Yep. We can head there now, if you want,’ I spoke into the phone.
‘I’ll be there in a few. You and Ryan go ahead,’ she said before hanging up.
I scooped up my laptop and notebook, wiggling my hips as I got up to ensure my georgette long skirt wasn’t tucked inside my butt crack.
When I got to Ryan’s desk, he was watching a prank compilation video on YouTube – without earphones.
For someone who was neither exceptionally good at his job nor incredibly hard-working, he displayed an admirable amount of confidence in the workplace.
‘Ryan,’ I said, tapping his shoulder to get his attention, ‘it’s time for the meeting.’
‘What meeting?’ he asked sheepishly, hitting pause on his laptop keypad.
I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. ‘The Stellar Spirits team is coming down … remember?’
‘Oooh, right. I’d almost forgotten,’ he said, looking up at me with a smile.
No, Ryan, you had forgotten.
When he continued to sit there without any sign of urgency, I began tapping my feet on the tiled floor, hoping he’d get the hint.
‘Right, well, I’ll meet you in there,’ he said, giving me another smile before he turned back to finish his video.
I did roll my eyes then.
The conference room was occupied by a group of sales team hoggers when I got there. I tapped my imaginary watch from outside the glass doors, indicating it was time for them to leave. After what seemed to be ages, they began to shuffle out one by one.
‘Sorry, sorry, Ananya. Meeting ran long,’ said Rahul, the newly appointed head of the sales department.
I could bet he hadn’t even made a reservation for the previous time slot.
‘No worries,’ I said politely and made my way inside.
The room was freezing, the chairs were scattered around and someone had left a half-eaten sandwich on the conference table. Ryan showed up precisely two seconds after I’d finished rearranging and cleaning up, and Pooja arrived shortly after.
‘They’re not here yet?’ she asked as she set her laptop down on the long glass table.
‘They’re coming up. I just got a call from security,’ I said, pointing to the intercom at the centre of the table.
Pooja nodded at me, then turned to Ryan for help connecting her laptop to the projector.
She was going to present the Best Man idea to Stellar Spirits in the hopes that they’d want to come on board as the bar sponsors.
The car launch had been nothing but a trial run, and since it had gone well, there was a good chance they’d want to partner with us for a much larger project.
‘Here they come,’ Ryan said under his breath as three male figures appeared in the doorway. An office boy showed them inside the room.
Aadar was the last to enter. The two men before him were much older, probably in their late forties or early fifties.
All three of them wore pastel shirts and black trousers.
It was too hot for blazers, or I was certain they would’ve thrown them on.
In front of these formally clad men, Pooja, Ryan and I looked like we were going for a college picnic.
Pooja welcomed them warmly, shaking their hands and introducing us.
I wondered if she’d met them before or if she’d stalked them on LinkedIn to figure out who was who, aside from Aadar, who she must’ve met at the launch party.
Ryan moved closer to the projector to assist Pooja with the presentation, and as a result, the four remaining attendees sat facing each other on either side of the table. Aadar wound up sitting next to me.
‘I have to say, I’m kind of jealous I couldn’t make it the other night,’ said Samar, the oldest and presumably the senior most of the three. ‘Aadar couldn’t stop raving about the party.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Aadar. We were very happy to host you,’ said Pooja as she took a seat closest to the projector screen. To Samar, she said cheerfully, ‘There’s always a next time.’
That’s exactly why we all were here – to ensure there would be one.
‘What will you guys have? Tea, coffee?’ asked Pooja, ready to dial in their orders on the intercom.
We indulged in some small talk as we waited for the beverages, a designated period of unimportant chatter before we jumped into business. I was acutely aware of Aadar’s presence next to me, and at times, I could feel him looking at me from the corner of my eye.
After a while, I felt something drop into my lap. I looked down to discover a folded piece of paper. Carefully, without making a sound or appearing distracted, I opened it up.
Found ‘The One’ yet?
I threw a peripheral glare at him, and he had to place a hand in front of his mouth to hide his grin.
‘So, what is the project you wanted to tell us about?’ Hari, the other older guy, asked after the coffee had been served.
‘Right,’ said Pooja, getting up to address the room. ‘Let’s get right to it.’
The screen lit up with the opening slide of the presentation I’d made a few days ago. ‘Best Man’ flashed in a cursive font, with red and gold detailing in the background. Next to me, I sensed Aadar leaning forward for a better view.
Pooja went on to explain the concept for the next thirty-five minutes, taking a few breaks as and when the team interrupted with questions.
‘That’s quite the idea,’ Aadar said when the presentation was over.
‘Yeah, it’s definitely “out of the box”,’ Samar said, making little air quotes with his fingers.
‘Maybe too out of the box?’ Hari shifted in his seat. His eyebrows were furrowed in doubt.
Involuntarily, I frowned. Who was this old, boring man to shit on my idea?
‘Well, that’s for you to decide,’ Pooja said diplomatically. Then she added, ‘But we’ve got the go-ahead from International and we’ll be looking at finalising the sponsors this month.’
‘I think it’s an interesting take on content around weddings. People will eat it up,’ Aadar said, and I felt a strange surge of warmth for him.
‘I agree. But we have to analyse whether it’ll be good for business. Sponsoring alcohol for weddings of this scale is no cheap barter,’ Samar said, standing out as the voice of reason. ‘Give us time until the end of the week to get back to you?’
‘Absolutely, that’s not a problem,’ Pooja said, and Samar got up to shake her hand for the second time.