Page 12 of Yes Boss
Raghav straightened first.
“That needs adjusting,” he said, voice even, stepping back to his side of the table.
Ishani exhaled slowly and returned to the keyboard.
The food arrived not long after, delivered by security. They shifted the papers aside to make room for the containers.
“I didn’t ask what you prefer,” Raghav realized belatedly, watching her open them. “I just ordered my usual.”
“It’s fine,” she said, then added, almost absently, “Though I wouldn’t have guessed you liked spicy food.”
He glanced at her. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “You strike me as someone who prefers control. Spice is chaos.”
That did it.
A short laugh escaped him before he could stop it. “Perhaps I like controlled chaos.”
She smiled faintly, returning to her food.
They ate without speaking for several minutes. The city lights shimmered through the windows, the emptiness of the floor creating a strange bubble around them.
“These projections for Southeast Asia,” Ishani said at last, tapping a slide with her fork. “The growth timeline seems aggressive.”
Raghav looked up. Assistants didn’t comment on strategy. They took notes, followed instructions, and kept their opinions to themselves. He should shut this down immediately.
“Why do you think so?” he asked instead.
She didn’t hesitate. “You’re estimating eighteen months to enter Vietnam and Thailand. But approvals there have slowed. Governments are prioritising local businesses.”
He set his fork aside. “You’ve looked into this?”
“I reviewed the background material while finalising the presentation,” she said, as if that were standard practice,like all assistants would dig deep into international rules and regulations.
“What do you think we should do?” The question came out before he could think about what it meant to ask her for advice.
“Start with Singapore,” she said, already pulling up a document. “You have infrastructure and credibility there. Use it as your base while building relationships in Vietnam and Thailand. That pushes the timeline to twenty-four, maybe thirty months—but it reduces friction.”
Raghav leaned back, studying her. It echoed a concern his strategy team had raised weeks ago. One he’d dismissed as cautious thinking.
“That’s close to what Marketing suggested last month,” he said. “I thought they were being conservative.”
“Sometimes patience is the more aggressive move,” Ishani said, then paused. “But you know these markets better than I do.”
The retreat was small. Polite. Amusing.
“Do I?” he said lightly. “You seem well informed.”
“I spent a semester in Singapore during my MBA,” she said, returning to her food. “Business there runs on relationships first. Speed comes later. It’s not Mumbai. Or New York.”
Raghav explained his thoughts about the need for quicker growth and the tough competition they faced. Ishani listened closely, asking smart questions that showed she understood international business well.
“We have a challenging investor in Singapore,” he said, revealing information he usually kept to himself. “Recently took over his father’s board seat. He questions every decision I make.”
Ishani nodded. “I’ve read his emails. He’s far more aggressive there than he is on calls.”
Raghav looked at her. “You noticed that?”
