yun hi tu mere saath rehna

Chapter Thirty Eight

“Manish Ji, ek baar achche se soch lijiye,” Sanjay advised. “Kya aap sach mein yeh karna chaahte hain?”

“Isme sochne ki kya baat hai? Yehi sahi hai,” Manish replied. “Abhira ko uska haq milna chahiye.”

“Uska kisi cheez pe koi haq nahi banta, B-Nanu,” Ruhi protested. “Aap uski Maa ko ghar se nikaal chuke haina? Toh phir uss hisaab se, humaara aur unka koi rishta nahi hai. Aur Abhira bhi rishta nahi rakhna chaahti. Toh kahaan se aaya uska haq? Yeh mera haq hai, jo aap cheen ke usse de rahe hain!”

“Ruhi!” Manish exclaimed. “Apni choti behen ke baare mein tameez se baat kar. Aur agar nahi kar sakti, toh chup-chaap idhar baithi reh. Kuch bolne ki zaroorat nahi hai.”

Sanjay sighed, tiring of their drama. It was the same argument he'd seen Manish & Ruhi have for days upon days. Ever since the truth about Abhira's parentage had been revealed, Ruhi had been at loggerheads with Manish, firmly of the opinion that everything the Goenkas owned belonged to them and to her, that Abhira had no share in it because they'd broken all ties with her mother. 

Sanjay didn't necessarily agree to that because there was legal documentation to prove otherwise, but siding with Ruhi benefited him, so he let her pick those fights. He needed a quick turn-around, an easy case where he walked off with a huge fee, and this would be the perfect opportunity. Abhira, the emotional fool that she was, would not be too keen on fighting her great-grandfather, no matter how much bad blood between them, and sooner or later would take back her suit, but in the meantime, Sanjay could easily make millions off the Goenka fortune in the guise of fees. 

He had not let the family know, but things were turning around really fast at the firm and not in a good way. He had not realized just how much worth Armaan's mere presence was bringing to the business. A lot of clients had stuck around hoping that sooner or later, Armaan would take charge and demand his cases back, but even if he didn't, would step in where needed to make sure that the clients didn't suffer due to the internal tussle at the firm. 

Now that Armaan had officially resigned and Rohit had been instated as their legal head, the smokescreen of Armaan's presence no longer existed. That had led to a lot of clients taking their business elsewhere, fed up as they were of the sub-par performance Rohit had been showing in court.

In such a case, the responsibility to make things better fell on Sanjay as the most experienced lawyer on the team. And Sanjay wasn't about to let the firm he'd poured his blood, sweat, and tears in, go bankrupt just because his nephew-in-law didn't know how to do his job well. However, he had had little luck so far. 

Everyone who was someone knew about Armaan leaving the firm and were reluctant to work with Rohit or Manoj. Sanjay's reputation hadn't helped either. So, they had no big clients, having to make do with the smaller fish in the sea that their employees worked with. While there was once a time when Poddar & Associates only worked with the cream of the cream of society, they had to resort to working on petty disputes to keep them afloat. 

Taking on Goenkas as a client, despite their familial connection, would work wonders. They were one of the oldest families of the city and had a lot of influence in society. Working their case might open up more avenues for the firm, something that Sanjay desperately needed. 

He was not naive enough to think that things would get better quickly, but it would at least be a step in the right direction. Of course, if anything bad happened to the firm, he would be held responsible for it. Kaveri would never hold her beloved grandson accountable. Instead, Sanjay would be made the convenient scapegoat in the whole thing because after all, Rohit was just starting out while Sanjay had years of experience behind him.