'What?'
'Geet are you mad?'
'You stupid! but you have already told sir that you are pregnant even it is a lie!'
'Geet! you know how many gossip mongers are there in our office. What about your reputation? They will ruin it!'
Stay strong Geet! Just answer straight to these gossip mongers. I spoke to myself. I gained courage. Though this is fake, I can't destroy my reputation.
'Well, it is my fiance.' I answered bravely. God damn! I don't have a fiance for real. In fact, I've never ever fallen in love with somebody.
'Fiance?' 'That means you are engaged?' 'You didn't even tell us!' All of them replied with a shock.
'Uh yes, even before I joined this company.' I replied without even thinking twice.
'But why did you hide?' It was Sasha again.
'Well. It was personal. I am a person who cherishes my privacy a lot. Unlike others.' I winked at her. Sasha is a person who updates everything about her. She was a complete attention seeker. She is a person who exaggerates a little sneeze showing up it as a lung cancer.
'Oho! how cute?' She was burning with anger. She knew that I hinted at her.
'When is it due Geet?' Tasha questioned again.
'Umm.. in November.'
'Whoa that means another 7 months.' 'So you are 2 months pregnant already.'
'Umm yeah' I nodded.
'Hey wait a minute! can you show your fiance to us?' 'I mean you never told about him. Where is he?' Sasha came with another question. God! I'm gonna loose my sanity.
'Well he is working abroad. He was here for a holiday. Went back month ago' I replied them with back to back lies.
'Oho so that 'thing' happened while he was here' Adi, who was quiet till now popped up.
'What?' I glared at him.
'Uh.. I mean.. sorry I mean you became pregnant!' Adi was trembling with fear that I would burst him out. He is a nice person & so much better compared to Sasha & Tasha. But I never expected such a reaction from him. I loves to play pranks & jokes on everybody but this was hell embarrassing.
'Congratulations Geet'! 'OMG I'm gonna be an uncle' Adi wiped happy tears. He was behaving so stupidly.
'Guys guys!' 'Just calm down.' 'Don't tire Geet with constant questions' Finally Maan sir started speaking breaking the gossiping session which was happening around.
'Since Geet is pregnant, we should support her.' Wah wah what a transformation. This man, who wanted me to fire a few hours back asking others to support me. Never ever cared about me as his employee but what is this sudden transformation?
'Geet, I know that you have to be careful in this phase.' Am I dreaming? Why is Maan sir being so gentle to me? I literally rubbed my eyes.
'So guys, we must help Geet while working. Give your utmost support to her.' Everyone nodded with agreement. They were also surprised with their boss's sudden change.
'Pinky! are you sure this is not a dream?' I whispered her with confusion.
'Please pinch me!'
'No Geet! this is reality! Sir is really talking & wow see how caring is he.' ' This is shocking yet, that's the truth.'
'From today on wards you don't have to run here an there with a pile of files. Can somebody volunteer for that task?'
'Of course I will do that on behalf of Geet, sir' Adi came up as a helping hand.
'Good. Remember that it is important to keep her happy always. So don't stress her out. Even I would not give much work to you like before.'
'But sir.' I gulped my words. This is not what I expected. I felt bad for him. This much caring? But is he really caring for me or what? I was hell confused.
'Geet if you are worried about your salary. Don't worry I won't cut off. Infact, I will give a special bonus at the end of month. May be something more after the delivery. We've got a policy for our pregnant employees.'
'No sir I mean. I can work normally. I don't need anyone's help.'
'Acting smart?' 'Geet this is your first trimester & you should be careful'
What? how come Maan sir know about all these trimesters & these pregnancy stuff, which even I don't know?
'Geet! just think of your baby.' He spoke this time more seriously.
'God! he has taken all seriously. What shall I do now?' Remain silent or should I tell the truth? But it will definitely ruin my reputation. But how the hell will I cope with this fake pregnancy? God please have mercy on me!
The meeting concluded with my colleagues congratulating & blessing me. I thanked them with a fake smile. This has gone so far. I was completely helpless. Maan sir came along & congratulated me. All I felt was he was creating some kind of drama.
I couldn't understand his actions. The sudden change of his behavior left me with a huge confusion. I silently prayed god to face all these circumstances. I prayed that Maan sir will not put me in to any unnecessary trouble.
Maan sir permitted me to go off early if I want. With that chance I got out from the office in a swift & went home like a bird who had freed from a cage. I really didn't want to be in that atmosphere for an extra minute.
I could come home early barely in 45 minutes as I came from the office a half an hour early before the evening traffic jam. It usually takes atl east 2 hours to reach home with the evening traffic which I hate the most.
I rang the bell & knocked the door twice. There were no response. I opened it with my extra key reminding Muskaan's advice yesterday. She was nowhere to find. May be she still has not returned back from her Rifle shooting practices.
You would probably wonder what kind of a sister is Muskaan. She is so much different. She is not an ordinary girl. She never did what girls are supposed to do. She loved watching action films, playing racing games & listen to heavy metal music which boys usually do. She does Rifle shooting as a sport in school & she used to do Gymnastics & Karate too.
I was not much an active sportsperson back then like my sister. She spends most of her time engaging in various games after school. I used to be a couch potato back then. I loved watching movies & TV serials while gobbling chips.
I freshened up & jump on to my cozy bed. I felt much comfortable after a tiring day. The peace of my mind faded away when I reminded of Muskaan. How will I tell her about my fake pregnancy? Should I hide it from her or not? She is not at all supportive. I'm sure that she should put me in to a major trouble if she gets to know about this instead of helping me.
To be continued...
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Cricket
104