The Bestseller She Wrote Read Online Free Page B

said.
    ‘Losers?’ Sanjay expressed surprise. ‘Come on. They have won the second prize. It’s your team. You should have been up on stage with them.’ He shook his head in disapproval.
    Aditya looked straight at him. ‘As far as I am concerned, they lost the winner’s trophy, Sanjay. To me that’s what matters. Whether I write a book or lead a team. I need to be . . .’ He picked up his glass of single malt and sniffed the heavenly fragrance before he sipped at it. ‘I need to be like this.’ He held up his glass of single malt. ‘Like this peg of Laphroaig. The best. My team needs to be the best, Sanjay. Nothing else is acceptable.’
    ‘Slow down, Aditya, slow down,’ Sanjay said as he patted him on his back. ‘Learn from Maya. Enjoy life,’ he said and held his glass up to Aditya. ‘Cheers.’ Aditya didn’t respond.
    ‘And now, finally we have the winner of the award for the Best Team in Retail Banking,’ the emcee could be heard in the background. ‘And the winner is . . . the Premier Banking Product team for the excellent work they did in the relaunch of the high-end Premier Banking Proposition!’ she yelled in high pitch. The entire Premier Banking team hooted in glee. Diana walked up to the stage. ‘And let me also add that they have won this award, by beating the second best team by just one vote. It was a tough fight, a very tough fight. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it for the Premier Banking team,’ the emcee’s voice screeched over the PA system.
    Aditya hurriedly gulped down the whisky and looked at Sanjay, with anger in his eyes. ‘So,’ he said, his voice dangerously low.
    ‘So? So what?’ Sanjay asked him.
    ‘So this is what it had to come to. Right. You made sure the HR vote went to your girlfriend. To the Premier Banking team despite knowing that we deserved it more.’ He raised his voice just that little bit. He was not happy. It didn’t matter to him that his team came ahead of twelve other teams to win the runner-up position. What mattered was that they lagged behind one.
    ‘Is that what you think, Aditya? After so many years . . .’
    ‘Well, years of friendship don’t matter, Sanjay. When you had to demonstrate your loyalties, you chose the woman instead. You decided to think not with your brain but with something dangling three feet below your brain . . .’
    ‘Don’t talk rubbish, Aditya,’ Sanjay interrupted his tirade. ‘I have never done anything that would impact our relationship. Never ever; you get me? There have been enough reasons in the past. Yet I have always been fair.’
    ‘Oh come on,’ Aditya screamed. A few people had gathered around. ‘You always wanted that woman to go ahead of me. Always! And when you got a chance, you played your card. How could you be so weak, Sanjay? That’s not the way you were on campus. That’s not the way you were all these years. You kept your mind in control and ensured that your head ruled. But now? I never expected you to do this. Never.’ Aditya banged down his glass and walked out in a huff.
    ‘What happened?’ Diana walked up to Sanjay, just in time to see Aditya walk away.
    ‘Congratulations, Diana.’ Sanjay hugged her as formally as he could.
    ‘Thanks, but what just happened?’ Diana repeated her question. ‘Nothing. Come. Let’s go.’ Sanjay held her hand and started leading her away from the bar. Diana looked around.
    ‘Kapoor sir was extremely upset that his team didn’t win the award, so he screamed at Sanjay sir,’ one of her team members who was around the bar when the argument happened, blurted out.
    Diana looked at Sanjay. ‘Me?’ she asked. ‘Was it because of me?’
    ‘What else could it be?’
    ‘What was it this time?’
    ‘He felt that I ensured HR cast its vote in your favour, and that single HR vote took the award away from him.’
    ‘Did you tell him the true story?’
    ‘What’s the big deal, Diana? He would never have believed me.’
    ‘You should have told him