FF: M&G - Protect The Boss 1 - Page 9

OFFICE POLITICS

Maan has learnt from his mistake now 😆 Pammi can only attempt to pry KC off Manish's hands; he's a stubborn one. Seems like Maan needs to pick the pace up to gain praise from you guys, his lazy & work shy attitude isn't going down well with everyone 😆

[quote=namita25]I just loved Geet n Pinky's convo ...so sasha caught Geet maligning Maan...lolz 😆Geet deewaron ke bhi kaan hote hain...😆.isliye future mein zara sambhalkar...I am glad Maan threw that garbage queen Sasha out of his life...seems like she wanna have both the brothers in her pocket...Geet will have to do lot of mehnat on Maan...

Hehe so true 😆 nowhere is safe or private at KC 😆
Ahhh someone's clocked onto Sasha's agenda very well... 😉

[quote=lil.mizz.smexii]i absolutely just love Geet !

She's my favourite too 😳

[quote=janu_2006]heygr8 parts..

"Dev."

Maan acknowledged his younger cousin brother stood before him with the file in his hand.

"Maan. I thought the file might be of some interest to you."

Maan took the file from Dev reluctantly.

"It's the email Adi sent. I converted it into a file to make it easier for you to understand."

If there was one thing Maan Singh Khurana despised in life, it was being undermined. What he hated more than that was being undermined by Dev Singh Khurana, whom he & everyone else at the office were aware of, was eyeing up the MD position that Maan was the rightful heir to.

Resisting the urge to mess up Dev's boyish looks with a punch that would greatly satisfy him, Maan forged a smile as he looked up at Dev. "Thanks, much appreciated."

Dev was aware that Maan would adapt a casual reaction - after all, they had practically grown up together for most of their lives. And they had been good friends at first, until they turned 16. Dev's academic passion & abilities didn't go unnoticed; but neither did Maan's. The only difference was, Maan was much more laidback about his studies whereas Dev was determined & willing to succeed.

And so had their rivalry begun, with both Khuranas taking opposite stances to education & life in general. And the rivalry had undoubtedly increased when both of them had been appointed to the business after their graduation.

Dev sat down in the chair opposite Maan's. "Do you think we should takeover from Yash Mehta's company?" he asked, attempting to throw him off guard.

Maan leaned forward on his elbows, narrowing his gaze when Geet walked in, sighing as she threw her heavy handbag down on the chair next to Dev's and ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh, hi, Dev," she said chirply, smiling at who she had classified as the nicer & more charming Khurana.

"Geet, right? I never forget a pretty face."

Geet grinned & Maan looked uncomfortable about their interaction. It was one thing that Dev was trying to battle it out for the MD position, but now he had the guts to try & snatch his secretary too?

Geet glanced at the clock behind Maan which read quarter to 12. "If you don't mind, can I take my lunch?" she asked.

Maan shrugged nonchalantly, & Geet took that as a yes. Maan went back to studying the file whilst Dev eyed him in mock amusement.

Picking up her bag, Geet said a small bye to Dev & made her way towards the door when Dev suddenly had an idea & called after her.

"Geet?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Why don't we have lunch together?"

Maan's head shot up.

"Erm..." she glanced at Maan whose eyes were flicking from her to Dev. "Sure, I guess."

"Great, I know an amazing Italian place not far from here where we can go."

"What if I need your assistance here, Geet?" Maan lied. Truth be told, there wasn't much Geet could do in his office anyway as the company was busy finalising preparations for their project meeting later on in the week - something which didn't usually include heavy secretarial work.

"I've been here for 3 hours & you haven't given me a single task to do," she retorted, slightly annoyed. "I'm sure you'll manage for an hour. If you need me, you have my mobile number from my application form."

She walked out of the room.Dev simply shrugged at Maan then followed her, closing the door to leave Maan free to throw the mind boggling file aside on the desk.

______________________________

"She overheard you? Oh gosh," Dev laughed nervously as he tucked into a sandwich. Geet sat opposite him in the coffee bar, taking a bite from a baguette.

"I thought Sasha was going to rant on me or something because she looks like the type of girl that doesn't really need an excuse to rant, but she simply stepped aside to let me pass so I could hurry out of the bathroom."

"She's harmless really," he said, looking around edgily due to the topic of the conversation. "Anyway, how are you finding Khurana Constructions so far?" he asked, desperate to change the topic.

"It's a bundle of laughter," she sighed.

"It'll get easier."

"Working under Maan?" she scoffed. "I expected him to be a tyrant, but he's the total opposite. A lazy ass, which is just as, if not more worse. Talking of Mr K, what's the deal between you & him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I sense tension between the two of you. Rivalry."

"Rivalry is healthy."

"True, but it seemed like you would claw each other's eyes out given half the chance."

Dev laughed. "It's not as bad as you make it out to be. We're from different ends of the spectrum so we don't always see eye to eye."

"Hmm, if you say so..." Geet eyed Dev carefully before finishing off the rest of the baguette.

______________________________

"You're offering Dev Khurana the MD position on a plate."

Maan ran his fingers through his hair as he sat opposite his father's desk, sighing.

"Don't act all exasperated with me, young man. You need to stop slacking. I am perfectly aware that this is not the ideal life or career choice for you, but for generations, Khurana Constructions has been in our side of the family's hands. Our side. Your mother clearly stated in her will before her death that she wished for her son to take over." Manish's eyes turned cold. "And certainly not her nephew."

"You don't have a problem with Dev. You have a problem with Aunt Pammi."

"That leech has always been after the riches of the family name."

"Buy her shares out."

"I can't, unfortunately. I hate to admit this, but Pammi's connections with the elite at the top have contributed massively to the growing profits of the company. She promotes us, basically." His eyes fell upon the photograph of his wife, which had always remained on his table since her death 10 years ago. "But I didn't call you here to tell you what you already know, Maan. We have important meetings & visits coming up. You need use the opportunities to your advantage & prove to the business world that you're ready to takeover from my position. Do you understand?"

Maan met his father's gaze directly. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice, does it?"

______________________________

"Thanks for inviting me to lunch," Geet smiled as she stood before Dev in the reception area.

"Anytime, how about we make it a regular thing?"

"Regular?"

The sound of a familiar pair of heels was heard from behind Geet & she sighed as she turned around to be greeted by the skeptical look of Sasha.

"You two look cosy," she said bitterly.

"It's nothing, Sasha," Dev averted his gaze from both women down to the floor.

"I'd best get back," Geet walked away, thanking the Lord that Sasha had saved her from having to reply back to Dev. Charming & sweet as he was, Geet was all for feminism & she didn't appreciate being hit upon her first day at the office, just because she had been polite & friendly with him a few times.

"Men these days," she muttered to herself as she turned the corner towards Maan's office, not seeing Sasha whisper into Dev's ear & wink at him seductively before sauntering away.

______________________________

After an afternoon of filing for Maan, drinking 3 cups of coffee & discreetly texting Pinky from under her desk, the day was finally over for Geet. She would have liked to have said that the day had gone pretty well, but after almost arguing with her boss, having a purely platonic lunch with a male colleague who had misread her intentions, breaking the shredder & narrowly avoiding ploughing into the head of the company himself, she was more than relieved to fall onto the couch when she got home, closing her eyes for some much needed comfort.

"Hey babes!"

She opened her eyes to see a smiling Pinky beaming over her; Geet shot up, frowning. "What's that in your hand?"

"A box of barfi to celebrate your first day being over at the office!" she offered it out to Geet.

"Did you not read my continous texts I sent you? It was a pretty uneventful day, & not in the good way."

"But babes, you finally work! Independence is on the horizon, that's something to be grateful about."

"I didn't do my degree for independence, I did it for a career. But that career seems so far off now," Geet reminisced sadly as she put her legs up, hugging her knees. She had gone to university for a degree in business studies in the hope of running her own chain of fashion boutiques across the country. She had been a rebel in her teen years, & the worry of her parents who were uncertain about her future. But she had proved everyone wrong by sticking university out & graduating, & she had loved it. Loved studying, loved the experience, loved the feeling of working hard in order to gain immense satisfaction at the end.

But the economy had gotten tougher, & jobs were few & far between. Whenever she had turned up for interviews in business firms, they had taken one look at her modernly dressed form, her wild curls, her bubbly nature & assumed she didn't belong in their world. She had bid for an empty shop floor that had gone on auction in the outskirts of Delhi, & failed.

Her efforts were in vain, & out of frustration she had accepted this secretary position at KC. But she knew she was better than this.

"I know more about working in a business than my stupid boss who I work for," she pouted, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "He's only sat in his high & mighty office because his dad owns & runs the company."

Pinky sat beside Geet on the floor & put an arm aorund her. "I believe in you, Geet. No one gets to the top straightaway. Life is a ladder, you have to climb each step to get to where you want to be. Don't let this job dishearten you, think of it as one small step which you can easily get over once you find better opportunities."

"I don't know where I'd be without you, Pinks." Geet rested her head on her friend's shoulder.

"You must be hungry, I made some palak paneer for you. We'll eat & then finish off the barfi, because it'd be bad to let it all go to waste," she winked.

Geet smiled & shook her head. "I can't gorge though, I'm hoping maybe my figure and er," she flicked her hair over her shoulder dramatically "natural good looks will help me win the boss over & I could end up with a possible promotion at the company."

"Constructions is so not your thing."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt to earn a little bit more money," she winked & then broke out into a giggle. "I'm just messing, obviously. Maan Singh Khurana is most definitely not my type."

Chapter 6 - Just The Start - Page 18