Chapter 28 #2
He was about to point out Cynthia’s absence when Melanie looked up from her notepad.
“I’ve spoken with several employees who had nothing but good things to say about the last few weeks,” she said, pushing her oversized glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“I appreciate you inviting me for an exclusive interview.”
Exclusive interview?
“Well, it’s all thanks to this man,” Rich said, tilting his chin in Rohit’s direction amid the murmurs of approval from the rest of the senior leadership team. “He’s responsible for pulling it all together. First, with the staff engagement survey and then…Tell her how you did it, son.”
“Well, it wasn’t just me—”
“So modest,” Keer interrupted with a chuckle. “Of course, the staff supported Rohit with open hearts. We really are like a family around here.” He punctuated this decree by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Timbit, which he popped into his mouth like it was a stick of gum.
Momentarily disgusted, Rohit watched as Keer chewed with open-mouthed gusto. Cynthia’s wry voice echoed in his head: Klepto Keer strikes again.
His lips twitching, Rohit looked at Melanie. “Right. But I didn’t do it alone.”
“Who else should I credit?” Melanie asked, cocking her head.
Samuel lifted an eyebrow. “I thought the engagement survey was your idea?”
“Well, technically , yes, but—”
“And, after the whole pyramid scheme debacle, didn’t you bring in that HR consulting group to help lead us in the right direction?” Martin chimed in.
“Pyramid scheme?” Melanie clicked her pen rapidly. “What pyramid scheme?”
Heat crept up Rohit’s neck. “Okay, so, let me explain what happened—”
“And there’s more to come,” Larry chimed in. “Rohit’s planning an organization-wide team-building event next quarter!”
Their interruptions rolling in like thunder, Rohit suddenly had the deepest empathy for what Cynthia must experience in the presence of these men. They didn’t care for his answers, nor did it appear that they could hear him when he talked.
Rohit gritted his teeth in frustration, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Rich sat forward in his seat and clasped his hands together on top of his desk, and everyone shut up.
“We owe a huge debt of thanks to Rohit,” Rich said. “Which is why I have invited you here today, Melanie, to make my announcement.”
Every single member of the senior team straightened. Keer grinned and shot Rohit an exaggerated wink. Melanie turned to Rohit and lifted a questioning brow, and when he shrugged in response, she swiveled back to face the CEO, her left hand tightening expectantly around her notebook.
The room was so still, save for the sound of Rohit nervously cracking his knuckles.
He couldn’t even begin to guess what Rich was about to say, his mind whirling with this shit show of an “exclusive interview.” When Rich shot Rohit a long, pointed glance, a shock of panic worked its way back into his brain and he became hyperaware of a single bead of sweat snaking a cold trail from the nape of his neck into the collar of his shirt.
“That first article in The Watch really opened my eyes,” Rich said, “and showed me that times are changing. That’s how I realized that Kumar Construction needed a change, too.”
Rohit was swiping at the sweat on his neck when a flash of white caught the corner of his eye.
Cynthia was standing at the doorway of the office, a cup of coffee in each hand.
Rohit inclined his head in an invitation for her to join the group, but she didn’t see him. Her eyes were trained on her father.
“And thanks to Rohit’s diligence, Kumar Construction has changed,” Rich continued. “He really stepped up in the face of adversity and became the leader we needed him to be.”
“Yes, and—” Keer chimed in eagerly, but Rich held up a warning hand, and the finance director’s mouth snapped shut.
Rohit winced and threw a silent apology Cynthia’s way. I’ll correct them , he promised, just as soon as Rich is done speaking .
“He’s an innovative, hardworking, intelligent young man.” Rich leaned back in his seat, his hands folded on his stomach. “In just one year, I’ve watched him grow and successfully take on whatever challenge I threw his way. And he does it with a maturity and charisma that never fails to impress.”
Rohit ducked his head as Rich threw him a proud smile. In the back of his flustered brain, a small voice reminded him that Cynthia was all those things, too, and just as deserving—possibly more so—of the praise. He needed to find a way to make sure everyone in the room knew that.
“Even now, he’s so modest,” Rich said. “Everyone here loves him and recognizes him as a leader. And for these reasons, I take great pride in announcing that, in a year’s time, I plan to officially retire and relinquish Kumar Construction to its new CEO, Rohit Patel.”
I’ll tell them Cynthia also— Wait, what?
As Melanie’s pen flew across the page, everyone began clapping, Rich included.
Rohit’s head spun as one by one, each man in the room walked over to where he sat frozen in his chair, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, and clapped him on the back with words of congratulations.
Rohit couldn’t register what they were saying over the white noise crackling between his ears.
His stomach twisted as the room began spinning, too.
When Rich approached him, Rohit stood on clumsy legs and accepted his handshake in a limp grasp. He couldn’t feel his fingers, but a lucid thought finally entered his brain: My family is going to be okay.
But what about Cynthia?
Rohit’s eyes flew to the doorway. She was gone.