Chapter 15:
"Why are we here Ms. Khurana?" An elderly gentleman asked Mitalee. Seven men and two women were seated in a conference room in a hotel owned by the Khuranas.
"It's about tomorrow, right?" One of the women asked taking a sip of coffee that was served to them.
"Vote against the partnership tomorrow," Mitalee said. She was looking out of the window, at the ocean but she could imagine the look of surprise that crossed the men and women assembled in the room.
"What is in it for us?" The same woman asked again. Mitalee's lips curled to a dispassionate smile. No one cared a shit about what happened to the company or to Maan. All the alliance that they pledged with him few days before was going down the toilet with the offer she was going to make. She was thankful to the lord that he introduced greediness in man. Had that not been the case, they would have already packed their bags and lived like hermits in caves. Everyone was there for their personal profit playing a personal agenda. Who was she to criticize them when she was doing the exact same thing?
"Hand it over to them," Mitalee ordered her secretary. f**king leeches, she cursed every one of them in her mind. Her secretary handed a file to each one of them
"How long will it take to execute whatever is written in these files?"
"As soon as the verdict is out," Mitalee replied.
"You will not double cross us, right?"
"Have I ever?" Mitalee laughed humorlessly.
"I know you won't go back on your word little girl but if you do then by day after tomorrow morning, JCI will have a new CEO." The elderly gentleman picked up his file and walked out of the room. One by one rest of the people also walked out of the room without a word leaving Mitalee alone with her thoughts.
"Ma'am you…" her secretary started.
"Get out," she barked as she collapsed on a chair. Her secretary scampered out of the room and waited for her outside. Silence settled in the room.
"It's me," she said on the phone. "I need a favor," she added.
"I'll talk to you soon." She hung up. She wondered how long she had to endure this shit before she could be taken seriously by her father to consider her as an eligible candidate to be the heir to Khurana Group.
She hated the fact that her father had even brought in her inexperienced younger brother to the game
-- o00o --
"Where the f**k are you? And where the hell is Satya? He has even switched off his cellphone," Maan shouted on the phone arranging his presentation. The board was already in the conference room and Deshmukh had arrived with his team ten minutes earlier.
Satya and Emily were missing.
"Maan listen to me," Emily said urgently. "Satya and I will not be able to make it to the meeting. I will explain it to you later. Go to the meeting. Whatever happens, don't panic," Emily spoke rapidly.
"What is going on Emily?" Maan said his hands stilled.
"Maan. Just go to the meeting and don't react to anything that is going to happen there. Once the ballot is counted and results are known, do not utter a single word. Thank everyone for their time and get out from there. After that go to your car, start driving and call me." Emily said.
"This isn't going to end well, isn't it?" Maan said his voice hard.
"I am sorry Maan. I have to go," Emily said and hung up.
"Sir, it's time," Emily's assistant called him. "They are waiting for you," he added.
Maan nodded and walked out knowing that he was walking into a situation he wasn't going to like.
-- o00o --
"Okay, I am in my car and am driving nowhere," Maan spoke. Emily was on the other end of the line, also driving.
"How bad was it?" Emily asked already knowing the result.
"Since you had already given me a heads up the outcome was almost anticlimactic. The last thing I saw before I walked out of the room was Deshmukh's thunderous expression directed towards me." Maan said.
"Mitalee and Vikram are still not done Maan. Go to Khurana hospital now."
"Why?" Maan asked but realized that Emily had already hung up.
-- o00o --
Maan walked inside the hospital and saw that Emily and Geet were waiting for him.
"What's going on?" Maan asked seeing worried faces of Emily and Satya.
"Satya was involved in an accident today morning," Geet said gauging his reaction.
"Satya had stopped the car at signal. The traffic would have been thin given how Satya likes to come to office really early. A truck hit him from side making the car topple causing an accident. It's a hit and run case." Maan said slowly. Geet and Emily exchanged looks.
"How did you…" Emily asked.
"I told you the MO of Vikram Emily," Maan said. Emily's eyes widened.
"There is another problem Maan," Emily said as the three of them walked towards the wards. "A complaint is filed against me by my old employer for breaching security and acquiring documents sensitive in nature." She said.
"How serious is this allegation?" Maan asked.
"I don't know Maan. I have already posted an anticipatory bail. I think it was a warning from Mitalee." Emily replied.
"How do you know it is Mitalee?" Maan asked getting into elevator after Geet and Emily.
"You know who Mitalee's boyfriend is?" Maan and Geet both shook their head.
"Let's just say that he knows everything that goes on in the world of finance; a top bureaucrat in RBI." Emily replied. "He made couple of phone calls I suppose." Emily said tiredly. It was perhaps the first time he was seeing Emily so vulnerable.
"Come here," Maan said and pulled Emily into a hug. Geet looked surprised when Emily hugged him back and let off a shaky breath. There were no cursory "he is going to be alright" or "everything is going to be fine" said.
Because Satya wasn't going to be alright for a while and nothing was fine at the moment.
"May I stay with him?" Emily asked Geet politely when they entered Satya's room. Geet nodded.
"Call me if you need anything okay?" Geet said and nodded at Maan. Maan collapsed on the ground as soon he got out and sat with his back against the wall, closing his eyes. The tiredness and exhaustion from past six weeks came crashing down on him as he realized how close he had come to losing his friends. He hadn't underestimated Vikram or Mitalee but he naively believed that Vikram wouldn't pull a stunt like this with Satya.
The fragility of everything he owned and everyone he respected suddenly flashed before his eyes.
"Maan, let's get you into your room," Geet said trying to get him to stand up.
"I have to go back to work Geet. The PR team will be ready with the content for tomorrow's press release and Emily's team will be waiting for instructions with respect to the preform contract that we had prepared. And I have to…"
"Maan stop." Geet said and kneeled in front of him, their eyes leveled.
"Are you alright?" She asked him softly. Maan shook his head. It was the first time he felt that he was amongst a pack of wolves – all greedy and ready to tear him for his blood. Even with Emily's warning he was unable to handle the way morals died in front of him first in the form of his board members and then in the form of Varun.
"Come on, let's go get some coffee from cafeteria," Geet said and pulled him to his feet.
"I am sorry Geet but I really have to go." Maan said looking straight at her. "But I will hold on to that offer. I will collect it one day," he replied.
"Sure," Geet replied. "I'll walk you out."
"How are you doing Geet?" Maan asked after a period of silence. Geet simply shrugged.
"Work is hectic but its fine." She replied noncommittally. Again they fell back to silence.
"Take care Maan. Drive safely," Geet said as they neared the hospital exit. Maan nodded.
"I am breaking up with Vaidehi," Maan blurted out. Geet who was walking away from him stopped but didn't turn around.
"Why are you telling me this?" She asked flatly.
"I just wanted you to know." He replied honestly.
"She is of no use to you anymore that's why you are breaking up with her, right?" Geet asked slowly turning around. Maan felt as if someone had punched him hard. Of late apart from the emotional hit, Geet's words always seem to hit him physically too.
"I never told her father that she and I were dating." Maan replied.
"You think he wouldn't know?" Geet sneered at him. "That's so juvenile of you Maan."
"I told you Geet that it started out that way but it really wasn't like that after couple of meetings with her." Maan replied softly. Geet swallowed hard fully knowing that he wasn't lying about it.
"Then why are you thinking of break up now?" She asked.
"I saw it coming days ago. One evening I had to pick up some paperwork from my apartment – you know the one where I have all my stuff?" Geet didn't react to it but he could see that her eyes were stormy. "Vaidehi was with me that evening. I couldn't bring myself to invite her in."
"So?" Geet asked understanding the implication of his words. She had interrupted him just so that he wouldn't say it out aloud. It wasn't time for this yet.
"I just wanted you to know the real reason Geet. I really liked Vaidehi and genuinely enjoyed her company very much when I was with her. But there are aspects of my life which I could not bring myself to share with her. It was the very thing that made the relationship so fresh and refreshing; she hasn't dealt with life the way we have. She would never understand me or the choices I was going to make. So I think it's best if I separate her from right now." Maan said softly. Geet wanted to shake him and tell him that she knew all along that it was going to come to this.
Academically, he had rarely taken second position let alone fail. And if at all he came close to second or losing in anything academic related, he sulked and moaned about his loss for days and hid himself in his room given his fear of people thinking him any less than what he was capable of. He didn't take negative feedback very well.
And that day he had miserably failed in his first job yet he was walking away his head held high fully knowing the amount of criticism he was going to be exposed to. She stood there quietly in brightly lit corridor and saw that her friend had grown a lot in past few months.
To be continued.
Music Companion for the day: Shell by Bana (Witch hunter Robin OST)
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
