Chapter 5: SettingThem Up

Bella and family returned after a few days. Bella kept on feeling like something was not quite right because neither Suhani nor Vishakha nor Yuvi said anything about her promotion. Yuvi called her up and informed her about his promotion for which she congratulated him. She then expected him to tell her that she had been given the promotion that she had been eyeing. But he very sweetly said goodbye to her and disconnected the call. 

The same thing happened when she called Vish. She congratulated Vish on Yuvi’s promotion and Vish demurely accepted the same. Nothing else was said. Suhani hid her own promotion from Bella so that she wouldn't suspect anything. So Bella felt that maybe she didn’t work hard enough to get the promotion. She was very upset but decided to keep her feelings to herself as she didn’t want to spoil the rest of the family’s mood on their holiday. 

Suhani had already informed them of Bella’s promotion and also about her promotion but warned them against telling Bella. So, the rest of them were very happy. When they got back, Bella had got over her disappointment and was eager to work doubly hard. On the day she was to return to work, Janvi insisted on feeding her dahi cheeni. Even Suhani had come as Janvi wanted to feed the same to Suhani as well. Suhani had quietly accepted the dahi cheeni and touched Omkar and Janvi’s feet. She now stood in one corner watching Bella and Janvi argue. 

“But why mom?” Bella persisted. 

“It’s your first at work...” Janvi fumbled. 

“Mom?” Bella looked puzzled. 

“Why can’t you be like Suhnai? She didn’t ask so many questions. It’s just dahi cheeni. Eat it and leave,” Omkar commented. 

“Dad, it doesn’t make sense,” Bella argued. 

The truth was since it was Bella’s first as the COO of the company, Janvi wanted her to eat dahi cheeni but she couldn’t reveal that to her. Pratham saw her struggling and came to her rescue. 

“Mom, stop beating around the bush. Just tell her already.”

Both Janvi and Suhani glared at him. He winked at them. 

“Just tell her the real reason. Bella,” he continued. “Mom wants you both to eat dahi cheeni because you didn’t get the promotion that you expected right? So, from today onwards, you both will work with renewed vigour. So, dahi cheeni.”

Janvi heaved a sigh of relief. Bella looked convinced by that reason and she quietly ate the spoonful. Soon, Bella and Suhani were on their way to the office. When she reached there, their security guard insisted that he will park her car. She was puzzled. He did that only for the top management. She protested for a bit but then let go.

When she entered the office, Tanvi gave her a radiant smile which she returned uncertainly. She then came face to face with Anu and Anu gave her such a venomous look that Bella looked shocked. She knew Anu hated her, but that look was too much. Sahil, one of her subordinates approached her with a smile. 

“Ma’am, Sir has called you to his cabin,” he informed her. 

“I will be there,” Bella responded. 

She turned towards Andy’s cabin while Suhani escaped towards her cabin. Bella knocked on the door and someone told her to come in. She entered the room. 

“Big boss, I am back...” she said just as she heard someone say impatiently, “Why are you always late?”

She stopped in her tracks. She was staring at a handsome guy of her age. He had an impatient look on his face which turned into surprise followed by sheepishness. 

“Sorry I...” they both said together. 

He gestured for her to speak. 

“I thought it’s Big Boss in here,” Bella said. 

“And I thought it’s Anu. I had summoned her half an hour ago,” Mahir said. 

“Oh! I just saw her outside. If looks could kill, you would have seen me dead. She gave me such a glare for just breathing near her,” Bella laughed. “Oh! I am Bella Sharma by the way.”

She offered her hand to him which he shook. Since Mahir was not sitting in the MD’s chair, Bella assumed him to be some new employee. She had never seen Mahir’s photo before. 

“And you are...” she asked.

Before he could answer, Andy entered the cabin. 

“Bella, you are here? Good. This is Mahir, my eldest son and Mahir, this is our star employee, Bella.”

“Hello, Sir,” Bella greeted him formally.

Mahir acknowledged her greeting with a nod. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“So, how was your holiday?” Andy asked her. 

“It was good,” Bella replied. 

Just then there was knock on the door and Anu entered looking sullen. 

“Why do you always take so long to come?” Mahir asked her impatiently. 

Andy stirred Bella away from an irate Mahir castigating a sulky looking Anu. Bella was shocked. The rumours were true. Andy’s son really didn’t tolerate any nonsense. She was surprised to see Andy walking away from her cabin. 

“Boss...” she began but Andy shushed her. 

Andy led her to a door that looked newly painted. It was the COO’s cabin. “I guess we are meeting the new COO,” she thought to herself as Andy pushed open the door. The cabin was empty except for a huge bouquet of flowers. Bella stood awkwardly at the door. Andy turned to face her. 

“What do you think?” he asked her gesturing around the cabin. 

Bella looked around carefully. She had been inside this cabin innumerable tomes to meet the previous COO. The interiors were totally different now. The walls were a pale blue with pestle yellow curtains adorning the window. There was a matching sofa set with a coffee table in one corner. Another door opened towards the balcony that gave an excellent view of the city below. 

“It’s nice,” she told him uncertainly. 

“Like it? We took the liberty of doing up the room. Suhani and Vish helped of course,” Andy told her with a smile. 

They heard footsteps approaching the room and next moment Mahir entered the cabin with a key in his hand. Suhani, Vish and Yuvi followed him in. Mahir turned to Bella with a smile. 

“When Mr Mehta retired, he had one specific name that he felt could replace him as the COO of the Sehgal Industries. He was quite adamant that we accept his suggestion. And that name was Bella Sharma.”

Yuvi, Suhani and Vish whooped as Andy smiled broadly. Bella was looking at him, stunned. 

“R... Really?” she mustered to say. 

“Yes.” Mahir smiled at her. 

“Wow!” Bella sat down suddenly. “I didn’t expect this... I never expected this,” she muttered. 

“Do you know what is your problem?” Andy asked her with a smile. “You underestimate yourself. When we asked Mr Mehta who would replace him, he was insistent that it be you.”

“So does that mean, Suhani...?” She looked at Andy expectantly. 

“Yes, Suhani is now the senior executive,” Andy confirmed. 

Bella smiled broadly. Mahir cleared his throat. 

“Excuse me, but here is the key to your new cabin.” Mahir offered the key to Bella and she stood up hastily and accepted it. 

“Thank you, Sir.”

“I will let you enjoy your new domain,” Mahir told her. “Let me get back to Anu. I am sure she has managed to mess up something while I was gone.”

Saying this he left the room. The cabin had a glass front wall. Sehgal Industries believed in transparency. So every cabin had glass walls and no curtains on them. So when Mahir was passing the glass wall he saw Bella give a delighted squeal and hug Suhani and Vish. He saw his father give them an indulgent smile. He also saw Yuvi wrap all the three girls in a clumsy hug, his long gorilla-like arms squeezing the three of them tightly. He heard their faint squeals as they tried to push him away. He smiled and went back to his cabin where Anu was sitting sullenly, staring at her phone screen. He gave an exasperated sigh and got down to work. 

In the meanwhile, Gayatri had called up Janvi and if she could come over with Vyankatesh. 

“Bad timing, Gayatri,” Janvi told her in a harassed voice. “I have just emptied our bags and I have to wash clothes worth almost two weeks. You know these people hate laundry washes.”

Just then she saw Pratham dump red clothes along with white ones in a single bucket. 

“Pratham,” she thundered. “Red ones separate and white ones separate.”

Pratham meekly separated the clothes as Janvi returned to her call. “As you could hear, I look away for one moment and Pratham was ready to dump coloured clothes and white clothes together. We won’t even be able to speak properly.”

“Well, it’s a bit urgent...” Gayatri hinted. 

“Do you know how much shopping Bella has done?” Janvi continued in a distracted voice. “No Pratham! You can’t put dark coloured clothes with light coloured ones unless you want all the colours to mix,” she shouted. 

Gayatri laughed. “Give that kid a break, Janvi.”

“Break? I am going to end up breaking my head,” she said wearily. “Omkar... No, don’t unpack that bag now,” she thundered suddenly and Omkar sheepishly moved away from the bag in which their shopping was packed. 

“I swear, Gayatri, I am never taking these people out on a holiday. They are worse than kids. Always bickering. Bella and Pratham nearly drove me crazy with all their fights. And Omkar was no help at all... I had forgotten just how stressful holidays can be for mothers. I am going to need another holiday just to get over the strain of this one,” Janvi confessed. 

“Janvi, what you need is a break. Look, I really need to meet you urgently. Why don’t I come over to your place and let’s all of us go out for lunch then,” Gayatri said soothingly. 

“No, the lunch is taken care of. Anyways Omkar and Prathan are sick of outside food now,” Janvi told her. 

Gayatri was feeling guilty for forcing this meeting but Sumitra had been behind her blood for the last couple of days to talk with Janvi. Sumitra was very excited at the idea of having Bella as he daughter-in-law. No amount of cautioning from Andy could suppress her enthusiasm and optimism. So Gayatri and given in. 

“Look Janvi, it’s very urgent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t insist. And you need not worry about the mess. I am not some guest. Okay, how about you guys come over for lunch? That way we can talk and you need not worry about the mess for some time,” Gayatri suggested. 

“Okay, will do,” Janvi relented. “We will be there by twelve-thirty.”

“Great!” Gayatri disconnected the call. Janvi informed Pratham and Omkar about the new arrangement. Pratham wanted to quickly go and visit his cafe before they left so he rushed away while Omkar helped Janvi with the unpacking. 

They were at the Iyer’s place by twelve-thirty sharp. Janvi had carried some sarees that Bella had bought for Gayatri and a shawl for Vyankatesh. She handed over the gifts and they settled for lunch. Keeping in mind that Omkar and Pratham were tired of outside food, she had kept the menu simple. When Janvi tried to ask her about the urgent topic that she wanted to talk about, Gayatri told her that they would talk after lunch. Another surprise was that Vyankatesh was home for lunch. He had decided to stay back while Gayatri spoke to Janvi and Omkar about setting up Bella and Mahir. 

Post lunch they settled in the living room. Janvi was now beginning to get a bit impatient. Gayatri sensing that quickly broached the subject of Bella’s marriage. 

“I have a prospective alliance in mind,” she said. 

“Really, Gayatri?” Janvi said annoyed. “You make such a huge deal out of this? You could have simply told that to me on the call itself.”

“No, we just wanted to run it by you,” Vyankatesh told her. 

“Come on, Vyankatesh,” Omkar said. “Do you really think at this point that you need to run it by us before setting up a meeting? It’s not like you are getting Bella married. Go ahead and set up a meeting and let us know.”

“Yes, Gayatri. We know you have Bella’s best interest at heart and any guy that you think I worthy of meeting Bella will be a good guy,” Janvi chided her. 

“Will, you both hear us out?” Gayatri asked them. “We are thinking of Mahir. Mahir Sehgal. Andy Sehgal’s eldest son. 

“What?” Janvi, Omkar and Pratham said in unison. 

“Yes, and that is why we wanted to talk with you before we set up a meeting. Mahir is not just Bella’s boss’s son but also her boss now. Do you want to pursue this alliance?” Gayatri asked Janvi. 

“If you are okay with it, we will set up a meeting between them,” Vyankatesh offered. 

“I am sure if you think this is worth mentioning then Mahir is a great guy and from what you have told me he does sound to be perfect but why would they want to pursue this alliance? Even if we say we are interested, why would they want to pursue it? We are nowhere near their status in the society,” Omkar asked bewildered. 

“Yes,” Janvi agreed. “Bella is their employee. I know Andy sir seems to be very fond of her and he values her but all that is as an employee.”

“Actually, it was Sumitra who suggested this,” Gayatri revealed. 

“What?” Janvi exclaimed even more stunned. 

“Yes,” Vyankatesh confirmed. 

Janvi and Omkar looked at each other. “What do you think?” Omkar asked his wife. 

“I think it’s worth giving this a try,” Janvi replied. 

“Great then,” Gayatri said enthusiastically. “I will inform Sumitra and get her to call you.”

Omkar and Janvi left Gayatri’s place in a daze. Janvi couldn’t help but hope that this alliance works out. Apart from being one of the richest and the most successful in the country, the Sehgals were the humblest people she knew. She had met them on various occasions and had had the opportunity to interact with them.  She was also worried about how Bella would react to this news. 

Just as they were reaching home, her phone rang. She picked it up to find that it was Sumitra. 

“Hello, Janviji,” Sumitra greeted her. 

“Hello, Sumitraji,” Janvi said. 

Sumitra giggled loudly. “This whole Ji business is so weird.”

Janvi laughed nervously. “Yes.”

“Let’s call each without the suffix Ji,” Sumitra decided. 

Janvi hesitated for a bit. “Only if you are comfortable with it,” Sumitra added hastily. 

“Yes, I am okay,” Janvi told her. “But you are the boy’s mother after all. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to address you by your name...”

“Look Janvi, let’s not get into that. Just because I am the boy’s mother doesn’t mean that I have two horns and tail,” Sumitra laughed. “Can we meet? I want to discuss a few things with you and Omkarji before our kids meet.”

“Umm... Sure... When will you be able to come?’ Janvi asked her. 

“How about in a couple of hours?” Sumitra suggested. 

“Sure,” Janvi replied. 

“Perfect,” Sumitra enthused. “We will be there.”

As soon as Sumitra disconnected the call, Janvi rushed to the elevator and pressed the button to their floor. Omkar and Pratham had gone ahead since she was talking on the phone. They were lounging on the sofa when Janvi rushed in looking like a woman possessed. 

“Get up!” she thundered. “Get up and get to work. Sumitra and Andy Sehgal are coming in two hours. We have to get the house in order before they come.”

Omkar and Pratham jolted out of their seats like electrocuted. There was a frenzy of action for the next hour or so. Janvi got down to do the dusting and all, while Pratham took charge of the kitchen. Omkar went hang the washed clothes in the dry room. Within an hour the house was spotlessly clean. They piled all of their suitcases in Bella’s room in a semi-decent heap. The dry, unwashed clothes were filled in a huge laundry bag and that bag was dumped in Pratham’s wardrobe. Suhani and Pratham were scheduled to go to her cousin’s housewarming party and hence Suhani left the office a little early. When she reached Partham’s home, she found them in the middle of this action. 

“Aunty? What is all this?” she asked as she stepped in and nearly bumped into Janvi who was dusting behind the door. 

“We are setting up the house for Sumitra ma’am,” Pratham called from the kitchen. 

“What? Why is she coming here?’ Suhani asked surprised as she gently pried the cloth from Janvi’s hand and took over the dusting. 

Janvi threw her a grateful look and took up the broom to complete sweeping. 

“They have proposed an alliance between Bella and Mahir,” Janvi told her as she swept the floor. 

“What? That’s awesome!” Suhani exclaimed. 

“Yes, it is,” Omkar commeneted as he struggled with a bunch of his paintbrushes that were strewn on the floor. “But Bella doesn’t know yet. And nor does Mahir know.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Suhani promised. “Uncle, let it be. I will pick up the colours and brushes. You go and see if Pratham needs any help.”

Suhani swiftly and efficiently packed his colours and brushes and kept them away. Omkar went to the kitchen where he offered to help Pratham. Pratham guided him to whip up some cream for the fruit salad that he was making. He then wanted to cut the fruits but Pratham instead told him to stir the sauce that was on the stove. 

“Dad, keep the heat low and keep stirring continuously. We don’t want the caramel sauce to burn,” Pratham instructed as he swiftly cut up some fruits. 

Once the fruits were cut, he took over stirring the sauce from Omkar and sent him outside to help Janvi and Suhani. As stepped out of the kitchen, he stepped straight into all the dust that Janvi had collected to be swept into the dustbin. 

“Omkar!” she shouted, exasperated that he was standing in the dirt. “Stop dancing here and there. Go and sit at one place.”

Suhani giggled as she straightened a few articles in the living room. 

“You know what? I will go and get ready.” Omkar huffed. 

“Better,” Janvi called after him. 

In the next few minutes, last of the mess was cleared and Janvi and Suhani sat on the sofa, tired but happy. 

“Suhani, go get ready,” Janvi said suddenly. “ Otherwise, you will be late for your cousin’s housewarming party.”

“Aunty, let it be. I won’t go. I will stick around to help you,” Suhani told her with a smile. 

“No, go get ready. I will tell Pratham to get ready as well,” Janvi told her sternly. 

“But...”

“No arguments Suhani. You will do as I say,” Janvi instructed her. 

“Okay, Aunty, but don’t you want to change?” Suhani asked her eying her sweaty dress and messy hair. 

“Yes. You go to Bella’s room and change. And take as much time as you need,” Janvi told her. 

Even Pratham went to get ready. Janvi stepped out after dressing up quickly and went to the kitchen to find that Pratham had arranged everything nicely and also cleaned the kitchen. 

Just then the doorbell rang and she heard Omkar open the door. She rushed out to see Sumitra and Andy standing in their living room. She folded her hands and greeted the two of them. They returned her greeting Namaste. She was about to step back to get some water for them but Suhani beat her to it. Seeing that Suhani was getting water for them, she went and joined them in the living room. Pratham stepped out from his room and went to greet them. Andy looked surprised to see Suhani come out of the kitchen with glasses of water for them. 

“Suhani?” he called out in surprise. 

“Hello, Sir,” she greeted him. 

“This is our youngest son, Pratham and she is, as you know Suhani,” Janvi introduced them. 

“Suhani is my girlfriend,” Pratham elaborated. 

“So is this why you left early?” Andy asked her. 

“No, they are headed to her cousin’s housewarming party,” Janvi told him with a smile. “She had come here to pick up Pratham but since you were visiting, she stayed back.”

“Bye, Sir, Ma’am. We will take your leave now,” Suhani said. “Aunty, are you sure you don’t want me to stay back or Pratham to stay back?”

“No,” Janvi assured her with a smile. 

They both soon left and Janvi turned to Sumitra and Andy. 

“I am sorry,” Sumitra apologised. “I realised it later that you people have just returned from a vacation. If I had realised that, I would not have insisted on meeting today.”

“No, that’s fine,” Janvi assured her. 

“You have done up your home very tastefully,” Andy complimented. 

“That’s all Bella and Omkar,” Janvi replied. 

“Oh! Bella has a great aesthetic sense,” Andy agreed. 

“She takes after her father in that department,” Janvi told him. 

After a little more small talk, they turned to the subject at hand. 

“We can’t tell them beforehand. Otherwise, Mahir will refuse to even meet her,” Sumitra said. 

“Yes, I don’t think even Bella will be too thrilled by the idea of meeting her boss as a prospective bride,” Omkar agreed. 

“We will not tell them,” Andy said. 

“Yes, we can just say that they are supposed to meet someone on so and so date at so and so time,” Sumitra agreed. 

“Okay,” Janvi and Omkar also agreed. 

After chatting for a few more minutes, Sumitra insisted that they must leave before Bella came home as it would be difficult to explain their presence. Janvi served Sumitra and Andy the fruit salad that Pratham had prepared and they bot left after eating.