Chapter 35
The car stopped a little distance away from the mansion and Geet looked at the driver and was shocked.
"aage aao", he told her.
"aap?", she said, shocked. "I thought you were sleeping". She got out of the car and when and sat in the seat beside the driver's seat.
"I was working and then the driver told me he would be late. So I had to drive you, since I told you, that the driver would drop you to the airport", he said, driving.
"I am used to it- meetings, calls, presentations etc etc, make it impossible for me to sleep sometimes",he said.
They continued speaking for sometime about various things and finally the car came to a halt at the airport.
"One hour got over so fast", wondered Geet, getting out of the car. Maan got her luggage out and helped her with it.
She turned to look at him and said, "Bye"
"Bye", he said and moved towards her and hugged her. She was shocked to her wits. Was she dreaming? She hugged him back and held him tight for sometime.
"Sure", she said and kissed his cheek this time. He did not say anything nor did he stop her.
"Check in and come out for sometime. I'll wait near the visitors place", he told her. She nodded and went and checked in. she came back to the visitor's area and he stood there, looking at some other people.
"Kya dekh rahe ho?", she asked.
"Wondering why people cry so much", he said, pointing to the people a little away from them.
"Ab sab aapke aur mere tarah nahin honge na. Pattar jaise", she said, looking at those people.
"Why dint you sign the card?",she asked.
"What was in the card?", he asked.
"We will miss you Geet, was written", she said.
"I see", was his reply.
"That is not the answer to my question", she said.
Before he could answer the question, the announcement for bording of her flight had come. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay time to leave now. Cant afford to miss this flight"
She said, "Bye Maan. Take care."
"Yep, you too, honey", he said. She smiled and turned to go. She walked a little distance and turned back to look at him. He gestured her to come back and she did.
"Geet, I did not sign the card because I do not believe in, stating the obvious", he said. She did not seem to understand what he said.
"Oh Geet, you nitwit. How could you not understand this?", she mumbled. She pulled her phone out to text him, but the airhostess told her to switch it off as the flight doors were closed. She switched off her cell phone, closed her eyes, and recollected his words repeatedly. Her insides jumped in joy.
"Dang it", she thought, as she looked outside the window. "Haan, Now my S'pore trip is gonna rock", she told herself, "Maan Khurana you have not failed to make me happy yet again".
Khurana Mansion
Maan came to dining room and found Daadima already there. "Where are the others?", he asked.
"They'll be here soon", she said, putting the newspaper aside.
"Okay!", he said, pouring some juice into his glass.
"So, did you safely drop Geet to the airport?", she asked.
"Maan, you'll drop the juice. Put the jug down", she said. He put the jug safely on the table and still looked astounded.
"Okay I get your question, "How do I know?" Here is the answer. It was simple Maan. The car that was parked in front of the mansion to drop her had darker shade on its windows. As far as I know you Maan, you would never allow any woman of the house, to go, in a car with a darker window shades, as it might not be safe, especially when a driver is driving the car. You've time and again told Kiara that if anything goes wrong, then these darker shades will just add to your worries, as people outside cannot see you and come to your rescue when needed. So how would you send Geet, in such a car?"
He smiled at her logic and said, "Smart!"
"Ofcourse, Daadi kiske?", she said, proudly. "I was a little worried when Geet did not want any of us to come to the airport. Once I saw the car and all its windows closed, I smiled and bid her a "bye" confidently- as nothing would go wrong- Maan Khurana was dropping her off".
"Good morning Daadiji", said Dev, "Kya baat ho rahan hain", he asked, "anyone going anywhere? I heard you tell bro about dropping someone off. Though it wasn't clear".
"Arey kuch nahin beta. Maan was telling me that he would himself drop some delegates to the airport, so I told him, okay. That's it. Come now, you people are late", she said, serving some toast.
Kiara looked dead sleepy. She sat beside Maan and said, "Bro zara juice pass karna. Mujhe zyaada nahin khana, I feel heavy and I'm sleepy", she complained.
"Go and sleep after you're done", he told her, while serving her some juice.
"Waise Veerji, even your eyes look red. Aap raat mein kaafi der tak kaam kar rahen the kya?", asked Naintara.
"Haan, and I woke up early to finish some work", he lied, blatantly and Daadima did not say anything.
"You should rest too", he advised her.
"Oh yes, I will, in sometime", she said, picking up the newspaper again.
He sat there doing nothing when he felt someone walk in. he did not bother to look in that direction.he heard a female voice, call out to him, "Maan".
His instant reply, was "Bolo Geet". he knew that voice was not his Daadima's so it had to be Geet's. Since she is the only person, who called him by his first name. Daadima looked up from the newspaper at Sasha and Sasha looked shocked and so did Daadima.
"Sasha tum?", he asked.
"Haan, kuch papers pe sign chahiye tha. You dint come to office so I came home", she said.
"Tumne mujhe abhi abhi kya kehke bulaya?", he questioned.
"Maan", she answered.
"Sasha, mujhe Maan kehke bulaane ka haq sirf mere Daadima ko hain, aur kisiko nahin. You have always called me, MK, so just call me that", he said.
He took the papers from Sasha and looked through them very quickly. He signed the papers and gave it to her.
"Are you not coming to office today?", she asked, taking the papers from him.
"No", he said, "You take care of the office", he told her.
"Okay, see you!", she said, and flashed a smile and Daadima, who very politely smiled back. Sasha left the mansion.
Daadima cleared her throat and Maan looked at her
"What?", he asked.
"Bolo Geet", she said and cleared her throat again, "hume lagta hain, humne kuch ghalt suna ya phir aapne kuch ghalat kahan?"
"Aapne kuch ghalat nahin suna aur na hi maine kuch ghalat kahan. Mujhe sach mein laga ki Geet ne bulaya tha. Only she calls me by my first name, after you", he said.
"What else would she call me, if she would not call me, Maan?", he asked her, pulling the newspaper's supplement.
"Well, I dunno. Maybe she could call you MSK or MK or Mr. Khurana etc etc. I mean, how would I know?", she said, with a lopsided smile.
"Cut it out Daadima", he said, pretending to look through the headlines.
"Maan, you're holding the newspaper upside down", she said and laughed. He realized what he was doing and threw the mewspaper on the table and got up.
"Geet is gone, Maan", she reminded him.
"I know. I dropped her to the airport this morning", he reminded her.
"Hmmm, lets see", he said.
"I dunno. I need some rest now and I'm sure you need some rest too. So, see you later", he said. He turned to walk away when his Daadima stopped him.
"Do you want to discuss something with me, Maan? I can feel some restlessness in you", she said, walking towards him.
He turned and looked at her and smiled. No matter how much he tried to not tell her, what he was going through, this woman in front of him, always knew.
"Why do you know me so well? It is annoying at times", he said.
"Hmmm", he sighed, "Can we talk about this, in the evening? I need some rest now", he requested.
"I love you", he said, "Daadima"
Chapter 35
She smiled and said, "Well, I will never force you to tell me something that you don't want to. The choice is yours, Son", she said, patting his back.
"Hmmm", he sighed, "Can we talk about this, in the evening? I need some rest now", he requested.
"Sure, whenever you are ready to express yourself", she said, smiling.
"I love you", he said, "Daadima"
"I think I love you, too", she said, winking. He kissed her forhead and walked towards the outhouse. She watched him walk and smiled.
Outhouse
Maan sat on his bed, with a magazine. He rested on the pillow and read some articles for sometime. He did not know when he fell asleep with the magazine in his hand and the lights turned on. He heard something ring and thought he was dreaming about something. He ignored it and turned the other side but the ringing did not stop.
"Oho, shut up!", he yelled in his sleep, as though the ring would stop even it heard Maan Khurana scream.
"What the hell", he yelled again, slowly opening his eyes. He looked at the time and it was 2:30pm. He realized his phone was ringing. He did not see the number and picked up the phone, angrily.
"Hello", he screamed.
"Shukar hain, phone utaya aapne. Waise chilla kyun rahen ho?", came a female voice on the other side.
"Geet", he said, sitting up on the bed.
"Haan Geet", she said, "I wanted to tell you that I have reached S'pore".
"Oh good! How does it feel to be back home?", he asked, yawning.
"Dunno. I'm still in the airport, waiting for my brother to come. Bore ho rahin thi, tuo socha, aap sab ko phone karke bata deti hoon ki main pahunch gayi".
"Aap sab ko, matlab?", he asked.
"Matlab Niharika, Daadima, Aap, Kiara aur NT", she said.
"Tumne ab in sab ko phone karke baat karne waale ho? Bankrupt ho jayenge tumhaare bhai. Waise bhi tmhaare baatein itne jaldi tuo khatam honge nahin", he said, mockingly.
"Oh Hello, Mr. Khurana, maine in sab ko already phone karke baat kar li. Sabko mila kar dus minute mein khatam kar diya. Sirf aap bache the", she said.
"Accha main list mein last hoon?", he asked.
"Haan", she said, "Chaliye ab main rakhti hoon".
"Theek hain", he said, "Take care", he said.
"Sure Mr. Khurana, you too", she said and hung up.
Maan put the phone on the bed and fell back on the pillow again. He stared at the ceiling for sometime, and then pulled his phone back. He checked his emails and sms'es. He did not feel like replying to his emails and kept his phone to his side and continued staring at the ceiling again. He did not know what he was thinking and he did not monitor his thoughts too. He just lay there.
S'pore Airport
She sat there in the waiting area close to the baggage claim and waited for her brother. She too, stared into space, thinking about random stuff and not monitoring her thoughts. She thought about all the good times in Delhi, at the Khurana Mansion, with Kiara-NT, Daadima. She thought about Niharika.
"God, I'll miss her. Without Niharika, whom will I crib to, whom will I gossip with, whose head will I eat, when I have to talk about Maan?", she thought, looking at the bracelet she was wearing on the left hand. Niharika had presented it to her, on her last birthday.
She then pulled out the greeting card and read through the small notes that everyone in the mansion had written and then signed it.
"Geet, you are an amazing girl. You'll be missed so much, sweet pie'!!!! Love you girl and come back soon'!!! 'Kiara.
"Geet, it was so much fun with you'!!! Love you sweety, keep in touch and see you soon'!!!"- Naintara
"Geet Beta, God bless you and take care!!!" ' Daadima
"It was nice to know you, Geet. Keep in touch and take care"- Dev
She smiled as she read all the lines they had specially written for her. She then looked at the box of chocolates and opened it. She put one or two chocolates into her mouth and looked around, as car came stopped, picked up people and left.
"Pata nahin, yeh veerji kab ayenge?", she murmured and put the box and the greeting card inside. She plugged in her ipod and played some songs and listened to them.
Outhouse
Maan got up from his bed and freshed up. He walked into the living room, and sat there for sometime. he then dialed his grandmom's extension on the intercom.
"Awake Beta?", came her voice.
"Dindn't you sleep, Daadima?", he asked.
"I did. But got up with Geet's call sometime back", she said.
"Yeah she called me too and that's how I got up too", he said.
"Oh well, how wouldn't she call you, Maan?", she said, suprresing a smile.
"Yes Daadima, how would she not call me?", he said, imitating her.
"I'm actually surprised that the call ended so fast", she said, laughing.
"Ah well, Daadima, it is a long-distance call right. So, we decided to end it soon", he said, sarcastically.
"Oh how sad!", she said, laughing softly now.
"Oh No worries Daadima. Technology revolution you know. We'll find some alternatives", he said.
"I see. Yeah, if phone calls, emails and faxes don't work, flights will always do. You can fly dwon anytime", she said.
"Yes, thank you very much for the suggestions. Now can we cut this out?", he asked.
"Ofcourse, do you have anything serious to talk?", she asked.
"Yes", he said.
Khurana Constructions, Conference Room
Sasha had just finished her meetings with a couple of employees. She sat there, looking through some files and signed some of them. She called her assistant and asked her to keep the files in MK's chamber for his review.
She fell into thoughts after the assistant walked away.
"How could MK not recognize my voice? We have known each other ever since we were kids. And today he takes that middle class girl's name?", she grumbled.
She stood up and walked around the table for sometime, in the conference room, thinking.
"God, I need to act fast. I have to talk to him, before it is too late. I love him and he is only mine", she said, pressing her fingers. She walked around for some more time and then called Maan's assistant, Shreyasi.
"Suno, make an appointment for me with MK", she said.
"Reason for the appointment, Ma'am", asked Shreyasi.
"I don't have to tell you that", she said, "Just tell me when you can get me an appointment with MK", she screamed on phone.
"I am Sorry, Miss Sasha Shergill. You will have to disclose the reasons for the appointment. Otherwise, I cannot make one. Sir would never agree", she said.
"Fine! I'll go meet him directly", she said.
"Alright, your wish", said Shreyasi and hung up. She continued her work and thought, "Jab jayegi, sir se milne, tuo wo isse chamber se bahar kar denge aur main party karungi. Saali, samajh thi kya hain?"
S'pre Airport
Geet was finally heading home with his man, who had refused to smile too, when he saw her. She did not complain. She had stopped expecting anything from him, long time back. She respected him because he was her brother and because he took good care of their parents.
She headed back home and her mom and her dad welcomed her. She hugged them.
"Go fresh up, first and eat something", they told her and she went into her bedroom. Her sister came in behind her, screaming her name and she hugged her. Geet hugged her too.
"Geet di, kahan the aap?", she asked. "Bore ho gayi thi aur aapko phone karne ka mauka bhi nahin mila"
"Ab aa gayi hoon na", she said, hugging her again.
"Chaliye naha ke aaeye", she said. Geet, walked into the bathroom and came back again.
"Suno, mere hand bag mein, choclotes hain. Fridge mein rakh dena. Warna melt ho ke kharaab ho jayenge", she said.
"Nice", she said, pulling out the box, excitedly. She looked at the box that had a small slip, "With Love-Khuranas".
"Di, yeh Khuranas ne diya aapko?", she asked.
"Haan Kyun?", asked Geet.
"Accha hua yeh box mujhe mila. Agar kisi aur ne dekh liya na, tuo aapka khair nahin. Veerji aur Daadiji kaafi gusse mein the, ki un logon ne aapke passport aur visa jaldi arrange nahin kiya", said her sister.
"Oh, I don't care! Just pull the slip out and then refridgerate the box. Unhe kaun bataye ga ki yeh chocolates Khuranas ne diya hain", said Geet, walking into the bathroom. Her sister laughed and pulled out the slip. She then took the box into the kitchen and left it in the refridgerator.
Khurana Mansion
Kiara walked into the guest room on the ground floor, which Geet had been using. She wanted to check if the helpers had set everything back and cleaned up the room. She walked around the room and thought, "yeh tuo pehle se hi clean hain. Shayad Geet ne clean karke gayi hain"
She was about to walk out of the room when she hit her head to the wind chime. She smiled and said, "Geet bhi na. bacchi hain, ek dam". She touched the wind chime with her hands and let them ring for sometime. she walked out of the room, smiling.
"Pata nahin kab ayegi". She was about to walk upstairs when she heard Maan call form behind.
"Hi Kiara", he said.
"Hi bro", she said, "Wassup?"
"Ah nothing much. Came to talk to Daadima", he said, smiling.
"I see!", she said, "Waise aap ne mansion shift nahin kiya kya?", she asked.
"NAhin, mera mood nahin hain. Jab mood hoga tab shift ho jaunga", he said.
"Hmmm", she said. She was about to ask him something else, when her phone rang. "bro, I'll catch up with you later", she said and walked into the lawn.
"Okay", he said and was about to go upstairs, when Nakul called to him, "saab aapne Kiara madam ko dekha?"
"Kyun kya kaam hain?", he asked.
"Ji, mujhe Geet madam ke room mein yeh mila tha. Socha ki main use yeh doon", he said, showing a book to Maan. A light blue colored book had some cursive writing on it.
"Mujhe do", he said. Nakul nodded and handed over the book to him and left. Maan tunred the book around to see what it was. He then opened the first page and read, "Geet's personal world"
"Oh her personal diary", he thought, smirking.
He walked upstairs, closing the book and walked into his bedroom. He opened the safe in his bedroom andput it safely there. He closed the safe and walked back into Daadima's room.
"Hi", he said.
"Hi", she said. He sat by her on the bed and rested on her shoulder.
"Kya baat hain?", she asked, putting her glasses and her book aside.
"Hmm", he sighed and said nothing.
"Maan", she said, softly
"Yes Daadima", he said, "I had to discuss two things with you".
"Yes Son, go ahead", she said.
"First, I want to open some more trust offices South of India. As of now, we only have a trust office in Chennai. I want to open offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Trivandrum", he said.
"And your reasons for that?", she asked.
"I feel there is too much burden on that one office, plus the trust manager was telling me that they are not able to go beyond that particular state for rendering the services of the trust. I have been working on that too, for the last few weeks and I realized that he is right. The work is just too much and one reason why they are not able to operate all of South is that everything has to work from Chennai. There is not much staff to handle work too", he said.
"Okay! Did you make a budget for that and did you sketch out a plan on what all has to be done in and how much of infrastructure would be needed?", she asked.
"Yes", he said, "I'll get those files from the office. You can take a look at them and let me know", he said.
"Alright. What's the second problem?", she asked.