‘Anyways…’ Varun went on, breathing heavily, ‘since you would like me to focus on the work you are doing now let me oblige you. If you had waited a little, instead of shooting off your mouth like you are wont to, you would have realized that I was getting there anyway. I have been closely following the work you’ve been doing, observing you in meetings and discussions, and as part of the appraisal process have spoken to several of the people you work with on a regular basis. It has come to my notice that providing strategic direction to your team is a quality you sorely lack, Megha.’

He paused for effect and directed an imperious look in my direction. ‘You have been getting involved more than what is necessary—or even desirable for that matter—in the creative work on Bright Biscuits.’

‘What?’ I sputtered, truly astounded. ‘Varun, this is unbelievable! Yes, I have been heavily involved in the creative work on Bright Biscuits and I’ve been enjoying it too, but that in no way takes away from my work on the other aspects of the project. I would never compromise on any one aspect of the project at the cost of another. I’ve been working my butt off on all aspects of this project and you have no right to say that I am not providing my team with strategic direction. I mean, that’s totally ridiculous!’

‘Megha!’ said Varun, holding up his paw again, ‘I would appreciate your talking to me with some respect. Please watch your language.’

I gaped at him—what on earth was he talking about now? This appraisal was beginning to feel surreal, like a scene straight out of some bad sci-fi horror movie.

‘I would also kindly appreciate it,’ Varun went on, ‘if you did not use words like “butt” and “ridiculous” when you talk to me. GF has an informal culture, but we are not backslapping buddies. I am—’

‘Oh Varun, please!’ I snapped, suddenly feeling exhausted with this pointless war of words. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I offended you, okay? I mean, honestly, I use those words all the time and I had no idea you were going to find them insulting. But could we get back to the point, please? I don’t expect my appraisal to be a bed of roses—no way! But this… this feedback has really shocked me! Of all the projects I’ve ever worked on, I think I’ve put in the maximum effort on Bright Biscuits. I really think you should consider the fact that we have been working on killer timelines and we have delivered on all of them so far. Besides, I discussed getting involved in the creative work with Suketu and he was cool with it! And so were Neil and Shubhra, in fact… Hey wait a minute! Yudi! Varun, have you been talking to Yudi? Was he the one who gave you the idea that I don’t provide the team with enough strategic input?’

Varun raised one eyebrow sarcastically. ‘Really, Megha— the last thing we need to get into now is who said what to whom. I have spoken to all your team members, and on the basis of their inputs, as well as my own observations, I have deduced that you are too involved in the creative development on Bright Biscuits—something you shouldn’t be concerning yourself with at all in the first place. Creative work is really not the job of a brand manager, if that’s what you really enjoy doing you should be working in an ad agency. I understand that creative work is exciting, glamorous even, and a lot of people like to think they’re good at it. But it requires a mature professional to understand where their core competencies lie.’