“Jiji…
TV ON karo naa…!!” Khushi pleaded ‘n’th time.
“Kitni
baar Kaha hain, Khushi….! No TV…! Not good for you and the new born…” Payal
reprimanded…!
“Jiji…
News lagao naa….” She pleaded. Jiji
shook her head and turned off the lights…. A sole teardrop rolled down her cheek. The baby stirred a bit and Khushi wrapped her
arms protectively….! Hopelessness crept
in….Confidence drained out… She wouldn’t manage all alone…. She needed him..
Her Laad Governor…!
The
Divorce petition papers flashed… She stifled her sobs… She had signed them,
after all….! Nothing was going right for her….
“Shuuu….
Stop Crying…. Shuuu….” Someone consoled her in her sleep…
***** ***
“Biwi….
“ Papaji called his wife in distress….! He couldn’t see Khushi’s plight…!
“Humm….”
Mummiji sighed knowingly….
“Balwinder….
Don’t worry…. This happens… She delivered
two weeks earlier than the due date… May be there is some mistake in calculating the days….But this
happens…. “ She paused contemplating…
“Biwi…”
Papaji called out hoarsely…
“Humm…
Baby Blues… Don’t worry, Balwinder… She will pull through…. Make sure someone
is elderly is always there with her….” Mummiji said calmly. She could understand Khushi’s turmoil…!
“Yeah..
Ok. I will be there with her always…”
Papaji said with determination…
“NO…
For godsake… Balwinder… You will spread more panicky around… You get that? Let
her family members be with her…” Mummiji flared up at once…
“I am
her family…” Papaji roared defiantly….
“Yeah…
We are a family… But Balwinder… Let some elderly lady be with her…. You
understand?” Mummiji said consoling him…! He disconnected sulking…!
**** ****
****
“ASR…
I am so happy…” she said clasping his hand on the table sipping her drink. He looked away for a fleeting second and
smiled at her…! Her dream to settle in Paris with her ASR had come true. They were planning to fly next week….!
“Finally
we are going…. “ she said sighing…! He looked into her eyes…!
“Oh!...
No.. wait ASR… I will pay…” She had sensed his empty wallot, and kept her card
on the table. He swallowed hard.
“You
remember? Once you had asked me… What if you lost everything …. And I was like
shocked… Taken aback…” she said locking
her fingers in his.
“But
then… I had realized… there was nothing more important than you, for me, ASR…!
I don’t want anything from you…” she said earnestly. He looked away pitying his own miserable
condition…!
“And
Everybody else…. They just walked away….” She blurted and he realized where is
discussion was heading…! He sighed…. She pocketd the card signing on the bill and
they both walked out hand in hand…!
“ASR….
She clutched his arm… holding on to him.!
“You
had sent her the papers….” She stuttered a bit referring to Khushi… He just
gave her a nod…
“She
returned with her signatures…” he said gravely…! Her heart took a
somersault happily…! Finally, ASR was
freed from Khushi’s clutches….! She
hugged him tightly sympathizing with him…!
“Where
were you, last week?” she asked sweetly.
“Lavanya…
I may need your car… I have some urgent work to attend to…” he said sidelining
her thoughts….
“Ofcourse…” she handed over the keys…
“I
will drop you …” He said opening the car door.
She nodded happily. She watched
him race away at the door and came in grinning… Finally she had made it…
Round
the corner, at a public parking place, ASR parket the car and vanished in the
darkness…!
****** ****
“Khushi
woke up with ringing phone bell… Payal had picked up the phone….
“Khushi…
Aman…” she said Khushi snatched the phone ….
“Aman
Sir…”
“Khushi….
What’s going on?” Aman asked and Khushi’s excitement died out…!
“I
don’t know…” She said with a pale face…!
“You
think, we should go ahead… without waiting for…” Aman asked and Khushi
swallowed… All her planning would go for a toss….! But she couldn’t wait longer…
She must act… Strike back…Aman was her only accomplice…!
“Aman
Sir, Another week?” she asked hopefully and Aman fell silent, lost in thoughts….
“Khushi…
Suspicion is on the rise…. You know…. I can’t keep it safe anymore…” he said
gravely.
“I
know…But Aman Sir… Just for a week then we will not wait for anyone…” she said
hiding her disappointment….All her trusted people have failed her…. Including Raj
Bhaiyya and this Laad Governor…! She
frowned angrily. It was time to act, not
waiting for anyone else…
“Darpoke….
“ She spat angrily determined to teach them a lesson….!
“Sab
Ko Dekh Loongee…” She clutched her fists in rage….!
******* *****
****
“You
don’t worry, Aakash…. You will still remain as CEO… Only the ownership will
change hands…” Mehra patted on Aakash’s shoulder glancing at smug Rattan Singh
Thakur. He had offered to bail the
company out of losses and take over with majority shares buying ASR’s Stake in
the company. Aakash had no other
choice. He looked at his father for
support but Mamaji was walked away refusing to sell his stake.
“Look…
Nobody will buy this loss-making company for more than what he is offering
right now…You have the due diligence papers with you… You have the numbers,
Aakash…. Think about it…!” Mehra tried his best to convence reluctant Aakash to
go ahead on his plans… Aman walked in with the files and dockets. Mehra waited for Aman to walk out of the
meeting room and looked at Aakash questioningly. Aakash looked equally confused. He picked up the dockets….!
“Oh!
Sealed Tenders for bidding…” he blurted and Rattan shifted in his seat a bit,
though was confident that his bid wouldn’t be matched…! Mehra smiled knowingly….!
Aakash flipped the dockets… Few few bids…. His heart sanked…! Mehra collected
te dockets and opened them one by one….! All were much below what Rattan had offered.
“A
what?” Mehra blurted in shock…. ! “What is this?” he looked up ghostly…. Rattan
almost snatched the tender …
“What?”
he shot up, shocked…. Aakash looked more
confused.
“Armani…Giorgio
Armani…” Mehra turned ghostly…. The Milan based fashion house of the big
designer Armani’s bid….!” Aakash too got up in shock….
“What?”
he tried to take the docket. “Armani’s
bid? How?” the bid was by invitation and
only a select few were asked to bid… The scanned the bid hurriedly….! A small
fashion house from Chennai had bid jointly with Armani….! Aakash breathed a
relief… ! The bid was far better than the offer made by Rattan Singh….! Aakash
saw his father walking in with his mother and Dadi…!
Mehra
shifted nervously… The meeting must be postponed to have a closer look at the
credentials of this fashion house in Chennai…! Rattan was impatient… He was
running out of time…!
“This
can’t be done… Aakash has already accepted by offer… “ He turned aggressive…!
“Aakash
is one of the stake holder in this… We all are shareholders… and we have the
right to choose the best bidder…!” Mamaji put his foot down…. The meeting
dismissed in chaos…! Aakash clutching his head, not understanding anything
about what had just happened… Mamaji triumphant to have retained the control…
Mehra puzzled with this new twist and Rattan restless for having lost one more
opportunity….!
…… …… …..
“Khushi….”
Aman almost screamed in the rest room…. He couldn’t wait for the meeting to get
over… he hurriedly rushed to the restroom and dialed Khushi’s number…
“Aman
Sir?” Khushi was surprised….!
Time
for Dhamaka…” he screamed and she grinned knowingly….
“Yeah…
Go ahead… All the best Aman Sir…. Devi Mayya hain Aap ke saath…” She said
grinning and disconnecting pulled up the sleeping bundle…!
“Ab
Dekhenge….” She grinned wickedly….!
