Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith

Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith is the sharp-edged, highly decisive leader of Rest + Relaxation, a travel magazine whose identity she protects through an unusually personal sense of what is and is not fashionable. As Poppy Wright’s boss, she can inspire and intimidate in equal measure: her editorial decisions shape the magazine’s coverage, while a single refusal can stop Poppy’s hoped-for plan in its tracks. Swapna’s authority is not merely a matter of title. It is visible in the rules she makes, the attention she commands, and the ease with which she moves from empathy to business.

Identity and Editorial Authority

Swapna presides over the magazine like a benevolent ruler, though her manner and appearance seem at odds with the relaxed atmosphere its name promises. She is described as polished and formidable: a slicked-back, high-fashion bob, studded Alexander Wang pumps, winged eyeliner, and emerald eyes give her an incisive, almost weapon-like presence. In the conference room, her attention is fixed squarely on Poppy, and when Poppy drifts out of focus, Swapna calls her back to the discussion. The moment establishes the imbalance of their positions without making Swapna a distant abstraction: she is physically present, watchful, and accustomed to being heard.

Her commitment to work appears to exceed even the demands of her role. Poppy has heard that the last time Swapna rested was during doctor-mandated bed rest late in her pregnancy, and even then she spent the time video-chatting with the office, laptop balanced on her belly. The detail is reported from Poppy’s perspective, but it captures the standard Swapna seems to embody: work continues even when circumstances would ordinarily require a pause. At a later meeting, she is approving layout proofs for the upcoming fall issue when Poppy arrives with her iced Americano. Swapna is already absorbed in the magazine’s production, not waiting for someone else to set the pace.

Fashion, Travel, and the Banned-Destination List

Swapna’s editorial outlook is governed by a conviction that fashionability has a short shelf life. To her, a destination that has become conspicuously trendy is already too late for coverage. Amsterdam, for example, strikes her as overly fashionable. The judgment is not a passing preference but part of a system: a literal list of places Rest + Relaxation will not cover is pinned to a wall beside the cubicles. Each entry is in Swapna’s handwriting and dated, turning her personal editorial instincts into a visible office policy.

The list also makes the magazine’s decisions a shared ritual. Colleagues place bets on when a city will be released from its ban, and watch for the mornings when Swapna arrives carrying her designer laptop bag and approaches the wall with a pen ready. Once she has crossed a destination off and shut her office door, someone nearby checks which city has been freed and whispers the news to the editorial staff. The anticipation and quiet celebration show how thoroughly her private judgments organize the workplace: staff members do not merely receive decisions but follow their progress as a recurring office spectacle.

The list’s history supplies a particularly playful example. After Paris was removed the previous fall, someone brought out champagne, while Garrett produced a red beret he had apparently hidden in his desk for the occasion. He wore it through the day, taking it off whenever Swapna’s office door clicked and whined. Swapna eventually noticed the performance and acknowledged it with a pointed farewell in French. The episode reveals both the reach of her authority and the humor it invites: colleagues celebrate her decisions, but they also know she is observant enough to catch them celebrating.

Poppy’s Proposal and Swapna’s Decision

Swapna’s influence over Poppy becomes especially clear when Poppy proposes Palm Springs. The morning after a late night texting Alex Nilsen, Poppy enters Swapna’s office feeling wired and sets down Swapna’s iced Americano before naming the destination. Swapna is initially surprised; then her expression softens into a smile. The small change matters because it lets the proposal register as more than a routine pitch: for a moment, Poppy appears to have reached her.

That apparent opening does not determine the outcome. Swapna leans over her glass desk and explains that she appreciates the thought behind the proposal but does not consider it right for Rest + Relaxation; in her judgment, it would create brand confusion. Poppy is so stunned that she can only repeat the phrase. Swapna’s refusal is therefore both editorial and personal in its effect: the magazine’s brand becomes the reason Poppy’s chosen destination cannot proceed, while Poppy’s immediate inability to answer shows how sharply the decision lands.

Swapna has considered the matter over the weekend, but she has not reconsidered her conclusion. Instead, she tells Poppy she is sending her to Santorini and turns back to the layout proofs. Her expression shifts from empathetic manager to concentrated magazine authority, signaling that the decision is settled. Poppy remains inwardly caught on the possibility of fixing things and on the idea that the effort should not be abandoned so easily, while Swapna has moved on to the next task. The contrast defines their working relationship at this point: Poppy approaches the assignment with personal urgency, but Swapna evaluates it through the magazine’s editorial identity and retains the power to redirect it.

Narrative Role

Swapna is both a character and a force that gives the workplace its governing rules. The banned-destination list turns an abstract editorial strategy into a wall everyone can watch; the iced Americano and layout proofs place her authority inside the ordinary routines of an office. Her decisions can be theatrical, as when the staff waits to learn which city has been released, or briskly final, as when she substitutes Santorini for Palm Springs. In both modes, she determines what counts as suitable coverage.

The scenes also present her through Poppy’s attentive, comic impressions, so Swapna’s intimidating polish is accompanied by the details that make her legible: she keeps working during bed rest, notices the red beret, smiles at Poppy’s pitch, and then rejects it without lingering. She is not shown as careless or indifferent; she acknowledges the thought Poppy put into the proposal and explains her objection in terms of the magazine’s brand. Yet understanding the effort does not mean yielding to it. That combination of attention and decisiveness makes Swapna a consequential gatekeeper in Poppy’s professional life and a vivid embodiment of Rest + Relaxation’s carefully managed editorial taste.