Chapter 2: A
Surprise!
Walking
through the huge glass doors she was greeted by the smiling receptionist,
Shirley. It was a huge office located on the 40th floor of Madison
Ave and 54th street. Although it was quite big for a total of 20
employees, her boss had insisted on having to stay in this building surrounded
by other high profile offices. Her boss, Jay Peterson, known as JP, was a man
in his early thirties. His high
taste reflected his reputed family background yet he could prove sometimes to
be quite indecisive and fickle minded. His eagerness and enthusiasm in trying
to accomplish his vision could sometimes prove dangerous but his uncles and
father, the founders of Peterson Group of Companies always kept him in check.
Geet
was greeted with a huge grin as she entered her cabin. It was hard to resist his
warm smile, involuntarily a smile crept on her face as she greeted him with a
quick good morning and ready to hear about his yet another dream venture.
"A
very good morning to you too Geet! I need to speak to you about the upcoming International
Conference on Construction and Project Management that is going to be held here
in two weeks. Would you care to spend a few minutes about it please?" announced
JP as Geet settled in her chair.
"Of
course JP, go ahead I am listening" Geet remarked as she intently watched her
boss become animated talking about the reputed annual conference that would be
held in New York City where every construction company eyes for a chance to
attend it.
"And
this year we have a special guest lecture by one of the best managing directors
of a multi-national company," he finally declared, "Just take a wild guess
Geet." Geet looked at JP with a blank look, as she absolutely had no clue about
this so-called best MD. He probably would be one of those boring CEOs trying to
introduce a bizarre concept in architecture or project management in the name
of new and innovative ideas. The last time they had attended the conference,
the guest lecturer was trying to prove that the next sought after building
design would model after UFOs. Of all the things in the world that man could
think of unidentified flying object as a concept for a building design. As Geet
was reminiscing about the previous conference, her train of thoughts was
interrupted when JP announced the guest lecturer's name. What! Had she heard him
right? No maybe she was just dreaming. In order to clear her doubts she asked
JP once again, "I am sorry JP could you please repeat the lecturer's name" she
interjected hoping what she heard would just be a dream.
"Mr.
Maan Singh Khurana," JP proudly announced with a huge smile plastered on his
face as he passed the booklet that contained the details of the conference
along with snippets about the guest lecturer. Yes she had heard it right, she
thought as she took the booklet from JP while he exited assuring her that this
year they should take extra concern to be present at the conference and have a
chance to listen to his lecture and if possible meet him personally. It was
indeed the Maan Singh Khurana. Maan Singh Khurana was coming there! Her heart
skipped a beat and a slow smile appeared on her face but before it turned into
a full-blown smile, she stopped herself. In place of a smile sadness crept over
her face. It had been four years since she had walked away from Maan. She knew
she had done the right thing walking out of his life. It was the best thing for
both of them, yet she had regretted it. A small tear escaped her eyes as she
delicately touched his photo printed in the booklet. Quickly brushing away the
tear she hugged the book and carefully placed it in her bag so that she could
take it home with her. But bringing it home with her would just be a recipe for
disaster, as she would again start drowning in the sorrowful past. She started
weighing her options of taking the book with her or leaving it in the office.
Her mind reasoned that it would be no use taking it home as she would be forced
to relive her past yet her heart tempted her to take it as it would if not heal
at least for the time being salvage her would. Promising herself that she would
return the booklet tomorrow to JP, she tucked the book in her bag safely and
carried on with her work.
The
rest of the day at work was uneventful as usual. Geet had to attend two client
meetings to present her designs to them and assure them of success and
stability of her company in fulfilling the task of completing the buildings.
The clients were happy with the presentation and promised to get back with the
assurance of signing a contract with them. It was lunchtime by the time she had
finished up with the clients. And since she was in hurry today morning she
didn't have a chance to pack herself lunch. Informing the Shirley that she was
stepping out for lunch, Geet walked down the busy streets to as she headed to
the famous Indian lunch cart located a block away from her office. "Chi chi
Muruga! Abachaaram abachaaram (disgusting)" she shivered at the thought of all
kinds of meat under one roof as she avoided the regular caf lunches. This
Indian lunch cart was run by two Guajarati women and it was purely vegetarian
so she could eat with peace of mind. For five dollars they offered a portion of
rice, one chapatti, and two vegetable curries. It was more than satisfying and
quite healthy compared to fatty fries and burgers. If the stomach was still
unsatisfied they offered two samosas for a dollar and fifty cents. The healthy
menu and cheap price attracted a lot of people thus the wait in line for Geet
took more than twenty minutes when she finally grabbed the lunch box and walked
back to the office to eat. After finishing her lunch she went back and finished
the rest of the remaining designs. By the time she was finished up with new
blue prints it was almost 6 in the evening. She winded up everything grabbed
her bag and her light coat and headed out of the office waving a quick bye to
her colleagues.
Riding
the E train subway to 50th street and 8th avenue she
thought about the days events. Geet's thoughts went back to the morning when JP
had announced the guest lecturer for the annual conference. "Maan," she softly
mouthed his name as she gripped to the metal bar to keep herself from falling
on the passenger beside her. That name had a special place in her heart; it
carried a kind of magic spell on her. The events of her past randomly flashed
in her mind but came to an abrupt end when she shook off the thoughts and tried
to concentrate on getting out of the crowded subway and to pick up Kritika from
her pre-school.
Thats it for now people. Please comment or at least hit the like button 😛.
Edited by Maaneet_09 - 13 years ago
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