Chapter 26:

Case of Mistaken Identity

 

Time past and Geet had her plaster removed. The doctor had advised Maan not to let her strain her wrist too much initially. Geet was overjoyed since no plaster meant full time working and cooking for her. She had also made a list of ideas for Maan to look at. He was impressed. His Mishti proved to be a real gem. Even the clients liked her ideas very much and congratulated Maan on having her on his side. Since this was an international project, Maan left no stone unturned to make this a success. He had to visit Italy for two days to look at the sight and make all arrangements. He told Geet about it and she was jumping in joy.

"Geet, it is so nice to see you happy for my success" Maan said with a tinge of pride.

He didn't know that according to Geet's and Pinky's plan it was vital for him to be out of office again for a couple of days. But after Maan's warning they didn't want to fool him again and hence were at a loss as to what to do next.

"Sir, aap kitne dinno ke liye jarahe ho?"

"Do din, kyun? Meri yaad aegi?"

"Nahin nahin, aap do hi din kyun rukh rahe hain? Italy jarahe hain to ek hafte reh ke aiye aur ghoom lijie." Maan was dumb folded by her answer. He had expected her to miss him and maybe insist on coming along and now she was literally keeping him away.

"Akele waha kya karunga, main ek kaam karta hu, tumhe bhi leke jata hu. Aise kaam bhi hojaega aur hum ghoom bhi lenge."

"NAHIN" Geet screamed panic stricken and Maan dropped his phone out of shock.

"Mera matlab hain ke main bilkul bhi nahin ja sakti hu sir kyun ki kya haina…." She tried to improvise and find a good reason and only one presented her.

"Haan, jab se plaster khula haina Arjun chala gaya to ab mujhe aur bhi kaam hain to main kahin nahin jaa sakti hu." Maan looked at Geet. Since the day he had seen her in the caf with Pinky's brother, she and Pinky were behaving really oddly. They would whisper things to each other or make gestures. Not even Adi had a clue who had noticed their strange behaviour. When asked Pinky and Geet simple make and excuse but now Maan was convinced that there was something fishy was going on. Geet's reaction to him taking her along was shocking. He knew she wouldn't tell so he had to find out another way.

 

Maan packed his bag and wondered how he will be able to stay away from Geet for two days. He called Adi and talked to him about their strange behaviour. He admitted to have noticed but knew nothing as to why.

"Adi, while I'm gone, I want you to keep an eye on both especially Geet." Adi felt uncomfortable with Maan's order. Maan understood Adi's silence and said:

"It is not that I don't trust either of them I just want to be on the safe side so to know they are alright. I don't know about Pinky but Geet is very innocent and has the habit of landing in trouble. I will just be able to put my mind at rest to know someone is looking after them." Adi agreed and he cut the call.

On the other side, Pinky and Geet were packing, too. Geet had shifted to the main mansion on Dadi's request and the outhouse had been looked again. They had both put their respective phones on loudspeaker so they could talk and pack at the same time. They packed everything only to notice that they actually didn't have anything to wear at the function.

"Pinky ek kaam karte hain. Maan sir kal nahin haina toh Adi sir se bolke adhe din ki chutti leke hum shopping karne chalte hain. Waise bhi hume ziyada waqt nahin lagega."

 

Next morning Maan had a meeting which he had to attend prior to going abroad. Geet and Pinky had taken permission from Adi to take a half day leave. He asked them a reason as he remembered Maan's words.

"Kuch nahin Adi sir, we're just going shopping. Mall mein sale lagi hain, so we don't want to miss out on the opportunity." They left in the car which Maan had kept for Geet to use.

They found everything much quicker than expected. They bought a couple of lehnga's and one parrot green lehenga for Meera. They shopped for accessorise and shoes and were packed with stuff. Geet had asked for everything to be kept at the outhouse just then Meera called:

"Hi Geet, kaisi hai. Tu shopping chali gayi aur mujhe bataya bhi nahin." Meera pouted.

"Yeh le, agar tujhe batati to humara plan chopat nahin hojata" Geet mumbled.

"Kya kahan Geet?"

"Kuch nahin, woh tu dikhi nahi na isi liye…"

"Accha sun. Mein ek hafte ke liye Ahemdabad ja rahin hu. Yash ke project mein tori si problems aayi hain issi liye. Tu apna khayal rakhna aur Pinky ko phone karna agar tujhe akela mehsoos ho." Geet had put the phone on speaker and she and Pinky high-fived. So this means Yash had successfully managed to do his first task. Both shorthanded decided to dump all their luggage and shopping bags at Meera's place since she wouldn't be there now.

 

Previously they had planned to confide in Adi and tell him about everything as he was their friend. But problem was he was Maan sir's most trusted employee. They didn't want to put Adi in a fix where he had to choose between helping his friends and being loyal to his boss. Before KC closed for the day, they still had to do one last thing. Pinky was to meet Geet at KC after doing her little task. Geet had two leave applications in her hand and prayed to her Babaji to help her. Adi looked at the pieces of paper in front of him and then at Geet. Now even he was convinced that both women were cooking up something. The reason for leave was family wedding. Neither Geet not Pinky had any family member's who were in the right age for marriage.

"Geet, yeh kiski shaadi pe jarahe ho?" He asked her.

"Pinky ki cousin sister hain, Sweety." Adi remembered Sweety. He had met her once and yes she was the right age for marriage. He wondered who would be so stupid to marry such a crazy girl like Sweety but shrugged. There is said to be someone for everyone in this world.

'Lekin agar Pinky ki family mein shaadi hain to mujhe kyun nahin bola?' Adi was hurt at this. He loved Pinky and always thought she might feel the same for him, too. 'It seems I was wrong. I'm only a friend who isn't important enough to be called to a family wedding.' He signed both applications and Geet left. Adi saw that Geet had forgotten her purse and ran after her.

He stopped when he heard Pinky's voice.

"Oye Geet, yeh tuje hi pehen na hai to tere hi size ka banwaungi." Geet nodded and put the bag with her dress on the reception desk but it fell down. Adi didn't see that. He came around the corner and bumped into Pinky who dropped the other bag. Adi lifted it and saw the wedding dress. Now he put the words he heard and the picture he saw together and this is what presented him: Geet has to wear the dress which happens to be a wedding dress, this equals to Geet getting married. Ok….. WHAT???

Geet had grabbed both bags and the purse and took off with Pinky before Adi came back to his senses. She didn't want him to ask questions to which she couldn't present him with answers. When he did come back he sprinted after them but the car was already unreachable. He panicked and wondered what to do. He called Maan but the phone was off. Maan wanted to take the evening flight so he could rest before the meeting.

He wondered if Dadi knew and called her:

"Hello Dadi" Adi sounded panicky.

"Kya hua Adi?" Adi asked if she knew where Geet and Pinky were going to since they had taken two weeks vacation. Geet had told Dadi everything from Yash's surprise to their plan. And even Dadi knew that Maan would leave someone to keep an eye on Geet whilst he was gone.

"Haan woh dono Ahemdabad jaarahe hain, Pinky ke cousin sister Sweety ke shaadi mein. Main bhi jaati lekin itni travelling meri sehat ke liye accha nahin." She did feel bad for lying to him but she knew why Geet and Pinky were so secretive. She had never understood why Maan had been so against employees falling in love. She had seen many being fired but Maan would never explain. And Adi was Maan's friend and would not be able to keep such a thing secret from him. Adi on the other side thought that Geet had even lied to Dadi. He thanked her and called Maan's number again. He wasn't sure what to do now. Neither Pinky nor Geet were picking up their phone and Meera couldn't even know since she isn't here right now.

For the next day Adi kept phoning, texting and leaving messages for Maan just in hope he would get at least one.

 

Maan on the other hand was working all day long. He was welcomed by Mr DeMello and his wife who was also very active in their business. The worker's were very efficient and everything went smoothly. Other than expected the work was done within a short time and Maan had time to go sight seeing a little. He wished Geet would be at his side and his mood fell. He fished out his phone and switched it on. His eyes fell onto something in the showcase of the shop he was standing next to.

"This is made for Geet" he said loudly and before he could go is and buy it, his phone vibrated and he noticed all the calls and messages. And almost all were from one number: Adi's. After hearing the news his heart almost stopped beating. He rushed to the hotel, got all his stuff and raced to the airport. 'This can't be true, Geet can't do this to me' is all he could think about.

In the plane he could do nothing but be patient. He thought about who the guy might be who wanted to marry HIS Geet. He thought back and remembered the caf incident. He hadn't been convinced by Geet's reply but was not all concerned since he was angry because of the prank call. This also explained why she and Pinky were so secretive after that. 'And now I understand why Geet had insisted on me staying longer in Italy so that I wouldn't come to know till the wedding was over and why she was so shocked at the thought of me taking her with me.' In one of his messages Adi had told him about his conversation with Dadi and Maan didn't want to involve her now. Her health hadn't been the best for some time now. True after she met Geet she had shown much improvement but this news would leave her shattered. He made a call to the detective firm he had worked with on many occasions and ordered them to find who this guy was at the caf and where he is now. 'I'll find you and who ever you are you will wish never having laid an eye on MY Geet' Maan muttered.