Dheere Dheere Se - Chapter 19 - Pg 97, APR 26 - Page 97

Chapter 19

“Jahan le jana hai le jaiye… aapke hai woh…”

“And one last time - if she knows of this you both are gone”

Maan returned from there after buying her happiness. He knew, the ethical type that she was, she will be very upset with him if she comes to know of it. But does that matter, she anyways does not like him. Businessman that he was, he did the deal. Practical that he was, he knew the only way to deal with these people was money. His ethical family and sensitive Geet will not understand this.

*****************

Geet was seated in her office cabin. The office seemed unnaturally not so crowded. She looked at the clock. To her surprise she was unexpectedly early today. Geet had a habit of waking up early and wrapping up all her chores before leaving for work. And as her aunt had a habit of adding on to her work list by coming up with new innovative demands daily, Geet always ended up coming late to the office.

But today she had nothing to do. By the time she came out after freshening, the breakfast was ready and her lunch was packed. 

She later found out that her Uncle Aunt had hired a cook cleaner. Geet was way beyond surprised. Till yesterday morning, her Chachi had ensured by her words that she will make her life like hell, till she is here. Suddenly the dinner was ready in the night and now this finding.

“Chachi??” surprised beyond belief ,she had a question.

“We are not as bad as you think. You will be leaving in two months. We don’t want you to take bad memories and then complain about us to your in-laws. Geet was not able to believe that they got these saintly views without any reason. 

“Why will I complain, Chachi?”

“It’s okay. Just enjoy your days till your marriage.” Geet did not understand but let it go. It was a rare chance, in a good way. 

While sitting in a thinly populated office and after finishing up her checking tasks,  Geet looked around and her eyes went to her Boss’s cabin. Taking on her role of personal secretary as an excuse she went to his cabin.

Geet looked around his cabin and saw his messy table smile formed on her face. Her thoughts swayed on how messy he must be keeping his room. His clothes, placed on chairs, his clothes in the cupboard not arranged, his wet towels thrown somewhere. 

The thought of his wet towel, brought a different sensation through her and she hit her head

“Chup ker jhalli and arrange this cabin” 

It sounds like she was tidying up his cabin but perhaps while doing her task, many a times found herself lost in his thoughts. Doing such small tasks like arranging someone's space was evoking a sense of closeness towards him. Was it not just a personal secretary’s job? yes , it was but her feelings for him and the relation that they were now tied into was prompting her to ponder on his habits, preferences, or even his perspective on life. Did she find anything particularly interesting or revealing about him while organizing his belongings? No, not as such but yes the warmth of his protectiveness around her. These thoughts brought a smile to her face every now and then.

Once she was done, she looked at his cabin, it looked well arranged as the cabin of her boss should be.

“Somethings missing” she thought and then checked the list of his priority work and accordingly placed all the needed files and documents on the table for his easy access.

She again looked around , something still missing, she felt. Was something missing or her heart wanted to do more and more for him.

She smiled as the idea struck her mind and made a call “What are the exclusive bouquet that you can deliver within half an hour”

After hearing all options and knowing how sophisticated her boss is Geet ordered an exclusive bouquet having a combination white and purple orchids.

After ordering she prepared her schedule of the day which will mostly match with his. To her luck, Maan was running late today and the bouquet was delivered ten minutes before his arrival. 

Geet was happily arranging the flowers on his desk. The housekeeper got more regular flowers delivered for the office for the side tables and other sections of his office.

While Geet was busy arranging orchids on his desk, there was a knock on the door, her heart skipped the beat. Is he there already?

Geet turned to find Shasha standing at the door instead.

“Shasha ma’am?”

“What the hell are you doing” she was burning with the way Geet had taken over Maan’s office. 

“My job ma’am”

“Really?? By placing exclusive flowers in your boss’ cabin?”

“Yes ma’am. It’s my duty to keep the work surrounding of my boss pleasant so that he can enjoy his work”

“Don’t you know, MK is planning to go economical and he hates being extravagant on these aesthetics. Who gave you the authority?”

“It’s my job ma’am and to do my job properly, I do not need anyone's authority”

Unknown to Shasha, Geet saw Maan standing exactly behind Shasha “You really want to be fired. Did I not suggest, keep your focus more on your fiance “ Shasha spoke, still unaware of Maan standing behind her

“I have taken your suggestion seriously ma’am and am focusing on my fiance ” She looked at Shasha briefly and then met her eyes with Maan as she answered.

“Shasha, do you need anything from me” Shasha was surprised to hear MK’s voice

“No Mk, actually I saw Geet here..”

“Ohh.. in case you don’t need anything from me then Shasha please get ready for our 11 am meetings. I want everything to be perfect. I expect lot from you” 

Shasha gave him an uneasy smile “Yeah sure Mk”

“Yeah please. I need to go through my day schedule with Geet” he cleared her further. Shshsa went with a heavy heart. 

Maan entered his cabin and gave it a slight push. Now with whatever Shasha said about being extravagant, Geet was scared of his reaction.

“Geet”

“Haan… before you shout at me let me tell you this is part of my secretary job. You cannot let me not perform my duty”

“So you did it as part of your secretary job” he asked in a crisp tone, picking a file of his interest from the table, looking into the file he forwarded toward her.

Maan took a mental note of the important points on the file, placed the file back on the table and brought his focus on her face and narrowed his eyes more intently to her as he kept forwarding towards her.

“I repeat my question,so you did it as part of your secretary job”

Her words never sync with what her eyes speak, making him hell confused. 

Geet gulped her saliva with his advancement towards her. She stepped back as he slowly kept forwarding. Maan placed his hands on either side of her arms, holding her, his eyes scanning her face and then halted to get locked with her eyes

“So, you did all as part of your job” he asked again as she kept moving backward on his forward slow stalk along with her.

At last, her back hit the wall and Maan got the chance to border her between his strong arms.

“Haan.. aur kya ho sakta hai”

“Pehle toh nahi kiya tumne yeh sab mere liye - ‘as part of your job’ ” he made a quotes in the air, momentarily removing his hand and again placing it back on the wall, enclosing her

“So you didn’t like it” she muttered as her voice was dying within her throat by his closeness.

“Don’t divert Geet. Why did you do these? Now?” he asked, moving his hand from the wall to her arms. Ohh, how she wished to be pulled closer

“I was able to come early today, so…” she paused to get hold of her heart's erratic beat caused by the combination of his anger and closeness.  “It is my duty,” she added further.

Maan was so frustrated at her not answering directly, he grabbed her harder and pulled her close to him

“Duty as..” he brought his face so close to hers, their shaking lips were mere a millimeter or two away. Geet closed her eyes to get hold of the dizziness caused by his intoxicating closeness. His fragrance, his perfect frame making contact with her at not so right places, his perfect features.. uff….

So vulnerable she was in front of him that he was tempted to do what not with her, burn and melt her in his arms. 

To get hold of his wayward desire in the peak business hours, he left her frustrated and turned. 

Geet felt the emptiness caused due to sudden distance. She ran and held his bicep. Maan turned to look at her hand on his arm. She removed her hand from there slowly and curled her fingers to her fist

“You didn’t like it?” she asked in low defeated voice

“Why should I answer when you can’t tell me why you did it all this”

“What’s a big deal in why I did it”

“Then it is also not a big deal if I liked it or not. And to your why, if you did it as a secretary, its’ extravagant for a MD of a startup” he said irritated. Though he knew these amounts were meager for him. He was getting multimillion projects now.

“And if done otherwise?” she at last gather courage and hinted

Maan gave a small laugh and brought a smirk on his face “But it's not otherwise na Geet” He said with pain. How he wished it was otherwise

Geet was hurt, she did it all with so much love and he is just stuck on why she did it. How can she confess that it is just a token of her overflowing love for him

“You did not need to worry about funds sir, I did it all from my own pocket” she hated saying it. She never wanted to bring that between them. She can ware-nyare everything of hers on him, how can she explain to him.

“9:30 am you have a meeting. I will be ready with all that is needed in the conference room” she said, bringing a professional secretary in front and left.

She left and Maan kept looking into his big empty cabin. After looking blankly for a while, he turned and hit his fist on the table, making the flower pot that she has decorated with exclusive flowers of his taste, stumble and fall. He immediately caught it mid air and sighed a big relief as if saving a child from falling from a terrace.

“Damn Maan, Damn” he threw his fingers in his hair, threading them

“See, she did all this for you and what did you do instead of one thanks that would have made her happy? Let her all efforts go in drain by your ‘whys’” he reprimanded himself. Why the hell is he forcing her to answer. And when she did not answer what he wished, he just hurt her. He hated how he hurted her every time. How does he go all out of control and make same mistake again and again. 

“Yeh ladki, Geet, mujhse woh kerwati hai, jo main hoo nahi…”

He definitely owes her a thanks and an apology. He looked around his cabin, it looked so well done, so fresh. She did all this so that his mood is good as he starts his hectic day and what he did in return, spoiled her day. No, he has to compensate for it. But just a simple thanks and simple apology will be of no use as he had ruined her all efforts in the worst way.

Geet was lost in her cabin “Why does it matter to him so much to know, why I did it”

“Does he want to listen…””

“Geet shut up. Why will it matter so much to him to know your heart? He agreed to this marriage as a goodwill.”

“But then why? Why does he want to know? What does he want to know?” Geet was lost in her thought

“Maybe, Shasha ma’am is right. He didn’t like the whole idea of expenditure on astetics and thus was questioning why she did it. It is just that simple Geet, you are making out little too much of his ‘whys’”

“Knock Knock” Geet raised her head to find Shasha there

“Well miss secretary, looks like you did not get the expected reaction. I told ya, Mk will not tolerate this extravagance.”

Geet did not say a word, maybe Shasha ma’am was right.

“Ohh.. so my guess is right. You did not get a pleasant response from MK. Kya socha tha tumne, that you will impress him  with those flowers and all.”

Geet kept looking at Shasha ma’am. Again she was right, what had she been thinking -  to impress him. She is a charity case. He is just marrying her for his family and because she is an orphan. Geet you can live with your one sided love and his goodness. That should be enough, she explained herself.

“Listen you” Shasha came forward with her index finger pointed at Geet

“Listen, I know girls like you. You cannot leave a chance to impress MK. But remember, you are just a secretary and it is thus your duty to be around him. Don’t think too much of yourself. You are just an average lower middle class girl and MK is an elite class man from bureaucrat family”

“Yes ma’am I know the difference” Maan looked at the clock. It was already 9:20am and Geet had not reminded him of the meeting. She never misses on her secretary duties. He again cursed himself, it's all because of his stupidity. 

He bent to see through the blinds and found Shasha talking to Geet with Geet having her mouth mum. Ohh Gosh..  Why is Shasha making his work even harder now?  She is definitely adding to her bad mood that he initiated earlier.

Maan immediately dialed “Geet”

“Ji Sir”

“Am I your secretary or you mine?”

Geet who was in low zone tangent at the moment “I am fully aware of my status, sir. I am your secretary”

Maan tightly closed his eyes and threw his head back. Uff again a wrong set of words from him

“Geet we have meeting at 9:30 and I am reminding you”

“I am sorry sir, I was just about to come”

Geet immediately left fuming Shasha there. 

An hour-long meeting happened. The meeting was successful and Geet diligently took all the pointers that were discussed. She was focused and immersed in doing her secretary job. If not as a wife, she can get his appreciation as his secretary. 

While Geet was completely immersed in taking meeting notes for her boss, Maan's eyes every now and then traveled to her he would intermittently get lost in her and then scolding himself of hurting her again and again.

Meeting was over and Geet followed Maan as a perfect secretary. In his cabin, maintaining professionalism, she ran through the meeting notes to him.

“Sir, I will get a coffee and sandwiches for you and then draft the meeting notes for this one and send it to you.” she said keeping the distance in the tone which obviously Maan did not like.

Maan wanted to talk to her, sooth her, tell her that he loved the way she did his cabin, that these flowers are his favorites. But Geet was completely in professional mode. She was hurt and he knew.

“Geet listen”

“You need something else Sir”

“Nahi.. wooo.. Baitho na”

“Sir, I will get your refreshment” she bowed and left

Geet came with coffee and sandwiches for Maan and nicely placed it on the table

“You didn’t get coffee and refreshment for yourself?”

“Sir, I am your secretary, I serve my boss, not sit with him to have coffee and snack with him. Aur waise bhi, I have to make the meeting notes and send it to you. It's fresh in my mind, or else I may miss  important points”

“Geet, you know you are not just my secretary”

“Iss office me bas wahi hun sir. Tabhi toh itne sawal kiye aapne”

“Geet listen”

“Sir, please let me do my work rightly, please sir”

“Okay fine” he gave up.

 She got up “And Sir, you have Lunch meeting with Mr. Singhania at hotel Marriot”

Ohh that was his chance “Hmm.. get everything ready for that meeting, all documents well organized in one folder. You will be accompanying me”

“Sir me too?” Geet was in no mood to go on lunch with him. She wanted to be kept reminded of the status difference in office

“Yes, as part of your secretary job. You need to accompany your boss. You always do, so from where did this question arise today”

“Fine Sir. I will get things ready” and she left

Geet went to make all preparations ready for his meeting with Mr. Singhania. She gathered the reports from Adi Sir and Shasha ma’am.

“I am not sure why MK needs his secretary in such meetings. Me being the head architect of his projects should be accompanying him”

“Ma’am,  Maan sir always makes his final deal alone, on his own, we all know that. I am just a secretary, my job is for his assistance only. That is why I have to be with him in his meetings. You have much bigger responsibilities and job of your own”

“Of course, you are just a secretary” Said Shasha handling her the documents

Maan again heard their talks as he was approaching Shasha for some other design. He was not liking the way Geet was just devaluing herself. She is perfect in her job and much more dedicated to many highly skilled personnel here. And above all, she is related to him in other ways as well. She is his fiance, why is she ignoring that part, it's all because of him or this status does not matter to her, he wondered. 

No, as her would-be husband, he is not doing a good job. All females in his family have been pampered and Geet is not feeling anything like that. It’s all due to him. He, in his insecurity, is hurting her.

He got his phone out and dialed “Hey Bhabhs”

“Yes, tell me groom-to-be”

“Bhabhs please, is that how you address me”

“Sure, till your marriage. Shoot, how did you remember me in the mid of the day”

“Just wanted to remind you how everyone pampered you before your marriage and also to remind you that it is you who have taken the responsibility of this upcoming marriage”

“You do not need to be this indirect and this taunting me. I am fully aware of my responsibility. I, anyway, was going to call her today. In the evening hours make sure to bring her with you. We are going for first round of shopping”

“Mere bolne se nahi aayegi woh… You should invite her. I am not taking her for shopping, you are, remember”

“Hmmm I am getting it… very well getting it”

“What…”

“Kuch to jhagda kiya hai tumne usse… abb manana hai.. Madad chahiye meri… kyun”

“Hmm woo.. Nothing like that… just that I… you are helping me or not”

“Abb kerna toh parega… listen not for you but for her …  I can understand her condition, the poor girl, sad who she got stuck with. But dare you fight with her or be rude to her Maan, if Dad knows”

“Bhabhs… why are you bringing Dad on this… ek help mangi hai… nahi kerna toh, you let it go”

“Calm down. I will call her and invite her. But you better be good to her, get that”

“hmm..”

After setting up the situation, Maan left with Geet for the lunch date… oops lunch meeting with the client.

Thank you all for your love and support to my stories. I am here only because of your support, so keep showering. 

In the meanwhile PA epilogue is in progress. Once the likes there reach 70+ and the epilogue is typed, I will post it for all. One more story will be done... pheww...

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