CHAPTER 25
Brij and Geet arrived at Pari's hostel to find her outside the gates waiting for them. They got out of the car together and rushed towards Pari.
"Kya hua Geet tum dono yaha? Sab thik toh hain na?"
"Kuch thik nahi hain Pari. Ek toh raat ko meri nind thik se nahi hui, upar se yeh mere bhai sahab mujhe subah subah uthakar yaha kheech ke leke aaye, kyun ki woh tumhare police station chalke yeh dekhna chahte hain ki..." Brij slapped his palm across her mouth before she said anything more, dragged her to the car and dumped her in the front seat.
"Please Geet chup kar yaar, aur kuch mat bolo." He whispered fiercely.
"Toh phir aap bol do bhaiyya. Aur jaldi." She looked back at him smugly.
"Aur mujhe yaha kyu bithaya. Ab se yeh Pari bhabhi ki jagah hai."
She grinned looking at the red that tinged his cheekbones on hearing the words Pari bhabhi.
"Yeh kya ho raha hai? Sab thik hain na Geet? Pari called out anxiously.
Geet got out of the car once again, walked over to Pari, hugged her, grabbed hold of her hand and led her to the front seat of the car and pushed her down on it.
"Haan Pari sab thik hai. Brij bhaiyya sirf yeh janna chahte the ki humare desh ki logon ki seva mein kiss tarah ke police officers lage hai. Kyun sahi hai na bhaiyya? Tum yaha baith jao. Main piche jake so rahi hoon.
With that she went and stretched out on the back seat, closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep.
Pari knew something was up between the two siblings, but she wasn't sure what exactly. She was more excited about the fact that Brij was giving her a ride to work for whatever reason. She could count on the fingers of one hand how many times she had sat in this seat. She wanted to sit here rightfully as Brij Handa's wife. She gave a deep sigh and looked at him sideways only to see that he was looking at her through the corner of his eyes.
"Tum...tumhara kaam kaise chal raha hain?"
"Ji? Mera kaam? Ji bilkul thik chal raha hai? Waise aap ko kuch kaam tha kya police station mein?"
"Mujhe tumhare boss ko dekhna hai." He blurted out. "Mera...mera matlab hain tumhare boss se milna hai."
"Gujjar Sir se? Par kyun?"
"Gujjar...Hmm. Dikhne main kaisa hain yeh Gujjar?"
"Dikhne mein? Normal hain. 45 saal ke hain. Do bacche hain unke."
"Oh my God!! Ek toh buddha, upar se shaadi shuda aur do bacchon ka baap. Aur woh tumhe...woh tumhe...uski toh main." Brij fumed.
"Kya hua Brij? Aap sir se kyu milna chahte hai? Bohot acche hain woh."
"Haan haan zara main bhi toh dekhu kitne acche hai." He muttered under his breath.
His gaze fell on the back seat where he saw his sister laughing with her eyes squeezed tightly shut and decided that it was better to shut up before he put his foot deeper into his mouth.
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After asking his driver to wait for him right on the street, Maan Singh Khurana got out of the car and started walked towards the entrance of the police station. He had decided to drop in there before going to work as he could not hold himself back from knowing if Mohinder Handa had a police record against his name. He was going to ask Inspector Gujjar to find out for him discreetly. He could not wait for the answers the investigators he'd hired were to give him. He needed action and he needed it right now!! So after a sleepless night and the unshakeable confidence that he'd finally put Geet Handa out of his mind he found himself here to solve the one last piece of puzzle that still bothered him. He was going to solve the mystery and the next time he saw her, he was going to talk to her in a calm rational manner as one adult to another. There were not going to be any emotional outbursts on his side. With that he was finally going to prove to himself that Geet Handa had absolutely no effect on his emotions.
He was striding along the paved pathway lost in his thoughts when suddenly two soft hands grabbed his forearm and he heard a very familiar voice that raised goose bumps on his arms.
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Geet had been sitting in the car parked on the side of the street waiting for Brij to return after his quest of checking out Pari's boss. She was elated with the progress in her brother's love story and in her mind she was already selecting the color of the saree she was going to wear at the wedding. That drew her thoughts back to the man who had been the catalyst in bringing about this change in her brother. A soft smile appeared on her lips as she thought of Maan. She had misjudged him very badly. He was a good and caring man after all. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him again. She had to thank him and she wondered how she was going to do it. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She rubbed her palms over her face and when she opened her eyes again she saw the man of her thoughts, alighting from the back seat of a car that had suddenly appeared in front her parked car.
She looked at him with startled eyes and before she could gather her thoughts he started striding away.
He was right there in front of her. Before she could process her actions fully, she limped out of the car, rushed towards him and grabbed his forearm instinctively.
"Maan. Thank you. Thank you so much. Pata nahi aap ne Brij bhaiyya se kya kaha, but whatever it is it is working. Pata hain he came to drop off Pari at work today and he wants to know what kind of a man her boss is. Bhaiyya ke iss badlav ka karan aap hi ho na? Main aap se keh nahi sakti aaj main kitni khush hoon."
She laughed and her arms moved down his forearm and gently grasped his palms in her own.
Every logical thought and all the effort he had spent in rooting this woman out of his brain, vanished at the soft touch of her hands. His thumb instinctively caressed the soft skin on the back of her hands. He looked at the melting joy in her honey colored eyes ,the soft flush on her cheeks and wanted to lay down the world at her feet.. His hands instinctively tightened around hers. Heart pounding he pulled her closer to him. A loud honk from the street behind him brought him to slamming awareness of his surroundings. He looked down at the woman before him in shock, pushed her away instinctively and turned his back to her to gather himself.
He heard a muffled yelp from behind and assumed she was mad at him for pushing her away rudely. Served her right. How dare she approach an unsuspecting man and try to charm him with her actions. Not that he had been charmed of course. It was just the unexpectedness of the meeting that had undermined his defenses.
He took a deep breath and let her have it.
"Miss Handa I have not given you the permission to touch me at free will. Please keep your distance from me." His mind finally grasped the things she had said to him and he continued.
"Your brother is my employee and as such I need my employees to be able to function fully and efficiently. For that to happen their minds have to be engaged in the work they are performing and not elsewhere as seems to be the case with your brother. I was only doing what any responsible employer would be doing."
And you are full of bullshit, Maan Singh Khurana. His inner voice mocked him. He ignored it firmly and continued with his back turned to her.
"You do not need to thank me for it Miss. Handa. Also I would prefer if you continued calling me Mr Khurana. I have not given you the permission to address me by my name. I think it suits protocol better don't you?" You are after all an employee of the Khuranas."
He did not think he could bear the assault of her voice calling his name in that soft tone and the way her voice husked over the syllables as if she were caressing it.
He hadn't heard a peep from her other than the first muffled exclamation. He was about to turn around when he heard a voice ahead calling out to him.
"Arey Maan sir aap yaha? Aaj toh woh naye clients ke saath meeting hain na? Phir..."And then he heard a gasp and saw Brij Handa rushing towards him. He rushed past him and dropped down to his knees in front of Geet.
"Geet. Geet tum thik to ho na? Yaha kya kar rahi ho aur gir kaise gayi?"
That was when Maan whirled around. He looked at the fallen woman before him in shock. His fault, it had been his fault...once again. He rushed over to her and stretched out his arm to help her off the ground. She shuddered, shrank back violently from his touch and stood up with the help of her brother.
"Kuch nahi hua bhaiyya, apni hi stupidity ki wajah se gir gayi. Main bilkul thik hoon." She avoided Maan's eyes, turned around and started limping back towards the car. Hot tears of humiliation rolled down her cheeks. He had not pushed her hard enough, she had just lost her balance coz she had been completely unprepared for that action of his. The only thing that was smarting was her behind on which she had landed and her pride.
It would be a cold day in hell before she touched that arrogant bas...bas***d ever again. There she had finally managed to curse him.
He was going to remain a nameless bas***d to her. She would cut off her tongue before she called him out by his name in this lifetime she promised herself.
She heard Brij calling out her name, but she ignored him, got in the car and closed her eyes tightly.
"Sir main Geet ko ghar chodke aap ko office mein milta hoon." He told Maan and rushed off towards the car.
Maan looked at the departing back of the limping woman. The limp reminded him that she had been hurt coz of him barely a couple of days ago. He felt a sharp ache in his chest. He desperately wanted to go over to check on her once again. But the way she had recoiled from him, he did not think she'd welcome his attentions. He finally recalled the words he had said to her and groaned loudly.
His brain had been frozen solid from the shock of her touch; in the meanwhile, his mouth had happily spewed bullshit.
He had sounded like an archaic old stuffed shirt asking her to address him as Mr. Khurana. As for warning her not to touch him, it had been more of a warning to himself than to her.
He ran frustrated hands through his hair and walked back to his car.
Only after the car left the police station and had long merged into the traffic did he remember that he had walked away from the police station before having talked to Inspector Gujjar. He groaned out loud at his idiocy and reluctantly accepted the fact that the peace of mind he'd thought he's achieved through the long hours of the night had been methodically and systematically destroyed within five minutes of meeting Geet Handa.
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Edited by Susegad - 10 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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