FF: M&G - Protect The Boss 1 - Page 17

"Oh no. No, no, no."

Geet stopped dancing & managed to keep herself on her feet for long enough to turn away from Maan abruptly. She covered the side of her face with her hand, somehow hoping that he hadn't noticed her.

Yash frowned upon seeing Geet turn away. "Come on Maan, be my wingman. Let's see if Singhania still has the charm."

"I-I don't think that's a good idea," Maan had realised by her sudden behaviour that she didn't want to be acknowledged by him, & he would also feel uncomfortable being in her presence when they were both so drunk. It wasn't the ideal state that a boss & secretary wanted to be in when they met each other outside of the office.

"Dude, she's gorgeous, I'm not letting this chance pass me by." Ignoring his friend, Yash limbered out onto the dancefloor. Maan squeezed his eyes & followed, pinching himself & hoping it was a dream & maybe he'd wake up.

Pinky had stopped waving her arms around in the air enough to notice Geet was no longer dancing with her, but rather stood in one position hiding herself. Her eyes widened when she saw 2 men approaching her.

Geet sensed a presence behind her & bit her lip. "Please be someone else, please be someone else. This is so embarrassing. Every single goddamn time, I tell myself I won't get drunk and yet-"

Yash tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, miss?"

Maan eyed the bathrooms & contemplated how long it would take for him to make a mad dash there before Geet turned around.

Pinky eyed Geet & the men and wrapped her small bag around her wrist, ready to launch towards them & attack if they misbehaved.

Geet eyed the club for a spot where she could crawl into & hibernate until the night was over.

Just as Maan had backed away & turned in the direction of the bathrooms, Geet turned around, attempting a smile. "Yes?"

"Are you ok?" Yash asked in his suave voice.

Geet noticed Maan from over Yash's shoulder, his gaze fixated on the floor.

"Erm, yeah, I'm ok. I was just, er... gathering my thoughts." She laughed awkwardly, running her fingers through her hair. "Hey, Maan," she gave him a small wave, causing Maan to look up.

"You know each other? Dude, you didn't tell me you knew her."

"She's- she works at KC, she's my secretary."

"Really?" Yash grinned. "That's a surprise. I'm Yash, Yash Singhania."

"Geet Handa." She shook his hand.

"Care to join us for some drinks?"

"Uh..."

Pinky arrived, stepping beside Geet & linking her arm into hers. "Hello ji! I'm Pinky, Geet's friend!"

Yash smiled once more, & Geet nudged her friend. "Pinky, that's Maan, my boss."

Her mouth formed a small o. "That's your boss?!"

Maan waved awkwardly. If only the ground would swallow him up...

"Shush!" Geet muttered through gritted teeth. "Actually Yash, we better be off. It's pretty late already and-" She shot a look towards Maan. "It's an early start tomorrow morning."

"Oye Geet, your boss is here, he has an early start too & he's not bothered."

Yash laughed in agreement. "I won't take no for an answer, ladies."

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All too soon, Maan found himself sat between Yash & Geet as they were seated in a corner of the bar. Yash & Pinky were knocking back the drinks, discussing which sweetmeat was better, gulab jamuns or jalebis. Geet & Maan shared awkward looks between them. Maan also noticed the casual admiring glances Yash gave Geet - it made him uncomfortable, yet he wasn't sure why.

Taking a sip from his brandy, his gaze settled on Geet. She was staring at the vodka glass in her hand, swirling the drink. She already looked drunk; her hazel eyes were slightly droopy, her cheeks flushed & her curly hair an unruly mass that fell around her shoulders. He had seen her earlier in the night; laughing, dancing, having the time of her life with her bubbly smile lighting up her face. Now she shifted every so often, her eyes never met his & she seemed uncomfortable. He hoped it wasn't due to his presence, he didn't want it to be because of his presence.

She was her usual vivacious self with him in the office. He put it down to her drunken state & their earlier conversation in the day about leaving the partying lifestyle behind to her behaviour now. He wouldn't bring the night up with her in the future; after all, he was in the same position as her, & he fared worse. The future CEO of KC partying the night before an international meeting. However, a smile his way from her & some acknowledgement of his presence in her eyes would be nice.

He decided the night had gone on for too long - it was 2am already, & he needed to get some sleep before the meeting. Holding Yash's shoulders for support, he stood up. "I really have to go now."

"Aw Maan, you killjoy," Yash slurred. "You're getting old."

He noticed Geet finally looked up at him. "I'm getting more responsibilites. I'm holding you personally responsible for the failure that will be the meeting tomorrow."

Geet stood up too. "Come on Pinky, I think it's time we went home too."

Pinky slapped her hand away, pouting. "No, I'm having too much fun with Ansh here."

"Yash," he corrected her.

"Yeah, yeah, same difference." She kissed her shot glass. "I love you alcohol!"

"Pinky, come on," Geet persisted, getting annoyed with her friend now. A fun night out had turned into an awkward encounter with her boss, & she knew she was going to have the worst hangover in the morning.

"I said no, Geeto," Pinky pouted like a child.

"Maan, you're in no fit state to drive. Why don't you & Geet hail a taxi?"

Geet glanced at Maan.

"I doubt we'd get a taxi at this time Yash, I'll just call my driver."

Geet couldn't argue with the fact that no taxi would be available at this time of the night. She'd rather hail a ride with Maan than walk home, especially in the heels that had now caused painful blisters on her feet.

"Byeee Geet, don't wait up!" Pinky waved her friend off, before saying a quick bye to Yash. Yash had stood up, looking like he wanted to ask Geet something, but she had already walked away. Maan smiled them goodbye & followed her.

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The humid summer night was warm with a cool breeze. Maan & Geet stood outside the club, a few feet away from each other. The sounds of shrieking caused them to turn around as they saw a young man carry his girlfriend out of the club to the car, her shoes in her hand as she giggled & told him how much he loved him.

"I didn't know you came here," Geet said, to break the awkward silence between them.

"I did when I was younger, not so much now. Yash dragged me out."

"Pinky dragged me out, too."

They exchanged a look, then broke out into peels of laughter.

"Have you seen us, trying to justify ourselves?" Geet said in between giggles.

"It's always easier to blame someone else rather than yourself," Maan agreed.

"How much did you have to drink?"

"Do you honestly expect me to remember?" he smirked.

"Did you try those cocktails Pinky bought?"

"I'm not sure they should even be classed as cocktails."

She folded her arms across her chest. "I have to admit, I was horrified when I saw you. I mean, your secretary clubbing away on a work night, it gives off such a bad impression."

"I think I'm higher up the scales on bad impressions."

"Everyone needs to let their hair down sometimes. And I am emphasising the sometimes. I think I felt so awkward because I convinced you that I didn't do this kind of thing anymore-"

"Yet we both bump into each other at the same joint, as drunk as the other."

"Exactly," she grinned, pushing the loose strands of hair away from her face. The Khurana car pulled up.

"Ladies first," he opened the door for her. "See, I'm not that drunk." He winked, causing her to smile once more.

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The car stopped outside Geet's residence.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"We'll see who's more hungover tomorrow. The one who is least hungover, has to buy the other coffee."

"I'll take that as a deal."

They shook hands. "Night, Maan."

"Goodnight, Geet."

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P.S. Happy 2nd Hum Tum anniversary everyone! Let's take a moment to remember how hot Maan looked in white... 😉

Chapter 10 - Candyfloss - Page 33