Secret- Worries & Lessons
The next morning Mandira was visibly relaxed, (ofcourse she was also getting an early AM peel and facial and neck massage at 7 AM)
as she realized there was absolutely nothing about Trisha that could ever attract Ashvin... she later added the two words "long term".
In the remote possibility that Ashvin finds himself consummating the realtionship.
Ashvin's system was ingrained with insecure self conscious girls
Trisha was fearless and secure
She had never expected a small town girl to be that way in her presence.
Partly because of her height, her clothes, her jewelry and what her last name was she intimidated everyone
Girls made up stuff to appear "acceptable" infront of her
They didnt say things like my Ph D might take "years" or "I dont cook".
Girls would fall headlong into cooking classes or fly to France to get train under chefs.
She was now confident Trisha didnt stand a chance.
Now she had to think about getting them unscathed out of this mess
The last thing she wanted was a needy greedy girl
But Trisha wasnt it
She had to begin convincing Sharanbir slowly about how Ashvin's act was one of pure retaliation and nothing else
And everyone should forgive and forget the 60 lakh mistake and move on
Sharanbir should quit nagging Ashvin, in return Mandira will find a "sweet girl" for him
She didnt know how to begin the project
All the conversations in her mind came to a dead end when thought of the family wealth was triggered
There was too much money at stake.
1000s of crores, one wrong move and everything could go wrong all over again
She had a couple of brunch and lunch dates and a visit to the Narang Construction office near Bagmane Tech Park
Sharanbir was visiting too
She wondered how she could have him visit Indira Nagar and "see" what she "saw" in Trisha
"That would be enough"
One look at her and Papaji could be convinced that it was a complete total reprisal on Ashvin's part and though there would be a long drawn out sermon
There was no need to fear the loss of business alliance through marriage. That prospect was still alive well and open
They could clean this all up and reach out to Rajat mehra and solicit a meeting.
He would do it for "Aanya's future" for sure
Who else in Delhi had a such a good looking, educated, wealthy boy not even 30?
Only Mandira...
If only convincing Sharanbir was easy to persuade
She lay there as her spa tech massaged her face. High end spas in Bangalore these days were willing to send techs home for massages
Not too far, in fact 50 feet away in the other end of the apartment, a young girl agonized over such issues also, in fact she had been, since last night..
How to convince Prakash Shanbag to open the binder and look at it?
Ashvin's mother was like a lady executive from a famous bank she thought, polished, glowing, sparkling with jewels
she could never imagine her own mother in pants, leave alone capris
"they must all hate socks" "as a family" she grinned softly to herself
The whole house smelled like her she thought, expensive and spicy of some faraway land
She brushed her teeth, and rubbed moisturizer on her face, and shut the bathroom light.
She got up, shut out the light, shut the balcony door
"I shouldnt be screaming for him when his mother is in town" she thought to herself
The next morning she woke early and reviewed the copy of the franchise after her morning business.
The work would take 3 months, 75-90 days according to the process flow chart
She imagined the place looking like the brochure by Diwali
A small ray of hope fluttered and multiplied like baby butterflies all over inside
It would be the brightest sign on the coast road, she wondered if teens would gawk at it, take pictures and selfies
She could see it from a distance as she walked to it from Ullal bus stop when she got off the Mangalore bus
The blue LED lights were definitely modern and bright... it wud be the poshest restaurant in Ullal she gushed hugging the brochure
like any 28 year old she looked at her reflection in the phone's camera.
"I must buy this moisturizer again. I like the feel of it on my skin" she lay down and shut her eyes
There was a knock on the door
It was Ashvin...
shaved, showered combed, dressed for work but still wearing glasses, as was she was self conscious in her skinny tee and blue and pink plaid pajamas
"Hi" she said hesitantly
The bed was strewn with journals and papers
The copies of the franchise stuff was everywhere
She didnt want him to see she was worrying over it.
Did I wake you?
"No... I was awake, refusing to sit up and study" she smiled softly
She opened it wide so he could see
"You lay on your journals?" he asked amused
"I take whatever help I can get" (in making the content go into my brain)
He didnt know what he wanted to say he just lingered
"Your mother is still here?" she broke the ice
"Umm.. yeah" he nodded
"Great" she nodded stepping back and letting him come in
"Did You lock the balcony door last night?" he asked
Disappointed?
she nodded self consciously
"Too many bugs"
"especially for a guy that cant see very well" he nodded
She blushed, as she breathed audibly
"I said only one time" (I suspected you of being blind)
"Thanks" he muttered laughing under his breath for not being insulted more than once.
"Are you bringing MJ home tonight?" he asked
She looked startled
"I dont know I am not sure when Prasad is coming back" she gazed at her phone on the bed
"I can tell him I cant watch, I can go feed and come back" she promised
"My Mom's friend might be coming to dinner. She is not very cat friendly" he said
"Oh?" she was apologetic
"I tried coaching her on how to befriend cats as I was taught by someone, but she didnt want the lesson" he was openly laughing now
She closed her mouth with her left hand again, embarassed
"Oh God!! i only said that to you!!!!" (not to be advertized!!)
"You never said it was a secret?!!" he pointed innocently
She shut her eyes and cringed...
"ASHWIN!!! I am not a cat expert!!" she said shaking her head, sighing defeatedly, her shoulders slumping
"But you can be very convincing for a non expert" he said softly
Watched her squirm, with satisfaction and left the room, as she watched him go picking up her jaw from the floor.
comment:
p_commentcount