Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 144 - Be Smarter

I know you people have been very patient with me.

Thankyou for your support.

I have exams in february month too so there will be only one update everyday but the chapters will be longer.

I hope all of you will bear with me.

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Deputy Minister Gupta had been thoroughly humiliated by Neha Gill, and now hated her with a passion. He did not need the reminder; he did not want anything to do with her, ever again.

Even if Neha tried to get in touch with him, he would ignore her—whatever she had in mind, he was certain it would only end in further humiliation on his part.
Besides, she was incredibly stupid if she thought she would be able to twist the arms of the Indian government and military just by waving a fat stack of money in their faces.

He scoffed. These Western businessmen who believed money and capital trumped everything else would never be able to understand.

…

Shehnaaz and Deepak packed their things and got ready to move to Washington, the capital of the United States of America.

The US Congress would be back in session soon.

Shehnaaz had gotten into a lot of trouble over the past two months, and had even gone to court twice. Although she had been cleared of all charges, the US Congress would—under normal
circumstances—reject her internship after running a background check on her.

However, Kartik was a powerful, well-connected man; thanks to his efforts, she was able to keep her internship with the US Congress.

Shehnaaz had not expected this at all; she had been ready to return to the India at the beginning of Harvard University’s fall semester, and was surprised when Kartik gave her a plane ticket to Washington instead, for
early September. She would be going to the US capital with Brother Khatri, after all.

Shehnaaz was a little sad to leave her Boston apartment, where she had lived for the last two months.
Although it had only been two months, she had accumulated a number of things.

Deepak watched her pack. He folded his arms and leaned against the door with a smile on his face. “Sana, did you know that the charity fund for army dependents has been established?”

“Oh, it’s up and running? That’s good to hear.” Shehnaaz stooped to stuff her panda pillow into an open box, not particularly interested in what Deepak had said.

To her, the money had been an unexpected windfall. She was happy to donate it all to charity, to help others in need.

Sidharth had shielded her from the outside world a little too well. She was intelligent, but relatively simple-minded when it came to money and getting ahead in the
world.

Deepak noted her indifference, and casually said, “By the way, the foundation is called the Naaz Today's Heart Army Dependents’ Charity Fund. Mr. Shukla personally came up with the name.”

Shehnaaz stopped packing her things. She turned to look at Deepak, her large, dark eyes staring at him like two shiny grapes. “Naaz? ‘Today’s Heart’? Is that really the name Uncle Sid came up with?”

“It’s true, I swear it.” Deepak winked at her. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

Naaz, or “Today’s Heart”—the characters formed “Shehnaaz” when rearranged.

She hoped that this meant Uncle Sid would still remember her, even if she moved out of the military base once she was of age.
Shehnaaz had not thought of leaving her mark on Sidharth, lasting mementos that would remind him of her in the future. This unexpected gesture from him surprised her: she colored, her heart beating wildly at the implication.