Chapter 4: Perfect Match

As promised, Bella took a holiday of two weeks. As soon as she got home, she and Prathm sat down to plan a road trip. While they both care of the bookings and other travel arrangements, Janvi and Omkar saw to the packing of their bags. A vacation of two weeks was no joke and there were many arrangements that needed to be done. In a couple of days, they were all set for the vacation. On the third day of her holiday, they started off early in the morning. 

Here as Sehgal house, Sumitra was still fussing over Mahir and his fall in the bathroom. She didn’t let him go to the office even the next day. Finally, on Wednesday, Mahir managed to convince her to let him go. That was his first day in the office. Andy planned to retire soon and wanted to make sure that all the staff members were comfortable with Mahir and his work ethics. 

Mahir received a grand welcome in the office. Owner’s son who was supposed to take over soon coming to the office for the first time meant something significant. Mahir had spent the last few years managing their London branch and had now come over to take over the entire business. 

After the initial pleasantries,  everyone waited with bated breath. It was time to announce promotions that were due. Everyone was looking at Andy expectantly. 

“So, I know you all are wanting to know about the promotions and increments. We will put up a list on the board. But there are a few promotions that I would like to personally announce,” Andy declared. 

“First of all, Suhani, you are being promoted to the post of Senior Executive, meaning, Bella’s cabin is now yours,” Andy told her smiling. 

Vish gave a loud whoop and Suhani smiled broadly. 

“By your own request Vishakha, you are being given an increment of 40% but no promotion,” Andy continued. 

Vish gave a small bow and Yuvi looked at her and smiled. 

“As you all know that Mr Mehata and Mr Khurana are retiring by this month-end. So we now have two vacancies on the board,” Mahir said. “After deliberating a lot, we have decided that one vacancy will be filled by none other than Yuvraj Sehgal.”

Yuvi looked startled at this announcement while Vish gave a loud whoop. Yuvi looked at his brother and Mahir smiled at him. 

“The second vacancy will be filled by Bella Sharma,” he continued. 

There was stunned silence after this announcement. Yuvi’s appointment was expected but Bella, a normal employee getting appointed on the board was something very surprising. But after a moment’s silence, everyone rejoiced. Bella was loved by almost everyone. There were a few factors that disliked Bella like Anu and some others, but their dissent was drowned by the roar of approval by the pro-Bella factors. 

Once everyone had settled down a bit, Mahir gestured to the board where rest of the promotions were pinned. Everyone rushed to the board and Mahir followed Andy to their cabin. They were to share the cabin for the time being. Post Andy’s retirement, the cabin would belong to Mahir alone. 

Mahir entered the cabin and sat on his chair. He had refused to occupy the MD’s chair while Andy was still the official MD. He began to go through a few files to familiarize himself with the ongoing projects. To his surprise and anger, he found that half the files were not properly filed while many had some vital documents missing. 

“Dad,” he called Andy. “How do you work with this mess? Who the hell is responsible for this stuff?”

“Anu,” Andy replied. “I was bound by my friendship with Mittal but you can do whatever you feel is correct.”

“What kind of warped logic is that, Dad?”  Mahir asked him exasperated. 

“Look, I couldn’t use a lot of harsh words for her. I always had to get behind her to get her to complete those files. These files are incomplete because I had not visited the office for some weeks,” Andy explained. 

Mahir shook his head and called the reception, “Send in Anu. Immediately,” he barked. 

“She has not come yet,” Tanvi replied. 

“What?” Mahir exclaimed. 

“She had not come even yesterday,” Tanvi informed him. 

“Send me her number, I will talk with her,” Mahir said and disconnected the call. 

Mahir called her up as soon as he received her number but no one picked up the call. He tried again and this time she answered it. 

“Yes, who’s this?” came her sulky voice. 

“Why aren’t you here today?” Mahir got straight to the point.

“Why don’t you ask that to your son,” she replied sulkily.

“Listen, I don’t have time for these dramas. It’s Mahir here,” Mahir informed her. 

“Mahir,” she cooed. “I didn’t know you were there...”

“You didn’t answer me, why aren’t you here yet?” he repeated. 

“I am upset,” she replied sulkily. “Yuvi unnecessarily insulted me the other day. I had never felt so insulted before...”

“Listen, I don’t have time for your petty fights with Yuvi. Not when there is work to be done. I want you here is one hour...” Mahir was cut off by her sniff. 

“Or else, what?” she sniffed. “Yuvi insulted me. Harassed me mentally and now even you are doing the same. Is this how you treat a girl?”

Mahir was losing patience very fast. “Anu, I want you here in sixty minutes flat. Otherwise, your termination letter will reach your home. I am sure you don’t want to explain how you lost this job to your father.”

Mahir disconnected the call and turned to Andy, “Dad, you can transfer her literally anywhere but I don’t want this girl around me when I take this office.”

Andy smiled at his irritated expressions and nodded. Rest of the day passed pleasantly enough for everyone except Anu. Anu showed up nearly half an hour late and was chewed up by Mahir for the same. She left the cabin in tears. If she expected that other staff members will sympathise with her then she was wrong. Mahir didn’t let her leave till very late. He made complete fifty percent of the pending filing before she left. No amount of cribbing and tantrum-throwing affected him in any way. 

Andy had warned Suhani against telling Bella the big news. He wanted her to know it when she came back. Vyankatesh agreed saying that if she found out now, she would rush back. So, Suhani, Vish and Yuvi kept their mouths shut. 

Next few days went by similarly. Mahir got rejected by another couple of prospective alliances as they found him to be too intense. Sumitra was disappointed. Now she could not even blame Mahir as the girls themselves rejected him. Mahir was happy. He was getting to know the work slowly. Anu was the only one having a difficult time as Mahir expected the work to get done promptly while Anu had the habit of delaying things as much as possible. Andy used to tolerate her behaviour but Mahir didn’t. She had also found out about Bella’s promotion and that had left her fuming. Mahir had paused her increment as well. He wanted her to finish all of the pending work and only then will he allow her salary to be increased. 

Rohini’s husband Alekh went back to London to take care of a few things related to Sehgal Industries. He was to now divide his time between London and Mumbai now that Mahir had permanently shifted back to India. 

One evening, Gayatri, Vyankatesh, Rohini, Sumitra and Andy met for dinner at Gayatri and Vyankaetsh’s home. While chatting, the topic turned to Bella. 

“When is Bella coming back? I am beginning to miss her presence in the office now” Andy confessed.

“I think she should be back in another three-four days,” he replied. 

“Gayatri,” he called towards the women who were sitting separately. “Any idea, when is Bella coming back?”

“In three days,” Gayatri called back. “Janvi had called me just yesterday. They have started back. Another three days of travelling left. She should join back a day after she returns.”

Andy looked satisfied at this answer. “She is an extraordinary girl,” he commented. 

“That she is,” Vyankatesh agreed. 

“You have known her since she was a kid, right?” Andy asked him. 

“Yes. Janvi and Gayatri have been friends since their college days so Bella has been a part of our extended family since long.” Vyankatesh said. 

In the meanwhile, the women were having a discussion of their own. Vyankatesh aksing about Bella had stirred even their conversation towards her. 

“Bella... Hey, she is the same one right who was Yuvi’s mentor? The whom Mahir was so eager to meet...” Rohini asked. 

“I have heard of literally no one else for the last two years,” Sumitra laughed. “Yuvi goes on about her. Bella this... Bella that... For quite some time I was under the impression that Yuvi is dating Bella. Imagine my surprise when he brought home Vishakha one day as his girlfriend.”

Rohini and Gayatri laughed at that. 

“She sounds like a sweet girl,” Rohini commented. 

“Yeah, even Andy can’t stop praising her,” Sumitra agreed. “He was saying just yesterday that he is missing her presence in the office.” 

“Can you imagine, even Mahir was eager to meet her...” Rohini laughed. 

“Mahir was what?” Gayatri exclaimed. 

“Don’t get too excited. He wanted to meet her to talk to her about Yuvi’s performance,”  Sumitra said in a dejected voice. 

“He pulled that trick on me as well,” Rohini told her. “And I fell for it.”

“That’s what I thought. How come Mahir...” Gayatri laughed. 

“I had a long talk with him on why he should get married that day. I think I have convinced him to give marriage a serious thought...” Rohini commented. 

“Even I had a similar discussion with Bella the other day,” Gayatri said. 

“You really know her family well, don’t you?” Sumitra asked her. 

“Yes. Her mother and I have been friends since our college days,” Gayatri said with a smile. “Janvi thought I might be able to get through to her better than her mother.”

“So, did you succeed?” Rohini asked. 

“I think so. At any rate, I convinced her that relationships take time and efforts. You can’t expect a perfect relationship served to you on the platter. I think she understood that” Gayatri mused as she sipped her mocktail. 

“Kids these days. They are ready to work on their careers but not on relationships,” Sumitra commented.

“Come on, Sumitra. Even we had similar notions. It’s just that no one explained these to us so nicely,” Rohini corrected her. 

“Talk about yourself. I always knew that a relationship can’t survive without a few adjustments,” Sumitra scoffed. 

“Really?” Rohini arched an eyebrow at her. “I seem to remember someone being very upset because Andy’s mother objected to your long hair and insisted that you cut them according to the latest trend.”

“Now who would have thought that Bebe would have issues with that?” Sumitra laughed. “But she eventually accepted me, long hair and all.”

“How did you manage to convince Mahir?” Gayatri asked Rohini. 

“I told him that eventually, no girl will be ready to marry him if crosses a certain age,” Rohini laughed. 

They all laughed at that. After a short pause, Sumitra asked, “So, Bella’s parents are looking for a groom for her?”

“Yes,” Gayatri replied. 

“How old is Bella?” Sumitra asked thoughtfully. 

“Thirty. Why?” Gayatri asked curiously. 

“Are you thinking what I am thinking?” Rohini asked excitedly. 

“What do you think of Bella and Mahir as a couple?” Sumitra asked Gayatri. 

Gayatri thought for a moment and a smile spread across her face slowly. “I think it’s worth giving it a try,” she said. 

“What has got you all so excited about?” Andy asked. 

He has come to where the women were sitting to tell them that the maid is laying the table. 

“We will tell you in a bit,” Sumitra told him. 

“What are you doing here?” Rohini asked him. 

“Oh! Yeah, the dinner is ready,” he said. 

They all got up and went to the dining room. Soon the maid served them the food. Once everyone was seated, Rohini nudged Sumitra. Vyankatesh saw that. 

“Why are you both nudging each other like schoolgirls?” he asked with a laugh. 

“Andy, what do you think of Bella?” Sumitra asked him tentatively. 

“You know what I think. She is a marvellous girl,” Andy replied looking a little puzzled at this sudden question. 

“Gayatri was just saying that her parents are looking for a groom for her,” Sumitra told him. 

“Really?” Andy asked surprised. “I hope they have enough sense to marry her off in a household where they will encourage her ambitions. I don’t want to lose my star employee because she got a*****e for a husband.”

“Andy!” Sumitra exclaimed shocked at his choice of words. 

“What? It’s true,” he shrugged. 

“Don’t worry, her parents realise that,” Gayatri assured him. 

“Then good.” Andy continued eating. 

Rohini once again nudged Sumitra. Sumitra nodded her head. 

“What is it, Sumitra?” Andy asked her with a smile. 

“What do you think of Bella and Mahir as a couple?” she asked hesitantly. 

Andy choked on a bit of his food and Vyankatesh, who was sitting beside him, thumped him on the back. While Andy recovered enough to speak, Vyankatesh looked at Gayatri for confirmation. She nodded her head excitedly. 

“What?” Andy exclaimed. 

“Think about it,” Sumitra insisted. 

“Didn’t I just say I don’t want to lose my star employee?” Andy asked her incredulously. 

“But if this works out, you will not just retain your star employee but also gain a star daughter-in-law,” Rohini told him. 

“I can vouch that Bella will make a great daughter-in-law,” Gayatri promised. “She has her priorities sorted. Family and work are at the top of her priorities. You know how disciplined she is, Andy. She keeps her word and she is great at multi-tasking. Didn’t you see how she managed Yuvi’s mentoring plus whatever other projects that she was handling?”

“You don’t have to pitch Bella to me, Gayatri,” Andy said impatiently. “I know her work ethics better than you. But still, this is madness. I can’t risk making Bella and Mahir awkward by forcing them in such an awkward situation. They are supposed to take the company forward. They are supposed to work together for life. I can’t risk them being awkward for life because one of them ended up rejecting the other.”

“Why can’t they be a team at home and at work? Think about it, Andy,” Sumitra insisted. “Who else is going to encourage her better than us? We value her, not just as a human being but also as an employee. She will work for our company, not because she is paid for it but because her family owns it. It will be perfect.”

“Can you hear yourself speak? Vyankatesh, say something.” Andy turned to his friend. 

“As a board member, I think its a bad idea but as a foster father, I think its a brilliant idea,” Vyankatesh said looking conflicted. 

“What?” andy looked taken aback at this response. 

“Look, buddy, as a board member and the AMD of the company, I can see why you are hesitating. Bella is an asset to the company and we obviously need such employees to be around Mahir when he takes over. But I can’t help but feel that what Sumitra is saying also makes sense,” Vyankatesh said. 

“What if Mahir rejects her?” Andy asked. 

“And what if he doesn’t?” Vyankatesh countered him. 

“Let me have a word with Janvi and Omkar. Let’s see what they say. And if they are okay with this, I have a plan,” Gayatri assured them. 

“Okay,” Andy relented. “But this better work.”

“Andy, Bella and Mahir both are mature enough to deal with rejection if it comes to it,” Vyankatesh assured him. 

“Fine, you people meet up and decide what is to be done. It will be better if I don’t appear involved for now,” Andy told them. 

“Don’t worry, I will talk with Janvi and set up their meeting,” Gayatri promised.