Chapter
16: Souring New Heights
Maan
packed everything and called Nakul to let him know that he would be leaving
tonight and to place the luggage in the car. After Nakul left, Maan walked down
to his grandmother's room to bid her goodbye before leaving.
Daadima
was standing near the window and a lone tear in the corner of her eyes. She
looked up to the sky and sighs, "Shukr hai babaji ka Maan ne maan liya New York
jaane ka. Ab sirf ek kwaish hame baaki hai, phir se unki zindagi mein khushi
shamil hone ka. Jis din usne chali jaayi Maan sach mein toot gaya and the only
way he can smile again is through Geet. Bas un donon ko milana aur hame pata
hai ki vo bhi ho jayenge just they need a push. And for that push ek rasta hai
hamare paas but I shall not take that route that soon. First let him visit New
York conference aur agar kuch nahi hua I shall do something about it." Just
when Daadima wiped her tear, Maan knocked her door. She looked at a morose and
sunken figure standing near the doorframe waiting to enter her room.
"Maan
bete aapko knock karne ka kya zaroorat hai, aayiye," she said lovingly looking
at her eldest grandson whose life should have been filled with bed of roses yet
all he was left with was thorns. Maan slowly walked in and went to hug his
favorite Daadima. She returned his hug and gave a small peck on his forehead. "Aapne
sab kuch sambhaliya?" she asked.
"Ji
Daadima everything is ready bas abhi nikalna hai," Maan said. "I just came to
bid you bye before I left for the airport."
"Thanks
for dropping by beta. Have a very nice trip," she smiled genuinely.
"Daadima
is trip mein kuch bhi nice nahi hai, I am just going because u have asked me
to."
"Hume
pata hai Maan but you never know it may be the best trip. Khair chodiye, aap
nahi poochenge hume vahaan se kya chahiye," she teased.
Maan
shook his head at Daadima's request. She never let anyone without asking them
to get her some antique piece to add to her collection of already increasing
set of unwanted items lined in the mansion hailing from all over the world. He
chuckled at her sincere request as he knew he could not say no to his beloved
grandmother.
"Ji
kahiye Daadima, magara daadima aapko yahaan sab kuch hai phir bhi aapko vahaan
se kuch cheez chahiye?" he questioned with his brows knit.
"Beta
hame jo chahiye aapko sirf New York mein hi milegi," she said as her eyes
gleamed mischief.
"Main
samjha nahi," he said looking confused.
"You
shall find what I need only in New York it's a surprise package. Ab jaayiye
jaldi se tayyar hojayiye, so you don't miss the flight. Varna hamari saari
efforts will go down the drain," Daadima said with the last words almost in a
whisper.
Maan
simply nodded, as he was too confused what his grandmother was hinting. He knew
something was fishy but he let it slip for he thought he was reading too much
between the lines.
Maan
left the mansion by late evening in his car so that he wouldn't be late for his
check in. He reached the airport right on time for check-in as the traffic in
the city was extreme and walked towards international departures check in
counter in Indira Gandhi airport. The line for business class in British
airlines was fairly short and the airport did not seem too crowded that his
arrival would cause too much attention. He quietly checked in his bag ignoring
the flirtatious looks of the receptionist at the counter. He passed through
security checks and other necessary procedures before boarding the flight and
settling in his spacious seat. The captain greeted the passengers while the airhostess
was busy instructing people to buckle down before take off. Maan closed his
eyes hoping to sleep away through the journey to prevent him from thinking
about other memorable journeys that might come to haunt him now.
To
his surprise time did pass away quickly. The flight had landed in London and
Maan boarded the next flight again to head to JFK International Airport, New
York. The journey seemed quite smooth, as the skies were clear and now the
captain announced the arrival of destination in a matter of few minutes and
complimented the perfect fall weather outside. Due to heavy air traffic around
the airport the flight had to wait before actually landing. Once landed, Maan
headed out to immigration counter and having all the necessary documentation
done, he headed out towards baggage claim. Since he had checked in only one
single bag and had checked-in almost last his bag came out quickly. Rolling the
luggage he strode towards the arrival section to find the car that would have
been sent for him.
A
fairly old Punjabi man holding a placard with the name Mr. Khurana written
neatly on it stood near the glass door. Maan came our of the glass doors and
headed towards the person, the man soon realized that Maan was Mr. Khurana and
greeted him with a huge grim plastered on his face. He came forward and
introduced himself as the driver for Maan and took Maan's luggage before
heading towards the parking lot. Maan sat in the sleek black limousine while
the driver set the luggage in the car trunk. The drive to the hotel seemed
quite long due to heavy traffic. Maan simply watched cars pass by before dozing
off due to jet lag.
******************************************************************************************
They
arrived at the Singhania mansion a little later than usual. Gowtam uncle was
already home and was catching up on latest happenings in the news when Geet and
Arjun walked in. He greeted them with a warm smile and asked them to join for
dinner as quickly as possible as he was famished since evening. Geet and Arjun
agreed to change and freshen up quickly and headed to their respective rooms. Since
uncle seemed to be engrossed in the news he had failed to notice the awkward
blazer Geet was wearing and thus saved her from making him worry with the day's
events.
Geet
walked into her room and slumped on the bed tired from all the happenings. She
slowly removed the blazer while deeply thinking about Maan's rude behavior. It
was one thing to make work like a mere servant and ask her to make coffee for
Maan but on top of that he had insulted her on her first day of work. She threw
the blazer in anger as it flew across the room and got caught in the edge of
the bed frame. She was frustrated that she let him boss her around the whole
day without her raising a finger against his unruly behavior. Uff! Did she give
him way too much leniency and let him do whatever he wanted? She debated within
herself whether she had suppressed her anger too much while she let his
behavior run amuck. Hot tears rolled down as she stifled a sob that escaped her
mouth. He had stepped over his limit in the name of revenge and she promised
herself this would be the last time before she let him rule over her. She wiped
her tears and headed towards the bathroom to wash away the tears and the shame
she had endured during the day.
Geet
wore a simple light green salwar kameez and came down to the dining table.
Arjun and Gowtam uncle were already seated and were waiting for her arrival.
She quickly grabbed her seat while Arjun served her. The dinner was pretty
quiet except for occasional conversation between Geet and Gowtam uncle as he
asked her about the first day of work. Geet gave a fake smile while assuring
him it was great indeed and she was eagerly waiting to get back to work the
next day. Arjun questioned her intention with his eyes while Geet gestured him
to keep quiet not wanting uncle to worry about her. After dinner Geet excused
herself to her room as she was really tired and wanted to sleep. Arjun
instantly agreed and told her to take rest. She hit the bed in order to erase
the unpleasant incidents and luckily she fell asleep quickly due to exhaustion.
The
morning bloomed promising a new start yet the sky was filled with dark clouds
looming a dull start of the morning.
Arjun
dutifully came to wake his ladli Geet. She awoke with a big yawn and rubbing
her sleepy eyes. She walked towards the bathroom to get ready for her work else
Mr. Jellyfish would gracefully show his wrath. She came back from her shower
when the blazer she had thrown caught her attention. The events came reeling
back to her and she remembered she had to return it to Maan. Although she had
cursed her heart out last night for his rude behavior, she realized that he was
nice enough to give his coat saving her from ignominy. Wait did she just call
him nice? She shook her head hoping to shake off the adjectives he was
associating Maan Singh Khurana with! Ha! That would be that last thing he was,
her brain reasoned, yet in the corner of her mind she was grateful he did what
he did. She tried to pick up the blazer that was stuck on the edge of the bed
frame near the wall. The blazer refused to budge; she tried yanking again but
the blazer stayed put. Geet was surprised and went near the bed frame to take a
closer look. The blazer seemed to be glued to the bed frame but she still did
not realize why. She once again yanked the blazer, this time with all her
strength. The blazer seemed to give away, and at the end it looked as if she was
successful as she had the blazer in her hand. She smiled at her victory but
soon realized she had it in her hand and yet there was something still stuck in
the frame. She quizzically looked at her hand and then looked back at the bed
frame as though she was seeing double things. She straightens the piece of
cloth in her hand and to her dismay she found only the sleeve in her hand. The timing
was just perfect. Her professional relationship with Maan was never to cordial
terms and this rip had soured to new heights.
a quick note the chapter title is meant to be SOURING not soaring its not a spelling mistake there is a very particular reason its sour rather than soar 😃
alright people sorry for the delay. i had intended to write to include some more details in fact i did write it but the chapter was getting way too long and boring so i deleted that stuff. i shall include it in the next update that may come in a few hours (if i see a lot of comments 😆) again please do comment coz it has taken me a lot of time to come out of my sulking to write again n if i dont see people responding i might go back to sulking mode 😕.
Edited by Maaneet_09 - 13 years ago
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