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Chap 30
Maan:
He had a generous sip of soda to calm his nerves. Never had he felt this nervous in his life before. It was most likely the hot air that was not letting him breathe. Or her proximity and trust that he felt he was breaking somewhere. This was not a business deal but why did he feel as if he had lost only about a trillion dollars?
He rubbed his face with a tissue to clear off the mask of sweat.
Geet "Oh you are feeling hot? Wait let me grab those airline towels from the room."
Maan frowned "Airline towel?"
Geet "You know the one which smells good and feels fresh but dry. They hand those out on flights?"
Maan smiled "Sure get me an 'airline' towel."
She ran to the room and brought him a pale off white towel. Upon dabbing his face he felt a bit calmer.
Geet "How about we start with a poem?"
Maan "Sorry what?"
Geet "You know a poem in Sir's biography. What better way to start then the way he walks into a room and his presence commands attention."
Right, the biography. He had not been listening to what he had spoken.
Maan tried to shrug it off "I would leave it to you. I don't know much about writing. I told you. You can probably read a couple of biographies and get some idea?"
Geet "Oh bull. I don't want to be imitating others. Since this biography is unique I will write in my own way."
Maan nodded "Sure, we don't want it to come off sounding like a poor chronicle."
Geet "Exactly! It is like you can read my mind or something. This is just so awesome. Why has nobody thought of this before? A biography describing a persons achievements and plans. Maan, you are a genius."
His skin felt too tight for his own body as he clenched his fists. He willed himself to calm down. She was swinging about the room as if her legs were the one doing the thinking.
Geet "I am thinking we will also…."
He watched the heartiest smile he had ever seen on her face. His breathing turned a shade easier. It was just like telling a kid about Santa Claus. The pom poms in her cheerleading churidar were in sync with the rigorous manner in which she was speaking. She was thinking of getting a cent percent marking on the end result.
But the plain and simple fact of life was that mere words of flattery about a person could not make him great. Advertising something vigorously did not increase the product quality. It was possible to fool a few people a few times. But convincing the general populace about somebody's body of work was not possible. Work had to speak for itself and nothing could replace the dint of sweat and long hours.
She who usually read his mind was now so lost that she was hardly looking at his face. If she had she would have noticed that she was not seeing there a triumph of having signed a contract. Instead the guilt of an impatient man who had taken the easy way out.
He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He began searching for ways to feel better about this. After a few routing difficulties the true light began to surface. She was liking it and smiling. This was the real her. Confident, commanding and not afraid to stand up for herself. It was what he had wanted.
The book, well…Maan doubted whether Dev himself would read it. The only people who would buy it would probably be ones who knew Dev in person or KC employees. That was enough to build her confidence. Seeing the book that she had written on display in the new releases section would make her feel proud of herself. It would keep her smiling. The book would be a harmless fun PR exercise. It would make Geet popular in office too. She would most likely portray her colleagues in a good light and interact with them more in the process – that reminded him to take their signatures once the book was done. All in all a win-win for everybody concerned.
He opened his eyes with a smile to find her dividing the air around her into compartments and painting them with information. He had gently nudged her into believing that she held the power to elevate her boss to greatness. Yet sometimes just believing in something strongly was everything.
Geet "Maan are you ok?"
He looked blankly at her his heart pounding. She immediately came to his side and looked searchingly at his face.
She said fearfully "Did you change your mind? Do you want somebody else. You did not like my ideas."
His eyes went mellow and he was feeling a bit dazed. She had come too close into his personal space and was squeezing his arms. His face was inches away from hers and her fingers were gently tugging at his shirt. He could kiss her right there. It was that easy. There was nothing to stop them and there was a bedroom right across the hall. He could touch her all he wanted and she would welcome it. But she had to take this book seriously. This was not the time to get cozy with her.
Maan "I think that button will come off now my lioness."
Immediately she took her hands off his shirt and muffled a giggle with her palms "Sorry I did not mean to put you in a spot. I can understand your worries Maan. I am going to try my best and not disappoint. I promise."
He saw her earnest face with a renewed discomfort "Geet…if this book were not to see the light of the day, you would understand right?"
She nodded vigorously "Of course, just the opportunity to write something like this is enough for me. What more can I ask for? I don't care if it is never published. I will keep it as a souvenir for myself."
Oh it was not the publishing part that he was worried about. He only had to say it and it would happen. However it was the half truths that he had spoken that stung at unexpected places. But the way her chest was heaving up and down and her fingers were doodling her veil made his heart race. Ah! Was it getting hotter suddenly.
Maan "I know writing something takes time and patience. But I hope you finish it as fast as you can. I cannot wait to read it."
And get it published to 'bestsellerdom' and having a permanent smile plastered on her face as a result.
She was smiling now with hope. He wanted the one which spoke of confidence.
Geet "Yes I will do justice by your brother. You don't have to worry about that. I am going to be mature about this and not let my personal prejudices affect my writing."
He wondered how he thought of all these grandiose schemes that had made him successful. It was just all borrowed intelligence. Just like the educational institutions which made the entrance criteria to a university so tough that just getting through to it itself was a measure of success. Passing out of it was a no brainer. Even people who dropped out of such places felt successful. They had already managed to get their foot into the right door, right?
He had put in all roadblocks in front of Geet to make it seem like an uphill struggle, blood, sweat and tears for her book to even see the light of the day. Confidence was just a state of mind but it created an aura that people were actually drawn towards. That simply was the difference between Dev and himself. He needed Geet to possess that halo.
Looking at her puppy dog expression, all thankful to her stars for the lucky day he knew they had a long way to go to get to the halo.
He could not shake the feeling though that he had given birth to a brain child that he had no control over anymore. Back home he resorted to his usual tai chi routine to help gain some traction over the million things that could go wrong. He who considered himself immune to women had fallen like a ton of bricks for a beautiful little girl who challenged him to do better.
As he clasped the pillar that marked the centre of support for the structure that was his home he decided that whatever problems he had been having were going to become trivial. Who knew this little fishing expedition called biography might work in Maan's favor after all.
He walked over to Dev's room and found him busy texting somebody with a stupid grin on his face. He wished Dev would rewind and become like that.
Maan "Who are you texting? I hope you are still not stuck with Sapna. She is bimbo number 1."
Dev looked at his brother with a smirk "Yes as a matter of fact I happen to like her a lot. She is girlfriend material."
Maan "I am sure she is. Although I have no clue what girlfriend material means. Could it be that she has stayed back in India because of the rupee dreams in her eyes? Listen we have to go through the project details for Bottlewala deal. I have asked Geet to set up a meeting with the necessary stakeholders. Must happen sometime tomorrow."
Dev was still hunched over the phone.
Maan "Would you stop with the phone already? I am done pandering to your every whim."
Dev stood up and walked closer to Maan and smiled "You like Geet, don't you?"
Maan glared "DEV! Shut up and go through the details of this project."
Dev however was not one to back off "Let me guess. She is a sweet innocent girl who always seems to get stuck with everything and has an issue with everyone. Classic Bro type."
Maan was trying his best to control his temper.
Dev "Let me see now, she has dropped out of college. Yet Bro hires her. Then I ask her to be fired. Yet Bro retains her. Now she has become more Bro's secretary than mine. I think…"
Maan smiled caustically "Stop thinking you moron. She is a nice girl and deserves to be where she is. If you don't stop making up things about me I will…"
Dev "What will you do huh? Come on tell me. Throw me out of this house? Ask everybody not to ever speak to me? What can you possibly do to me. Nothing, nothing at all Bro. I am penniless and you are helpless. So you will listen to me. I need a new car."
Maan fumed. There was no way in hell Dev got his way every time. "No you are not getting a new car. It is time you start behaving like a grown up."
Dev "I would except I don't feel grown up. I feel stuck in a place where I am just a pawn for other people. I am a joke and everybody knows it."
Dev was sitting down and Maan went and sat by him.
Maan said softly "Dev I understand your difficulty. I really do. I will make it better for you I promise, ok?"
Dev "Hmm."
Maan "Really I mean it Dev."
Dev "I will believe it when I see it. Now I had like to sleep. We must maintain the schedule right. I am Bro's baby after all."
Maan "By the way Annie is coming. So you cannot sit and mope around. You have to buckle up buddy."
For the first time in a long time Maan saw a semblance of happiness on Dev's face.
Dev "Really? Why I thought she was going to raise hell and conquer the college."
Maan "Turns out they scrapped the union in college. So she is not staying in that hostel anymore."
Dev was beaming "Yes that is awesome."
Maan "Don't tease her about it though. She is really sensitive about the topic and not over it yet. I wouldn't even mention words beginning with 'un' like 'union', 'university' etc.."
Dev "Stop with your lecture now. Keep it limited to the office. I better get myself dressed in something presentable."
Maan looked at his brother sprinting into his walk-in closet like there was no tomorrow and wondered. Was it a wise decision for a biography to be sanctioned for a person like Dev who had been a drug addict? Although not a living soul except Maan and highly priced doctors and rehab specialists knew about it. They were bound by law to keep it confidential.
Maan walked back to his room with a replenished determination to fight Dev's demons. Maan would do everything in his power to make sure that Dev kept smiling. He inhaled deeply and all was calm once more.
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