FF: M&G - Protect The Boss 1 - Page 7

After a few minutes of silence, Sasha's coffee arrived. She stirred her drink, her long manicured nails tapping against the cup of the coffee. She looked up furtively at Maan, who was watching her with a straight face.

"Why did you call me here, Sasha?"

She leaned back into her seat, taking a sip. "I thought you'd want to catch up."

"We agreed that we'd remain on mutual terms."

"So mutual terms means ignoring me, does it?"

Maan sighed. "I'm sorry if you expected us to have lunch together everyday & text each other hi's & hello's."

"We may not be slee-" she exhaled. "Seeing each other anymore, but I still class you as a dear friend."

"Is that why I see you around the office cavorting with the enemy?"

She shrugged. "Are you jealous, Maan?"

"I have no reason to be, since I called off our fling in the first place. I'm just saying Dev isn't the sweet charmer he claims to be."

"And neither are you," she smirked. "So, why did you come here then? If you weren't interested in catching up?"

"Because I assumed you might be in some trouble. I do care about you."

"I'm touched," Sasha said with little emotion, before taking another sip.

"Does Dev know about... about me & you?" Maan asked, leaning forwards.

Sasha held his gaze for a few seconds, then shook her head. "He hasn't got a clue. As far as he's concerned, we haven't even spoken to each other, let alone seen the ceilings of the other's bedroom."

He laughed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't let anyone else at the office know about our history."

"My lips are sealed, although I am a little hurt at the thought of having to be your dirty little secret."

He smirked lazily before standing up, pushing his chair back. "You're one of many sweetheart, don't consider yourself special." He walked a few steps, then turned back & added "I'll see you at the office" before walking out of the cafe.

A frustrated Sasha slammed her coffee cup down with irritation.

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Geet had contemplated on whether she should go to Manish & inform him about Maan's sudden disappearance from the office. But judging from his cold encounter with her earlier, Manish Singh Khurana was a tense man with other worries than his 25 year old son abandoning his office duties for the day.

She also realised that telling Manish would incur wrath from Maan, who clearly was under pressure to be working within the business when he had little interest to do so.

Utterly bored, she pulled out her phone & sent a text to Pinky:

first day at office is proving eventful. so far i've been given no work to do, apart from making coffee which can't really be considered as work seeing as it was suggested by me. i am grateful though, it means my feet won't hurt as much from the heels when i get back home tonight x

Geet was still waiting for a reply when Maan suddenly burst through his office doors at 10.30am.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Where do you think?"

She recalled his note he had left to her. "Early lunch?"

"Don't be so daft. I thought I would need an early lunch - but circumstances changed."

"So you're staying in the office?"

"What's with the 20 questions?"

"I'm your secretary, in case you'd forgotten. It's pretty hard to work for a boss when the boss isn't around."

"I'm here now," Maan threw his phone down on the desk as he sat down on his chair, spinning around on it as he tried to clear his thoughts.

Geet watched her discombulated boss engage in his mindless activity for a few minutes when she started to feel nauseous at the mere sight of it. She got up & placed a firm hand on one of the chair's armrests, making it stop.

"What are you doing, get off my chair," he snapped.

"You're making me feel sick, stop it."

"So leave. Leave the damn office, stop irritating me & being so patronising in everything I do."

"It's not as easy for me as it is for you, Mr Khurana. I need this job. And besides, I think you need someone to be patronising right now, seeing as you clearly have no interest in the business, your job, or anything else."

Maan sighed, & looked up at the secretary who was still stood over him, her slender hand on his chair when his office phone rang. Geet looked from the phone to Maan, who looked back at her then to the phone.

"Answer it, it won't bite you," Geet mumbled. Maan shot her a look of irritation as he reached for the phone. Geet decided it was time for another coffee & left his office for the canteen.

______________________________

Pinky was happily dancing to Chikni Chameli as she dusted the small apartment that she shared with Geet.

"Aayi chikni chameli chup kar akeli bua chadha ke aayi!"

Her mobile rang & buzzed on the kitchen counter but the music was so loud that she couldn't hear a thing. It was only when her dusting led her to the kitchen that she noticed her phone flashing. She threw the duster down, turned the TV volume down & answered Geet's call.

"Yes babe?"

"Pinky, I've been calling for you for the past 5 minutes, where have you been? You weren't trapped in the bathroom again were you?"

"No, I was cleaning," she said, a little out of breath.

"Cleaning & dancing more like."

"You don't sound like the first day at your new job is going amazingly well."

"Because it's not," Geet slumped down on the closed toilet seat of the cubicle she was in, to give herself some privacy while she ranted to her best friend. Two cups of coffee in a timespan of 3 hours hadn't done her any good, & she needed to rant. "Didn't you get my text?"

"What text?" Pinky pulled her phone away to see a small message icon at the top of the screen. "Oh, my bad, I didn't notice."

"They expect him to take over as MD as soon as possible. This guy isn't even worth of being an employee here, let alone MD. KC is worth millions, millions! And his dad owns & runs it! And he swans off at 10am for what he calls early lunches. Early lunches my foot, more like he goes off to meet his girlfriend or lover or whoever he's hooked up with now. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got several on the go."

The sound of a flush from the next cubicle made Geet's eyes widen in surprise. She hadn't realised that she had company in what she assumed had been an empty bathroom.

Pinky continued talking on the other end but all Geet was focused on was trying to find out who had been listening as she had badmouthed her boss. Crouching down onto the floor, Geet made extra care not let her heels click against the floor as she tried to identify the person who would have to become her new best friend as she bent her head forwards to catch a glimpse of their shoes as they stood at the sink, washing their hands.

Whoever the woman was, she wore red heels. Geet would simply have to stalk all the women's shoes all day, find out the red heeled lady & convince her not to spill all to Maan in a friendly manner.

"Geet?" Pinky spoke on the other end.

"I'm right here- Ouch!" she ended up banging her head against the wall of the cubicle as she tried to get up quietly. Geet rubbed her head, wincing as she noticed red heels approaching her cubicle.

Oh, maybe I won't have to stalk & suck up to whoever she is after all, I can just address this badmouthing issue now. Thank you Babaji, Geet praised as she stood up.

"Pinky, I'll call you back," she said quickly & cut the call, running a hand over her curls & her skirt to smooth it down & look professional.

With her charming punjaban smile, Geet opened the door to find Sasha smirking right back at her, her hands placed over her chest.

Geet felt her smile fade.

______________________________

"Manish."

Manish looked up to find Pammi unwantedly entering his lavish office, without knocking or asking. Her hair pulled into a tight bun, Pammi Khurana was the mother of Dev Khurana and the sister in law of Manish. Pammi felt that KC would run best if her son Dev was MD - and if the overall order of the business was in her hands.

"I'd appreciate it if you knocked before entering the CEO & MD's office," he said, as he put his pen down and crossed his fingers, looking up at the sister of his deceased wife, the sister whom he had always despised for her devious ways.

"I believe no formalities are needed between family, right?"

"I don't think you consider me as family though, Pammi."

She laughed. "You're right. I actually don't. But seeing as you & your beloved son are the only connection I have left to Divyana, I have to be civil. Unfortunately."

"Cut the melancholic crap, what do you want?"

Pammi sat opposite Manish. "Well, I thought we should look at the first quarter's finances together. After all, I do have a 35% stake in the company, seeing as Divyana, who I must remind you set up this business alongside yourself & your mother, left it to Dev."

"Exactly. She left it to Dev, not to you. And I have employees & other associates to discuss financial issues with. So I appreciate you taking your time out from relaxing in your cabin to come & pay me a visit, but as you very well must know, you play no active role in the business other than supporting your Dev. So you can leave now, I have a lot of work to be getting on with & I'm sure you have nails to be filed, or whatever it is you do in your spare time."

Pammi scowled as she left his office abruptly. She fumed silently outside his cabin for a few minutes, mentally cursing him for his audacity to speak to her in such a way, then she pulled her phone out, smirking as she called someone really rather special...

______________________________

Maan sighed as he received the email regarding the latest situation of the business in the stock market from the head of finances, Aditya, better known as Adi. He ran a finger through his hair, mentally kicking himself over his decision to come back to India after studying in the US when he could have been laid on a beach somewhere, with gorgeous waitresses providing him endless cocktails...

His thoughts were disturbed by a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called, glancing back at his computer to try & make sense of his email.

The footsteps approached his desk quietly, so it was only when Maan looked up & saw the familiar figure with a pleased expression on his face & a file in his hands, that he narrowed his eyes & frowned at the person before him.

Chapter 5 - Rivalry - Page 15