SERIAL : 36

INDIAN IN COWBOY COUNTRY

THE HUNT

Satish felt like a stranger on the campus where he had spent over ten years. Familiar security guards who a few months ago had waved him through now checked his credentials and called Billy’s office to ensure that he had an appointment. Though his visitor badge said that he needed to be escorted, in his case, they made an exception.

He did not meet with Tim before his meeting with Billy, saying that he had a tight schedule. He told him that he would be happy to visit with him after his meeting. Tim offered to fill in the details on the telephone, but Satish politely declined to hear anything about it, saying he preferred to hear the details from Billy.

Tim told him that he had just snubbed his best friend at Clark.

“Never thought I’d see the day when you were so sensitive, Tim. I’ll see you as soon as I finish with Billy; that is, if you want to see me,” Satish replied.

Tim bit his tongue and said, “Yes. Come by as soon as you are done. I’ll wait.”

This time the walk down the hallway to mahogany row felt different. The carpet did not seem as plush as before. The hallway appeared dark and dingy; it needed brighter lights. The portraits of the founders had to go-they were just too grim and depressing to look at. He had been too many corporate offices, and Clark’s, he mentally noted, fell in the bottom quartile.

When she saw him, Liz stood up and said, “Hello, Satish. My, you’re looking good. And how is your family doing?” She guided him to Billy’s office, this time to his desk rather than the conference room.

Billy rose from his high-backed leather chair behind the mahogany desk that Pete had used. He came up to him, shook his hand warmly, and led him to his personal, circular conference table.

“It’s good to see you, Satish. I am glad you could make it. I hear that your calendar is pretty full,” he said.

“Yes, it is, but never too full to see my old friends at Clark.”

“I am glad that you see us as your friends, Satish, because we are your friends.”

“Of course. So, how can I help you, Billy?” he asked, wanting to get down to business.

“First of all, let me tell you that we are very appreciative of you not meeting or visiting with any of our competitors. We heard that several of them tried to contact you and you turned them down flat. I’d like to thank you for that. It takes great courage to do that when you are looking for a job. It also reflects your principles, which, of course, we never doubted.”

“Of course,” Satish said. “I had no intention of working for a competitor, and there was no reason to meet anyone from the dark side,” he said smiling.

“Yes, it is us versus the empire,” Billy sighed, extending the Star Wars analogy. “And we need your help in fighting the Empire.”

With that, he stood up and started pacing. He said, “Last week I was having lunch at the Petroleum Club, where I met an old buddy of mine. We’ve been friends for a long time; he and I were roughnecks on the same crews. He is now president of a company, and you met him a few weeks ago. I am not going to tell who it was, but he told me that he was very impressed with you, and had made you an offer that you were considering. He asked me about you, and I gave you nothing but the best reference a man could ask for. Then he said I was crazy to have let you go.”

He paused and looked at the carpet for a moment. He went to his desk and brought back a cup of coffee. “Pardon my manners, but would you like a cup of coffee?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

“How do you take it?”

“Just black, thank you.”

Billy stepped out of the office and asked Liz to bring him some coffee. He then continued, “First things first. I have to apologize on behalf of Clark and myself for having laid you off. We did not know that we had a diamond until others saw it. I am truly and deeply sorry for what I have put you and your family through for the last six months.”

Moved by Billy’s mea culpa, Satish said, “No apologies necessary, Billy. It was a good experience for me, and gave me an opportunity to improve my self-awareness.”

Billy said, “My buddy at the Petroleum Club clobbered me for our bad decision. He and I are very good friends, like bothers; he takes care of me and I take care of him, and we are not afraid to call each other out when we make mistakes. There are seven of us in our band of brothers, and we visit with each others at least once a week.

“I found out that you stayed away from my brothers at our competitors, even though they repeatedly called you to meet them. You talked to only four, who were not competitors. They too clobbered me for having screwed you for all these years. Every one of them would rather have me fix things and do right by you than have you join their firms. They said I should make you an offer, rectify things. If you accepted it, they would not think any less of you.”

Satish did not interrupt the older man. He listened as Liz came in and gave him coffee in the finest china, rather than a familiar disposable cup. He took a sip and waited for Billy to continue.

“So here’s the deal,” he said, as he read from a sheet of paper. “There are a lot of details, but here are the main points. I want you to come back as a vice president of engineering at Clark’s corporate office.

“You will have a three-year contract, renewable, and if it is not renewed, you get a year’s severance package. Your compensation will be the midpoint cash compensation of all vice presidents at Clark, a year’s salary signing bonus, an annual performance bonus at a minimum of 15 percent, a stock option grant of a million shares, vesting over ten years with new bonus options every year depending on our performance but with immediate vesting if we get acquired. Four weeks vacation, company car, and an office two suites down from mine.

“And I know how much you like to travel to India every year, so I have included one expense-paid trip to India for you and your family per year, including business class airfare and the best room and board. Oh, by the way, all our vice presidents are automatically members of the Petroleum Club, and have a choice of a country club membership.”

Satish was overwhelmed. The other offers he had received were nowhere close to this one. He sat silently, pondering how Monica would react to the offer after her recent outburst.

Billy asked, “Anything bothering you” did we miss anything?”

“No, nothing. I am actually very pleased with it, but I have a minor problem on the home front. I would have to convince my wife that it’s a good idea to come back to Clark.”

“I understand, Satish. Once bitten, twice shy. If I were in your shoes, my wife would have the same problem. So why don’t we do this? Why don’t you and your wife join my wife and me over dinner at the club?”

Satish smiled, sipped his coffee, and said, “That’s mighty generous of you, Billy, and I am sure I can convince her to join us, but she is a vegetarian. She’ll just eat salad at the club.”

“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you recommend an Indian restaurant and give the name to Liz? She’ll take care of the reservation. I’ve always had a hankering to taste some Indian food and curry.”

A week later, the foursome had dinner at Tandoor Palace, the fanciest Indian restaurant in town, where the two men charmed each other’s spouses over spicy food. It was an exotic atmosphere: soft sitar music in a faux Taj Mahal draped in colorful silks.

On their way home after dinner, Billy’s wife, Frances, chided her husband for losing such a rare, principled young gentleman. Satish was tense on his ride home, until Monica conveyed to him that she liked Billy and his wife. She was surprised to see that both were in their late-sixties. She was touched when someone older than her father apologized to her personally for having “put such a beautiful young woman through so much anxiety.”

The next morning, a hefty offer letter and contract was couriered to their home, and they pored over the legal document. Satish had worked on customer contracts before, but this one was different. Since he was the product being purchased, he could not be objective in his evaluation. He called Jeff, who had been his attorney and legal advisor since his first confrontation with Clark, who asked him to fax the document and come to his office immediately.

Jeff was amazed at the generosity of the terms, and he suspected the motives behind the bigheartedness. Over the year, he had taught Satish to look beyond the “stated reason” for the “real reason.” But as he read the contract to appreciate the source of the magnanimity, he applied two more concepts, the “moral reason” and the “right reason”. Jeff found the contract acceptable on all four counts, and suggested a few minor changes for “legal reasons”. He congratulated Satish on his good fortune.

Satish had one more stop-to check in on his Lunch Bunch. When he arrived at the outplacement center, he caught them just as they were stepping out to meet Clyde at his favorite barbecue place nearby.

All congratulated him on his offer while they stood in line for their food, which was served cafeteria style. The rustic restaurant was packed with people, so they decided to eat outside, where wooden picnic tables were set up under a covered patio in the oppressive August heat.

There was an assorted spread that would have pleased any carnivore with a penchant for spicy food. The artery-clogging, cholesterol-packed smorgasbord included barbecued beef brisket, Czech sausage, pork ribs, and chicken. Everything was smothered with a piquant and sweet barbecue sauce. Sides included thickly sliced jalapeno cheese bread, onions, jalapenos, potato salad, coleslaw, and beans. There was chilled beer to relieve the patrons from the heat of the food and the day outside.

The men focused on their food and ate silently, speaking only when they needed someone to pass some food around the table or excusing themselves for an untimely burp. As waiters cleared the table, leaving behind only bottles of beer, Dan turned to Satish and asked, “Did you have an attorney look at the contract?”

“Yes, I did. I just came from his office. He suggested a few changes, but overall, it’s fine,” he responded.

Darrell asked if he could see the contract, and Satish enthusiastically gave it to him. After glancing through it and seeing the salient sections, he returned it and said, “That’s a terrific offer. It’s all in your favor. They want you real bad.”

He nodded, and before they could ask for a celebration dinner, suggested, “Hey guys, why don’t you and your families come to my place over the Labor Day weekend? We’ll have some barbecue.”

Clyde was the first to jump in. “Love the idea. I accept the invitation, but you know what? I’d rather have some home-cooked Indian food. I can have barbecue any time, but genuine Indian food? Now that’s not something you see every day.”

“Okay. Fair enough. Indian food it’ll be. Bring your families. Except you, Dan. There’s a limit of one family per person,” he kidded.

“I might surprise you. I’ll bring a date,” he said. He smiled when he added, “I don’t know who my date is going to be. If she has a child, that’ll be my family.”

Darrel and San said that their children were too old to hang around with their parents.

“So it’s settled. Labour Day at my place. Here, let me give you my address.” While Satish was busy writing directions to his home, Clyde went into the restaurant, brought back a large pecan pie, and placed it in the middle of a table.

“This is from all of us, for one helluva sweet guy. Congratulations, Satish!” he announced as he threw down forks, knives, paper plates, and napkins.

“Thank you, Clyde. Thank you all for everything. I do appreciate your help during the last six months.”

“Shut up and eat. When your mouth is full, you can’t talk,” Clyde said as he took a gigantic mouthful.

Satish dug into the most delicious pecan pie he had ever tasted. He finished his slice and said, “I gotta run. I want to see Scot at the office and get home before traffic builds up.” He excused himself from the table. “See you on Labour day,” he said. He went into the restaurant and got another pie, for his wife and daughter.