ALMOST LOVERS
Chapter 12
Drifters
We float together,
Neither closing the distance
Nor widening the gap
Staring at each other,
Immovable and impenetrable,
It is an unsteady state
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PAST
Geet was distracted as she thought about the current problems Handa Constructions was facing. For Geet the important issue wasn't the business but her father. She had never seen her father this worried.
"Are you okay?" Maan's asked in concern. He had noticed her preoccupation.
"Nothing." Geet quickly reassured him. "Let's get down to business."
Maan could see that she had shut herself off from him and it angered him to see her like this. So he made another attempt to cajole her into talking to him. "You know that you can talk to me, if you want."
"It's nothing really, I am just worried about my father. He has a lot on his plate." Geet confided grudgingly.
Immediately Maan felt a smidgeon of guilt, he knew intuitively why Mohinder Handa was worried. It was because of the state of Handa Constructions and Maan knew exactly what was going on. Still he shoved the guilt aside and focused on the woman in front of him.
"Geet I am sure everything will work out." He reassured her. I'll make sure that you are okay, I'll give you all the happiness in the world.
"Thanks." Geet smiled at him, touched by his concern.
"Let's get back to business." Maan changed the topic.
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PRESENT:
As always, Geet was back to work. Once she had been a girl who was ambitious but had never let them come in the way of enjoying herself. Today thought work had become her main preoccupation. That is apart from her husband.
"I want to make sure that we get the Jauvard contract." Geet told her team, who were standing before her, in her office. "This is going to be a 60 million dollar contract and it will change our capability and standing if we succeed."
Everyone listened with rapt attention, for they all knew what Mrs Khurana (nee Handa) was capable of. After the company had sustained major losses, it was she who had brought it back. She had implemented a new structure and model for the company. She shoved aside the archaic system of relying on their name and made sure that the company could stand on its capability. From the bottom down she had fired incompetent workers, hiring those who were brilliant at their field.
Today people hardly connected Handa Constructions with the old family, instead Geet Khurana's face was the driving force.
"I want you to wine and dine the clients." She ordered to Pinky, her PR representative. "Make sure they receive the best care. In the meanwhile I expect the architecture team to brainstorm their ideas with their creative member and get back to me on that."
"Of course Ma'am" Pinky nodded quickly. The rest of the team hastily consented as well.
"Okay, you all may get back to work now." She imperiously ordered them but none were offended because they had all aligned their allegiance with her.
Only a few minutes after everyone had left, Harsh came running into the room. "Ma'am these came for you." He handed her a bouquet of roses. Geet didn't even bat an eyelash as she told Harsh to leave the room. It was no surprise to her because these roses would come every other day like clockwork.
Indeed none of the staff were ever surprised either, though none dared to comment to her face. Internally they all found it endearingly romantic.
It was only as Harsh left that she brushed her hands across the roses. They were beautiful, testament to nature's magnificence. The blood red coloured ones were interspersed with beautiful sunset coloured roses.
Geet could feel the familiar ache in her heart as she pulled out the envelop attached to the bouquet. Steeling herself she forced herself to read the familiar words.
Dear Geet,
I love you,
Maan.
Geet pressed a light kiss onto the card with a troubled sigh and opened up her drawer to put it next to all the other messages he had sent. She didn't have the heart to through any of them away neither could she make herself respond to the note.
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"I don't want any mistakes with this project." Maan commanded his people. "This deal has to get through."
Only a handful of people in the company were aware of the project as it was under top security. Yet this deal was one of the biggest deals of his life because of the dreams behind it. It was a project that would change Khurana Corporations.
Known as the Lotus Plan, it was Maan's personal project. It was something that he had been working on for years and it was only now that he was letting himself reach out for it.
It was project to design the first prototype for advanced chip that would surpass anything in the market. Not many people knew about Maan's background in engineering and software development, as most people looked up to him as a businessman. But that was where Maan's passions lied.
"Yes sir." Adi reassured his boss. "There is top security involved with the project, so we won't have any leaks at all."
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PAST:
It was pouring but even rain didn't seem to stop Maan Singh Khurana's plans. Geet sighed as she sat next to the stubborn man in his car.
They were going out of town to check out one of the sites and it was something that couldn't be delayed. However Geet hadn't counted on the weather to be this bad.
"Maybe we should turn back." Geet tried to persuade Maan. She ignored the voice in her head that said she was trying to avoid being with him.
"No." Maan's tone left no room for refusal. "We need to do this today."
"Fine." Geet mumbled unappreciatively.
It didn't take too long for them to reach the site and as everything seemed to be fine they were ready to set out again. However Geet had gotten drenched in her dress, without a jacket unlike Maan, so he dragged her along to one of the nearby hotels.
"Really this is unnecessary." Geet protested as he pulled her hand into the building.
"I don't want you to catch I cold." He glared at her as he said this but his eyes soften with an emotion that she couldn't read. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."
For some reason Geet could feel her heart skip a beat at his tone and words. It seemed as if they were filled with sincerity.
"I am sure I'll be fine." Geet tried to reassure him but right at that moment she had a sneezing fit.
"I can see that." Maan sounded frustrated. "Just go in and let your dress dry. In the meanwhile wear my shirt."
"What?" Geet asked shocked and confused. "Wear your shirt? But-"
"Don't worry, I have a jacket as well as a vest." He explained. "I'll be warm enough but your dress is dripping wet."
"Alright." Geet agreed with hesitation. Why does something feel out of place? But as she saw Maan she tried to allay her fears. He is only concerned about me.
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PRESENT:
"Dad the business is going great." Geet held Mohinder's hand as she spoke to him about Handa Constructions. "We are on the verge of a major deal that would be a changing point."
"I am glad." Mohinder said in his slurred voice, which had been present ever since his stroke, as well as his inability to move his right arm. "But don't work yourself too much."
"I won't daddy." Geet placed a kiss on her father's head. "But the company is important to me because it's yours."
"I want you to be happy." Mohinder looked at her with his usual penetrating glance. "How are things with Maan."
Putting up a smile, Geet managed to say. "I am fine. He treats me like a queen." And the irony was that he did.
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PRECAP:
Downfall of Geet
AUTHOR's NOTE:
LOVED all the comments!
You guys are kick-ass!
There are many clues about what happened in the past...you just have to read between the lines. Some of you have been great at picking them😉
I changed this SS into a FF because I realised that its going to be a bit longer than I thought it would be but hopefully not too long😆
...
PLEASE DO COMMENT and press the LIKE button!!
Nothing motivates me as much as reading your comments!
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