Suketu was already in the conference room when I got there fifteen minutes later, furiously typing away on his laptop and he glanced up and grinned when he saw me. ‘Hello there, Miss Hotshot Brand Manager! That was some reception for the film, huh?’

‘Mr Hotshot yourself!’ I grinned back. ‘They loved our film, Suketu! Today is the best day of my life!’

‘We couldn’t have done it without you, Megha,’ Suketu replied with a serious look on his face. ‘There are very few brand managers who really treat the agency like equal partners on the brand and let us do the kind of work we really believe in. You did that and your conviction in the team and our work is the main reason we could produce the kind of work we did.’

‘Thanks, Suketu. Wow, that’s a huge compliment!’ I looked at Suketu, suddenly feeling a strong comradeship towards him. I had worked with him on most of the projects I had handled since joining GF and over time we’d become friends. I knew I could rely on Suketu—he was always there when you needed him, warm and supportive and willing to bend over backwards to get the job done. The fact that he did his job exceptionally well also gave all the brand teams he worked with a sense of confidence whenever he was a part of the team.

‘Umm, actually there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about, Suketu,’ I said impulsively as I sat down opposite him. I had planned on discussing my growing interest in creative work with Suketu after I had spoken with Shiv about it, but now seemed as good a time as any other to talk to him. I trusted Suketu to keep whatever I shared with him to himself. Besides, if it hadn’t been for his support in the initial stages of the project I would never have been able to get as involved in the creative work on Bright Biscuits.

Over the next half-hour I quickly told Suketu about my affinity with creative work, about how I’d always been attracted to the creative aspects on all the projects I’d worked on since coming to GF, but how I’d never really got a chance to get involved in the creative process before. That is, until Bright Biscuits happened, giving me the chance to live out my long-suppressed desires of doing creative work to the full.

He listened thoughtfully, seeming a little surprised when I told him I was seriously considering a switch to the creative field even though I knew it was a pretty radical move. But he didn’t react immediately. After I was done, he remained silent for a few minutes, mulling over what I’d just told him.

‘Are you sure about this, Megha? You’ve thought this through?’ he finally said. ‘This could be a severe career-limiting move if it doesn’t work out. What if you get bored in the creative field as well? It’s easy to move from the client side to the agency but the reverse is not always true. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to discourage you, but I don’t want you to make a decision you may regret either.’