Maan looked up from texting on his phone at the young woman, an expression of bewilderment etched across his face. He recalled their encounter earlier, & rolled his eyes, moving his legs which had been casually resting on his table onto the floor as he stood up.
"Let me guess. You've come here to ask for some kind of petty compensation for me ruining your precious outfit in the rain." He glanced at her attire once, before looking back into her eyes confidently. "Let me inform you your hopes have been dashed. I don't compensate for your own mistakes."
"My mistakes?!" Geet spat out, throwing her bag down on the floor and rubbing her hands together as if she was ready for a physical fight. Maan raised an eyebrow as he wondered what she was planning to do.
Geet reminded herself of how much she needed this job to survive in the city, so she took a deep breath & composed herself. Picking her bag back up & hoisting it over her shoulder, she forced a cool smile as she stepped inside his tate modern office, closing the door shut behind her.
"I'm your secretary," she smiled.
Maan almost choked on his gum.
...
"Dad, why have you appointed a secretary for me?!"
Maan burst into his father's office like a little child who demanded his favourite sweets. Manish looked away from the skype session he was having with an international client & glared at his son.
"Mr Gonzales, let me get back to you," he said, before ending the session & slamming his laptop shut.
"Care to take a seat?" Manish was trying to keep his anger under control as he aimed to keep his rebellious son in check.
"Not really. I told you Dad, I don't need a secretary. I'm going-"
"You think you're going to travel the world, Maan, but you're not. You know I want you here, I want you in the company, I want you as the next heir. Do you want Dev Khurana and his god forsaken mother to take over mine & your Dadi's hard earned efforts?"
Maan sighed. "Of course I don't," he said with little passion. "But I don't see why I have to be forced to show interests in Khurana Constructions. I'm 25, and-"
"You're 25 and you've had enough of a youth now. We let you study for your degree abroad. We paid for your expensive holidays around the world where you went with the guys & cavorted with numerous girls. We let you fulfill your heart's desires, now it's time you fulfill ours. Now, you have a secretary. Deal with her."
Manish ensured his word was the final word as he picked up a file & began to study it. Maan left his father's office, thoroughly annoyed.
From outside the windows, in a position where she could see the ongoings of Manish's office but his office couldn't see her, Pammi Khurana smirked.
...
Geet sat on Maan's leather desk chair, tapping her feet impatiently. She swivelled & opened the blinds to gain a stunning clifftop view of the overview of the city of Delhi.
"Woah, pretty beautiful," she mumured. "I knew I should have swapped campus rooms with Meera at university, she got to see this view all the time."
"If you're done admiring the city, can you get out of my chair?"
Geet swivelled back around to find Maan standing in the doorway, looking far from impressed. She shrugged casually as she left his chair & took a seat opposite him.
Maan resumed his position, as he sat with his hands folded in front of him, contemplating his father's words.
Geet recalled what Dev had said to her earlier. If this was her job just sitting in her supposed boss' cabin all day staring into thin air, then this was the easiest job around.
But the job wasn't why she had grafted through 4 years of university.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Geet cleared her throat.
"Right, well, I assume you have no idea what you're doing, therefore neither do I. So, I propose that we have some coffee. Shall I make some or do you want me to collect a pick up from Starbucks?"
Maan remained lost in his thoughts.
"Office coffee it is. Wise to save money."
Geet stood up & left his office, rolling her eyes. How could he be the son of the owner & managing director of KC? He was so incompetent!
Following the signs to the pantry, Geet was disappointed when she saw there was no barfi, but English biscuits & snacks instead.
"Continental food," she muttered grudgingly, as she sloppily prepared two cups of coffee.
"I see you're having a good time on your first day."
Geet turned sideways to see Dev smiling down at her with a glass of water in his hand.
"Oh yeah, the best," she replied sarcastically.
He laughed. "Maan's not the easiest of people to work with."
"Understatement of the century. He hardly works himself, how on earth can anyone else work for him?"
"His father, my uncle Manish, wants him to take over as the next MD," Dev explained, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "He's being prepped for the job".
"That man will need years of prepping to be able to even hold a candle to the position of MD," she stirred the coffee. "I better get back, nice talking to you Dev."
Dev watched Geet walk away with the tray of coffees in his hand, & smiled to himself.
...
"Two coffees-"
Geet opened the office door to find it empty. She half expected for wind to blow through eerily with tumbleweed tumbling across the floor, as that's what it felt like.
Frowning, she placed the coffees down on the desk & glanced at the note Maan had written:
Gone for an early lunch.
"Early lunch?!" she scoffed. "It's not even 10am yet! This Maan Singh Khurana really is impossible," Geet moaned to no one as she sipped the extra strong coffee, kicking off her heels.
...
"So you managed to pull yourself away from the office," she said sarcastically, smiling as she stood up to hug him, but was surprised when he refused her hug & simply sat across her in the cafe.
"Well so did you," he said, looking up at her with a hint of a smirk on her face.
Sasha cocked her head to the side challengingly, clicking her tongue whilst Maan kicked back in his seat, folding his arms as he looked directly at her.
***
How do you think MG will survive as boss-secretary? 😆
Leave your comments below!
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