Chapter 16

Note : So I have been threatened with Antakshari, lemons and Bombs...due to the long break in updates ... But as some of you know it was crazy three weeks for me before I could start writing again , so here is the first update this weekend, hopefully I will be able to do 1 if not 2 more this weekend .
Thank you for your patience ...here we go ...
XXX

Chapter 16
The silence of the night screamed at him.He was not sure whether the ticking of the wall clock provided relief or jarred him more .He looked at the bedside digital display It was 2:45 AM . Sleep was distant ..Infact in the last three months it had become the friend who refuses to acknowledge you after a fight . It would be around but refuse to settle in .All he would get is a temporary shut eye when due to sheer exhaustion his brain would stop functioning
The headache was getting worse . The tablet had done nothing . He missed the soft fingers that would message it away . He missed the lap where he could rest with some relief.
He finally flipped the bed cover and walked out of the penthouse,. He now had no option but to use his last resort when at times like this nothing worked .
He pressed the elevator button to her floor. He still referred it as her floor and walked to her apartment .
The silent apartment still seemed welcoming to him . He had kept it exactly as she had left it .
He crashed on the couch and buried his head among the cushions, willing them to be her embrace .
Sleep decided to take mercy on him finally , bowing again to his last resort.
The traffic on outer ring road was the usual. Bumper to Bumper , screechy and it stopped more than it moved .
Tempers were raised as were the April temperatures in Delhi . The dry heat fuelled road rage instances even more. Shaurya was relieved that it was not him driving today .
Today he needed his wits about him. For these 90 days he had been working toward his one goal and he was getting one step closer.
Shaurya had made his lawyers pour through this Grandfather's will for three days , a full 72 hours before they came up with a clause that he felt he could use
Six weeks ago, Sanjay had danced like a joker , when Shaurya had forfeited his rights to the property His grandfather had allowed him that option anytime. No one had ever thought that Shaurya will ever use it.
Today the trustees were meeting to decide on next steps post   Shaurya's forfeiture.
Sanjay took sometime to believe that the Majnu had given up on Laxmi Maiyya for his Laila .
He had wondered many times where Laila had disappeared . His goons had been able to tell him nothing. She was not in touch with her family , no phone calls , no visits nothing.
She did not call up the Majnu , who seemed to have buried himself in work .He was not even seen on the party circuit much these days except for some events directly related to his business interests.
He sure wanted to have her under his tab , lest he needed to make good his threat , but she had simply disappeared from the face of the earth. He had even got professionals to tap the Majnu's phone and hack his mails but no there was no contact.
He could not care less for the two idiots pining in love..
He came dressed like a peacock about to burst into its plumes for the meeting
Today finally the trustees would have no option but to offer him the rights of his property that was always his .
He was going to be humble. He will thank his dead father . He will thank Shaurya . He was going to offer Shaurya Khanna a job as a manager at one of his restaurants.
He cackled like a lunatic imagining Shaurya Khanna's face .
He was humming ...
Apni to Jaise Taise ..thodi aise ya waise
kat jaayegi
Aapka kya hoga janaabe aali
Film Lawaaris
1981
Gaayak Kishore kumar sangeet Badh kiya hai Kalyaan ji Anand Ji ne
He enlightened one of the trustees , who seemed least interested .
The proceedings started . Sanjay was shocked that there were two options in front of the trustees none of them involved passing on the property rights to him.
One was to continue as it is , giving power of attorney to Shaurya to run the business on the trust's behalf .
He knew Shaurya would want that . He was sure Shaurya Khanna will like total control . He liked Shaurya Khanna being in control because then all he would have to do is have Shaurya under his thumb, and that was easy.
Shaurya Smiled .The hard work of last few weeks was about to give the desired results . He had lobbied intensely with the trustees and it was a tricky job
He knew Mama was close on his heels so he had avoided mails and phone calls. He had used the few business events he had hosted to meet some of the trustees.
With others he had clandestine meetings arranged by his lawyers.
They all had finally agreed to support him. Though many could not understand why he wanted to apparently give up control .
It was not in Shaurya's nature to open up all his cards at once He evaded quite a few questions that they directed towards him.
However they still went with him because they had full faith in his competency and integrity.
Sanjay looked very confused when the trustees voted all the property to be passed on to a holding company, with Shaurya as the Chairman and CEO.

The sunrise was promising .it was going to be a beautiful day . The breeze had picked up today . She was grateful for the relief from humidity as she walked along the beach. Goa in April was a mixed bag . It could be heaven with a balmy mid twenties and nice breeze or it could be hell with high thirties and stifling humidity .
The law of averages was finally turning in their favor with some great weather on it way after the humidity laden past week. She was thankful for the still persisting cloud cover .It provided a much required shield from those killing direct rays .
She turned to walk back where her scooty was parked   She needed to get back before the breakfast service started .
The Mandovi river was a silent companion on her picturesque ride back to the spice farm. That green enclave tucked slightly away from the hustle and bustle of touristy Goa provided her wounded heart the shelter she craved.
Mehak had realized, Nature at its best is very nurturing . It brings life back to you . No wonder they called her Mother nature.
The spice farm was not isolated , as there were groups of tourists that did visit the farm every day , but it was not very crowded or loud . She otherwise could not stand the Goa party culture . She refused to acknowledge her secret fear of bumping into some Delhi socialite who had links to him or worse bumping into him , had she been somewhere on the hub.
She turned into the coconut tree lined property bounded by fragrant woods on one side and a small tributary of the Mandovi on other .
Silence interspersed with the wing clapping and cooing of the birds greeted her ,
She hurried into the open kitchen area where modern equipment jostled for space with earthen stoves and wooden pestles .
The first group was slotted at 9 AM.. She had less than an hour to get the welcome a drink and the Goan specialties for breakfast ready .
Her two helper ladies, Geeta Tai and Leela Tai were already on the prepping .
She quickly wished them and asked them if the Bananas were mashed . Today they were doing Banana pancakes , Koyloyo ( Rice cakes) and Goan sweet Buns..
The welcome drink was warm ginger water. Leela Tai told her that the ginger was peeled.
She quickly got down to work .. She knew that today was a slightly elderly group of eight from UK. They would appreciate being on time , so that their time on the farm was not squeezed out After it took some time to explore the Cardamom bush , the pepper creepers , the intoxicating betel nut palms and many more, The nutmeg fruits which also yield mace , turmeric roots and the aromatic orchids of vanilla all were on the tour.
Life on the spice farm had dulled her ache . Yes he still featured in her dreams regularly . Sometimes he smiled at her . Usually he scowled.
However she had learned to live with her ache. She had tried hating him but could not.
Afterall It was her folly . She had not completely understood what he wanted . She had in those rush of hormones not stopped to think whether they both were looking for the same things
Yes he had loved her in his own way. She had seen that in his eyes . She had heard that in the sincerity of his voice , but she wanted more and maybe he was not ready to give her that.
She had raised her stakes in the game too high and she had lost. Her conditioning and upbringing and not allowed her to stay in a relationship that she knew her family and society would frown upon.
Maybe she was more to him than a use and throw, as that despicable woman had suggested , but she was not enough for him to acknowledge the relationship to the society in a format approved by it.
The group was here . They had appreciated the spread laid out by her and had enjoyed it with the same eagerness and curiosity as they had for their welcome Aarti and Tilak,
Among the group was a couple celebrating their 50th   anniversary . Mehak wondered what it felt like to grow old with someone you love.
She quickly brushed away her tears , and waived to the group , asking them to come back hungry for she was going to lay a sumptuous spread for their lunch.
"Well that sure seemed a happy active bunch ."
She turned back to see Brian and Sandra Nazareth walk towards her .
The couple were the owners of the farm and her employers , but more than that they were her friends .
She had immediately felt connected to them and they to her, else who in this day and age offered a total stranger a job.
Providence had made her land in Goa then..
She had called Mohit that day in total distress . She needed her home to hide and lick her wounds, but she did not have the courage to face Kanta Chachi and the rest of her family.
Mohit was on his way to the airport for his guys trip to Goa. She had decided to join Mohit , totally disregarding Mohit's plea of what he would face with his friends for bringing his sister for their trip
She left it to Mohit to tell her family that she was going to Goa and Mohit left it to PD to control the hyper family to let Mehak be incharge of her life .
The one way ticket to Goa had cost a bomb , and finding a room where Mohit and his friends were staying was equally tricky ., but she had managed .
Though she avoided them most of their day , it gave both her and her family the peace of mind that they were around.
On her third day , she had hopped on to the bus going towards the spice farm on an impulse .
She had come back and told Mohit she had a job and was shifting to the spice farm.
The Sharma family went into a state of collective shock to know that their protected princess was now going to live all alone in Goa , but they prayed to Mata Rani for .her safety and happiness.
"Oh sure they are more active that people fifty years younger than them" Smiled Mehak.
Brian smiled . His twinkling blue eyes were the only sign of his British legacy else his , tall dark and lithe frame made him look every inch a Goan with Portugese ancestry.
Sandra with her lilting Irish accent was such a pleasure to talk to . Her smile accentuated a friendly attractive face that one could immediately open to .
They had both left their jobs in London to settle here in Goa , the land of Brian's ancestors.
Would you guys care for some breakfast , asked Mehak..
Oh no dear ..we need to hurry ..today is the meeting.
Oh yes of course ... All the best for that . mehak wished them both.
The Nazareths were meeting a few investors today . the spice farm needed a fresh infusion of funds for some of it's more ambitious plans.
Since Lunch was still sometime away she decided to have a quick skype call with her family .
They had created a separate ID for this only and it was the only mode of communication allowed.
She knew PD would always be online . She was the most technically savvy Sharma .
Kanta Chachi and Maansi Chachi quickly joined PD peering through the mobile screen. After she had like every time assured every one of her well being , she asked how things were back home and got complete update of who had left her husband , who was pregnant and who getting married in the mohalla.
Nehal came in a little late and demanded as usual to talk to her Di alone.and snatched PD's mobile.
She was the only one in the family to have guessed that there was something between her and Shaurya .
Di , she whispered , as she closed the door of her room , Have you noticed that there is absolutely no news of his linkups since you left him.
He has simply disappeared from society pages . you find him only on the business pages,
"I never left him Nehal , we were never together ..." Stuttered Mehak
"Oh Di , shut up , must we go through it again ..Look I respect you may not want to tell me all the details but respect my intelligence ..why else would you leave such a great job and Delhi in such a hurry and why this need for complete secrecy ?"
Nehal interjected impatiently ...
" Accha forget all that ..do you know what is the name of the new company of which he is the CEO ..Nehal cooed excitedly "...
"Nahi .." Mehak Sounded confused ...
"Oh Di kabhi to newspaper padha karo ( Read the newspaper atleast sometimes)...It is L'Arome Holdings "
"Haan to??? ( so what ????) " Mehak sounded even more confused ...
Ohho Di ..nahi samjhi ab bhi ?? L' Arome is French for Mehak ...
Mehak gasped in surprise ... She needed some time to digest this ...
She was even more surprised when she saw Nehal too gasping in surprise ... she was looking away from the screen , and peering through her own mobile
"Ab tujhe kya hua ,,,ab kya padh liya "
(Now what happened ...what did you read ")
Di news of the day is that L'Arome holdings is looking at possible investments in Goa.
The sisters stared at each other through the screens

tibs092017-02-18 02:31:15