Game Plan

Part 31: The story of Rishabh Bajaj

Looking at him squarely in the face, Prerna said,"Mr.Bajaj aapko koi haq nahi hai Anurag, Nivi Di ya Kakababu pe ungli uthaane ki jab aapne bhi past mein wohi galti ki jo uss din unhone ki.". Mr.Bajaj said sternly,"Aap mera time waste kar rahi hai. Please point pe aaiye.". Prerna took out a piece of paper from her bag and quietly placed it in front of him. Mr.Bajaj leaned in to see the paper. He winced as he saw the piece of paper. Staring right back at him was a chapter of his past he had spent his hard earned money trying to hide from the world. Mr. Bajaj grabbed the paper on the table and read it over and over again. He couldn't believe his eyes! He had gone to great lengths to bury his past how did Prerna manage to get her hands on this? Toh ye iss liye yaha aayi hai, Mr. Bajaj thought angrily, Mujhe blackmail karne ke liye. Prerna's voice broke into his thoughts broke into his thoughts,"Aap kya soch rahe hai Mr.Bajaj? " Putting the paper on the table he said,"Main yeh soch raha hu, main aapke baare mein kitna galat tha. Mujhe aap ek honest aur straightforward insaan lagi thi. Lekin maine kabhi nahi socha tha ke apne kakababu ki izzat ke aar mein, aap yaha mujhe blackmail karne aayi hai?".Prerna shook her head,"Nahi, Mr.Bajaj",she said calmly,"Main yaha aapko blackmail karne nahi aayi.". Mr. Bajaj quirked his eyebrows,"Oh really?!",he scoffed,"Agar aap mujhe yaha blackmail karne nahi aayi toh meri purani chargesheet aapke paas kaise?Pehli baar kissi insaan ko pehchaan ne mein itni galti ki maine".  "Haan, woh toh hai!",Prerna replied heatedly,"Aapne mujhe samajne mein galti to ki hai. Aapko sach mein lagta hai ki aapko yaha blackmail karne aayi hu?". Mr. Bajaj replied to her with equal anger,"Aur nahi toh kya! Warna aap mere past ko investigate kyu karti? Of course mujhe blackmail karne ke liye!(pointing at the paper) Iss paper ko thikaane lagane mein maine bohot paise lagaya tha, yeh aapko itni aasani se toh nahi mil sakta?". Inspite of the situation, Prerna felt a surge of pride at Ved's detective skills. I can't believe maine Prerna ko itna galat samjha, Mr.Bajaj thought angrily, I thought she was different! Lekin yeh bhi baaki sab ki tarah nikli selfish aur exploitative! "Mr.Bajaj", Prerna said trying to calm him down,"Mera aapko blackmail karne ka koi iraada nahi tha.". "I don't believe you!",Mr.Bajaj replied agitatedly,"Aur main kyu aapki baaton ko believe karu? Aap jabse yaha aayi hai, aap mujhse jhoot hi bol rahi hai. Pehle aapne yeh kaha ke aap mujhe mere bheje huye flowers ke liye thanks kehne aayi hai, phir aapne kaha ke aap mujhe bas yaha samjhaane aayi hai ke maine uss din aapke father in law ke saath kitna misbehave kiya! Aur uske baad yeh! Frankly speaking, I don't think aap yaha kissi sahi iraade se aayi hai. Aur akele bina kisi ke help ke, yeh information nikalna aapke bas ki baat nahi hai. (reflecting) Ho na ho, iske peechhe zaroor aapke pati ka haath hai. Mujhe yeh chargesheet dikha ke blackmail karna , taaki apna sach chhupaane ke liye main wapas unke saath deal sign karlu, yahi unka plan hai na?". Prerna snapped back,"Pehli baat to Anurag ko pata bhi nahi hai ki yaha aapse yeh sab keh rahi hu. Aur doosri baat, agar Anurag yeh sab actual mein karta bhi toh main usse kabhi support nahi karti. Sirf iss liye nahi, kyuki yeh galat hai. Balki iss liye bji kyuki main nahi chahti ke aapke aur Basu's ke beech koi bhi deal ho.". Her words stunned him for a moment. According to Mr. Gupta, the Basu's were still having trouble find another investor for their company. Almost every negotiation they had with potential investors fell through on its own- Mr.Gupta didn't even have to lift a finger. They were still the Basu's best option. If this was true, then why didn't Prerna want him to invest in Basu Publications?  Mr.Bajaj stared at the pool thoughtfully. Finally he realized something. He said reflectively"I see....toh aap Basu Publications ko barbaad karke apne beizzati ka badla lengi. That's very impressive.". Now it was Prerna's turn to look surprised,"Excuse me?". Mr. Bajaj explained,"Aapko pata hai Prerna, uss raat jab main party mein aaya, mujhe darwaza pe hi ek waiter ne rok liya tha. Usne mujse kaha ke main apne cigar ke saath party mein entry nahi le sakta, kyuki aap Ma banne waali hai, aur aapke pati nahi chahte the ke mere smoking se aap par ya aapke bachche par koi bura affect pare. Iss liye uss waiter ne mujhe bohot sharafat se terrace ka rasta dikha diya. Main toh shanti se terrace mein apna cigar enjoy kar raha tha, jab achanak se-". Prerna completed his sentence for him,"-hum sab terrace par aa gaye aur aapne hum sab ki baatein sunli".Prerna was red in the face out of embarrassment,"You should've made your presence known Mr.Bajaj! Iss tarah kissi ke ghar aake, chhup chhupkar unki private baatein sunna is bad manners!". "Aur iss tarah kisipe jasoosi karke unke secrets jaan lena is bad manners too, Mrs.Basu",Mr.Bajaj replied evenly. Prerna opened her mouth to argue but Mr Bajaj beat her to it,"Achcha woh sab chhoriye mujhe bas itna bata dijiye agar aap Basu's se badla lena chahti thi, toh abhi yeh sab natak kyu kiya?". "Mr. Bajaj",Prerna said fighting to maintain her calm,"Mujhe aapko aur Basu's ke deal se iss liye aitraaz nahi, kyuki main Anurag se badla lena chahti hu. Balki mujhe iss liye aitraaz hai kyuki mujhe pata hai ki aapne pehle bhi apne business associates ko dhoka diya hai. Unke companies mein hostile takeover kiya, aur phir unhi ki companies, jaha pe pehle woh Malik hua karte the, aapne unhe mamuli employees banakar chhor diya!".Mr. Bajaj chuckled at her outburst,"Lagta hai aap mujhpe theses likhne waali hai iss liye itna research kiya hai. Lekin aapke research mein ek important information missing hai: jin logo ke saath maine aisa kiya hai, unhone mujhe double cross karne ki koshish ki thi. Sign kiye hue Contract ke terms ko violate karne ki koshish ki thi, mujhe destroy karne ki koshish ki thi. Maine toh bas unhe unke kiye ki sazaa di thi. Waise Prerna logo ko sazaa dene se yaad aaya. Aap mere embezzlement waali secret konse publication ke paas le jayengi? Not Basu Publications I hope. Kyuki agar aapne aisa kiya toh main bhi palat kar ye keh sakta hu, ke aap logo ke saath deal nahi karne ki wajah se mujhse badla lene ke liye aap log mere baare mein jhoote rumours phela rahe hai. I am sure woh aapke Kakababu aur unke image ke liye bilkul achcha nahi hoga.". Even as he kept up his careless facade, the wheels in Mr.Bajaj's mind started churning. Mujhe immediately Mr.Gupta ko phone karna hoga damage control ke liye, hume jald jald iss news ko discredit karna hoga he thought. Maintaining his mocking smile, he continued to goad her,"Kya baat hai Prerna aap itni shant kyu hai? Newspaper decide nahi kar pa rahi hai kya?". Realising that he will not believe her unless she made her stand clear, an idea came to Prerna's head. Prerna shook her head,"Actually",she started,"Maine decide kar liya hai ki main aapke iss secret ko kaha le jaungi Mr.Bajaj".
"Oh really",Mr.Bajaj asked sardonically although his heart skipped a beat at thought of his scandal washing away his years of hardwork and goodwill. Prerna smiled at him. Without saying anything she took the paper lying on table and tore it! Mr.Bajaj's mocking smile dropped as he watched Prerna. For the first time, his true feelings of shock and disbelief written on his face. Prerna dumped the small bits of paper in her glass of lemonade. Leaning back on her chair, Prerna watched Mr.Bajaj, who sat frozen in his place. His gaze still fixed on the glass. "Mera iraada aapko barbaad karne ka bilkul bhi nahi tha Mr.Bajaj. Main bas yaha aapko apne galti ka ehsaas dilaane aayi thi",Prerna said earnestly. Mr.Bajaj looked up at her and perhaps for the first time, he believed in the honesty that was reflecting from her eyes. Answering his quizzical look, Prerna continued, "Mera aapko barbaad karne ke koi bhi intention nahi tha. Na tab jab maine yeh suna ki aapne mere Kakababu se kitne badtameezi se baat ki. Na tab jab maine apne dost se  aap par information nikaalne ko kaha tha. Aur naa hi tab, jab mujhe pata chala ke aap gyaraah saal pehle aap embezzlement ke case mein jail gaye the.". "Aap mujse kya chahti hai Prerna?",Mr.Bajaj asked quietly. His face devoid of expression. He had finally stopped guessing the reason this woman's visit who confuses him every minute. Prerna replied,"Yahi ke aap apni galti realise kare. Mere Kakababu ek bohot achche insaan. Unka dil bohot saaf hai, unhone toh abhi tak aapko maaf bhi kar diya hoga. Lekin kya hai na Mr.Bajaj",Prerna said, gazing reflectively at the pool, "karwe shabd maaf kiye jaa sakte hai par bhulaaye nahi jaa sakte. Woh nazar toh nahi aate lekin phir bhi unn mein itni taakat hoti hai ke woh aapke dil aur aapke hoslon ke tukde tukde karde. Main nahi chahti ke mere Kakababu ke saath bhi waisa hi ho". As Prerna finished,  her eyes lost in the pool. Mr.Bajaj watched her closely. She didn't have to say it but he understood that one of the reasons why she was so adamant that he apologise to Moloy was that she empathized with him. After all had she not gone through the same thing- if not worse when the man she loved publicly humiliated her. That moment in a very long time, Rishabh Bajaj felt sympathy for someone. Wakayi, Mr Bajaj thought to himself, inke pati ne inhe bohot hurt kiya hoga jisse woh abhi tak bhula nahi paa rahi hai. Prerna's voice broke into his thoughts,"I am sure aap yeh jaan na chahenge ke agar main aapko badnaam ya blackmail nahi karna chahti thi, toh phir maine kyu aapke past ke baare mein enquiry ki, hai na?". Mr.Bajaj nodded,"Haan",he replied,"Agar aapki jagah koi aur hota, ya main bhi hota toh(he added sheepishly) iss mauke ka faida zaroor utha ta. Lekin aapne aisa nahi kiya, kyu?". Prerna leaned back against the chair and sighed,"Kyuki mera dil mujhe iski ijaazat nahi de raha tha",she replied simply. Watching his stunned expression, she smiled,"Main aapka shock samajti hu, aap high society ke log humesha apne faisle faida-nuksaan sochkar apne dimaag se  lete hai. Chahti toh main bhi aapke  secret ko press mein leak kar sakti thi ya aapko blackmail kar sakti thi. Magar usse kya hota? Haan, aapki image destroy hoti, ya shayad blackmail ho kar aap Basu Publications ke saath deal sign kar dete ya mere Kakababu se maafi maang lete. Lekin woh aapke saath galat hota. Aur main kabhi galat ka saath nahi deti Mr.Bajaj.". Confused, Mr.Bajaj asked,"Toh phir aapne mujhe meri purani chargesheet kyu dikhayi? Usse aapko kya mila?". Prerna answered,"Maine aapko aapki purani chargesheet iss liye dikhayi kyuki main chahti thi ke aap samjhe ke Anurag aur Nivi Di ne yeh sab sirf apne Baba ke liye, unki zindagi bhar ki mehnat, unki legacy ko bachane ke liye kiya. Theek jaise aapne apni Maa ke liye company se paise churaye the". Mr. Bajaj was about to lift a cup of tea to his mouth when his hand stopped mid air on hearing her words. Putting the cup on his table he looked up at her, shock written all over his face."Yeh aapko kaise pata?",he asked startled. Even in the long hours of interrogation with the London police, he dared not reveal that he had sent the stolen money to India to his mother, for the fear that they might drag her into all this. Instead he told them that he had gambled it all away. "Mr.Bajaj",Prerna said,"Mere dost Ved ne aap par saari information nikaali. Usne yeh pata kiya ke London Business School se MBA karne ke baad aapne Smith & Carrie's naam ke ek firm mein internship kiya. Waha ek saal complete karne ke baad unn logo ne aapko permanently hire kar diya. Aapke appoint hone ke ek saal baad aap arrest ho gaye embezzlement ke case mein. Aapko London ke jail mein teen saalon ki sazaa huyi. Jail se nikalne ke baad aapne apna business start Kiya. Jab aapke paise huye aapka naam hua tab aapne apne paise aur power ka istemaal karke iss embezzlement aur jail waali baat ko dafna diya. Aapki official website ke hisaab se aap apne internship ke baad India chale gaye aapni bimaar Ma ka khayal rakhne, aur unki death ke baad aap wapas UK chale aaye. Magar sach toh yeh hai aapke Smith & Carrie's mein permanently join karne ke baad aapki Ma ka accident ho gaya. Woh bohot serious thi unhe constantly life support mein rakhna parta tha. Aur aapke arrest  hone ke do mahine baad hi unki death ho gayi....woh paise aapne apni Ma ke treatment ke liye churaye the hai na Mr.Bajaj?". "Haan",Mr.Bajaj whispered his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Precap: "Tum Yahaa?",Prerna asked surprised. "Prerna, yeh rahe humare divorce papers",Anurag said, stony faced.