OS: Where the Time flies - Completed, 27/09, Pg 4 - Page 2

Am gonna smack you Deeji!😡

You dint even have Maan in it yet and you had to end it with her decision to take the bull by its horn!😆😳🤣

Chalo Chalo... update soon! am so excited!🤣🤣

Loved this part.

Cant wait till you update next 😳

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Oh wow - I'm all excited and thrilled - this is one OS i'm gonna enjoy waiting for. - so my interest is piqued and I'm gonna be stalking this page!

ciao.

Geet waited till late in the evening, till the time a large part of the crowd started filing out. She didn't want to risk a scene in front of them and she had a sneaking suspicion that he was fully capable of doing just that to derive sadistic pleasure at her expense.

Finally, she plucked up enough courage, mentally rehearsing her speech, and played back Pinky's words '...no one is even bothered' to give herself a pep talk. The result was all that she'd hoped for. She squared her shoulders, firmly set her chin and rapped smartly, even imperiously, on the door.

A surprised 'Come in' bolstered her confidence as she boldly made her way in, only to have it waver a second later as she saw an unholy grin light up his features as he looked up.

"Well, well... to what do I owe this pleasure..." drawled Maan Singh Khurana, stretching out to lounge in his chair.

"I want a word with you." Said Geet sticking to her guns.

"A word only... sure? Swear on Babaji...? Well that shouldn't be too bad then" grinned Maan. "Though I can think of at least three words you would want from me at this time...

'You... may... leave'. " Maan chuckled.

Geet found her temper slowly rising and bit back a most unladylike retort. She had recently picked that one up from Romeo and had found it most er... eloquent!

"So... which one were you going to use..?" Maan asked with an amused look.

"Sorry?" Geet asked confused.

"Which abuse were you going to use?"

Geet coloured and mumbled unconvincingly "I wasn't going to... use any, that is"

"Geet, give me some credit for brains here..." Maan snorted and then went on to add quickly as she looked to debate this point, "... Besides, I could give you a crash course, free of charge, in the technique for getting really um... innovative and imaginative, something guaranteed to make all guys keep their distance from you" he ended with a devilish grin.

Geet was intrigued, in spite of herself... and in spite of the fact that this was completely tangential to the purpose of her visit. Somewhere, in the recesses of brain, a tiny voice opined darkly that this was a deliberate red herring thrown in to distract her. That voice was squashed, for now, and Geet found herself asking.

"But guys use them all the time... and not only for opponents..." Maan grinned at the choice of word sub-consciously betraying the light she regarded him in, "...but also for friends, I mean I have seen Lucky greet Romeo warmly with an 'Oy, ulle de phatte'... so if they are that comfortable with swear words, why would they feel uncomfortable if a girl uses them." Geet asked with a puzzled look on her brow.

Maan smiled in genuine amusement at her earnest question, "So that is the weird thing with guys... Swear words are like expression for them- of camaraderie, fury, frustration, surprise, shock... basically every emotion. Swear words are verbal signs of equality. When a girl however uses the same language, it throws them in a tizzy, not being used to seeing them in the light of 'buddies' or even 'worthy opponents'..." Maan's eyes twinkled as he saw Geet stiffening, but he continued without pausing, "...A girl showing comfort with swear words makes her as their equal, a novel experience for them. This puts them on the back foot and makes them stand just a little in awe of her, even at times being intimidated by her."

Geet thought this over, "So if I use swear words, would any guy be intimidated by me?"

"If you are indirectly referring to me..." Maan chuckled appreciatively, "... then the answer is no. My capacity is way higher than most guys and I am used to girls swearing around me..."

"I wonder why..." Geet muttered.

Maan chose to ignore her comment, "I have always had a mixed gang, with some of the most chilled out and outspoken girls, who could take on just about anyone with their cusses... I have practically grown up accepting girls as my equals". Maan's eyes narrowed at the look of incredulity that had come into Geet's face at his last line!

"Er... so you are saying that you accept women as your equals," Maan's shoulders shook as Geet sounded rather doubtful here, "... because you grew up with women who used swear words. So basically the best way to get men to treat women with respect is to expose them, at a young age, to girls of their own age who use swear words. In fact..." Geet now well and truly warming up to the issue, "in schools we should push for 'swear education' in addition to sex education" she ended excitedly.

A look of utmost wonder came into Maan's face, as he said, much struck by the logic of her statement, "True, I wonder why the great educationists never thought of it this way. I wonder why we were hauled up for using bad language in school. I am sure it is our moral duty to make sure that the next generation at least is not denied the opportunity of getting such... er... well-rounded and holistic education! We must take this up with them, first thing tomorrow morning." Maan said, with only the faintest tremor in his voice and the slightest quiver of his lips.

Geet was not wholly deceived, she eyed him suspiciously, "You are making fun of me," she accused him, only to have her fears confirmed as his eyes danced at that, she snapped "I think this whole guys-respect-girls-who-swear thing is hogwash, it could backfire too in the cases of some losers, and anyway that," she ended mutinously, "... is not what I had come to talk to you about".

Maan resigned himself to the inevitable and settled himself more comfortably in his chair. He wondered what next he could do to rile her. A ruffled Geet was a most entertaining, even endearing sight!

"I wanted to talk to you about..." Geet began, only to find herself cut off by an imperiously held up finger.

"Just a moment," Maan said with a casual glance at the clock, as he picked up the phone. This time Geet definitely muttered the previously withheld expletive, culpable for the earlier random detour in the conversation. Unfortunately for her, Maan caught it. He looked up with a gleam in his eye and a grin on his face, which only widened as Geet tried hard not to blush, but adorably failed.

He grinned into the phone, "Adi, I want you to get someone to order a thin crust Pizza with Smoked Bacon, Pepperoni, Gorgonzola, Onions, Jalapenos, Olives, Gherkins and Sun-dried Tomatoes; and a Dal Makhani, Butter Naan, Kadhai Paneer with lots of raw onions & lemons on the side. Yes, you heard me right... yes I am quite sure... no I wouldn't like to try anything else... any more questions? No? Good... because I want someone to get onto it pronto and have all this delivered within the next 30 minutes." Maan ended summarily, turning his attention back to Geet.

Silence. For a moment Geet stared at him, surprise evident in her face, then she surreptitiously tried to see the clock, yup, drat it, it was post 7 o'clock! She looked defiantly into his laughing eyes, refusing to concede anything. Oh, she so knew what he was trying to do; he was trying to make a statement.

"I was famished you know..." Maan grinned at her.

She ignored his comment... and her rumbling stomach... and continued doggedly.

"Sir, I do not have time for this, if you would just let me finish, I will be on my way home. I-wanted-to-know-why-you-queried-my-Time-Sheet." Geet brought out in a rush, afraid that Maan would interrupt her once again.

"But I thought that would have been obvious," Maan raised his brows, "I found your Time Sheet unsatisfactory."

"That is why I wanted to talk to you, what did you not find to order?" Geet's heckles were rising now.

"I thought it was quite simple... really Geet, I had credited you with more intelligence than that... however, clearly I was mistaken, I should have known better..." Maan said with an exaggerated sigh, now hugely enjoying himself.

"It means that your Time Sheet does not satisfactorily explain your hours at work. Simply put, I do not think your office hours have been put sufficiently into work."

"What?" squeaked Geet, "I have been slogging my a**... I mean I have been slogging like anything and you say I am not working enough in those hours?

"Yes." Maan said baldly.

Geet gaped at him, for once at a loss for words.

Maan continued, "Let's take an example, on Monday, you have mentioned here, you worked for 2 hours on the Chopra file, 2 hours for Mr. Tandan's project, and the rest you have put down as a meeting..."

"Yes, but..." Geet interrupted all at sea, "I did go for that meeting, with you. We left at 3.30 sharp, because you were yelling at me," Maan frowned at this unnecessary piece of information volunteered.

"Exactly my point! Let's do a little Maths, shall we...?" Maan got up, crossed over to the front of the desk and seated himself on the edge. "You came in by 9.30, worked for 4 hours on the 2 projects... even if I put in 1 hour for Lunch Break that still adds up only till about 2.30. Which still leaves an hour till the time we left for the meeting... What were you doing that time?" Maan asked with a strange glint in his eye.

Geet looked bewildered... and then a slow look of incredulity came into her eyes as comprehension dawned on her face. Snatches of a not-so-long-ago letter floated in front of her eyes.

"You... you... you wouldn't..." spluttered Geet, "I mean... I mean... but that was...", Geet got lost in a string of half-sentences, as he sat across the room wickedly quizzing her with his eyes.

So that was what this was about, she thought furiously, he wants to pay me out for that letter.

"But... but... you also... I mean... you know..."

"I also what Geet...?" Maan crossed his arms and grinned.

"I mean... Sir, what were you doing later that day and then next morning?"

Geet asked sweetly.