Destiny's Play-Part XLVII,XLVIII (Pg 131,140)-10/3 - Page 51

Originally posted by: mandu

you are phenomenal...I wait for your pm eagerly to read the next part and just love the ff...thanks

Thanks mandu. Was wondering if you are still following the fic.

Part XLII

Maan's narration of the incidents leading to his dismissal and thereafter

During Anwesha's godh bharai ceremony, Maan was called on his cell by one of the customers of Garodia hotels, Mr.Mulchandani. Mr.Mulchaldani, one of the patrons of the hotel, was a businessman from Jaipur. He visited Mumbai atleast twice a month in connection with his business. As customer service executive, Maan had, on his own initiative, distributed survey forms to all the guests of the hotel to get their feedback about the comforts and services provided by the hotel. He also left his cell phone number in them so that they can get in touch with him at any time of the day to voice their grievances. Mr.Mulchandani had called him that day to inform him that there was a prostitution racket going on in the hotel which was bringing disrepute to the once well respected hotel. He had just noticed that the room next to his was among the rooms used in this manner. Maan rushed to the hotel and had discretely vacated the occupants after threatening them with police complaint if they do not leave on their own. After this incident, he tightened the screws and warned the people at the reception desk that if he hears of such complaints in future he will take it up with the management. Soon he forgot about this incident and concentrated on discharging his duties effectively.

On the evening of the last day of Navratri celebrations, as he was winding up his work to leave for his home, he was asked to meet the manager of the hotel, and on meeting him, was told that he was being dismissed for encouraging prostitution in the hotel. When he indignantly asked to see the evidence of his having perpetrated such activities in the premises of the hotel, he was shown signed petitions of several so-called customers, alleging that he had illegally allowed certain unsavoury characters into the hotel in the name of promoting business. He was later shown a video which was an edited version of his earlier confrontation with the people engaged in prostitution. In the video it had appeared as though he was escorting them 'into the room' instead of 'out of the room'. The fact that he had not registered a complaint immediately on that day also went against him. Despite his repeated denial, nobody was willing to believe him and he had to leave, disgraced in this manner.

He decided that he was not going to take this lying down. He asked his friends at the hotel to keep a close watch on the activities of the hotel. He, too, visited the hotel several times in disguise. Based on the information he gathered from his friends and on his own, he came to know that the mastermind behind the prostitution racket and the incident that framed him was the hotel manager himself. The customers who had earlier been thrown out by him seemed to have complained to the manager, who realised that Maan's active interest in the running of the hotel was proving to be more than a thorn in the flesh. As the guy was getting a huge cut from these people, stopping such illegal activities was hurting his purse. So he framed him in the prostitution scandal and threw him out of the job. Knowledge that the manager was the culprit was not sufficient for Maan to nab him. He needed to have concrete evidences and also ensure that the proprietor of his hotel, Mr.Garodia came to know what was happening in his hotel.

Now, Mr.Arun Garodia was a non-resident Indian who had inherited the hotel from his uncle. His uncle had no family of his own and only recently passed away in cancer. Since the senior Garodia was ailing for a long time, he had fully entrusted the responsibility of running the hotel to Mr.Ramakant Gokte, the manager. Maan found out that Mr. Arun Garodia was in India to take care of legal matters relating to his inheritance and was expected to visit the hotel on Diwali day. He, therefore, made prior arrangements to get the culprit caught red handed in his presence. Part of that plan involved engaging a former bar dancer, Madhavi to pose as a prostitute and make an entry into the hotel. Madhavi was a reformed bar dancer. After being rounded up by the police in the farm house two years back for allegedly being involved in prostitution, she was later acquitted once her innocence was proved. She was, however, requested to help the Mumbai police to nab people engaged in shady activities. Since she was a well known face among these circles, she had better access to get into their inner ring. She had so far helped in apprehending quite a few criminals.

Maan's chawl friend, Vijay, who was a sub-inspector in the Andheri Police station, was the one who had given him Madhavi's number. They had met at a coffee shop in Cuffe Parade two days ago and had chalked out the plan to entrap the manager. Madhavi took the help of her cousin, Vinay, to pose as the customer and she herself posed as the prostitute. They timed it in such a way that they were caught discussing the deal with the manager when Mr.Garodia was being shown his room which was booked right next to the one they were to occupy. Maan's friends at the reservations desk took care of this part of the plan. As planned, Mr.Garodia himself witnessed the true colours of his manager. In the meantime Vijay and a couple of police constables arrived on the scene and nabbed Mr.Gokte, who was then taken to the police station. The rest of the staff appraised Mr.Garodia of the injustice meted out to Maan by Mr.Gokte. Mr. Garodia then called for him and heard him out. Maan told him that he had taken all the efforts not only to clear his own reputation but also to save the hotel from such greedy and immoral characters like Mr.Gokte. Mr.Garodia was impressed with him and asked him to join back as the manager of his hotel. Maan told him that he will think it over and get back to him the next day.

By the time he finished narrating the sequence of events, Geet's eyes were wide in amazement and her mouth gaped. So much had happened in the last one month and she was totally unaware of it. Although she was upset with her husband for not letting her share his problems she understood his reasons for doing so. After getting an assurance from him that he will, hereafter, not keep any secrets from her however painful they may be, she gave him a hug for his never-say-die spirit and determination to prove his innocence.

Maan asked her whether he should take up the job as a manager in that hotel. She, in turn, asked him back what he wanted to do with his life. He then admitted that though the manager's post was attractive, he would rather channelize his energy in achieving his goal of owning a hotel. He then told her about how he had earlier given up the job at the coffee shop once he received his raise because he knew that to get ahead in life he needs to keep himself well informed and knowledgeable. Sitting behind the counter in a coffee shop was not going to get him anywhere. So after office hours he visited all the hotels in the vicinity every day to study what they were doing differently from his hotel and made notes. In his own hotel, he had taken active interest in departments other than his, including reservations, housekeeping, entertainment, food and beverages, accounts etc. He cultivated friendship with people working in these areas and learnt about the functioning of these departments because ultimately they all have a bearing on customer satisfaction which was crucial to discharge his job effectively. Moreover, if he were to own and run a hotel business tomorrow, he needed the required knowledge to do so. He had prepared a business plan not only for a going concern like the hotel in which he worked in but also for setting up a new one. With all these ambitions he was only awaiting the right break. However, he never imagined in his wildest dreams that the only break that came his way was a termination of his service.

Now that his reputation was restored he wanted to chase his dream. He wanted to take up a part-time job which his friend Prakash who owned a furniture store had offered him. This may fetch him Rs.8,000-Rs.9,000 per month. As he would be required in the store only during afternoons, he would be free to scout around banks for loans till he manages to convince some banker to lend against his business plan. At the same time he expressed his worry that the money may not be sufficient to take care of the family. Geet told him not to worry. As she was being paid Rs.800 per class for her art lessons, she can easily earn around Rs.6,000 to Rs.6,500 in a month. With a little bit of cost cutting they can pull on till Maan manages to obtain funding for his dream project. Her encouragement gave him a new zeal to achieve.

Maan then looked at his watch and realised that they had spent nearly an hour in their discussion.

"Geet, the kids must be waiting for us. Come on, lets go," he pulled her up.

Geet looked at him sheepishly and said she was scared of crackers.

Maan burst out laughing, saying that he was right after all. He assured her that he will be there to protect her and he dragged her to the courtyard where the children were already busy bursting crackers. Seeing Maan and Geet, they rushed to them and gave them a 'thousandwalla' to burst.

Geet panicked and was all set to sprint back to the safety of their house but Maan caught her hand and held her back. He then proceeded to light the cracker. Geet held her hands to her ears and tightly shut her eyes. As soon as the cracker started bursting, she sprang to Maan's side and buried her face in his chest. Maan held her close and covered her up protectively till the sound finally stopped.

Maan then triggered off a rocket into the sky. As they watched the sky light up in dazzling colours, they said a little prayer for their wishes to be fulfilled soon.

Continued here

Lovely update OPti 😊

Originally posted by: panchjun5

Trust and Communication...the foundations of a successful relationship....These two fundamentals were highlighted excellently in your latest update Opti.....👍🏼

The anger and hurt that Geet felt when Maan hid the facts of his employment status from her and also the reason for losing the job were heightened because she got to know of the truth from a third party and that too a busybody like Mrs. Shukla..😡....And there was no scope for mistrusting him coz she knows her man.....and she just felt sad that he did not feel that she was strong enough to handle the truth and that he refrained from confiding in her because of that......But true to her nature, she just confronted Maan directly and did not sit and mope or act aloof. So kudos to you girl.....👏

And Maan too when he came to know that Geet knew, and once he recovered from the initial shock of it, did not hide anything and came clean.....His nature is that of a protector and feels that he has to keep Geet safe from the worldly miseries but she surprises him each time by showing him that she is built of stronger stuff.....and he falls all the more in love with her....😳

You left the update hanging at a crucial point...Now very very very eager for the next part.....😆...So Update soon....😛

P.S:- Hope you are feeling well....Take Care

Thanks, Kavi. Yes, trust and communication is essential for any relationship to survive, especially between couples because unlike other close relationships there are no blood ties to bind the couple. Posted the next update.

Originally posted by: ambbiha

awesome dear i am happy that maan cleared out everything hope he wil punch arjun to

continue soon

Thanks ambihha. Yes, everything is cleared between Maaneet. Maan wont punch Arjun because he still does not know he is behind all this.

Originally posted by: febinyusuff

Opti dear,

we will get an update tonight?

Posted the next update.

Originally posted by: madhavipatil

😊lovley update dear .....................sorry for not giving comment for long time but i was having exam so .....................just finish..................and U gave me happy update lovely thank god they clear miss understanding ........................................love ur geet and maan both i want arjun to be punished by both maan and geet .........................make him go to hell..................plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz update soon next part love u ..........😊😊😊 now plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz some romance we want to c ................................give us nice lovely suprice ..............plzzzzzzzzzz sweet heart 😊😊

Thanks Madhavi. Maaneet can punish him only of they knew the truth but they still do not know that. All the best for your exams. Romance will come. Have patience.

Lovely Opti..so much has happened behind the scenes...I really like that Maan is so focused on his dreams..and your sweet Geet is so very supportive of them..all the best once again to them for success in realizing their dreams..for it is now a shared dream, isn't it..?l😊

glad that everything is sorted out. I'm sure with his hard work & Geet's support Maan will achieve success very soon.

lovely part.

I would love to see Mrs shukla's face whn she'll see maaneet togethr.