But on the other hand I was able to finish it in time.

Anyway. I had just worked back the numbers to the first three worksheets when Abhijit burst into the room, slammed a paper cup of coffee in front of me, grabbed the laptop from the table and began to go over my work.

He said that the cup had a double shot of espresso; ‘that was really the only way to drink coffee’. Anyone who drank that ‘cappuccino shit’ he said, were ‘dumb fucks’.

I took a single sip and felt my eyeballs explode in my head. It was the worst thing I had tasted in my life.

I told Abhijit the espresso was excellent.

He clicked a few buttons and then looked up at me and said that my numbers looked fairly solid. He said 132 crore was roughly what Jerry thought the company was worth and my model supported that nicely.

Am I a genius or what, Diary?!

He wanted to know if the model was tested for scatter and r-square. I nodded vigorously making a mental note to find out what scatter and r-square were.

Abhijit then changed a few numbers, ran the model and smiled broadly. He said that the 132 crore valuation looked like being good enough to last through any scenario. It was rock-solid. Didn’t budge. He picked up the laptop and said that my work was exceptional and that he hadn’t expected me to perform so well.

I told him that underpromising and overdelivering was one of my lifelong personal mottoes.

He nodded and said that in case my model made a mistake, I could be fired on the spot without notice as I was still on probation. I chuckled enthusiastically till he left the room and was out of earshot. Then I sat still, paralysed by fear, for the next hour or so. Eventually the dread subsided and I left.

Bansal had asked me to check out a place in Wadala on the way back to the hotel. Normally I hate going anywhere after work but I was feeling adventurous after my Excel wizardry and took a cab to meet him.

The flat was okay. It has two bedrooms and I think I should share it with someone. I can’t afford to pay sixteen grand on my own.

BTW that Christian place has already been taken! Bansal said that someone else from Dufresne ran into the landlord at church after the early morning service and lavished Christian gyaan on him. I have a strong feeling it was Jenson who pre-empted my crucifix strategy. This has further strengthened my resolve to keep a very close eye on that slimy son of a bitch. Bastard.

I came back to the hotel and decided to order in food instead of going for the coffee shop buffet dinner. Room service was expensive but the company was paying for it. And I’d just helped them win some big bucks from Project Copper Chimney with my spreadsheet.