"Riya's point of view,"
"Riya, how can you refuse the plant head's order in this manner? Don't you think you're misbehaving with your seniors by doing this?" Mr. Shinde dared to argue with me.
Wow, do they have any sense of self-respect?
There was a hushed conversation going on in the conference room. And the plant head was having a conversation with Mr. Dhawan, who was sitting next to him. Rachit, who was sitting directly in front of my chair, trembled with rage as he saw me. Shilpi was doing her best to calm down. Her gaze was fixed on me as if I'd done something wrong by failing to include Shilpi in the roles of my team.
To put out the flames of Rachit's rage, I thought I could use the water from the mug of water on the table to do so. But I had no intention of making fun of him in front of the entire office. There was only one way I could respond to their inquiries and expectations. Because of my calm expression, they did not know what I was about to blast. I was just waiting for the plant head's decision.
"Riya, I think you should add shilpi to your team." As the plant's head cleared his throat, he continued. Hearing him did not surprise me in the least.
When the plant head's admirers heard his statements, the sycophants' faces glowed brightly. However, Rachit could not keep the nasty smirk from creeping upon his face as long as he was happy with his victory. Shilpi, who was sitting next to him, did not consider herself anything less than a queen. She gave me the look I had already told you about, with an arrogant smile on her face.
"Do you have anything else to say, Riya?" The plant head looked at me and inquired when he noticed my silence.
"No, sir, I will not say anything else about it." I responded with a confident tone.
"I had already stated that if you had quietly accepted our instructions before our meeting, none of us would have wasted so much time in vain." After seeing me, Mr. Shinde opened his mouth again and spit out the unnecessary words.
I wanted to ask him whether I had invited all of them to discuss this pointless matter. However, I had a better idea. So I shifted my gaze to the plant's head and finished my sentence.
"Sir, once you've made your decision, I won't be able to reverse it, but I do have an answer to your question that you'll find out about when you check your email."
Everyone in the room glanced at me with puzzled expressions. Immediately, some people began checking their mail on their mobile phones, while others checked their laptop screens. It overjoyed me to see their enthusiasm.
"What's this, Riya?" The plant's head appeared angry and perplexed as it stared at me.
"To answer your question," I gave a short answer to his point.
"So, blackmailing others to get your point across is the new way to go about things?" Rachit's emotions revealed that he, like the rest of the group, was taken aback by my unexpected decision.
"It is your job, not mine, to persuade others by blackmailing them and using their emotions." We were both seated in front of each other, staring at each other as if we were playing chess, and I had just given him a check and mate.
"This is against the company's policies, so you can't do it." Mr. Shinde opened his obnoxious mouth once more. Policies? Which policies are you talking about? Isn't it against the company's policies to abruptly change someone's department without notice? However, he may be just seeing his flattery right now.
"Send us your letter of apology right away, and we'll take care of it." He made another remark without listening to me. Not anymore; at the very least, he must now pay attention to what I have to say before continuing the conversation. However, as a human resources manager for a corporation, what else are you supposed to expect from him? Policies, rules and regulations, and what else?
"Mr. Shinde, Will you bother to open the section on work ethics and job responsibilities in the company's policy book and read Point No. 7.?" As soon as I finished speaking, more than half of the people in the audience eagerly started reading the company's policy on their mobile phones and laptops, following my advice.
Now, certain people like Shilpi may have trouble comprehending the company's policy. Therefore, I highlighted the issue that I was talking about in Point 7.
"They have written that we cannot change the job responsibilities of any employee without prior notice of one month." I furrowed my brows and asked those favoring Shilpi if they had followed this policy.
"Yes, so what's the issue here? We will transfer shilpi to that department in a month."
Excellent. That's exactly what I expected from a normal HR manager. "Yes," Rachit agreed with Mr. Shinde's opinion.
"What I don't understand about your resignation, Riya, is how you could do it so suddenly. And all of this was done with only a one-month notice period." The plant's head asked me a question.
"Policy, sir, policy.
According to point no. 6 of the resignation submission form, I have one month to leave my employment if I have valid reasons." When everyone in the room heard my response, their reactions told me they wanted to question me since when I had read the company's policies in such depth.
Those people could have concluded from my expressions that they had not entrusted me with the full department's responsibilities in such a short time without my special qualities.
"And what is your reasoning?" This time, Rachit, not Mr. Shinde, was the one who asked the baffling question. He wants to know everything I've ever done or said. Should I inform him or should I let him become annoyed by guessing like this?
Why do you seem to be so eager for everything?First, he proposed marriage to me, then he broke up all relations with me with no delay at all. What does he think—everyone will follow his orders?
"Sorry, Mr. Khurana. Right now, I can't tell you anything about it." I shrugged my shoulders in response.
"Everyone should immediately return to their work and focus on their tasks. We can sit down later and discuss this topic at length." After such a long drama, the plant head finally proclaimed the conclusion of this futile meeting.
Rachit motioned for me to come to a halt as I was exiting the conference hall.
Is there anything left to talk about between us now?I'm still free after concluding a huge drama, but I don't think I'll be able to help him with another one soon.
Rachit, however, was not alone in the conference room; his tail, I mean, shilpi, was also there. Aren't there two bodies and one soul? Anyone else who had seen them at the time would have said the same thing.
"Why are you doing all this?" His expressions softened after seeing me for a while, but maybe his ego stopped him from talking to me politely.
"I'd like to ask you the same thing." I'm talking to him after such a long time, and I'm not even asking him questions; how did this happen?
"I've posed the question before, so I'm expecting a response." He insisted on me, as he always did.
"What if I don't respond to you?" I retaliated at his response.
"What are you two up to?" Shilpi, who was sitting nearby, intervened when she saw our disagreement getting out of hand.
"Will you sit quietly for a while?" Rachit and I both asked her to be quiet. She may not have enjoyed our conversation or the fact that we were both speaking in unison, but anyhow, she was gone shortly after.
Both of us were all alone and now ready to ask and accuse each other in the conference hall.