Ravi Subramanian - If God Was A Banker

If God Was A Banker — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "If God Was A Banker" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...53

IF GOD WAS A BANKER

By the same author

Devil in Pinstripes

I Bought the Monk's Ferrari

The Incredible Banker

IF GOD WAS A BANKER

Ravi Subramanian

First published in 2007 by
Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi 110002

Sales centres:
Allahabad Bengaluru Chennai
Hyderabad Jaipur Kathmandu
Kolkata Mumbai

Copyright Ravi Subramanian 2007
Cover design:

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and
incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination.
Any resemblance to actual personsliving or deadevents or
localities is entirely coincidental.

This digital edition published in 2012

e-ISBN: 978-81-291-2142-4

Ravi Subramanian asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Digital edition prepared by Ninestars Information Technologies Ltd.

All rights reserved.
This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publishers prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

1
New York

I t was 5.45 a.m. on a Monday morning. New York city was dark and cold. The sun was yet to leave its heavenly abode. A few cars could be heard in the distance. Early risers, who had to travel a long distance to work, were making their way to office.

Rrrrrnnng... Rrrrrnnng... Sundeep was wide awake. Yet, he could not hear the alarm bell go off. He hadn't slept the whole night. His eyes were tired but open. By this time he knew the entire topography of the Greco-Roman chandelier, which hung from the roof of his modern five-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. He himself had no idea of how long he had been staring at it... the whole night maybe! Numerous questions were flashing in his head. What would Natasha think of him? Will she accept him? What will the kids say?

'Sundeep, will you please turn it off.' It was Natasha, his wife of nineteen years. She had just woken up, her sleep disturbed by the constant ringing of the alarm. Sundeep stretched out his right hand and pressed the button on top of the alarm clock to stop the irritating buzz. Natasha went back to sleep almost instantly. She was normally the first to get up. But today was not a normal day. Sundeep hadn't slept at all.

It was not the first time that Sundeep had been awake all night. Any other day, he would be the last to leave the dance floor at any party. He would breathe life into any gathering. His admirers said that Sundeep's parties began only after midnight. But today was not 'any other' day. Today was indeed very different. There was no party tonight. Life could change dramatically for Sundeep in the next eight hours. He was a worried man.

It was only after six long hours that the Greco-Roman chandelier ceased being the centre of Sandeep's attraction. He glanced to his left and looked at Natasha. She looked like an angel in her sleep. The silky linen added a heavenly touch. Even in sleep, her lips curled up in a delicate smile. Sundeep knew that Natasha had not the slightest clue about what awaited her before she would hit bed again on Monday night.

Natasha was a bomb. Once a beauty queen, she had been attracted to the frail frame of Sundeep twenty years ago. Attracted to power, to fame, to adulation. Since then she had become quite used to it all, and probably enjoyed it too. Of late, signs of age had begun to show on her face. Her skin had started withering. Slight wrinkles could be spotted on her forehead. But, even today, only a madcap could have suggested that she was a day older than thirty.

Sandeep had not told her anything till now. But he knew that this wouldn't last. Sooner or later she would get to know. Should he tell her now and prepare her, or should he tell her after everything was over, after the verdict was out. After all, he was a very senior guy and there was just that small chance that he might get past the entire problem unscathed. But he knew it was extremely unlikely.

Staring at the chandelier all night hadn't helped him make up his mind.

He let out a deep sigh and stepped out of bed. His feet felt the exquisite texture of a Persian rug, imported from Tehran and gifted to Natasha on her thirty-fifth birthday by his NRI banking team. She was the wife of the Business Head, wasn't she?

'I will take a chance,' he muttered under his breath. His mind was made. Natasha was not to be told.

By 6.45 a.m. Sundeep had showered and got dressed in his impeccable pinstripes. He was wearing the red tie that Natasha had picked up for him from Harrods about six months ago when they had gone to London on a holiday. Their last holiday together. Sundeep was lecturing at a leadership course in London and had taken Natasha with him. That was around the time his problems had deepened. Things hadn't improved since.

He looked back over his shoulder. Natasha was still asleep. Sundeep walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. Natasha smiled back. 'Come back soon,' she murmured, unmindful of the fact that he might be coming back for good.

'Hmm...' Sundeep turned and walked out of the room. On his way out he glanced into his children's bedroom. Alka and Ajay, six and seven years of age, were firmly tucked into their beds, fast asleep. Unlikely to be up before ten. Schools were yet to reopen after the Christmas vacations, and they were in no hurry to go back to their classrooms. 'God bless,' muttered Sundeep as he made his way down the hallway to the garage, where his prized possessiona recently acquired BMW 9Swas parked.

He would have to give it all up, unless the gods decided to side with him today. 'But why would God even think of me?' It suddenly struck him that he was thinking of God, for the first time in, he couldn't even remember how long.

'Even God needs to be spoken to, else he'll forget that you exist,' his mom had once told him when she caught him running away from a pooja at a family function. How he wished he had heeded her advice.

Within fifteen minutes, Sundeep's car pulled into the basement of the sixty-two-storied building that housed the headquarters of New York International Bank (NYB), the world's fourth largest financial services conglomerate. The moment they saw his car, the guards at the gate stood up and released the lever, activating the access-controlled door for a special floor, that served as the parking lot for the Group CEO and his direct reports. A reserved parking here marked one's arrival into the Ivy League of New York International Bank.

Sundeep eased his car into the slot marked Managing Director-Retail. This slot had become his when he moved into New York twelve months ago. To manage the retail business of New York International Bank in the emerging markets, the Group CEO had handpicked him from a shortlist of fourteen candidates across the bank.

He got off his car, a beep signalling that the car had been locked. The same beep also activated a device in the parking lot, sending out a signal to his secretary on the sixty-second floor that her boss was on his way. She would get about three minutes before her boss walked into the office.

Next page

1234567...53

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «If God Was A Banker»

Look at similar books to If God Was A Banker. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Ajantha Subramanian

The Caste of Merit

V.K. Subramanian

Maxims Of Chanakya

Ravi Subramanian

I Bought The Monk’s Ferrari

Ravi Subramanian

The Incredible Banker

Ravi Subramanian

The Bestseller She Wrote

Ravi Subramanian

Devil in Pinstripes

T. S. R. Subramanian

GovernMint in India: An Inside View

Ashok K. Banker [Banker

Rage of Jarasandha

Ashok K. Banker [Banker

Lord of Mathura

Ashok K. Banker [Banker

Flute of Vrindavan

Ashok K. Banker [Banker

Dance of Govinda

Ashok K. Banker [Banker

Slayer of Kamsa

Discussion, reviews of the book If God Was A Banker and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.