MANEET FF Dancing from the ashes - cchp32 33 updtd - Page 4

There are times in one's life when they wonder if they could have changed the past. Or was it just meant to be. You wish you had acted or stopped an event and you just don't know if it's possible. When  Maan looked back at his life, he wondered.

It had been a month. Khurana Constructions had been doing well. Much better in fact. Even thought they hadn't agreed to the clauses of the Malhotras...they had fared well. The business had done well. He was slowly gaining his father's trust in opinions. It was satisfying...his father was slowly trusting him, looking for his advice ' banking on him. Vicky was doing well too. His troupe was increasing. There was some new guy and his girlfriend who were helping. He wasn't very worried and he knew Vicky wanted to do it himself, so he didn't bother interfering.

   Life was a n emotional mess for him on a personal front. He knew that he had his father's trust, but when it came to his father's associates, he knew they didn't consider him much.  To them he was still a boy without much experience. And he knew they were right in a way. Whatever conversations he'd had with them, only proved that they didn't value his opinion. His internship abroad had been a different experience...but he knew  he had to work in India so that meant that he had to prove his mettle here. And he had to work hard at that.

Time flew as he took tips from his father, learning as much as he could from him. His father had built the business after his grandmother had retired. He knew they were the best people to learn from. His dislike for Mr. Patel never receded, but he learnt to be firm and diplomatic.

  His love life was another riddle. His latest girlfriend Madhu, had left him high and dry. He was slowly beginning to lose trust in love. Would he ever get love? He had begun to trust Madhu, but she hadn't really cared much. A career in a foreign country was more important for her.  He had to learn to keep to his work ' or did he do it to forgett that pain? It was only Daadi to whom he opened his wounds. His siblings understood all too well and went out of their way to make him happy, whether it was a party or to the club ' but it was only Daadi who heard the words. She worried about him.

    Maan was now handling the offices out of Delhi. He frequently travelled, living out of a suitcase.  He camped, trekked, anything to take his mind off the lonely existence of his life when he didn't work. 

  His heart longed for a friend, but he rarely paid attention to his heart, and concentrated his energies in giving the Khuranas a better name, more profit and making his father's dream come true.

Expansion overseas was the next  step and Gaurav and Maan took it as soon as possible. In a span of 5 months,  Gaurav had all the plans on paper.

    Gaurav was more relaxed about travelling abroad and doing his research to start the business abroad.  Maan was there to handle things, while he was gone.  Maan was not happy about it.  He wasn't unable to put his finger on it, but something was  troubling him. Was it intuition?? He didn't know, neither did he pay much attention to it.  It was something he was doing a lot lately ' repressing any feelings that he didn't understand.   Still the feeling of impending doom continued to haunt him whenever he thought of the overseas business.  

   When Maan drove his father to the airport, he had a sudden urge to tell him not to go.  He chided himself to  not be a silly boy and hugged him goodbye.  It was the last time he did so.

   The family was informed about the plane crash an hour after it occurred.  Gaurav had died leaving the burden of the Khurana empire on Maan's  grieving shoulders. Daadima lay in bed grieving for days, frail and helpless. Maan grew angry with himself. He felt like an inexperienced pup.  If only he had stopped his father.  If only...

It was that day, that Maan grew up. All the problems he had with himself faded into the background as he knew the purpose in his life.  Every day was a challenge. Every day he had to prove himself to his staff, his associates, his family. It was a tough job, one he gave his 100%. Vicky was there with him all along...giving him a hand whenever he wanted. ' dropping plans with friends or even his studio rehearsals, only so that Maan's burden would lessen.

 He faced problems in abundance...Mr. Patel being the most annoying. His instinct had been right. Mr. Patel had been the leech all along,  guiding  Gaurav wrongly, influencing him to make wrong  moves after moves.

Maan spent nights burning the midnight oil, looking up tenders,  going through the accounts and the past records.  He didn't say anything to Mr. Patel then, considering his seniority and his father's affection for him. But he was not his father, and he would learn from his father's mistakes.

  When Mr Patel next came to Khurana Constructions under the pretext of  helping out Maan, he was in for a surprise.

He entered wishing the staff as usual, putting on a bereaved expression. The person who faced him however was not the boy he had last met.

''Maan beta . How are you?'', he asked with affectation.

''I'm fine Mr. Patel'', he said ' stressing on his manner of address.

''I wanted to talk about the joint project we are going to do. You did get the offer from the Sahni Group didn't you? ''

Maan nodded.

''Then beta, why did reject it?''

''Mr. Patel'', he replied. '' Frankly, I didn't see much profits for it. It was a lost cause and I want to look forward and not do such small projects. It doesn't interest me or the company.''

''Beta,'' he said, in an oily voice, '' I think you'll agree that I have much more seniority in this issue than you have. You are new here. I think you should consider my advice. I know more than you. Listen while you can and you may be at a loss. After all, your father trusted me.''

Maan had had just about enough. His thinly veiled threat had not escaped him. He could see through the lies of Mr. Patel. The bulk of the profits were only for his company, leaving a negligible percentage for Khurana constructions.  He hated the man for his conniving mind.  So he did what his gut told him to.

He stood up and spoke , his eyes flashing fire.

''Mr Patel.  Assuming, that from now onwards you will be associating with me, I would prefer to addressed as an equal. So let me remind you in case you have forgotten ' the name is Maan Singh Khurana.

 I am not going to be persuaded to do this deal, no matter how beneficial it maybe to you. So I suggest you look for another scapegoat to thrust your ill - designed deal on.  As far as my father's trust goes. I'm sure he'll be proud of me for making my own decisions. ''

Mr. Patel also stood up, his eyes spitting fire. ''Why you little disrespectfu--''

''Don't let the door hit you on your way out. Thank you for your time.'', was the only thing Maan said, before seating himself and resuming his work.

MR. Patel was only the 1^st person...but the business world was about to know what he was made of.

Maan's struggles and hardships led to fruition as he won success upon success. He won awards for being one of the best entrepreneurs. He never entertained anything that pushed him away from his goal. He struck at the construction industry with a vengeance... Nobody could ignore him ' he was the best. Girls vied for his attention; everybody wanted to sign a deal with him. A picture with him in the newspaper increased the person's brand value.

Daadima was proud of him ' but she knew his life felt hollow. The spark she used to see in his eyes had diminished. It had been replace with something else.  Maan had begun keeping to himself. He never went out, hardly ever partied. His playboy image was forgotten. He was a changed person. Annie and Vicky noticed it too. He had become stern...he rarely cracked a smile.  When it came to their relationship, however, he was always present for family. But they all worried about him nonetheless.  

   Maan too wasn't unaware about his change in personality. He could see the change in himself. His stern demeanour was getting him respect and success ' people were scared to oppose him ' they didn't take him lightly. It all was giving him a heady sensation. But it was a feeling he liked. The very associates who treated him like a kid when his father was alive, were now thinking twice before opposing him.

  He was a great boss. He loved his staff. They were all capable, hand-picked by him. He knew they feared him, but he never hesitated to look after their welfare.  They were the best around, honed and shaped under his guidance.  And thanks to that, he could go about his camping trips.

His latest trip had been a long one. He had been gone for almost 3 weeks.  Daadi had been worried sick. When he returned, he had looked into the progress on the latest projects and had returned home.  Adi had looked into everything, managed all the necessary procedures...work was fine. He had stayed in his room, hardly interacting with family.

   He paced his room,  loneliness swamping him ,despite the house full of people. He resorted to work to keep his mind off things. This was becoming a routine though he failed to realize it. Through all this, Maan never realized what was troubling him. He wondered over his change, but he never realized it was loneliness and the burden that was the problem.

 As expected it was Daadi who understood this about him.  But, Maan had taken to staying away from everybody.  It was time she took matters in her hands. She sent all the drivers away for an impromptu leave. Once Maan had finished his work, she asked him to drive her to Vidya's home.

She planned to speak to Maan in the car where h e couldn't run away from her.!!

Precap:

He barely had time to glimpse the face ' but the expression in those eyes never left him. He tried to recollect the face again but was left clutching at strands ' the eyes however mystified him, elevated him. They never left him!

Note: language of the precap is subject to change in the next update...please comment I want feedback!!

thanks.

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