Chapter 17"I don't understand," Geet uttered, having no idea why Maan was saying the things he was.
"No, I'm sure that you don't. I'm sure that you thought you ripped off some stupid fool who would never be able to trace you. You know, what really bothers me is not that you deceived me, but that you deceived Dadima. You took advantage of an old woman's kindness, all while you were spinning your greedy plans."
"But, I never did anything to Dadima..." Geet tried to say as tears threatened, still unaware of what Maan was talking about.
"Bas! Just stop this naatak at once! You might have been able to get away with your crimes if someone else had bought your land, but they didn't. The person who paid you ten crores for that land in Hoshiarpur was me, Maan Singh Khurana."
Rather than clearing her confusion, Maan's words only increased it, leading her to exclaim, "I never sold you any land, not for one lac and certainly not for ten crores. You are out of your mind!"
Maan sneered, before grabbing a file and shoving it in her face. "I'm sure you wish that you hadn't, but I assure, that I was the buyer for your land. Now, I don't have any time to waste, so I expect you to sign all the documents that Munshiji brought with him today, and then we will leave straight for the land registry office in Amritsar, where you will sign the registry papers or I will see you and your entire family put in jail for fraud."
"Mr. Maan Singh Khurana," bit out Geet, tired of the false accusations he had been hurling at her, "you seem very fond of declaring your name to anyone in hearing distance, but that doesn't mean that every word coming out of your mouth is correct. I never sold my land, not to you or anyone else, and all the shouting in the world will not make it true."
"So you're saying that I just imagined your signature on this deed of sale," scoffed Maan, flipping to the last page and pointing to her name written in blue as the owner's signature.
Geet looked at the file in shock, unable to believe what she saw. She wanted to think that it was all a trick, but at the same time she recognized the signature as her own. Looking through the rest of the document, Geet identified it as the same one that Daarji had given to Dev just prior to their fake marriage. While Maan ranted some nonsense about women, all of Geet's encounters with the Khurana's flashed through her mind, particularly the incident where they insisted that they needed her signature.
"Where did you get this file?" questioned Geet, determined to find out if her suspicions were correct. "Answer me," she demanded when Maan just continued to mock her.
"You know very well that I got it from the land agent who you asked to broker the property. No doubt you deceived him too."
Geet ignored that insult, instead asking, "When did you get it, I mean when did you complete the actual purchase transaction?"
"Don't think that you can stall or get away from signing by asking these pointless questions," Maan warned. When she just looked on quietly, he then answered, "Munshiji was in Hoshiarpur for me and gave the check two days ago."
"Did you not stop to think how I could sell land in Hoshiarpur and get a check in Hoshiarpur, when I wasn't in Hoshiarpur? Did you not stop to think how I could have concocted such a fantastic scheme and executed it in Hoshiarpur, when for the past week I have been staying in Delhi?"
There was a moment of hesitation in Maan's eyes before he growled, "Your family..."
"Before you say one word about my family, stop for a minute and think about your own. Would you like to know how my signature got on this paper? Would you? The night before I was almost falsely married to your brother, your bhabhi took my signature on a blank piece of paper. I didn't want to do it, but they insisted it was necessary to get me a visa for Canada. This file? This file was given to Dev by Daarji as a gift to my fiance. How interesting that it should turn up here in your possession, along with my signature on a piece of paper that is no longer blank."
"Just what are you implying?" snarled Maan.
"I'm not implying anything," responded Geet, "but if I was, than I think it would only be fair after you said so much to me. Instead of blindly throwing accusations at me without knowing the truth, I suggested that you question the actual people involved, starting with Dev and Naintara. One thing I can guarantee, that you will never get my signature on this paper, so you would do better to get your money back from the real culprits."
Maan had no answer to Geet's words, and he couldn't spend another second looking into her glistening eyes, so he opened the conference room door and left angrily. As much as he wanted to believe in his first assessment of the situation, now that his initial rage had worn off, he could see the validity of what she said. Dev himself had explained that the main reason for staging the marriage was to get money from the Handas, he just hadn't realized that they had gone to such lengths. Back in his office, where Munshiji was waiting, Maan began to question his employee. He wasn't entirely convinced that Geet was innocent, but enough doubt had been created in his mind that he had to find out the truth himself, starting with the land agent.
Geet had been on the end of Maan's harsh words before, but something about his behavior this time hurt her more than it had in the past. He knew how she had been treated by his brother, he was even the one who had stopped it, yet he could still think so badly of her that he believed she could cheat someone for money. The whole thing was more that she could bear, and with no easy way to cope she just stood silent and unseeing, totally alone in her thoughts. It wasn't until Munshiji returned to ask for the property papers back that Geet's mind came back to reality. Deciding that there was nothing more to do but go back to her office, she slowly exited that room and began the short trek back to the fourth floor.
"Geet, what happened?" came Pinky's concerned question when she saw the tears on her face, the tears that had began to fall without consent. Other office staff also began to converge on them, wanting to know what was going on.
"Isn't it obvious?" returned Sasha with attitude. "MK fired her."
"I don't believe it. I'm sure he didn't do such a thing," said Pinky with all friendly loyalty.
"Didn't you see how angry DD was just now, Pinky?" asked Tasha with shocked tones. "He must have fired her. Why else would she be crying?"
"Geet, MK didn't really fire you, did he?" came the forlorn question from her childhood friend.
"No," answered Geet, making a swiping motion at her tears. "He was angry about something else, something to do with a land purchase. He didn't fire me. Now, I really have to get back to my office and finish those emails."
Before anyone could say anything or ask more questions, Geet hurried down the hall to her office. Shutting the door, she looked off to her right and saw Maan pacing up and down furiously. He wasn't paying her the slightest attention, but that didn't matter. She quickly pulled the blinds shut before sinking down in grief at her desk, unable to hold back her desperate sobs any longer. Her only consolation was that the person who so often ridiculed her tears, did not see her weeping this time.
Precap"You have gotten to know so much about me, but I have only learned one thing about you. You do not love anyone, and no one can or will love you. Money is the only thing you care about and the only important thing in your life."
Edited by laxmi2010 - 13 years ago
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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