New ff: The realization of love updated part 2,pg4

'I STILL can't believe you're really going, that this
is your last day. All along I thought you'd change your mind. I mean, you've
been here for ever, Geet.'

Geet handa couldn't help but smile at pinky's plaintive
voice. 'Perhaps that's why I'm leaving, pinky,' she said quietly. 'Because I've
been here for ever, as you put it.'

OK, so 'for ever' was actually the last one year,
since she had left university at the age of twenty-one, but clearly as far as
inky was concerned Geet was as much a part of Khuraana constructions as the
bricks and mortar. As far as everyone was concerned, most likely. Especially
him.

'I know I shan't be able to get on with Sasha.' Pinky
stared at her mournfully. 'She's not like you.'

'You'll be fine,' Geet said bracingly. She didn't mean
it. In the last four weeks since she had been showing Sasha Mehra-her
replacement-the ropes, she had come to realise Sasha didn't suffer fools
gladly. Not that Pinky was a fool, not at all-but she was something of a
feather-brain at times, who had to have everything explained at least twice for
it to click. Sasha had already expressed her impatience with the girl in no
uncertain terms, ignoring the fact that Pinky was a hard worker and always willing
to go the extra mile.

But this wasn't her problem. In a few hours from now,
she would walk out of Khuraana constructions for the last time. Not only that
but she was leaving Delhi
where she had been born and raised along with all her friends and family and
moving to Mumbai at the weekend. New job, new flat, new lifestyle-new
everything.

Her stomach doing a fairly good imitation of a
pancake, Geet waved her hand at the papers on her desk. 'I need to finish some
things, pinky, before the drinks and nibbles.' Her boss was putting on a little
farewell party for her for the last couple of hours of the afternoon, and she
wanted to tie up any loose ends before she left.

Once Pinky had returned to the outer office, however,
Geet sat staring round the large and comfortable room that had been her working
domain for the last one year, since she had worked her way up to personal
secretary to the founder of the construction firm. She'd been thrilled at
first, the prestige and extremely generous salary adding to her sense of
self-worth. And Baldev Khuraana was a good boss, a nice family-man with a sense
of humour which matched hers. But then Baldev Khuraana wasn't the reason she
was leaving...

'No eleventh-hour change of heart?'

The deep male voice brought Geet's gaze to the
doorway. 'Of course not,' she said with a composure that belied her racing
heartbeat. But then she had had plenty of practice in disguising how she felt
about Maan Singh Khuraana, her boss's only son and right-hand man. She stared
into the tanned and ruggedly handsome face, her hazel eyes revealing
nothing beyond cool amusement. 'You didn't seriously think there was any chance
of that, surely?'

He shrugged. '"Hoped" is perhaps a better word.'

Ridiculous, because she had long since accepted Maan's
flirting meant absolutely nothing, but her breathing quickened in spite of
herself. 'Sorry,' she said evenly. 'But my bags are already packed.'

'Dad's devastated, you know.' Maan strolled into her
office, perching on the edge of her desk and fixing her with dark choclate
eyes. Geet tried very hard not to focus on the way his trousers had pulled
tight over lean male thighs. And failed.

'Devastated?' she said briskly. 'Hardly. It's nice
he'll be sorry to see me go, but I think that's about it, sir. And Sasha is
proving to be very capable, as you know.'

Sasha Mehra. Intelleigent, attractive and possessed of
the sort of figure any model would be grateful for. Just Maan's type, in fact.
Over the last ten months-since Maan had returned to Delhi following his father's heart attack,
and taken on more and more of Baldev Khuraana's work load-Geet had heard the
company gossip about his succession of girlfriends, all allegedly beautiful and
slender. Whereas with her simple punjaabi slawar suits she considered herself
nothing out of the fashion magazine. And, although her generous hour-glass
shape might have been in fashion in Meena Kumaari's day, it wasn't now.

So why, knowing all that, had she fallen for him? Geet
asked herself silently. Especially as he was the original 'love 'em and leave
'em' male. It was the same question she had mulled over umpteen times in the
last 9 months, but she was no nearer to a logical answer. But then love didn't
pretend to work on logic. All she knew was that this feeling-which had begun
with an earthy lust that had knocked her sideways, and had rapidly grown into a
love that was all consuming the more she'd got to know him-was here to stay.
Whereas to Maan she was merely the secretary he shared with his
father-admittedly someone he liked to chat and laugh and flirt with, but then
he'd be the same with any female. End of story.

'I didn't think you liked Mumbai when you were there.
I remember you saying you couldn't wait to get home.'

Geet frowned. 'I said I was glad to come home.' She
corrected quietly. 'That didn't mean I didn't like the city.'

He stared at her for a moment before hitching himself
off her desk and standing to his feet. 'Well, it's your life,' he said so
reasonably Geet wanted to hit him. 'I just hope you don't regret it, that's
all. All big cities can be lonely places.'

'The old thing about being surrounded by people but
knowing no one?' Gina nodded. 'I've lots of old college friends living in
Mumbai, so that's not a problem. And I'm sharing a flat with another girl,
anyway. I'm not living alone.'

She didn't add she was feeling more than a little
trepidation about that.From her birth she was the joy of her middle class
parents.they couldn't bear the fact that she was leaving them and going to
Mumbai but somehow she managed to convince them. But renting in Mumbai was
vastly different from living in delhi,
and although her new job paid very well she couldn't run to her own place.

'Don't forget to leave your new address.' He was
already walking to the door. 'I might look you up next time I spend a few days
in the city of dreams. Doss down on your sofa for a night.'

Over her dead body. She took a deep breath and let it
out evenly. 'Fine,' she said nonchalantly, wishing she could hate him. It would
make everything so much easier-she wouldn't be uprooting herself for one thing.
Although, no, that wasn't quite fair. Even before she'd fallen for Maan she'd
acknowledged she was in a rut and needed to do something with her life. Both
her sisters and most of her friends were married; going out with them wasn't
what it had once been. Her friends thought she was too choosy. She stared at
the door Maan had just closed behind him. And maybe she was. Certainly she'd
had offers, but she balked at the idea of trying to like someone. Either the
spark was there or it wasn't. Besides which, she wasn't desperate to settle
down. What she was desperate for was a life outside work that was interesting
and exciting and carried a buzz-nightclubs, the theatre, good restaurants and good
company. She was only twenty two, for goodness' sake! So Mumbai had beckoned,
and she'd embraced the notion.

It was the right decision. She nodded at the thought.
Definitely. Without a doubt. Of course, if Maan had shown any interest...But he
hadn't. And so roses round the door, cosy log-fires and breakfast in bed for
two with the Sunday papers wasn't an option.

Gina swallowed the lump in her throat, telling herself
she'd cried enough tears over him. However hard it was going to be to say
goodbye, it would have been emotional suicide to stay. That one brief kiss at
Deepavali had told her that. Merely a friendly peck on her cheek as far as he
was concerned, when he'd wished her happy deewali. But the feel of his lips,
the closeness of him, the delicious smell of his aftershave, had sent her into
a spin for hours.

deewali had been a bitter-sweet affair, and it was
then she'd decided enough was enough. Self-torture wasn't her style. And it had
been added confirmation when on the afternoon the next day, whilst she'd been
walking her parents' dogs in the cold fields surrounding the city, she'd seen
him in the distance with the babe of the moment. She had hidden behind a tree
and prayed they wouldn't see her, but once the danger was over and she'd
continued her walk she'd realised merely leaving Khuraana constructions wasn't
enough. She had to get right away, where there was no chance of running into
him.

And now it was the beginning of April. D-Day. Outside
spring had come with a vengeance the last few days, croci and daffodils
bursting forth, and birds busy nesting-new life sprouting seemingly everywhere.
And that was the way she had to look at this, as an opportunity for new life.
No point feeling her world had come to an end, no point at all.<font size="4"></font>

precap:

Farewell party....😊

i know the starting part has negativity in it but picture abhi baaki hai mere dost...so please leave your comments....😊and i'll update another part tommoro....😊