The billionaire deal

Part 5

Chapter 5: All this could be yours

Pooja spent an anxious week waiting for Kabir Mittal to get in contact with her, as he promised he would.

She was astute in realising he was clever enough not to have specifically committed himself to out rightly helping them.

It had just been, a case of his claiming he would look further into it, and see if it was possible for him to do anything. Then get back to her when he could. But he had seemed sympathetic, so there was some hope.

Meanwhile she was doing her usual stint, helping out at the Haven Refuge centre. The place could hold up to ten to fifteen women at a time, including some of their children if need be.

Usually it was just a stop gap until the social services had a chance to get the women a place of their own or staying with friends and family who would protect them from abusive husbands or partners.

Mandira was a qualified counsellor and a retired social worker, who had devoted her time to helping these women, after watching her own daughter going through an abusive relationship, which led to her death when her husband had flung her down a flight of stairs in one of his drunken rages

Pooja learned that Mandira had taken a special interest in her, because she reminded her of her daughter. So the two women had become close. Mandira becoming the caring mother figure Pooja never had, and Pooja becoming like the daughter Mandira had tragically lost. Both of them sharing the same mission to help the women in this particularly distressing situation.

Pooja was thinking about taking up a college course on sociology when she had the chance to save up enough money.

She hoped to become a counsellor herself one day. Right now she was no more than a volunteer, helping out, but she wanted to do more

Most times her job was helping to think of ideas to raise funds for the place, part time secretary getting in touch with social services and other relevant institutes that were there to help the women, sometimes she would cook food, or make tea, and just be there to have a friendly chat to if the women needed it.

Most of them were frightened and nervous, and lacking self esteem, something she could relate to and understand, being in the same situation herself one time.

So they felt at ease talking with her once they realised she had been through it also.

Tonight Pooja was doing babysitter, minding six month old Jay for his mother Kriti,who was attending a counselling session with her husband Dheer. He was one of the rare men seeking to get help for his problem.

It was looking encouraging, as Dheer seemed serious about wanting his relationship with Kriti to work now they had a baby to look after.

Pooja had just finished feeding Jay his bottle and settling him down for the night in his cot when Mandira appeared in the room looking positively lit up, "I just got a phone call downstairs in my office, from a Certain Mr. Mittal apparently he would like to speak with you"

Pooja suddenly felt the nerves go in her stomach. She just hoped it would be good news, this was the moment they had been waiting for

"Well just don't stand there, go on down to my office and find out what he has to say," Mandira urged her, noticing Pooja seemed to be frozen to the spot.

In truth, she was almost afraid to take the call in case it was not good news But at least now they would know for certain one way or the other.

So she left Mandira minding Jay, whilst she hurried downstairs to Mandiras office, and picked up the receiver of the phone