Chapter 51
"What plan are you talking about?" Maan repeated, his arms folded as he view the female duo sternly.
Sasha and Tasha whirled around, horrified that Maan might have heard everything. However, Sasha's survival instinct kicked in and she quickly covered up by saying that they were planning for a new project. Maan's expression said he wasn't entirely convinced, but he didn't question further, instead asking Sasha if it was true that the whole office was talking about him and Geet. Her fumbling and inability to meet his eyes was confirmation enough for Maan.
"Sasha, you very well know how much I detest gossip, and even more than that, how much I hate gossipers. I thought I had already made it clear to everyone last week that I will not tolerate anyone talking about me or my wife. If it is true that there are people in the office talking about us, then stop it. If I hear of this happening again, heads will roll, starting with my senior employees, who should know better."
Confident that he had made his pint, Maan went back to his office, thinking to himself, 'Now once the gossip has a chance to die down, then maybe Geet will understand how foolish she was being and give up her stubbornness."
Contrary to Maan's expectation, Geet did not change her mind. The photo incident had only emphasized to Geet the precariousness of her position. She had no idea where she would be a year from them, or what kind of treatment she would face in society. Her concerns were the final push she needed to start her education again.
Sitting down with Savitri, Geet went through all of the options available, before making her decision. She chose to enroll in the University of Delhi's School of Open Learning, as that would allow her to continue working at KC. Having decided to change her original goal of becoming a teacher, Geet decided to pursue a B.A. in English, as well as take classes in web development.
Savitri's was help was invaluable to Geet in getting all her forms in by the deadline. She continued to treat Geet as more of a daughter than a bahu, something that the young girl desperately needed. There were many times that Geet wished she could discuss the divorce and what had happened at the office with Savitri, but she was fearful of upsetting the older lady too much. Rather, she felt that since Maan was the one who insisted on divorce, he should be the one to tell his dadi the truth of their relationship.
That might have been a cowardly attitude to take, but Geet didn't care. When a girl was fighting against the world and a dusht danaav at the same time, she had to do wat was necessary. In Maan's case, Geet knew he wouldn't let her get out of the party so easily. That was why she had very conveniently made plans with Pinky, which she happily told Maan on the day of the party when he again brought the subject up. It was an added bonus that her refusal upset him enough that he angrily declared there was no need for her to come to that party or any other party in future.
His response was more than she could have hoped for, leaving her to happily accompany Pinky home after work. Meeting Pinky's dad again after such a long time was quite fun. He insisted that they should sit and view photo albums while they caught up on what had happened in the years since they last saw one another. It was then that Geet found out that her father had been sending Mr. Manchanda her photo every year, just as Pinky's photo had been sent to him. Mr. Manchanda was so happy the the two friends' daughters had become acquainted again, and Geet did her best not to let her grief at the loss of her family ruin the reminisces.
"Geet, why were you so insistant to come over for dinner tonight?" questioned Pinky when she had Geet were in the small home's kitchen, getting the food together.
"What kind of question is that, Pinky? You kept telling me that your dad wanted to meet me."
"What kind of question is that?" repeated Pinky with raised eyebrows. "Let's see...I've been asking you to come over for dinner since you first came to Delhi, but you always gave me excuses. Then, last week, you suddenly seemed very eager to come over and insisted that you had to come tonight. Come on, Geet, what's going on?
"I just wanted to come over for dinner and to meet your dad again. What's so strange about that?"
Pinky put the bowl down she was holding and looked her friend straight in the eye. "You can't fool me, Geet. I know there's something going on. Why else would you have made such a big deal of specifically coming tonight? You might as well tell me, because I'm not going to give up until I get the truth."
Geet tried to deny there was anything to tell, but Pinky was persistent. She didn't give up until she had finally gotten Geet to admit that she had made the appointment in order to avoid going to the restaurant with Maan. Naturally, Pinky was in total disbelief that Geet would come to their house for dinner in stead of going out with her husband. Though she couldn't tell the entire truth, Pinky's questions forced Geet to partially explain the reason why she did not want to go with Maan.
"But Geet, I know what happened was not good, but what difference does office gossip really make? I mean, you and DD are married. There isn't any problem with you going out together."
"It's not just the gossip, Pinky. I just don't want to go anywhere with that Dusht Danaav," stated Geet, grimacing as she thought about all of Maan's various trespasses.
Pinky could see that Geet was disturbed by something, but she still couldn't stop from asking, "This dinner was a clients invitation, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Well, shouldn't you have gone anyway, even if you are mad at DD about something?"
"For what reason? Just because that dusht danaav said I had too? He didn't even ask me nicely!"
"I believe that. DD always orders everyone around. But I'm talking about the client actually. Mr. Chopra is the one, right?" When Geet confirmed, Pinky continued, "Mr. Chopra is a famous Indian business man. He's like...he's like...well, I can't actually think who he's like, but I know that DD was crazy to get this contract. Adi Sir says that DD is wanting to branch out KC all across India, and Mr. Chopra could help with that. If he likes our work on this project, he might give KC first chance at all his future projects."
"So, what are you saying, Pinky?"
"I'm saying, what if Mr. Chopra gets mad that you didn't go to the party, and doesn't want to work with KC again. That would be really bad for the company."
Geet sat down at the kitchen table abruptly, that thought having never occurred to her. Even if she was upset about the way things had been going in her life and with Maan, that didn't mean that she wanted to harm his business. There was also the fact that KC was responsible for creating thousands of jobs through it's projects, and she didn't want to hurt all of those people either. Geet began to feel that maybe she should have agreed to go to the party, but was afraid that it was too late to do anything now.
"What time did DD say you were supposed to be there?" Pinky asked when Geet told her dilema.
"Eight-thirty."
"It's only eight now. If you hurry, you might make it by nine. That wouldn't be too bad."
With Pinky's encouragement, Geet rushed home in a taxi, mentally planning everything out in the hopes of getting to the hotel more quickly. It still took her a bit of time to get ready, so she still barely reached the venue by nine. There was staff waiting at the entrance to open car doors and direct patrons, as well as a group of reporters who were busy trying to interview any important people who came. They all stopped to stare at Geet, who couldn't figure out why. Not wanting to waste more time, Geet ignored the stairs, instead keeping her focus on finding her boss cum husband.
"Maan! Maan, I'm here. I came," she announced loudly, once she finally spotted him standing on the second floor's balcony.
Precap
"So, Mrs. Geet. What do you think of my restaurant?"
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