Tipping scale
Vishwas Narang had two brothers, each with two boys and a girl. Only Vishwas had one son and one daughter. Leela was in college now
Narang Properties was registered in bangalore and it was one of the many business ventures of the group.
They were building a multiuse office-apartment-multiplex-shopping megaplex 30 miles West of the airport
So that was why Sharanbir was frequently seen in Bangalore the last couple years.
The AGM was also slated to be in Bangalore for this reason starting this afternoon.
Cuisine Craft was the franchise licensing venture of Narangs. It brought in the least revenue and the least operating income.
It struggled every few quarters...
Ashvin was "only worthy enough" of doing that according to Sharan.
That caused the greatest heartburn for Mandira.
She saw her husband's nephews dive in and be part of the larger enterprise in Delhi and Chandigarh
while her son slogged away at "MG Road" (NOT Delhi) "in foriegn land".
Sharanbir did not speak with Ashvin unless "he had to"
That irked Mandira no end too.
Vishwas had loved flying, and owned many planes. One such sortie one cold morning in Delhi had ended badly..
His brothers Vikas and Vipul Narang had offered complete unconditional support to Mandira Leela and Ashvin
Their wives were equally nice, strangely.
That irked Mandira too.
What ever little hope there was of Ashvin being forgiven and absorbed into the fold of Narang Inc. was gone when Vishwas was gone.
She admired the nail technician's work with interest, but did not vocally compliment
She was a bad tipper unlike her father in law
"Well I am a single parent" she would claim defensively when she went out with Sharan.
Outside Taj ManSingh and Oberoi, the doorman rarely received any cash offerings from her
Her maids and assistants got paid, but that was about it.
"Sahi hai Ma'am" the girl caught Mandira staring and enquired
She nodded, a lil flustered.
Leela called
"Mom, I am going out with friends tonight I wont be home" she said in her sing song voice.
They lived in Panchsheel Enclave. Most of their neighbors had remodeled their homes thrice in three years
Mandira was in a holding pattern
She wanted to get out of there and become neighbors with Singhanias or Mittals in the 110001 zip code
"Hmm" she said
If her daughter was sexually active, she did not want to know
She could spend a second calling the family doc to ask if Leela was on birth control but she hadnt... and she wont
"Ma'am" the nail tech hovered
"It looks gr... good" she nodded and smiled a half smile
The girl was overjoyed
"Good" meant a Rs.1,500 or a Rs 2000 tip usually. She did not know that it was going to be less than Rs. 200 today.
She dialed Ashvin
"Are you coming to the board meeting?" she asked eagerly
"Why? did he invite me?" Ashvin was visibly excited
"Umm... no beta... not quite yet" she swallowed
"Oh" she could literaly see his shoulders slump
"Dont worry... I am going to be there" she said with forced enthusiasm she did not quite feel
"How is work?" she asked shrilly
"Its OK... umm... its a job" he said gruffly
"Do you want a vacation?" she offered
"Now?" he asked chirpy
"Sure hon" she said and looked around to see if anyone noticed her obvious American slang
The nail tech brought her her second glass of wine
She nodded, slumping back on the chair..
"You are doing fabulous... keep at it beta" she urged and said the same 7 sentences afterward.
All meant to somehow tip the scale in the favor of her son.
"Mom Can I call u back?" Ashvin asked distracted
"U can . I love you A LOTTT" she said shrilly.
"U2" he said with a half smile
There was a knock on the door
The girl he had seen as the elevator doors drew shut was walking inside
She looked at the walls adorned with pictures of him playing one sport or another, or some beach vacation or another
Her eyes paused on something she thot she recognized
"Ms Shanbag?" he asked standing up politely
She looked a little intimidated
She nodded
"Trisha Shanbag" she reminded flustered
"Ashvin Narang" he shook her startlingly soft hand and noticed the burn injuries... three oil splatters...
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