A Sudden Change Of Heart - Page 7

CHAPTER-21

" So jaa, Geet..so jaa'so jaa'just get some sleep, girl..kal subha office hain.." she murmured, pulling the blanket all over her more firmly, sticking only her eyes out. She stared at the ceiling, without seeing anything, and thought about the last few hours of her life.

Mk. Maan Singh Khurana' Ever since the day she had met him, Geet had broken several of her own rules. She had fallen weak, cried, exposed her fears, and was unable to control her emotions- in all she had done everything in front of him, which she had promised herself that she would never do in front of anyone, not even her parents, or her life partner. Yet, here she was openly expressing herself to Maan without the slightest inhibition. She thought about everything that Maan knew about her, which only a handful people in the world knew. He knew that she was scared of darkness. Her thoughts immediately went to the fateful night in the lift of Oberoi Hotel, which was the first time he had seen her scared. And, then, ofcourse, at the office, when he had held her in his arms, kept her close, and tried to calm her down.

Geet threw the blanket away, and lay on the sheets only. She thought about her uncle, Ranbir Handa. Maan knew about him too, and, she didn't have to explain him about her uncle in detail. He already knew what a shrewd and selfish man he is. Yet, she thought carefully, Maan had never said anything disrespectful about him. She recalled how much difficult it had been to explain Dev about the whole matter, and she had been forced to give up at the end, when he showed no sign of understanding. Now, as Geet pondered over it, she realized with a pang, that maybe, he didn't want to understand. Because, after all, Ranbir Handa was rich and powerful. And, Dev believed in seeking help from affluent relatives.

Her mind raced back to Maan. It never lingered for a long time on Dev anymore. Geet thought about their conversation in the car a few hours back. Maan even knew about the friction that worked between Geet and her family. He had guessed easily, that the only reason she remained disturbed and distraught had something to do with her family inevitably. A smile crept on her lips, as her brain ran through the list again. He knows just so much about me'

Geet got up from bed, and grabbed the glass of water from the bedside table. As she lifted it to her lips, her phone beeped from somewhere under the pillow. She reached out for it, and her eyes widened as she saw the time. It was thirty minutes past one in the morning, and she still hadnt slept a wink. She quickly opened the text message to scan through it, but her eyes froze on the screen, as she read the words out.

" After lunch, Geet. Don't. Be. Late." he stood numb on the bed for several minutes before lying down with a huge smile on her face. She laughed out loud, and said, " Geet, haas kyun rahi hain?" and ended up laughing harder, this time covering her face up in the blanket.

Kya ho gaya hain mujhe? It's just a normal text, phir mujhe itna accha kyun lag raha hain? The thought that Mk typed this for me, and sent it to me' Geet!! Text hain yaar' you've probably received millions of texts in your whole life, kabhi aisa pagalpaan toh nahin kiya' She shook her head hard, and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to sleep.

He stared at his phone, as the words " DELIVERED TO GEET HANDA" showed up on his phone screen. Smiling slightly, he kept the phone aside, and pulled the duvet over his vested body. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep, but then, opened them almost immediately.

Why did you text her? Tune usse yeh pehle bhi toh kaha tha na? Then, why did you need to emphasize on it, by sending her a text so late at night? Maan, pagal ho gayaa hain kya?

" Hain, shayed, pagal ho gayaa hoon main. And, the only reason is Geet Handa.." he said out loud.

Maan turned around, staring at his phone, and thinking about the night. Geet ek pura package hain..he thought with a smile, kabhi serious, kabhi professional, toh kabhi bilkul bindaas' Bindaas? Yeh kaisa word hain, Maan? He thought to himself, and then, smirked, sab Geet ka asar hain' he said aloud, pata nahin kya jadoo kar diya hain mujhpar'yeh kya ehsaas hain, jo main har waqt usske liye mehsoos karta hoon? Kyun karta hoon?

*****

" I. Need. To. Leave. NOW!!!" she gritted her teeth, and spat out to Pinky, who stood with a notebook in hand nervously.

" Lekin Ma'aam'" she was cut short by an agitated Geet. " Maine tumse kahaa tha na, ke I have to leave after lunch at any cost, and you're telling me this problem now! It's already one hour past lunch, Pinky!"

Meera stood at the door, surprised to see Geet so flustered and nervous. She cleared her throat slightly, causing Geet to whip her head in her direction. She dismissed Pinky, and as soon as she left, Meera closed the door behind her.

" Geet," she said in surprise, " Tujhe ho kya gayaa hain? Pinky toh kaam ke liye hi aayi thi'tujhe jaana kahaan hain? Subha se dekh rahi hoon, tere pao toh kahin tik hi nahin rahe hain..you seem to be in an awful hurry."

Geet got up and grabbed some files from the cabinet behind. Trying to look as nonchalant as she could, she moved towards the printer at the other corner of her room, and said, " Nahin, aisa kuch nahin hain' It's just work pressure' and woh project deadline hain, toh woh bhi'"

" Geet," Meera said slowly, letting each word out of her mouth very carefully, " The Khurana Construction deal will be over by the next month. We're way ahead of schedule, and aaj hi meri team se baat huwi hain'they can wrap it up by next month."

Geet froze, her hands stopping on the printer. She gasped out slightly, and turned around. Suddenly, the words sank in her mind. And, she did something she hadnt done in a long time. She lost control.

" How the hell can a six month contract end in four damn months?" she yelled out, slamming the papers on the desk loudly, " I'm sure team se kuch galti huwi hain' it cant happen, it JUST CANT happen.." she said exasperatedly, sitting down on the chair with a thud.

Meera stared at her with wide eyes, as she got up again, and said, " Tujhse kuch galti huwi hain'the project cannot end before 6 months, samjhi?"

Meera got up, and held Geet by her arms. She shook her several times, to stop her inaudible ramblings, and said, " Geet' there is NO work pressure at all' saare projects ahead of schedule hain, the Patel deal is tied up, and the Khurana deal will be done in the next 25 days.. tujhe koi aur pressure hain.."

Geet shrugged off her hands, and walked towards the window. Meera followed her, and said softly, " Tujhe hua kya hain? Is there something you want to tell me? Something you want to talk about?"

" Mujhe Mk se baat karni hain'" Geet blurted out, looking straight at Meera.

Grabbing her cell phone, and car keys, se darted out of cabin, leaving a calm and steady Meera behind.

" I knew this would happen, Geet." She said out loud, with a laugh.

She raced up the stairs of Khurana Constructions, without looking anywhere. Her mind was in a whirl, and the only one who could calm it down was Maan. She looked around desperately, waiting for him to appear, but he was nowhere to be seen. She barged into his cabin, without knocking, only to see Sasha leaning down on the table with Maan close beside her, both engrossed in the layouts in front of him. Maan looked up to see a panting Geet, and stared at her for some time.

Geet glared at Sasha, and said, as politely as she could manage.

" Mk, can I talk to you for a minute?". Her eyes didn't leave Sasha's, as she almost ordered her to give them some privacy.

Maan stared at her for some time, partly confused, and partly impressed by the dominating tone she had just exhibited. He cleared his throat, and said to Sasha in a low voice," We'll do this later, Sasha'"

Sasha nodded her head slightly, and scooping up the documents, she left, throwing a surprised look at Geet. Geet closed the door behind her immediately, and standing against it said," Did you hear from the team?"

Maan crossed his hands over his chest, and made his way towards her. As soon as he neared her, Geet pressed herself more firmly against the door, and looked away.

" Aapka "after lunch" abhi hua, Ms. Handa?" he said, moving more closer to her.

She opened her mouth to speak, when he said roughly," Do you know, main kabse tumhara intezaar kar raha tha? Aur, tum aab aa rahi ho' ek toh late karke aati ho, then mujhe mera kaam nahin karne deti ho' problem kya hain tumhari?" He placed his hands on either side of her head, but kept his body firmly away from hers." Talk to me, Geet.." he whispered.

Geet looked up, painfully aware of his rich cologne filling her senses entirely. She shook her head, trying to clear her muddled mind, and risked looking into his eyes. But, almost immediately, she realized, that it was a mistake. His black irises stared back at her, and she was sure, there was a twinkle of amusement in them. She gulped her saliva, and said, " Woh, main'mujhe kuch kaam aa gayaa tha'isiliye'aap.."

He cut her short again, and placed his index finger on her cheek. Trailing it down towards her hair, and tucking a loose strand behind her ear, he said," Aisa kaunsa kaam aa gayaa tha, that you didn't make it here on time?"

" Aapki team se baat huwi?" she blurted out, as he removed his finger from her face, still leaving a scorching trail behind.

" Nahin. Kyun?" he murmured, still looking into her eyes in a daze.

" The project will be completed by next month'"

His eyes snapped back at her, as her words finally made sense to him. She was staring at him, a mixture of emotions playing on her face. There were traces of nervousness, traces of anxiety, and traces of sadness'Maan looked at her carefully, as he moved away, and said," What the hell are you talking about?"

His rude voice jerked her back to the present.

" I don't know. Ask your bloody team." She said, in an angry voice, " How can they end a six-month project in just hardly four months? Itna kya kaam karliya un logon ne?" She stopped as Maan stared back at her in surprise.

Geet realized her stupidity in almost the next mintue itself. It was very profitable for the project to end before the deadline, and this one was sure to earn a huge amount of money, since they hand over the building in almost three whole months ahead of schedule. Then why, why was she unhappy?

Maan walked past her, and grabbed the phone on his desk. Punching in a few numbers, as Geet stood there with her hands fiddling with her phone, he spoke clearly, looking at her, " Adi, has the team said that the deal with Geet Handa will be completed in the next month itself?" He listened for a few minutes, and then, slammed the phone down.

" Yes, you've heard right." He said, looking intently in to her lowered eyes.

He saw Geet squeeze her eyes shut, and then open them again. She looked up, and Maan felt a pang as he saw the fire die away from her eyes. She spoke coldly," Congratulations, Mk. We have been able to pull off this deal with great skill. I am sure, ke aapko aur hume, dono ko bohut profit hoga' I think bohut zyada kaan baaki nahin hain..we'll just be done with the formalities by the next month. Accha hua, haina?" Without waiting for his reply, she continued," Mujhe aab chalna chahiye'I need to tie up things."

Before Maan could open his mouth to form a sentence, she left his office rapidly. Climbing into the safety of her car, she started the engine, and drove off, but found herself below her apartment instead of her office. She cut the engine, grabbed the keys, and almost ran up to her flat. Closing the door firmly shut behind her, she ran off to her bedroom, and started crying loudly.

*****

" Accha hua? Accha kaise hua?" Maan thought, as he sat down on his chair heavily." It's such a good news, lekin mujhe kuch accha kyun nahin lag raha hain? It's as if, I wanted this project to go on forever."

PRECAP: Nahin dungi' 😆after all, looks like kuch important realizations hone wali hain in the next chapter!😉 Shayed, Geet is in LOVE!!😳

Thank you so much for liking the last chapter and commenting.. I noticed some new people breaking ices and it felt just too good!😃

I also saw my spammers getting their hands dirty on completing my quota..😆 Though I loved the pictures, it's not fair. 😃

So, this time, you get the next update only when I get 130 likes, and 80 comments by 80 different people... that will complete just about 10-11 pages.😃

But, my spammers, you can work too if you like, but I wont be counting them in the 80 comments this time!😉

Till then, fantasize about the next chapter (since there is no precap!😈) and fill up my quota, so that I can fulfill your fantasies...😆

Love

Sarzah

oved the update...i guess it is time for as you say realisation

wonderful update...continue soon..😊

I guess there are some shockers for us in next update...
hope they realize it soon that they love each other...
update soon...

awesome update...

Geet is in love with Maan and vice-versa...

loved their convo and how Maan is becoming bold with her and trying to come near to her...

yaar ab thode romantic moments hone chahiye...unke fights mein hi u have already reached chapter-21...

waiting for next update...

thanx for pm...

Thank God Meera understands that the two Budhus are in love!!!

awesome update
loved it