Chapter 3: Mahir Sehgal

As soon as Andy announced that they had secured the deal, the entire office erupted in screams and whoops of celebration. Yuvi and Vish hugged each other and then pulled Bella in for a rib-cracking hug. When they let go of her, she was gasping for breath. The only person who didn’t join the celebrations was Anu. She had a very sour look on her face as she observed everyone celebrating Bella’s success. 

Andy personally came forward and congratulated Bella on her success. Vyankatesh was looking extremely proud as he looked at her. Suhani whipped out her phone and called up Pratham immediately and informed of the success. In the midst of this celebration, came a snide comment, “I don’t know why everyone is praising Bella so much. It was Yuvi who clinched the deal.”

Andy looked at Anu in anger. Before he could say something that damaged his relationship with Anu’s father, Yuvi intervened. 

“She is my mentor, Anu. She deserves most of the credit. She encouraged me and honed me and that is why today I was successful.”

“Yeah, right!” she scoffed. “We all know Bella is here only because her mother is friends with Sir’s wife. Otherwise, she would never be here.”

“Anu,” Yuvi began cheerfully. “Anu, you keep saying that over and over again.”

“Because that is the truth. She is here only because of her contacts,” Anu spat. 

“Have you ever looked in the mirror?” Yuvi asked her in the same infuriatingly cheerful voice. “If you haven’t then please take look. You are the same college drop-out, Anu Mittal, Shyamsundar Mittla’s only daughter who is here only because her father is an investor in this company. Your father may be an investor in this company but even he will not tolerate this brattish behaviour and drunken tantrums. Anu, Bella is not a charity-case as you keep implying. You are. So please shut-up otherwise I know many more secrets of yours that would embarrass you.”

Anu looked as though someone had slapped her. That she was college drop-out was not known to anyone. Yuvi had just delt a below the belt blow. Anu stormed off from there and everyone else returned to their work. Their mood had been soured by Anu’s antics. 

In the Sehgal House, Mahir was being hounded by his mother and his Maasi. The topic was his marriage. Rohini had dropped by to congratulate Sumitra on Yuvi’s engagement to find that Mahir had had a nasty fall in the bathroom. Both, Rohini and Sumitra were busy fussing over him, applying ice to the spot where he had banged his head, applying ointment and generally driving him crazy. He loved his mother and his Maasi but just then he wanted to leave to see his younger brother present for the first time. And both the ladies were hell-bent on keeping him home. If it had been just Sumitra, he would have easily managed her. She could never say no to his puppy eyes. But since even Rohini was involved, it was nearly impossible. 

He had tried asking nicely, tried pouting and also getting angry but nothing had worked. They both had ganged up on him and he knew if he didn’t escape soon, they were going to launch a joint attack on him regarding his marriage. So he tried every trick in the book to escape but none of them worked. So he decided on the strategy of divide and conquer. He decided to target Rohini first. So, when Sumitra had gone to refill the ice bag, he turned to Rohini. 

“Maasi, please try to understand. It’s Yuvi’s first presentation today. I want to hear him give it.”

“You can hear via call,” Rohini told him. 

 That was true. He decided to try again. 

“But it will boost his confidence if I am personally present there,” he said. 

“Mahir, you know the risk of driving when you just banged your head. We can’t let you do that,” Rohini explained. 

“But Maasi, you know Dad won’t like it if I am not there,” he grumbled. 

“I will Sumitra to call him and let him know,” Rohini promised. 

Mahir was frustrated. He decided to try one more time. This trick was a little mean and could backfire badly if it went wrong but he decided it worth a try.

“But Maasi, I was really looking forward to meeting Bella you know. I wanted to speak to her about something very important. I am so impressed by her...” He let the sentence trail and looked at Rohini with a disappointed look on his face. The statement had had the desired effect on her. 

Just then Sumitra entered the room with the ice bag. She gave it to Mahir and dialled Andy’s number but Rohini stopped her. 

“Ro, don’t fall for his antics. Bella Sharma is Yuvi’s mentor and he wanted to meet her on official business. And he is impressed by her mentoring skills. She managed to turn Yuvi into a dedicated and responsible employee. Not just him but everyone is impressed by her but don’t read too much into it...” Sumitra told her.

Rohini glared at Mahir. He shrugged, “ I had to try.”

Rohini shook her head and Sumitra dialled Andy’s number and informed him that Mahir won’t be attending. Soon after Mahir received Vish’s call and he tried to shoo Sumitra and Rohini out but they refused. 

“We will stay right here and hear Yuvi present. And then we will the opportunity of hearing the impressive Bella in action,” Rohini taunted Mahir. 

He had no option but to let them stay. They listened to the entire meeting for the next hour or so. Once the meeting got over, Vish disconnected the call. 

“Wow!” Mahir exclaimed sounding impressed. 

“Yes, Yuvi was amazing wasn’t he?” Sumitra agreed. 

“No, I am not talking about that,” Mahir said impatiently. “ Did you see that Bella had given Yuvi the most important part of the presentation? It takes a tremendous amount of guts and even more confidence in oneself to do that. I am impressed.”

Rohini and Sumitra exchanged looks and said in unison, “Ooo impressed.”

“Stop it ma, Maasi,” Mahir said. 

“No, but seriously Mahir, when will you start getting impressed by their character, looks, their behaviour and not by their business acumen?” Rohini asked him. 

“Maasi, please... Not again,” Mahir groaned. 

“Mahir, you are thirty-two now. If not now then when will you marry?” Rohini questioned him. 

“You make it sound like I am an old man... There is still plenty of time. What’s the hurry?” Mahir countered her casually. 

Mahir’s casual attitude infuriated Sumitra and she turned to him in anger, “ What’s the hurry? Your younger brother proposed his girlfriend yesterday.”

“So?” he shrugged. “It’s not some kind of competition that I, being the elder one should propose someone first. Yuvi fell in love... He proposed Vish... What my marriage have to do with all of this? It’s not like I am stopping him from marrying her.”

“How can you be so casual about this Mahir?” Rohini questioned me. 

“I don’t get what the fuss is all about?” Mahir said exasperated.

“You are his elder brother, Mahir. How can we get him married before you? Mahir, the society expects you to get married before your younger brother,” Rohini explained. 

“What nonsense is this, Maasi?” Mahir laughed. “So, basically you want me to marry because society expects me to get married. So, tomorrow if I say that I don’t want to marry. Will that mean that ‘society’ will not let Yuvi marry his love because his elder brother is not married and doesn’t want to marry?”

“Are you serious?” Sumitra asked him shocked. “You don’t want to marry?”

“What? NO!” Mahir exclaimed. “I just gave an example. I do want to get married...”

“Then what’s the problem?” Rohini asked him eagerly. 

“The problem is that I need some time...”

Sumitra cut him off. “You are thirty-two Mahir... You are running out of time,” she told him. 

“Come on, Mom. I am not a girl that you tell me that your biological clock is ticking. My biology will be working just fine even when I am seventy,” Mahir said. 

“Shameless.” Rohini smacked him. 

“What shameless, Maasi? Its simple science,” Mahir defended. 

“We are talking about the fact that we are soon going to run out of prospective alliances for you,” Sumitra informed him. “Why would a girl in her mid-twenties agree to marry someone in his mid-thirties? The longer you wait, the faster you are going to run out of options.”

“Mahir, listen to me,” Rohini said. “ There is a right time and age to get married and start a family.”

“This is not the right time for me Maasi,” Mahir explained.

“If not now the when? When you are sixty?” Sumitra retorted. 

“No, Mom,” Mahir said patiently. “Not sixty but I would appreciate some more time. I am yet to figure out what am I looking for in my future wife. Once I figure that out...”

Mahir trailed off as she saw Sumitra giving him a death glare. 

“You mean to say that you still have no idea of what kind of girl do you want?” Sumitra asked him incredulously. 

“That’s not what...” Mahir deflated a bit under her glare. “ I mean I do have some idea... Actually, you know what, Ma? No, I have no idea what I am looking for,” he admitted. 

“You have been meeting prospective alliances for the last one one-and-a-half years and you still don’t know what you want? Then, on basis were you rejecting those poor girls?” Sumitra shouted. 

“Whoa! Calm down, ma,” he said startled at her violent reaction. 

“No, I can’t. You were confused, then you could have talked to me, or your father or Ro or Alekh... Someone in the family would have helped you get some clarity. But you didn’t and now you have to audacity to ask for more time?” Sumitra screamed. “Mr Mahir Sehgal, you are going to spend the next few days giving this topic serious thought, okay? Next time you step out to meet a girl, you will be clear as to what you are looking for. I give you a week. At the end of which I expect a detailed discussion on this topic.”

“That’s unfair, ma,” Mahir complained. “Yuvi gets two whole years of dating Vish to figure out what he wants and I don’t even get two weeks?”

“That’s because you wasted a good one and a half years in being confused. I am not against confusion but this is insanity. That means you were rejecting all those girls without any valid reason. And I will not tolerate that,” Sumitra told him firmly. 

“Sumi, relax,” Rohini tried to calm her down. “Let me talk with him.”

Turning to Mahir she continued, “Look dear, it’s high time now that you take a few decisions regarding your life. The first question that you need to ask yourself is whether you want to get married or not.”

“Not getting married an option?” Mahir asked her surprised. 

“Of course, it is. We are not going to push you to do something that you don’t want to do. Also, it's better to let you remain a bachelor for the rest of your life than spoil a girl’s life by getting her married to you when you didn’t want to marry,” Sumitra told him. 

“Sumi!” Rohini glared at her. 

“Fine, I will leave,” Sumitra huffed and left the room. 

“She does have a point, Mahir. So think about it. And think about everything. The decision to not marry today will impact your future. And we don’t want to regret anything at sixty. And if you are sure that you want to marry, then I would suggest you give the next girl you meet a serious thought. I am not saying that you have to say yes to the very next girl but consider her. Think if will she make a good partner to you,” Rohini explained. 

“But Maasi all of this can be achieved without a deadline, right? Why do I have to do this before Yuvi’s marriage?” Mahir complained. 

“That’s because Mahir in a couple of years, we will really find it difficult to find a suitable match for you. And Vish and her parents will expect us to announce the wedding date soon. That is the next step for them. And don’t you always say that you work best under pressure and with set deadlines? So think of this as a project and take Yuvi’s wedding that will happen in a few months as a deadline to select a bride for you,” Rohini told him. 

“So, I don’t have to marry before him?” Mahir asked her eagerly. 

“Of course not! Unless of course, you want to. We would not stop you from doing that. But even if you just get engaged before his marriage, that would be alright,” Rohini assured him. 

“Okay Maasi, as you say. I will give it a thought. And Maasi, I really want to get married,” Mahir, in turn, assured her. 

She ruffled his hair and went to inform Sumitra about what Mahir had said. 

That night at the dinner table, everyone was discussing that day’s presentation. 

“Bhai, you should have seen her face when I announced that she is a college drop-out,” Yuvi was describing. 

“You really did that?” Sumitra asked in surprise.

“Obviously! She was really getting on my nerves,” Yuvi said. 

“Andy, won’t Mittal get angry because Yuvi humiliated his daughter?” Sumitra asked anxiously. 

“I don’t think so. Mittal loves his daughter but doesn’t pay any attention to what he terms as kids fights,” Andy assured her. 

“And ma, had this coming for a long time,” Yuvi commented. 

“And Sumi, Mittal is my friend and an investor. My sons need not bend backwards to fulfil each of his whims and fancies. Mahir will soon take over the entire business. Anu needs to know that if she is to stay, it will be based on performance and not because her father is an investor,” Andy asserted. 

“And ma, she was taunting Bella. I couldn’t stand and be a mute spectator to that right?” Yuvi questioned her. 

“Yes... Don’t gang up on me now. I am not feeling bad for Anu in any way. I just expressed a concern,” Sumitra laughed. 

“Yuvi,” Mahir called him. “You were really good in today’s presentation.”

“That’s all Bella, Bhai. She is a terror to work with but at the end, it was all worth it,” Yuvi said. 

“I see.” Mahir was quiet for a long time. Finally, he said, “She has been working on this project for the last six months, right?”

“Yes,” Andy said. “She has not taken a single day off in that time. By the way Mahir, I spoke with her regarding that... She had a very positive review to give.”

“Oh, nice! So, we can go ahead with that.”

“Yuvi, we wanted to know your opinion about Bella. You know her the best. So, tell us, do you think she will be able to handle being on the board?” Andy asked him suddenly.

“Yes, Dad!” Yuvi said immediately. 

“You just said she is a terror to work with...” Mahir trailed off. 

“Bhai, that’s when someone is not focused enough. She hates that. She is a great mentor. Very encouraging and understanding. If she feels that someone is being lazy then she gets on their case otherwise she is very patients. She just has no time for laziness and idiots,” Yuvi defended his words. 

“Was she any different with you than she was with others? We don’t want someone who plays favourites,” Mahir quizzed him further. 

“No, she is same with everyone. Me being the owner’s son didn’t matter to her in any way,” Yuvi told them. 

“Good, then Dad, let’s announce things tomorrow itself,” Mahir said. 

“Can’t Mahir. Her forced vacation starts from tomorrow,” Andy informed him. 

“Her what?” Mahir asked unsure that he heard it right the first time. 

“Forced vacation... Vyankatesh has given her an ultimatum that if she doesn’t take a two-week-long vacation, he will hand her termination letter,” Andy informed him. 

“That’s a bit harsh,” Mahir commented. 

“She hasn’t taken a single day off since her last promotion,” Andy stated.

“When was that?” Sumitra asked curiously. 

“Two years ago when she took over as Yuvi’s mentor,” Andy shrugged. 

“Bhai, you and Bella will get along really well,” Yuvi declared. “If you guys could have it your way, you would never take a holiday, work on all days of the year...”

“Andy, please tell me that Bella and Mahir will not be interacting much after she gets this promotion,” Sumitra laughed. 

“Ma, they will be working very closely...” Yuvi informed her. 

“In that case please pass on my condolences to her mother. She is not likely to see her daughter very often,” Sumitra joked. 

Everyone laughed at that. Post dinner, everyone retired to their respective rooms.