Chapter 52
Maan walked into the restaurant, head high, ignoring the various questions coming from the cluster of reporters covering the event. He had been so angry with Geet's refusal to attend the party with him that he had considered not coming himself. However, his desire to further his business interests outweighed his ire, forcing him to change his mind and go alone. He wanted to meet Mr. Chopra, but was unable to find him in the crowd. Choosing to walk up to the balcony, Maan stood, overlooking the small groups of people conversing, a strange feeling present throughout his body.
"She told me she didn't want to come," he thought. "I even told her there was no reason to come. So why do I have this feeling that she's going to come? Why do my eyes keep looking for a glimpse of her?"
"Maan? Maan Khurana?" came a voice breaking into his thoughts.
Maan turned around to see the face of a man he hadn't seen in a few years. "Prem. Prem Sawant. It's been a long time."
The tall man held his hand out, saying, "It's been two years since that conference in Mumbai. That was the last time we saw each other since college."
Returning the handshake, Maan asked, "What are you doing here? I didn't know that you were even in Delhi."
"I'm just here for a few more days. It's business, but my parents are good friends of the Chopras, so he invited me for the grand opening. What about you?"
"KC is working in a construction project with the Chopra group."
"I see. So who were you scanning the room so intently for, a date? Wow, what a change. The Maan Khurana I knew was never interested in women."
"I'm not looking for anyone, least of all a woman, and I certainly have not changed," Maan declared emphatically.
"I seem to have hit a sore spot there," commented Prem with a slightly apologetic air. "However, Pari will be happy to hear that there isn't a woman in your life."
"Pari?"
"My younger sister. I seriously believe that she is your biggest fan. After once seeing a photo of us during our college days, she used to nag me all the time for details about you and what you were doing. She spends all her time reading newspapers and magazines in the hope of finding an article about you. She idolizes you more than any Bollywood star." Maan didn't know how to respond to this barrage of information, so he just hmmmed in response.
"I wish we could talk more, but I'm sure that Nisha, my date, is waiting for me. If you're still around later when they have the dancing, I'll introduce you and maybe we can catch up."
With that, Prem was gone and once again Maan was left alone. That state didn't last long, for Mr. Chopra soon appeared, his manner quite eager. The two men exchanged some pleasantries and also reconfirmed their plan to sign the formal contract at KC the next day. When that topic was finished, Mr. Chopra brought up the one thing that Maan didn't want to discuss, Geet's whereabouts.
He was just trying to come up with a good excuse when the words, "Maan! Maan, I'm here. I came," echoed loudly from below.
Geet's loud announcement caused all heads to turn her direction, but Maan didn't pay any attention to that. The surprise at seeing her took away any rational thoughts, leaving only instinctual behavior behind. As if he was in a trance, he moved towards the stairs, his eyes continually on hers while he descended. As they came together, despite her now familiar features, Maan felt like he was seeing Geet for the first time.
Leaning in to whisper, Geet asked, "Maan, is something wrong with the way I look? I wore one of my fancy suits, but everyone is still looking at me. I don't have something on my face, do I?"
She was so earnest that Maan didn't have the heart to point out how she had called attention to herself with her choice of dress and her noisy entry. Mr. Chopra's entry saved him from needing to give any kind of response to her question. While he listened to Geet speak with their host, Maan tried to understand why he had been searching for her so earnestly and why he had felt so pleased to see her show up. He couldn't understand what was happening to him.
"So, Mrs. Geet. What do you think of my restaurant?" asked Mr. Chopra in his jovial manner.
"Well, it is very big. I'm from a small town, so I never really spent much time in places like this, but it seems nice."
Mr. Chopra laughed at her innocent comments. "Well, I hope that you and Mr. Khurana will enjoy your dinner tonight. I have a lot of people to meet tonight, so I hope you will excuse me."
After Mr. Chopra bade them goodbye, Maan requested that the headwaiter show them to their table. When they were alone, Maan asked Geet why she had come, which turned out to be a mistake. He thought maybe she would apologize, but instead she just made him angry by saying she hadn't come for him, but for Mr. Chopra as he was their client. That had started off an argument that was interrupted by the waiter coming to take their orders.
Maan knew that Geet only chose the selection she did because she was angry with him. He tried to help her by suggesting that she make a different choice, but she remained adamant. Then, when she complained about his every changing mood, he forgot everything else. Her words were too close to what Prem had said earlier for comfort. He said some things that he shouldn't have in anger, bringing the argument to a point where Geet decided to leave.
Though he felt bad for flying off the handle for no reason, Maan didn't bother to say sorry. Instead, he convinced her to stay by saying it would be rude to Mr. Chopra if she left, especially since they had ordered their food. Geet was convinced enough to sit quietly back down in her seat, though she continued to give him angry glances until their food arrived. When the waiter placed her order on the table, Geet's expression on seeing the large crab was so comical that Maan had a hard time keeping a straight face.
Clearing his throat, Maan said gently, "This is why I suggested that you order something else. If you want, you can share my dish instead."
Still in her stubborn avatar, Geet said, "No. I will eat this. I'm not vegetarian, so I can eat it."
Yet it was clear from the way Geet looked at the utensils that she had no idea how to eat crab in its shell. Maan made one more attempt to help Geet, but she insisted that she could do it herself. Her attempts to use the crab fork were disastrous, resulting in a flying claw and sauce squirting onto his jacket. Rather than get angry with her, Maan just left to clean off his sleeve. The damage wasn't too bad, letting him head back to the table after just a few minutes. What he saw there ignited his ire more than anything Geet had said since she arrived.
"Why are you talking as if this food is the best food in the word? Just because it is Italian, that doesn't mean it is good. In Hoshiarpur, anyone can go to the smallest dhaba in Hoshiarpur and find wonderful food that tastes great."
"Madam, if you think that dhabas have such good food, then perhaps you should go there to eat. Anyone can see just by looking at you that you are sure to feel more comfortable in those places."
"Excuse me?" came Geet's angry question, for there was no mistaking the patronizing tone.
Maan had heard more than enough. Regardless of his personal feelings about Geet, he was not going to let her be spoken to in that way. In tones that only MSK could deliver, he demanded to know who this man was and how he dared to speak to patron in that way. When Maan found out it was the restaurant's manager, that just made things worse.
"Do you know who I am?" came the deadly question.
"Yes, Sir."
"In five minutes I can buy this hotel ten times over," declared Maan, the truth of his words eliminating any hint of arrogance they may have contained otherwise. "In only one minute, I can have your job."
Seeing the fear on the manager's face, Geet whispered quietly, "Maan, please," in an effort to calm him down.
"Let's go, Geet," he ordered, no indication that he had responded to her soft request.
"No, Maan. There's no need for that. You can finish your food, and anyway, we don't want to slight Mr. Chopra's hospitality."
"But you..." Maan started, then seemed to change his mind. "A place where guests are not treated with respect, is a place where Maan Singh Khurana will not stay one second."
With no hesitation, Maan grabbed Geet's hand, pulling her confused self with him as he left the restaurant in anger. Geet tried to talk to him, but Maan was in no mood to listen. He was angry that she had gone so far as to start a tamasha by arguing with the manager. He was even more angry that the manager had dared to speak to her like that. When the valet brought his car around, he quickly put Geet in the car, using his best intimidation tactics to keep her from arguing. The trouble was, he tactics only lasted to the first traffic signal. When he stopped for the red light, Geet let loose on him.
"I don't understand what happened back there. What was the need to leave like that? When I wanted to go earlier, you wouldn't let me because it might offend Mr. Chopra, and then just now you end up doing that very thing. I don't get you."
"So you think it would have been better to stay and eat at a place were the employees treat their patrons so cheaply? You want to go back and be insulted again?" Maan asked sarcastically.
"I could have handled that manager on my own. I didn't need your help," she declared, also complaining, "Anyway, look what happened, I didn't get to eat anything, and neither did you. I haven't had anything to eat since lunch time and I'm hungry."
Geet's mention of hunger brought an unexpected smile to Maan's face, which Geet naturally interpreted as making fun of her impending starvation. Maan nearly laughed as he explained that he was actually remembering how she had told the hotel's manager that dhaba food was better than his food. This lead into a lively debate between the two about whether five-star hotel food or dhaba food was better, each taking the side of their preferred type. Maan was only mildly amused by the discussion until Geet challenged him that he would never be able to eat a dhaba as he was only used to five-star places, so his opinion was not worth much. That accusation had Maan declaring that they would eat at the nearest available dhaba, which made Geet very happy, for she was quite hungry.
Precap
"You know, you aren't as much of a dusht danaav as I thought."
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