The Bank of Bryant Park is Paradise

She looked dazed, hours of running on caffeine keeping her awake. The live deal had kept her up all night thinking about EBITDA multiples, DCFs, and how the client meeting tomorrow would go. She felt tired, ready to fall asleep in front of her dual-screen monitors. But just as she was about to close her eyes, she felt a tap on her shoulder. ‘Hey, you seem like you need more coffee. Wanna hit up the Pret round the corner near Bryant Park?’ It was Mr. Lee, and he looked way better in person. That charming smile, that wavy hair looked way better in person than during her virtual superday last spring. 

Mr. Lee was a VP at the firm, a somewhat tall Korean man in his early thirties who she had met a year prior, first on a networking call in February, then during her final round of interviews in March. During that first call, she had immediately felt a sense of connection with the man, not only because he was also an Asian-American, but also since he had attended the same semi-target/target school as herself, albeit with different majors. Although she was a history and economics major and he, a finance and accounting graduate, she immediately bonded over shared experiences such as their mandatory theology seminar during freshman year, their experience in student investment fund, and their mutual interest in Formula 1 and Premier League soccer. Before she realized the time, the networking call was over and she knew that it went well. 

It was not long after the call that she received an email from Mr. Lee, thanking her for the time. “I loved our talk and have noted you for first rounds. Let me know if you have any questions and lets stay in touch :)” She was elated. Several months ago, she knew nothing about investment banking and now she had a first round interview at a top firm? It wasn’t a EB like Centerview, Evercore, or Moelis, but nevertheless a solid BB. She couldn’t believe it. No one else she knew (except for another Korean girl and a Chinese girl in her sorority) had even heard anything about interviews. Her ex, a typical 5’10” Kevin Nguyen finance bro hadn’t even heard back from half of the cold emails he sent out. Sucks to be him, she thought to herself. Yet, there she was, marked for first-round interviews before February was even over. She must be special.

Of course, she’s heard of diversity hires, but that couldn’t possibly be her. She was Asian after all, and affirmative action supposedly works against her, at least according to what her parents keep telling her and her younger brother. Furthermore, she didn’t do any women’s programs at any firms, so she definitely wasn’t one of those candidates either. She was special, definitely special. A qualified candidate head and shoulders above all others (including her ex and his squad of wannabe finance hardos).

The first rounds came. According to Mr. Lee, who she emailed a few days ago, they “wouldn’t grill her that hard.” All she had to do was be herself and “everything will be all right.” It’ll be easier than the initial video assessment, he told her. And as he promised, first rounds were a piece of cake. 

Then the final rounds came. She was nervous, but she was prepared, at least she thought so. Half a week ago, she had gone over half of the BIWS 400 Questions. She even called her ex to teach her the basics of Excel. She was not a business major, but she at least wanted to do a bit of preparation. Yet on the day of the interview, she was pleasantly surprised. Mostly behavioral and very basic technicals. Of course, she knew how to link the three financial statements and calculate the effects of a $10 increase in depreciation expense. Those were easy questions. She was wondering why her ex and his friends were frantically going through foreign concepts such as LBOs and accretion/dilution calculations in preparation for the interviews they didn’t even have. No one needs to know those, she thought. Not a single interviewer had ever asked her such questions. 

But her highlight of the day was meeting Mr. Lee, a man whose voice was the only thing she knew about him. Even though he had a LinkedIn, there was no profile picture and she had no idea what he was like. But that all changed during the third and final interview of her superday. Turning on her camera one last time, she made sure her makeup was done perfectly. Lashes, check. Foundation, check. Lipstick, check. She was ready to make a lasting impression on the man who mattered the most, the man who pushed for her (and her two sorority sisters) interviews at the firm, and the one who expressed so much interest in her early in the recruiting process. Suddenly, Mr. Lee joined the video call and she was awestruck. There he was, a handsome Korean man with wavy, perfectly permed hair. His skin glowed like the morning dew with not a wrinkle in sight. It looks like Asians really don’t raisin, even when working 90+ hour weeks for more than a decade she thought to herself. And even though the camera didn’t show it fully, Mr. Lee had a commanding yet gentle presence that she hoped would sweep her off her feet at any moment to smother her with kisses and other afflictions of love. She tried to brush away the thought, but couldn’t resist the temptation. She was captivated by Mr. Lee and couldn’t bring herself to think otherwise.

Certain things never change and the intern stood up from her desk, joining Mr. Lee by his side and hoping to never leave it anytime soon. “Before heading out, let’s make a detour first. I want to show you something.” She just nodded silently to Mr. Lee’s request. Without any other exchange of words, Mr. Lee had pulled her by her arm across the hallway into a vacant meeting room, a suite with a magnificent view of the New York skyline and Bryant Park below. He had easily maneuvered around her slim 5’5” frame and pinned her against the wall. “Do you think I would have suggested this if there wasn’t anything interesting for me?” Mr. Lee shook his head. A sigh escaped his lips, and a slight gasp escaped hers. “I know you’ve been doing good work, but you'll have to gain some kind of edge over your fellow interns if you want that return offer,” he says to her. The room turned silent, so quiet that the steady ticking of Mr. Lee’s DateJust could almost be heard across the room. “Edge?” she answered timidly yet slyly, “Oh, I can do that and a whole lot more.” Her ex had taught her well, not only in the spreadsheets but also in the sheets. The bulge bracket of Bryant Park with the striped red and blue logo is paradise.