Beauty & the Beast||Thread 2||Final note page 97||Chapt 59 page 92|| - Page 30

Awesome update

Loved the way jis tarah all family members are celebrating Geet's birthday

Loved kartik's wish

He wants that Maan dates with Geet

Nice update..

Waiting for next update..

Kartik invited in Geet b'day party Maan came back little disappointed after meeting Dr.Malothra so he was not going to get perfect he's human its hurt

Geet party was superb Geet realize kartik was drank so she to make sure he reach home safely she hr salf dropped him and met Maan he thanked hr and kartik not in his sense he asked Maan to date Geet but he can't bz he think he's not perfect fr hr

Want to see maan and Geet at least become friends now

Felt so bad for maan. He too would love to be with geet but feels h is not good enough for her we know he likes her

What about geet though. Does she ever think of maan

Maan needs confidence

No doubt he likes Geet but he not sure on himself

chap 38was quite well written...good to see kartik hanging around with geet and being the reason she came home to drop him. i wonder if he will be introuble for flirting with her...like that geet was responsible towards...waiting for teh progress in maan and geet's story...glad that maan won't be using the stick...i am unfamiliar with the western cukture...but the dildo thing as a gift from fatehr to daughter seemed a bit odd of joke to me...friends seem more likely to do it..

Note: BNB isn't being written in each day timeline, rather each chapter or paragraph in the chapter could be a couple of days apart or month apart just to clear any confusions as you may have noticed some things were mentioned but not shown as it has already passed.

Chapter 39

Maan lay on his bed as he recalled his brother’s return from the party, he was focused on his brother at the time however his eyes had drawn towards Geet Pearson dressed in a gown which had a very high slit that showcased her long toned legs. He had kept his eyes trained on her but when she’d briefly looked around he couldn’t help but see her.

He clenched his jaw sitting up and brushed his fingers through his hair sighing heavily, he needs to stop seeing Geet Pearson under a different light. He’s employed her to work on the outhouse, it’s strictly just business. He reminded himself of Kartik’s rambling, she was perfection and he was imperfection.

——

“Have you gone out as I requested?” Shirley questioned as she returned to her chair placing two cups of coffee on the table.

“I’ve been going to the gym” Maan informed, “Dr Malhotra told me that I’ll always be limping even if it seems invisible later on and someone once told me that I shouldn’t take step backwards due to an obstacle” he picked up the coffee and sipped. Shirley smiled pleased that he had taken in her words and even remembered them.

“Have you had anymore nightmares lately?” she questioned. “Before you answer that, would you be a little more forthcoming because whenever I ask you’ve always been vague about them?”

“I don’t wish to talk about them, please”.

“Maan, maybe if you discussed them you may be able unburden the guilt you may be feeling” she replied carefully.

“I don’t want to talk about it” he repeated.

“Okay” Shirley answered respecting his wishes for now, “do you still have nightmares? I just want a yes or no answer”.

“Yes” Maan responded, “They never go away” he added softly placing the coffee cup down afraid he may just fling it across the room as he thought over last night’s nightmare.

“The next time you wake up from a nightmare, I want you to get dressed and take a walk” she told him.

“How is that going to help?”

“What do you do after you’ve had a nightmare?” she questioned. Maan didn’t answer.

“You sit in bed and think it over and over don’t you?” she asked seeing him make no move to answer her question. “I’m suggesting you take a walk so you focus your attention elsewhere, I want you to take a walk, with it being late you’ll be focusing on your surroundings rather than thinking on what you’ve seen” she explained. “It will help get rid of the black shadow that lingers from the terrible nightmare. You can read a book or watch something, I just want you to do something that will help you refocus your attention to something else. No working however” she added.

“Why?”

“You’re not running away from your nightmare, you’re stepping into another. From what you’ve told me, I don’t think your new profession helps you much, you’re helping a lot of victims with this job however you’re seeing another evil side to this world” she stated. “Which brings you back to what you’ve witnessed, what you’ve dealt with when you’ve been deployed”.

“I love working for the FBI, it has helped that I am able to help support my team in recovering victims and catch those responsible. It gives me a sense of achievement” Maan answered, the feeling of achievement he used to once feel had disappeared but when he’s helping his team locating kidnappers, murderers, missing/kidnapped victims he’s able to feel that ounce of accomplishment. “When we’ve recovered a missing teenager or caught a killer, I feel that sense of relief that I am useful, I am able to contribute towards my country in some way. Since I’ve left the army, I hadn’t felt that until I joined the FBI. This job has kept my head above water because without it, I probably would’ve allowed myself to drown and fade away” he confessed. “I want to feel like I’ve not failed everyone”.

“Maan, What makes you think you failed anyone at all?”

“Haven’t I?” he smiled painfully.

“Do you know what depression is?”

“Yes” Maan nodded, “It’s a mental disorder that causes lack of interest, feelings of self-worth, disturbed sleep, depressed mood and so on” he answered.

“You’ve told me you’ve not got depression” she reminded.

“And I don’t”

“What you described, don’t you think any of it applies to you? Have you ever considered that you may have moderate depression? Depression has many stages” she responded.

“Don’t try to put a label on my feelings, Shirley” he replied firmly, he knew that if he admitted to suffering from PTSD and depression, his return to the army would impossible. He may not be able to rejoin the team and be deployed, but he wanted to work for the army once again even if it would years for him to recover from this incident. He was going to return to the army, he’d worked hard his entire life to join them.

“I want you to break the cycle of the nightmares” Shirley changed the subject realising she’d touched the raw nerve too soon. She didn’t want to put Maan off from returning, the subtle changes that he had made would go down the drain if she continued. She’d worked with a lot of men who suffered from PTSD and depression from their deployment, two of whom acted on their dark thoughts when she tried to explore and help them sort through their feelings. “I’d like to continue to hear about your progression next week” she smiled typing her notes up on the tablet.

Maan nodded, “Thanks Shirley”

She smiled and bid bye.

——

“Kartik, put your phone away” Rhea looked at her youngest son disapprovingly.

“Just a second” he murmured softly as he scrolled to another picture.

“What are you doing?” Gaurav asked as he pulled out a chair settling on the table.

“You know, Geet my boss” Kartik looked up, “She’s just partied with Annabelle Haines” he pointed to the picture of Geet smiling for the camera with Annabelle Haines besides her.

“Who’s that?” Gaurav asked blankly.

“Why am I stuck in a household with old people?” Kartik groaned.

“What did you just say, son?” Gaurav held onto his ear and twisted.

“Mama! Mama” Kartik yelped.

“Who are you calling old?” Gaurav questioned.

“No one! I’m sorry” he cried out.

Gaurav released his ear smiling inwardly, “now who is that?” he asked.

“Annabelle Haines is one of the top models, she’s been the show runner for the top designers in London recently” he responded.

“It’s rumoured that she may be doing a couple of shows in New York and Canada” he added.

“How is Geet linked to her?”

“Don’t know” Kartik shrugged. “Could be a client or they met when flying. She’s so lucky to meet all my favourite people. I can’t wait to work with clients like them” he gushed.

“Did you join the company to intern or see models?” Gaurav shook his head.

“Who said I can’t do both?” He chuckled.

“Hey Shaira” Kartik greeted as he walked into the office.

“Hey” she smiled as she gathered her handbag and small suitcase which held materials inside.

“Going somewhere?”

“Appointment with a client, Zarina requires some assistance with drafting some letters” she informed walking past him and into the elevators.

“Hi Zarina. Shaira said you might have some letters you want me to draft?” he asked taking a seat on his chair.

“I need 3 letters drafted, one to Amanda Wilkins, another to Siddhant Sinha and the third to a...” she flicked through her diary, “Naima Khan” she informed, “Draft out the client agreement contract then once they’re approved I need you to go get them signed” she told him holding out the files.

“Okay” he nodded grabbing the files and started his laptop. “When is Geet back?” he questioned curiously.

“I’ve heard she’s returned last night, but I’m not sure if she’s coming to the office”.

“Doesn’t she come all the time when she’s home during her free time?” he asked.

“No” Zarina shook her head, “Geet works differently, she works around 15-18 days at the airport depending on her rota which is like 3-4 days in a week. And at the office she’s only working on around 2 projects at most and that too every couple of months. This is her hobby” she explained. “She isn’t due to the office this week, so she’d probably come in next week to check up on her current two projects”.

“She must be raking it in” Kartik whistled.

“Obviously, its Geet Pearson. She’s well known and she’s gotten this firm to work on her shoulders despite working as an air stewardess” Zarina chuckled. “I envy her” she pouted.

“Consider becoming an air stewardess?” Kartik winked. “15-18 days a month doesn’t sound so bad” he laughed.

“No thanks, it may be a glamorous job and there are a lot of perks however there’s a lot to it than just attending to passengers” she replied. “Some of the things, Geet has told us about, it isn’t an easy job” she shook her head, she glanced over hearing the elevator door opening. “Hey Marissa” she greeted.

“Hey Zarina, Kartik” Marissa greeted and walked towards her office.

“How come Mrs Shergill works here?”

“Mrs Pearson” Zarina corrected, “she didn’t take Suneel’s last name. Geet made her the manager who watched over us when she wasn’t here” she explained. “Anyway... you’re well nosy aren’t you?”she chuckled. “How about you draft me those letters” she pointed.

Kartik smiled nodding his head and focused on typing up the letters.

Precap - Appointment & Maan dating?

Chapter 40

“You’ve been wearing jeans and full sleeves since you’ve returned...” Marissa commented looking curiously at young daughter. Geet preferred shorts and tank tops whenever she’s lazying around at their house.

“And?” Geet arched her brows grabbing herself an apple from the fruit bowl.

“You’re hiding something” Marissa stated, she knew Geet very well.

“Mother, I’m 32 years old. Why would I hide anything from you?” she bit into her apple rolling her eyes.

“You’re hiding something, you don’t want me to tell your dad” Marissa frowned, “What are you hiding?” she crossed her arms.

“Can’t you just believe me?” Geet dolled her eyes shaking her head and continued eating her apple.

“What happened in UK or New York?” Marissa snatched the apple from her hand narrowing her eyes.

Geet smiled and rolled her sleeves up and showed her forearm.

“You... you got a tattoo?” Marissa gaped at her.

“I only saw it next morning” she shrugged, “now can I have my apple back?”

“Geet! Your dad hates them, he said you can do whatever the hell you please - but don’t get a tattoo” Marissa hissed.

“He gave me that speech when I turned 18, I’m now 32” Geet huffed grabbing her apple back.

“That’s funny that you’re shrugging now, you’ve been hiding it for the last two days” Marissa crossed her arms. “Anything else you’ve been hiding?”

Geet considered her mother’s question, they were going to find out anyway so she might as well show it so she pulled her top above to her chest.

“You’ve got belly button pierced?”

“Yes” Geet nodded sighing heavily, “now that you know can you tell Dad so I don’t have to hide it”

“Oh, you want me to tell your dad so he blames me?” She glowered.

“At least you’d be able to have makeup sex afterwards” Geet hurried up the stairs and into the bedroom tugging off her shirt and dig into the drawers for her tank top.

“Geet, you know your dad didn’t want you to ever do those two things” Marissa called out.

“Yes, well he should have made me swear on his life, like he made me swear that I wouldn’t make him a grandad before getting married” Geet responded slipping into her heels.

“You said you were serious about us finding someone for you” Her mother reminded.

“Well, you couldn’t find me someone suitable” Geet responded joining her mother downstairs. “I promised I would consider arranged marriage but you and Dad... You both had awful choices so I’m dating again and trying to find someone myself” she informed.

“Are you going on a second date?” Marissa questioned seriously.

“I didn’t for the last couple, but tonight I’m going on my second date with Ayden Cooper” she answered.

Marissa stared thoughtfully and sighed, “Okay”.

“Right, I’m now going to head off, shower and change for Ayden Cooper” she smiled and bid bye.

“All I’m asking is that you ask someone out” Shirley stated staring Maan directly in the eyes. “What have you got to lose by asking?” she inquired.

“Shirley, I’m sure you know I’m just going to gym that too majority of the times when no one is present. I certainly am not going to ask someone out in the grocery store” he chuckled.

“Might I remind you, you promised to do something for me in exchange of not spending time talking about your life in the army for this session” she arched her brows. “Think about it, I’m not saying you go out with that person but just ask them. You’ll have nothing to lose, you feel they’ll say no- if they say what you expected what are you losing?”

Maan considered her words thoughtfully for a moment, would he be able to just ask a woman out? He didn’t know how to. He’d gone down the route of letting his family choose someone for him, would he able to approach someone and ask them out?

“She got a what?” Suneel frowned as he thought he’d misheard his wife.

“Tattoo and bellybutton pierced” she replied.

“The two f*cking things I ask her to never consider, have you seen the tattoo? Does she realise she’s going to regret that after? She didn’t get that b*stards name did she?”

“It was in Arabic, I didn’t read the English small writing underneath, I was wondering how you’d react”.

“Where is that Pearson?” Suneel rested his hands on his hips.

“Hello...” Geet called out entering her parents house, she paused in the hallway looking between her parents. “I’ll head home” she turned around.

“No, you don’t” Suneel briskly walked towards her narrowing his eyes.

“Hey, old man. You didn’t make me swear on your life so I done as I pleased” she held her head high as she stated her words.

“So you go and do the two things I refused to support you?” he asked.

“Funny how you’re objecting to my bellybutton piercing, you didn’t object to Tara getting her nipples pierced!” she blurted.

“What the f*ck!” Suneel scowled and glanced at his wife, “Did you know?”

“Don’t he blaming mum” Geet poked his shoulder. “If you’re so jealous, want me to pay for you?”

“Whose name did you have written?” he pulled her forearm up and checked.

Dream. Believe. Dare. Do

Suneel looked relieved as he realised his daughter hadn’t made such a colossal mistake and had her ex fiancés name tattooed.

“You didn’t get his name” he murmured.

“Dad, I’ve got sense” Geet laughed shaking her head.

“Tattoo though... seriously Geet?” he frowned in disapproval.

“Yes, now accept it. And don’t you dare mention to Tara I blurted out about her piercing, she’s going to kill me”.

“And she should” Suneel replied.

“Old man” Geet scowled nudging him playfully.

“What happened to your date?” Marissa asked cutting in between father-daughter banter.

“I might’ve gotten bored of his cheap pick up lines and excused myself saying my dad is demanding to see me from prison” Geet chuckled.

“Prison?” Suneel gaped at his daughter.

“Yeah, you’re in prison because you found the guy who was flirting with me” she winked. “I did suggest a rain check on the date but Ayden ran the other way and didn’t look back at me once” she laughed.

“Where are you lost?” Kartik waved his hand in front of Maan’s face as he joined his brother in the living room.

Maan shook his head silently, “How is your new work?” he questioned wanting to avoid discussing what he was thinking about. Shirley’s words continued to ring in his ear, would be able to gather the courage to ask anyone out even though he may not be losing out on anything. He hadn’t really...

So, how could he bring himself to approach someone and ask or spend more than a minute with a complete stranger.

“Work is good, I finally met Ananya Saxena, she is even more hotter than I’d seen on my laptop screen” he grinned booting up his laptop and waited for the home screen.

“Don’t tell me you’re checking her out?” Maan chuckled.

“What do you think?” Kartik smiled sheepishly as he logged in and opened up his browser. As his Instagram site loaded, he was taken by surprise seeing a short video of his usually composed boss in a completely different light.

“Hi people! This is your very own Jacob Bentley, you all know me as Ice on the tv show V-DAY! I’m here with a couple of friends in London celebrating our girl’s birthday and we were playing tequila shots and our birthday girl lost” he laughed as the friends surrounding him booed mockingly. Jacob walked back, around then to the side.

“So this is Geet Pearson ladies and gentleman” Jacob grinned throwing his arm around her shoulder. “Birthday girl and one of my dearest friends” he introduced.

Geet waved giggling, “I’m getting my first tattoo as that is supposed to be my punishment for losing tequila shots” she smiled unintentional seductively for the camera. “Wish me luck” she blew a kiss and followed a woman behind closed curtains.

“Geet is so going to regret this in the morning” Jacob gave a thumbs up and high fived with the friend holding the camera.

“And she has done it” Jacob held Geet’s covered forearm.

“Loved every single minute of it” Geet called out giddily smiling brightly at the camera.

“What does it say?” Jacob questioned.

“Dream. Believe. Dare. Do” Geet responded, “Never stop dreaming as this pushes hard to achieve our goals, believe in yourself - even if no one else cares, your belief in yourself is enough, dare yourself to the absolute limits - push yourself to the edge - life is an adventure and do it - act on what you’re preaching” she explained.

The video came to an end with Geet bidding everyone bye with her friend besides her.

“She’s got a point” Kartik smiled turning his attention to his brother who watched quietly.

“Don’t you think?” he prompted.

“Hmm” Maan agreed, “But not everyone is able to gather courage and be brave enough to take a step forward, it can’t be applied to everyone” he murmured.

“You knows she’s 32?” Kartik asked changing the subject.

“Yes, you’ve said it quite a couple of times since you’ve returned home drunk in fact” Maan reminded.

“Don’t say it loud” Kartik frowned, “And I was saying she’s like 5yrs, no 6yrs older than you now”

“And...” Maan arched his brows curiously.

Kartik huffed rolling his eyes and shook his head, “Never mind” he returned his attention to his laptop screen and scrolled down his Instagram and checked out his favourites.

Though Maan had some idea of what Kartik maybe indicating, he knew he wouldn’t bring himself to even imagine garnering the attention of Geet Pearson.

She was a Beauty

He was the Beast

She was perfection

He was damaged

Worlds apart

How do beauty and the beast come together?

Precap: Same as previous

I REALLY APOLOGISE FOR THE DELAY IN POSTING THESE UPDATES. I DO HAVE SOME ANNUAL LEAVE COMING UP SOON - SO I WILL TRY MY BEST. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING PATIENT AND CONTINUING TO FOLLOW THE STORY DESPITE THERE BEING LARGE SPACES IN BETWEEN.

Chapter 41

"Yes mother?" Geet answered her phone grabbing her handbag and heading out her apartment. She unlocked her car and climbed inside.

"Where are you? Aren't you supposed to be at work already?" Marissa questioned.

"Yeah, I'm on my way to my first appointment" she responded.

"Oh aren’t you coming to the office?"

"No, because I can't be arsed" Geet connected her phone to the car's Bluetooth and spoke. "I'm just going to check up my two clients" she informed.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you at dinner tonight?"

"I promised Nick that I'd eat with them today" Geet replied. "My boo missed me for the last month"

"Of course he did" Marissa responded.

"Mum, you're not jealous of Nick are you?" Geet laughed.

"No, no. He's my grandson, why would I be jealous of him? I'll see you later then" she hung up the phone saying bye.

"Bye Kirsten" Maan gestured towards the door.

"C'mon honey cakes, you can't be lying to me" Kirsten laughed.

"Hasn’t Gideon and Aaron called for you yet?"

"Oh shit yeah… Plane leaves in an hour" she smacked her forehead then rested her hands on her hips. "But before I go, tell me…"

"Tell you what?" Maan sighed rolling his eyes.

"You told me that Shirley asked that you date someone, who are you going to ask?"

"No one, now get lost" Maan responded.

"Oh God! You're crushing my dreams" Kirsten pressed a hand to her heart. "I would’ve thought you could’ve asked me, at least!"

"Sorry Kirsten, I'm not looking to date doubles" Maan responded teasingly.

"Oh… How could you?" she scowled. "These are curves" she ran her hand down her sides, "I'm sexy Mister and you know it" she pointed her finger at him.

Before Maan could respond, the sound of a car had drawn their attention.

"Is that the…" Kirsten gaped in surprise, she swallowed thickly as the driver parked up and out stepped Geet Pearson.

Maan's eyes drew away from her car towards Geet, today she had donned on a sleeveless halter neck royal blue pencil dress with a slit on the left side with blue heels to go with. Geet pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head offering a smile as she approached them.

"Morning" Geet greeted looking between Maan and Kirsten.

"Morning" Maan answered politely and glanced over at Kirsten whose eyes were locked onto Geet's vehicle. "Kirsten" he nudged.

"Breadstick, did you steal that Audi R8?" Kirsten looked at Geet. "OMG I can't believe you've got the Audi R8" she squealed.

Geet glanced over her shoulder at her newest baby and smiled then turned to Kirsten, "I can assure you I haven’t stolen it" she informed. "Are my team here?" Geet questioned Maan.

"Yeah, they arrived a while ago" Maan answered.

"Great, how about I go through the corrections and designs I've drafted for the office? They've completed the plastering and replacing the walls with windows".

"Yes, of course. Kirsten, I'll catch you later" he looked at his friend.

"I so need a pay rise" Kirsten grumbled and looked at Geet, "Can I drive her, breadstick?" she batted her lashes.

"You're not touching her, crazy" Geet responded.

"Fair enough, I wouldn’t have let you touch my baby" Kirsten shrugged bidding bye and walked past Geet and towards her own car. Geet glanced over her shoulder curiously and shook her head as Kirsten went close to her car and ran her fingers over the sleek metal.

"I hate you…" Kirsten whined and dragged herself to her car and drove away cursing her fate all the way towards the airport.

"I apologise for my friend" Maan muttered as he led the way towards the outhouse.

"She's alright" Geet replied and glanced around as they stepped inside.

The outhouse looked completely different to the last time she had seen it, her team have been working hard in breaking down the walls, rebuilding them perfectly as she wanted and plastering them. Jonathan, her contractor noted her and headed towards her.

"Ms Pearson" he greeted holding out his hand.

"Mr Hunter" Geet smiled brightly, "I'm glad to see everything has been finished, thank you getting it all done on time".

"You're very welcome" Jonathan responded, "my team is just gathering the last of the things and we'll be out of your way" he told her.

"Thank you, if you just send my finance team the invoice we'll get it paid by BACS"

"Okay, I'll get that done by end of this week" he replied then turned to Maan, "It was a pleasure to have worked here, Mr Khurana" he held out his hand. "Please extend my thanks to your family, they've been great hosts. I'll definitely miss the morning coffee" he chuckled.

"It was nothing, thank you" Maan shook his hand. Jonathan then excused himself and addressed him team. Geet was wondering what Jonathan meant by the morning coffee, but thought nothing much of it.

"So, this is the final design for the…" Geet opened up her laptop and showed Maan the 3D designs explaining the plans that she had thought of accordingly to his wishes. She explained to him that she would be working on the ground floor then work her way to the second floor, her team however would be starting on decorating the bedrooms whilst she worked on his office and kitchen.

The next 20 minutes was spent with Geet going through the paperwork, after she had shown him the various designs which he had approved of she informed him that she will go and start ordering materials and items from her best suppliers.

"This wouldn’t take more than 2 months now that the rooms have been worked on" she gestured, "I will be overlooking the project the entire time and will be here at least once or twice a week to work on. A small team from my office however would be here working on the outhouse, Monday to Friday, 10am – 3pm with half an hour for lunch" she informed.

"Okay" Maan nodded, "For the office, I would like a corner for my computers, I would appreciate some bookshelves so I can place all my books there".

"As you can see here, we have that corner" Geet pointed to the 3D design as she explained, "This, here would be your corner, it would be out of view when opening the office door so there is no concern for any private and confidentiality breaches…" she continued.

Maan listened, as always politely he looked her directly in the eyes however that hadn't meant his eyes hadn't wandered. Each time, she glanced at the laptop screen showing him the design, he stole another look.

The royal blue dress, she had donned hugged her curves flawlessly, the sleek material showed off her perfectly proportionate body complimenting her curves in the all the right places. His eyes had drawn to the tattoo on her forearm, if one the video it looked good, it looked better now.

His eyes drew to her throat, she swallowed every few minutes after she spoke. Soft brown and red curls brushed against her soft rosy cheeks, the desire to reach out and feel her skin was intense. He clenched his jaw stiffening as he realised his train of thoughts.

So close yet so very far

The desire within twitched with longing

Fingers clenched to tamper down the feelings

Mind crushed down the thoughts

Reminding him of what is life

She was the sun and he was the moon

Gaurav and Savitri entered the outhouse pausing for a moment as they listened to Geet. Gaurav's eyes were focused more on his grandson who'd stared at the woman before him, he didn’t miss how Maan stiffened clearing his throat and offering a small smile. He then glanced over at Geet whose eyes were focused on the screen as she animatedly explained, her voice filled with passion as she went on to speak about the designs. He pondered silently for a moment until his wife nudged him, he nodded and walked over towards them.

Geet turned her head passing a smile to Maan, then glanced over hearing footsteps.

"Hello Geet" Gaurav greeted.

Geet responded with a smile and greeted Savitri as well.

"We thought everyone could do with a break" Savitri spoke, "Rhea has made some snacks and hot drinks".

"She's set up outside, so it doesn’t interrupt anything in here" Gaurav added.

"I'll let them know" Geet responded politely. "Thank you".

"It's nothing at all" Savitri shook her head, "How is it coming along?" she inquired.

"We've just gone over the designs, so I can order the supplies and have them delivered by the end of the week".

"Savitri, don’t ask anything else" Gaurav cut in seeing his wife about to say something else, "The drinks will go cold, let's leave them to have a break" he suggested which his wife agreed to.

"Do help yourselves before they go cold" she told Geet then walked out of the outhouse with her husband.

Geet stared in the direction they'd left in and thought over to the first time when she'd met them. As soon as she had voiced her profession, they'd looked uncomfortable and disapprovingly. She shook off her thoughts looking at Maan when he spoke.

"Why don’t you call your team and go for a break? I've just got to answer" he excused himself answering his ringing phone.

"Hey Aaron"

"Maan, I'm sending you a name. I need all digital footprints of this person within the next hour" Aaron stated.

"Sure, what am I looking for?"

"I need something to link him to 4 murders across different countries, he crossed different borders so we could never link it before. The pattern of the murders wasn’t looked into by now" he explained.

"Alright, I'll get it to you ASAP" he cut the call returning to where Geet was stood by her laptop, her team were heading outside into the garden.

"I've got to head off, duty calls" he gestured to his phone.

"That's okay, we've discussed majority of the stuff here. I'll be working from home and ordering the supplies required" she explained.

"Do have a drink and some snacks before you go"

Geet had seen one of her team members return with a plate of fried snacks and disappeared into one of the rooms, they looked like they're filled with fat and she was watching her figure. She, however didn’t want to appear rude.

"I'll get myself a drink, I wouldn’t be able to stay long" she replied.

Maan nodded, Geet grabbed her laptop and they both headed out together. Geet walked over to the table where the snacks and hot drinks were, Maan had thanked the team and excused himself. Geet poured herself a black coffee and turned to her team. "I'm working from home for the rest of the day, so if you need anything – call me on my mobile".

"You should try this, Geet" Zarah told her.

"No, thank you. I've got figure to look after" Geet responded sipping her coffee. "Unlike some" she commented teasingly.

Zarah stopped chewing midway, "Hey I've had 3 kids with this body and I'm perfect, I'm not extra skinny nor fat" she scowled.

"You should meet with my personal trainer, he might be giving you another view" she winked placing the cup down.

"Whatever" Zarah rolled her eyes.

"I'll have Aryan check back in later on" Geet told them, "Make sure the rooms upstairs are cleared out, so that I can store the supplies when they're delivered. Speak to Maan as to when he could get them moved elsewhere for now".

After she'd given instructions, she headed towards her car.

"Oh, are you leaving?" Gaurav questioned as he stepped out of the house and noticed Geet walking towards her car.

"I've discussed the designs with Maan, I'll be ordering the supplies today whilst my team have the room cleared out" Geet responded.

"How's your family?" he smiled.

"They're all good" Geet responded.

"Happy birthday, I heard it was your birthday last month"

"Thank you"

"How is Kartik in the office? He isn't troubling anyone, is he?"

"For a young kid out of college, he's creative"

"He's been talking non-stop, he's really enjoying it at the firm, he loves the atmosphere and the work" Gaurav told her which pleased Geet immensely, it isn't often she hears about her employees praising her business, they all seem to grumble mockingly for making them work too hard.

"I'm glad he's using his creativity in my firm and enjoying it" Geet responded, "I've got to head off now, I've got supplies to order".

"Yes of course" Gaurav nodded, "Goodbye".

Geet bid bye, she climbed into her car and drove away. She made a call to Zarina to take her next appointment as she headed home. She made a pit stop outside the grocery store picking up a salad box for her lunch, she did her parent's landline and none of them seemed to pick up so she assumed they must be out which meant not one of them was available to make her home cooked food so salad box for lunch would have to suffice.

Excitement, fear, concern pumped through Maan as he coordinated with Aaron over the pattern of the killer and rattled off the digital footprints.

"Maan, eliminate men from your search" Gideon called out over the speakerphone.

"We're looking for a woman?" he asked.

"Yeah, the killer's patterns had one common factor – these victims met with a woman for dinner or lunch" Kirsten informed.

"Instinct eliminates our fears as we all don’t think women as killers" Aaron stated. "Look for someone around the ages of early 30s to 40s" he added.

Maan tapped rapidly at his keyboard, his eyes scanning the information before him, "I've got 33 names" he responded.

"Okay, now we're looking for someone between 5ft 5 – 5ft 10" Kelsey spoke.

"Alright, we've got 10 with the description. I've sent the information to your devices" Maan responded, "One of them is a couple of blocks away from where you're located. I'll send the others to the other departments in the other 3 countries to have them checked over and questioned about their recent whereabouts where the 4th murder took place" he added.

"Thanks Maan!" Aaron cut the call and instructed his team of the next steps.

Maan continued on with his work, though he was also waiting on a phone call.

Kirsten's name popped up on his phone, he answered it within one ring.

"They've got her, hot chocolate bun!! Aaron and Gideon are interrogating her. She looks like our killer though. She was a friend to 4 women" Kirsten explained enthusiastically.

Maan felt relieved pleased that another killer was off the streets, "I'll work on digital presence and have the file ready" he told her.

"Okay, just email it to me so I can pass it to Gideon and Aaron to confront her with it" she responded then cut the call.