To Love or Not To Love

Chapter 8

Khushi's angry strides, incoherent mutterings and a sudden interest in her father's business documents didn't attract her family's attention. They were used to filing such antics under a specific label - Khushi's Insanity. Since the time the girl had come to live with them, they had found her asleep on the parapet outside their house,  had turned the entire house upside down to buy a birthday gift for her Jiji, had served guests she particularly didn't fancy with salt-infused tea and had risked her own life to save that of a five-year-old child. These were just examples. The list was much longer. The family had long accepted that God had forgotten to endow Khushi Kumari Gupta with a brain, but had instead given her a rather generous heart. 

Khushi, however, was frantically scouring through the documents. She needed to find a loophole, a clause that could force the devil to back off.  She knew a few things about the law, owing to the two semesters she had taken in corporate law before switching to a degree in fashion design.

She sifted through the contract with a tooth-comb until she came to clause 27.2.1 which stated that if during the time the land was leased to Shashi Gupta, the title had to be transferred to the next of kin for whatever reason, then the contract automatically gets renewed for another period of 99 years with the same conditions.

When she found the clause, she did a little dance. "All I need to do is convince Babuji to transfer the title to Jiji's name and then that Raakshas can go bite dust!" In her excitement, she jumped up and down and that's how her father discovered her. She responded to his quizzical look by informing him that she knew about his problem. But before he could question her any further on it, she told him she had a solution.

She showed him the documents and explained to him about the clause. "Transfer the title to Jiji's name", she urged him. "Not only will it save you from the imminent increase in rent, but it will also secure Jiji's future."

She asked him to encourage Payal to help out in the shop as often as she could so she would learn the tricks of the trade and could take over from Shashi in the near future. "God knows you've worked hard all your life and now you can do with some rest."

Shashi was impressed. He still thanked the day she came into their lives. She was good luck and she always managed to find a solution to all their problems and put a smile on their face.

He agreed. And Khushi got busy on a call to the lawyer, asking him to draw up the papers transferring the ownership rights of Devi Maiyya Mishtan Bhandar from Shashi Gupta to Payal Gupta. The lawyer told Khushi that the papers would be ready for signing by tomorrow morning and Khushi slept peacefully that night. She didn't have to accept that demeaning offer anymore. For the first time in weeks, Khushi Gupta slept thinking about knights, princes, true love stories and happily ever after's.

*****

Forbes named ASR the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012. In 2011, he was on their watch list. In 2013, Forbes had a special correspondent sent to India to cover a feature on 20 billionaires who had made their fortune overnight. ASR featured fifth on their list.

He didn't get to where he was with his eyes closed. ASR was good at chess and his game skills often translated into his business life. He always anticipated his opponent's next move and was well prepared for it. He knew Khushi Kumari Gupta would not give in without a fight. So he had her trailed to see what she would do next.

His aides told him about Khushi's conversation with her lawyer. ASR chuckled. That girl was good. He didn't know how she'd figured out about the clause and honestly, he really didn't care. He knew the clause became void if a sale happened before the transfer took place. A ghost of a smile graced his lips. Khushi Gupta was fast but not fast enough to stop him from getting what he wanted.

By openly defying him, she had just made herself that much more desirable. ASR loved destroying everything that defied him. He was particularly looking forward to "destroying" Khushi Kumari Gupta. But he would do it in his own way.

At 12.30 am, a Mr. Chanchalani was woken up to draft a sale deed for Devi Maiyya Mishtan Bhandar. At 1.30 am, the owner of the shop, Mr. Bhandari was woken up and paid twice the asking price for the store. By 3 am ASR was the official owner of the shop that was located at the main crossroads of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow.

After having finished what he set out to do, he changed for the night but as usual, sleep evaded him. He tossed and turned in his bed for three hours and then at 6 am got up to get dressed for a very important meeting with his new client – Ms. Khushi Kumari Gupta.