Chapter 6.
Mahek wandered aimlessly on the streets, a sea of strangers bobbing around her. The morning turned into noon and then into afternoon. She found herself near a park and stood there leaning against the fence wall. Inside the park, in a small playground, children played happily. She looked at them longingly as a sense of loss filled her. Entering the park. she sat on a bench watching the children.
Hours passed by. The children had long left. She was shaken out of her trance by the park watchman. Getting up slowly, she took one last look at the playground and dragged herself back home.
Her family were quiet around her that night, going about their business as usual. She changed into her bedclothes and fell into bed. She realised Nehal Di was not there tonight...may be she was not sleepy yet. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember Di's heady scent and fell asleep.
*****
The next morning she woke up on her usual time. She got out of bed to get ready for work, then realised she didn't have to. Slumping back into her bed, she went back to sleep.
It was mid morning when she woke up again. She took a leisurely bath, pampering herself with Di's expensive soap. Then she opened her plait. Thick black hair cascaded her back reaching her waist. She shampooed them lovingly, taking her time to feel the luxury. She was perversely happy...she now had all the time in the world for herself. A bitter smile played her lips.
Drying her hair, she left them open on her back, savouring the feel. She had always wanted to do this. Her hand reached for her baggy clothes, then she thought the better of it. She took out the sea-green dress her Ma had got for her for last Diwali and put it on. She then went to the kitchen to get something to eat.
Her father was nowhere to be seen. Mohit was on call with his friends sharing his good news. Nehal was busy watching TV and her mother was in the kitchen.
There was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Ajay standing at the doorstep. They stared at each other. His hungry eyes widened as they went over her, an oily smile spreading his face. Her throat went dry. She was about to shut the door on his face when Mohit came out.
'I am throwing a party for my friends tonight. Tell Ma I'll be late.', he said without looking at her and left with Ajay.
*****
Susheel Sharma was at his dhaba with Shaurya Khanna and Rajeev Kapoor. It was his first day as a partner, he didn't know what to expect or what was expected of him. He was relieved to hear that for the first couple of days, he just had to observe them accompanying them everywhere. They started with a visit to the construction site showing him around.
By lunch time, Susheel had seen the entire site and was introduced to various people overseeing the work. The sun was heating up overhead. The dust at the site had gone into his lungs making him breathless, but he lugged on. He got some respite when they had lunch, sitting in the cool site office. But lunch was a short affair, they needed to do much in the rest of the day. Susheel somehow dragged himself behind the two young men, trying to participate, trying to show interest. After another hour, he could do no more.
Panting heavily, taking labourious breaths, he sat on a nearby rock while Shaurya and Rajeev watched him with ill-concealed irritation.
'I think you have had enough for a day Mr Sharma. Maybe tomorrow you should send your son', said Shaurya and smirked.
*****
Susheel reached home to find Mohit gone. He hadn't been home since morning and was going to be late that night. Nehal was out with her friends and his wife was busy with the housework. His eyes went to Mahek's room, but he didn't dare to check on her. He knew he had betrayed her, failed her miserably. He was too ashamed to face her.
He tried to call Mohit, he needed to talk to him urgently about the next day, but his calls went unanswered.
Too tired to do anything else, he went to bed early, thinking he would talk to Mohit the next day.
*****
Mohit sat drinking in a pub with his friends. He was delirious with joy, his friends told him again and again how lucky and clever he was. He had done the right thing, putting his foot down. What do girls know about business and deals? They were only good at cooking and breeding. They told him he did the right thing, showing his oversmart sister her place.
He was going to be rich soon. After all, he was going to take over after his father's demise, he was the only son, the sole heir to his father. The old man was already half dead, they said, it won't be long until his death when the entire partnership will pass on to Mohit.
Ajay patted his back and laughed, making sure his glass was never empty. He was happy that he had maintained friendship with Mohit over the years. He had not forgotten the girl he had seen seven years ago. And after seeing her today, he thanked his lucky stars that Mohit was his friend. He had had his share of girls, but none held a candle to Mahek..not even close. His face covered with that oily smile as he thought about her and re-filled Mohit's glass. His future plans rested on Mohit being on his side.
It was nearly early morning when Mohit finally staggered back home. He vomited at the doorstep, before his mother opened the door to let him in.
*****
The next morning, Susheel Sharma was up early. He was going to send his son to work today. He went into Mohit's room and tried to wake him up. But Mohit slept on. Susheel could smell liquor on him. He shook him frantically, finally resorting to throwing a glass of water on his son's face. But nothing would wake Mohit from his deep slumber.
'Why are you bothering him? He only came home early morning..', informed his wife. 'Let him sleep peacefully.'
'He has to go to work today..at the resort.', Susheel replied. He was panicking now. His own first day had been a disaster and now his son was going to let him down as well.
Meera looked at her husband and understood. She joined him in his efforts to wake up her son. After lot of pushing and prodding, he blinked his eyes and somehow managed to sit on the bed. He listened to his father groggily and dragged himself out of the bed to get ready for work.
*****
It was nearly 11 AM when Mohit reached the site, still groggy and unsteady on his feet. Shaurya had not come to the site today and Rajeev had already left after spending an hour there. The workmen looked at him suspiciously, and asked him to leave the site as strangers were not allowed there.
'I am Mohit Sharma, son of Susheel Sharma, the new partner', he introduced himself to a workman who looked like the overseer.
He looked at him in disbelief. 'Then you should have the contact numbers of other partners'.
Mohit called his father and got the numbers. He cursed in frustration when his calls went unanswered.
He waited for some time, not knowing what to do. He had made a mistake by partying late last night. He should have been here with his father yesterday, but he had scuppered that chance. Now he was left alone and did not know what to do.
He was annoyed. He was standing there in the hot son, his hangover giving him a terrible headache. His eyes still burned and body ached painfully. He was angry at his father for landing him in this situation, angry at himself for his stupid blunder, angry at these people who were refusing him the due respect. He was the son of a partner, these idiots have to acknowledge it. Losing his patience, he started blabbering incoherently, making threatening gestures.
The workmen looked impatient, they needed to get back to work. They caught him by his arms and threw him out of their boundry, warning him to stay away, telling the guards not to let this drunkard anywhere near the site. He thrashed and screamed profanities at them until he realised it was no use. It was late afternoon when he finally managed to return home. His parents were surprised to see him. He looked at their worried faces and went to bed without a word.
*****
Shaurya was in his office with Rajeev and Vicki, going over the plans for the resort when Rajeev received a call from his Overseer. Apparently, some drunkard called Mohit Sharma had tried to break in to their site. They had handled the situation and thrown him out. He had just called to inform. Rajeev was outraged..
'I told you it was a mistake to offer them partnership', he started. 'We could have easily got the land by other means. What went into you when you said yes? I thought we had agreed there was no question of partnership...', he seethed. 'And then you had to go and invite them to work with us...', continued Rajeev rolling his eyes.
Shaurya didn't answer. He had asked himself the same question countless number of times, but could not find a satisfactory answer. Yes, he was all for threats and other underhand methods when he sat in that dhaba waiting for Ms Mahek Sharma. Nobody made Shaurya Khanna wait, let alone a chit of a girl, a mere dhabewali with no status, no money and certainly no looks. She had the audacity to ignore him, his greek god looks were wasted on her. She had seen him for what he was and paid back in the same coin. He should have gone ahead with his threat and be done with it.
But he hadn't. He did not understand. Maybe he actually acknowledged that it was unfair to her. He could not ruin someone's life's work. He knew what it meant to build, how much dedication, hard work and sacrifices it took. He sighed. And then there was her ungrateful brother..the entitled, spoiled brat. He remembered himself when Vicki had managed to mess up some of his important projects. It was a pain beyond imagination, as if you lose your own child. She had suffered the same pain that day. Maybe that's why he had offered them to work with him. It would be some consolation to work on the same land that belonged to their ancestors. But it looked like the offer was wasted. The father was not up to it and the son did not deserve it.
Rajeev watched Shaurya with interest. His formidable partner had certainly lost big time that day, not only agreeing to an unwanted partnership, but also increasing it to 15% from a mere 5. Ms Sharma was the first person ever to stand up to him and challenge him, let alone the first girl. She had also managed to bring his share down to a mere 45%, which was his sole consolation in this whole fiasco.
Vicki listened to their conversation intently. He had watched when the girl had outdone his brother, something no one had managed to achieve till date. What Shaurya Khanna wanted, he got. And this time he had got something he did not want at all. Vicki smirked.
Shaurya broke out of his reverie and got up. It was time to visit the Sharma house.
***** *****
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