The Romantic New Zealand Assignment

Robert was amazed when the waiter returned his card with a receipt that popped his eyes out. He turned to Anita showing her the bill thinking they had undercharged him by mistake, but she urged him it was time to go saying she needed to get home and the waiter and in charge ushered them respectfully to the door. Anita was beginning to feel guilty about the way she’d manipulated that restaurant and anxious to leave which raised Robert’s suspicion. He spoke.

“I’d intended for us to get to know each other a little better Anita so I’m sorry you don’t have time to do that this evening.”

She sighed looking at him guiltily.

“If you have time, you could see me home to my apartment and we could talk there Robert as I want to have a good relationship with you through the project. I was a little overwhelmed being back in my childhood environment and needed to get away to process that.”

Robert smiled.

“I’d like that and am sorry you didn’t enjoy the restaurant. The food was excellent.”

They chatted on the way to her apartment by taxi and Robert was impressed by the neatness and order of her rented apartment when they arrived. He really liked this woman but there was something strange that had upset her at the restaurant and eventually he’d pry that out of her. He commenced with an outline of his growing up years, his schooling and his ambitions for the future. She relaxed as she listened and then poured out her growing up years describing the culture and mind frame of her family along with the terrible experience she had when she revealed she was not going to return to India. Robert listened spellbound. This was a culture far beyond his comprehension but for the first time in his life he felt interested in a woman outside of professional contacts. It was getting late and he needed to get home for a few hours rest before commencing his days activities early. He indicated he was going to leave but had one last question. What had transpired at the restaurant that made her want to leave so early. The guilt of what she’d done came out in a rush and she suddenly burst into tears to the consternation of Robert who got up to leave thinking he’d done something to upset her.

She caught him by the arm as he rose to leave and indicated through sobs he should sit while she composed herself. When she did it all came out in a flood with her making constant apologies and asking he forgive her for embarrassing him as she knew he was a man of high principles. She’d told them he was a food critic and told them to impress him if they were to get a good report when he wrote his critique in food magazines.

Robert stood shocked and stared at her processing what he’d just heard. Then the humour of the moment struck him, and he burst out laughing and went to sit down but on impulse turned and hugged the startled woman. She didn’t recoil at his touch as would certainly be her impulse in normal circumstances. He stood hugging her for a few minutes and liked the feel of it and she didn’t move away glad he’d taken it so lightly. Then he released her and went and sat down again staring at her.

“You certainly are a surprise, Anita. A food critic! Me! I’m afraid I’m going to have to closely supervise you as we work together in New Zealand. You can cause an international incident playing those kinds of tricks unless I watch over you to prevent that and I think I’m going to enjoy doing that. I’m going to be your shadow now so be on your best behaviour while we are in New Zealand.”

He burst out laughing again and she smiled happily that he wasn’t upset with her. She was surprised at the warm glow she’d experienced as they hugged and wanted more but her conservative upbringing was at war with her over those feelings. She spoke.

“I guess you need to be going shall I phone for a taxi to pick you up? Oh, and if you’ve really forgiven me can you show it by giving me another hug before you leave just to confirm you’re not angry.”

Robert sat smiling while he contacted a taxi and waited for it to arrive which it did fifteen minutes later. He saw the taxi arrive through the window and turned to face her extending his arms.

“Here’s your hug and whenever you want to confess anything else just let me know and I’ll come around and give you a hug to cheer you up partner. A food critic! Really Anita.”

Two weeks later William Carter accompanied by Robert and Anita were met at the airport serving Auckland New Zealand and hurried through immigration and customs by the government liaison who’d be heading the government team working with the Deloitte team and through whom progress reports would be shared with the head of the government department with Robert in attendance each time for questioning. At the conclusion of the project estimated to take up to a year the government would sit in session to decide what out of the recommendations could be confirmed. One of the first orders of business would be to gain a thorough understanding of the systems currently in place and drawing on experience from other parts of the world what could be improved considering the different culture. What works in one country does not necessarily work in another for many reasons, but overseas experiences can be a prompt toward more efficient systems, and the bottom line is governments must provide acceptable services to their constituencies at a price affordable.

They were transported to the Fitzroy Hotel on being cleared to enter the country. This would be their base and considering the length of their stay favourable rates had been pre negotiated. A rental car had been arranged for the duration of their stay and that would be delivered to the hotel next but they were soon rushed after settling in their rooms to meet with the government team they’d be working with where William Carter would give an initial outline of how the project would commence and an outline of the different phases this project would be expected to move into noting that as they learned together adjustments would naturally be made.

The government team presented the mechanics of how this government service currently was conducted and the issues facing those who had to implement the system throughout the country. One of the most important aspects of this project would be management of a necessary cultural change. The thousands of people currently employed around the country to manage services would be set in their ways and new ways are always resisted so work needed to be done in this important area, and they’d be joined by experts from Europe and the US as the project developed. These imports had worked around the world with governments implementing change so knew the pitfalls of implementing change on an international governmental level and while that knowledge would be important it was necessary to modify what had worked internationally to suit the New Zealand culture.

 William let Robert take the lead but stayed with the team for a week before heading back to Melbourne to make sure Robert was well received by the government team. The consultant from the US had worked with different governments around the world and as soon as final arrangements were made William would notify them the name. Later as the project reached the stage where government had decided on which recommendations would be placed before parliament for action, they’d be joined by a woman from the London office who’d been one of their change management experts with a wealth of successful project Implementations behind her. She’d be vital in massaging those who’d be implementing this new system in all the regional centres around New Zealand and they’d obviously be resistant to changes in the way they did things. This woman was of French extraction and usually loved by those who she worked with on the front lines but prickly to deal with on the management team according to William so Robert needed to be careful in his dealings with this valuable woman.

Months went by and they now had a thorough knowledge of the downside of the current systems in use and over time had devised many possible ways to update systems to provide a more efficient and cost saving alternative. There’d been many strong disagreements along the way from members of the government reengineering team appointed to work with Deloitte’s as these members were aware of community potential resistance and the effect on their department minister politician’s future re-election prospects. Robert had seen it all before and waited patiently for them to sort out their team members but insisted that recommendations should eventually be for best practice rather than compromises that would not meet the objectives of the government study. Robert also knew that regular leaks to the opposition political parties was something the government would be very sensitive to, so their work had to be done secretly until government approved. Anita watched it all with interest and stored each phase of their project journey in her mind for future reference.

Eventually the project was beginning to wind down and battles through parliament had been resolved and permission granted to make the necessary changes to service delivery for the citizens through this department’s branches in each city. Robert had been working on a potential IT system in harmony with the new approach though that would be the work of the American Denzel Brown assigned to get a new system operational. He’d be expected within the month.

Also, enroute from London was Eloise Dubois who they’d been cautioned to treat carefully. She’d oversee change management. Over the almost year of reengineering study and negotiations with interested parties Robert and Anita had foregone their right to take a break and fly back to Melbourne and had worked through weekends and holidays mostly while the government team paused to spend vacations times with their families. Their rental apartments in Melbourne were given the option by Deloitte to sub-let to them for the duration of the project and store furnishings and personal effects left behind which they chose to do. They were also given a loading on their salary and benefits while on duty overseas depending on the country they were assigned to. They were well cared for.

There were occasions when Robert saw Anita was beginning to wear out due to the constant grind of work sometimes far into the night. He continued to work out in the hotel gym before heading for work each morning to counteract the stress, but Anita was too exhausted to even think about that as an option. Eventually he’d given up on the exercise equipment and encouraged her to join him for early morning brisk walks around Auckland before breakfast to help her cope physically, but he could see this was hard on her to be sleep deprived. He tried reducing her workload, but she insisted on matching his workload. Their superior William on one of his visits to check on progress noted Anita’s exhaustion and asked Robert if he felt it would be good for her to take a break in Melbourne and they could send a substitute. Anita was horrified when this was suggested to her and shed some tears begging to be allowed to continue and Robert promised William the next government declared holiday long weekend, he’d take her on a trip to see some of the tourist sites in that the government closed over that long holiday. Anita was delighted when Robert told her William had instructed him to take her for a tourist break.

Friday afternoon they’d begin the journey to Rotorua in their hire car anxious to make the three hours journey to enjoy their booking at Asure Rotorua International Motor Inn. Robert had told Anita to pack her swimsuit so they could enjoy the spa and hot springs. Anita protested. In India that would be unseemly and the women would wear their saris or Punjabi outfits into the water to bathe. She’d made many adjustments to western culture to fit in grateful to all who’d made it possible for her to continue in Australia after graduation and no longer wore her traditional attire, but this was a challenge to her. Robert had urged her to make this adjustment saying in this part of the world no one would consider her out of place doing that and she was missing out on fun times. She said she didn’t own a bathing suit, and Robert took her to one of the shops selling beach ware and insisted she purchase one. She sat inside a cubicle looking at herself in the mirror and trembling thinking how wrong this would be considered in her culture and on impulse called to Robert hovering outside the curtain asking if he’d be prepared to look as see it was decent in this culture. She trusted him but was shaking when she pulled the curtain apart to let him see. Robert gasped in admiration.

“You look beautiful in that swimsuit Anita, and the colours suit you so well. I’m going to be very proud to have you in my company during this holiday. I’m going to have difficulty keeping this vision out of my head when we work together now. Everyone in Rotorua will be jealous of me.”

Anita stopped trembling and studied Robert. His words sent a wave of pleasure through her, and she hoped what she’d heard was right. She remembered those two occasions in her apartment when he’d given her a hug and how it had made her feel. She wanted him to take notice of her and resolved to be more careful of her dress and appearance in future as she wanted her to be that vision in his head and wondered if it would be OK for her to wear her swimsuit for the whole time in Rotorua to get his attention. Then she was torn out of her thoughts as she became aware of him speaking to her. She shook her head and asked him what he said.

“I was asking if you had casual clothes like shorts and tops to walk around in Rotorua Anita, you didn’t seem to have sports clothes when we went on morning walks, but you suddenly went into a trance.”

He laughed and she felt embarrassed she’d lost track of her surroundings briefly.

“I don’t have anything like that Robert. You’ll have to help me make more adjustments to the culture I’ve chosen as it’s hard for me to adjust and I want you to be happy with me.

Robert studied her for a few minutes and then spoke.

“Stay in the cubicle Anita. I’m going to see one of the saleswomen and have them bring you some casual clothes to try out.”

She dropped the curtain and waited, and a saleswoman soon asked to look at her so she could bring things for her to try on. Anita opened the curtain and the woman sized her quickly, as a North Indian she was taller than most from the centre and south and wheat coloured rather than the darker shades of other regions. The woman spoke.

“You have a lovely skin colour. I’ll bring you some things that fit right in with your skin tone and make that man of yours very happy.”

This got Anita excited thinking about how this might have Robert notice her more. She was still digesting what he’d said about her in this swimsuit.  Soon the woman returned with an arm load of shorts, tops and jeans.

“Leave what you don’t want in the cubicle and only bring out what you want to pay for. I’m sending your man to inspect you as you choose.”

Anita carefully removed the swimsuit and folded it like a treasure. Then selected some shorts and a matching top peeping through the curtain to see if Robert was there. He nodded appreciatively. Then she tried the jeans with another matching top and opened the curtain and Robert nodded in approval. She then tried the remaining shorts and matching top and Robert nodded again. After it was over she asked Robert which of the ones she’d tried on he thought looked best on her. He told her to get dressed and he’d tell her. She got dressed and he went inside the cubicle and picked up the whole selection heading for the counter indicating she should follow. She did so protesting, as she was supposed to leave some in the cubicle. He indicated a chair where the saleswoman stood waiting and told her to sit. They woman looked at the clothes and selected a couple of casual shoe styles to try on her and Anita began to worry about what this was going to cost her. She glanced at Robert who nodded at the saleswoman looking at him for approval each time and Robert asked if she liked them. She nodded feeling a bit overwhelmed. Robert indicated they needed to get back to the hotel and pack for the intended holiday. He took out his credit card to Anita’s surprise and paid for it all at the desk much to the woman’s delight. Anita exited the shop staring at Robert. Gifts like this were associated with an engagement ceremony in her culture and she wondered what this all meant. She spoke softly as they walked back to the hotel.

“Robert in our culture gifts like this are only exchanged at the time of a family arranged engagement. Why did you do this? I don’t understand your cultural practices.”

Robert paused and smiled.

“Anita if I didn’t already know you wouldn’t accept me as a foreign suitor because of your family culture I’d have been taking you to a jeweller to buy you an engagement ring too so I suppose we will have to settle for this as being appreciation for your hard work during this project and the wear this has caused you. You deserve more in my thinking, and you are an intelligent woman and will go a long way in future with Deloitte’s. William is impressed with you.”

Anita was beside herself with happiness. She’d dreamed of a future with this man but didn’t think he’d be happy with her as her culture was so different to his. It was now or never.

“Robert I’d be so happy if you’d take me to that jeweller.”

Robert turned to her in shock.

“Do you mean that?”

Anita nodded. Robert looked at his watch and then changed direction away from the hotel hailing a taxi to a place he’d noted in his early morning walks. They arrived at Michael Hill Jewellers with an hour to spare before closure and a salesperson immediately moved forward to serve them. Robert explained the purpose and they were directed to a secure area where they were shown several engagement rings to make a choice. Robert indicated Anita should make her choice and provided it was not out of his range to afford they could buy before the shop closed for the day. Anita found one she fell in love with immediately and it was at a reasonable price. She was not one to flaunt wealth. Money was to be invested not worn like the women did around their necks in India. Their jewellery was their wealth there as many thought banks were not to be fully trusted and banks could be accessed by the tax authorities as part of the determination of taxable income. She looked at Robert as the ring was placed on her finger a perfect fit and Robert nodded happily producing his credit card again. She was so moved as she gazed at this beautiful circle of art tears formed in her eyes and she reached over and wrapped herself around this man who she admired for his ethics and loved deeply now. She whispered in Hindi her mother tongue the only language she knew that could express her deep feelings for Robert.

“main tumse pyar karta hoon robert or hamesha tumhara samarthan aur dekhbhal karane ke lie vahan rahunga.”

“I need to know what that means in English Anita.”

“Robert English does not express my feelings now as beautifully as it is expressed in Hindi but here’s a rough translation. I love you Robert and will always be there to support and care for you.”

Robert smiled broadly. His mind had toyed with the idea of a future with this beautiful exotic woman with tanned skin but always crossed it off as a possibility imagining she’d prefer one of her own caste and culture. He was beside himself with joy but knew there’d be rough times ahead when her family learned of this and they had to face the company policy there should be no romantic relationships in the office and husband and wife could not work together at least in the same branch of Deloitte’s. So, they’d need to be very careful not to show any affection in their work environment or even outside of that where those they worked with would guess their relationship was no longer professional. Having paid for the ring they exited and hailed a cab for the hotel and Robert helped Anita carry all her loot to her room. She pulled him inside when they arrived there and dumped her treasures on the bed then wrapped herself around him and they just stood there while Robert caressed her and kissed her on the forehead. He whispered.

“Anita, you’ve made me the happiest man alive this evening and I look forward to our life together, but we have problems. You can’t wear your engagement ring to work, or we’ll be in trouble with corporate rules. When we get back to Melbourne after this job is complete, I’ll have to seek other employment so we can get married. Deloitte’s have been very good to you sorting out a visa so you can work with them so ethically you need to continue with them for some time to come and there will be times we are separated so it will be hard on all of us, but we have to honour our commitments to Deloitte. What am I supposed to do to make things right with your family in India? How can I bear to have you so close at work and not touch you. This is going to be hard, but I’ll do anything to have you in marriage. I must go to my room now as it’s going to hard for me to control my feelings in a setting like this.”

Anita increased her grip on him, so he stood enjoying the feeling of being with someone he loved deeply.

“This is going to be hard Anita I really must go. I’m going to enjoy our time in Rotorua together. It will be like a honeymoon in advance but without the joy of being with you as a husband.

She released him and he left the room. But he was no sooner in his room than his cell phone chimed and he picked it up. It was Anita and his heart melted as he saw her on the video call. They whispered endearments to each other, and she forced him to wait while she marched to the bathroom and tried each of her new purchases again in turn and he watched happily as she emerged each time dressed in her new outfits while her cell phone sat in a vantage place for him to see her parade. He could see her excitement with the afternoon’s activities but had to gently tell her he had work to do contacting the Melbourne office with some reports and needed sleep. He cautioned her not to show their changed relationship when they went briefly to the office next day before heading for Rotorua.

To be continued.

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