FF: M&G - Protect The Boss 1 - Page 75

Savitri took her usual seat at the head of the Khurana table as breakfast was being laid out in front of her whilst she opened the abundance of presents received from around the world.

She was glancing fervently at her grandson, who sat a few seats away, yawning periodically as he stirred his usual black coffee, his thoughts elsewhere.

"I wonder what my grandson has gifted me for my birthday," she wandered aloud, smiling slightly at Maan's still dazed state. "If only he was here, he could give me some sort of a clue."

Maan turned towards his grandmother as his mind registered that she had been speaking. "Did you say something, Dadima?"

Before she could answer, his phone beeped, and he excused himself upon seeing the caller ID & hurried away from the table, leaving Savitri beaming as she knew exactly what was going on.

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"I wonder if one of them has a dislocated jaw yet," Geet wandered aloud as she got ready with Pinky for a much needed Saturday of shopping.

"Who?"

"Maan and Dev. Hey, Yash should be invited to the party, right?"

"Maybe," Pinky replied as she held up a blue and a red jacket, unable to decide which one complimented her outfit most.

"If he does go, tell him to take a few sneaky pictures on his phone, if he can, then he can send it to you straightaway. I want to see how they managed with the organisation. The red jacket is nicer."

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"10 minutes?!" Dev almost yelled down the phone as he balanced it on one shoulder whilst trying to button up his shirt with his remaining hands. "I've not even had breakfast yet."

"I had to desert my beloved pasta to answer your call so stop whining. Besides, we only have until 6pm to ensure everything is ready."

"What shall I tell Mother if she asks?"

"How old are you again?"

"Is that supposed to be a rhetorical question?"

"Look, just get here as soon as you can. I'll meet you at the outhouse."

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"You have to buy these," Pinky winked cheekily as she held up a pair of teeny tiny shorts which barely warranted the name.

Geet gaped. "Over my dead body."

"You have the legs for it."

"I have underwear which is bigger than that." Her eyes scanned the shop & fell upon a beautiful one shoulder red Grecian dress, complete with a diamante belt at the waist. "That is so beautiful," she murmured, almost in a trance as she glided towards it.

Pinky hurried after her & held her wrist. "Geet, remember how many dresses you have in your closet at home? You hardly wear any of those."

"This is too stunning to resist." She snapped out of her trance upon seeing the lush fabric and looked at her friend. "Besides, it's a present to me from me, for working so hard at KC."

"I thought you said you lounge around half of the time."

"Even that is hard work in itself," she called the shop assistant over as she asked for the dress to be packaged and walked to the till. "Besides, I never know when I'll need to wear a dress like this, it's always good to have a nice party piece."

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The clock struck 11am in the outhouse as the birthday preperations were well under way. Manish took his mother out on the pretense of buying her a gift for her birthday, giving the Khurana men much needed time & space to get everything sorted.

Dev was on his way back from the main mansion when something caught his eyes at the entrance of the outhouse.

Lifting one of the pieces from the box, he stared in slight disbelief then wandered off to hunt Maan down.

Maan was stood in front of a mirror, away from everyone's line of sight - he had assumed - as he admired his muscles. Flexing his arms, he mentally thanked all those tai chi sessions he indulged in at night when the disturbance reared his head again.

"What's this?" he asked, holding up one of the earpieces.

He turned to face Dev. "An earpiece."

"Why have you ordered walkie talkies?"

"So I can give orders to the staff."

"You?"

"Yes, me. Don't worry, you can have an earpiece & walkie talkie too if you like."

He began to brush past Dev when Dev called out to him. "This isn't about us, Maan. This is about Dadima."

Maan returned his glare. "I'm well aware of that. I don't need you to remind me."

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Geet & Pinky were enjoying lunch at one of their favourite coffee shops when Pinky's phone beeped with an incoming call. Geet saw her face light up when she answered the phone & greeted Yash, and she smiled, hoping she always remained as happy as she was now.

She looked out of the window, down below at the busy shoppers, yet her mind wandered off to the kiss she had shared with Maan. He had appeared in her dreams for the past few nights now, but she convinced herself it was because work seemed to be the only thing in her life now, and her dreams were simply her mind relaying the events of the day.

So engrossed she was in her own thoughts that Pinky's squeal made her jump in her seat.

"Pinks?"

Pinky was smiling at Geet, her widened eyes unmoving & unblinking.

"Pinky!"

"You're invited to the party!"

"Wait, what?" Geet put her espresso cup down for the fear of dropping it in surprise.

"Yash just told me that all KC employees are automatically invited to Savitri Devi's party, they invite them every year!"

"Are you sure?" Geet asked in disbelief, having assumed that the party was a family event only.

"Yash goes every year himself, and my baby wouldn't lie to me. I'm his plus one, both of us will be at a Khurana event!"

Geet couldn't control her curiosity at the unexpected invite, so whilst Pinky continued talking excitedly about what she would wear to Yash, she sent a quick text to Maan, biting her lip in anticipation.

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He welcomed her text with a smile that Dev had noticed from across the room, and his interest piqued as he wandered over to his cousin.

"Is it the caterers?" he asked, knowing full well it wasn't the caterers.

"Geet," he replied, igniting the green eyed monster within Dev. "She wanted to confirm her invite to the party. I completely forgot to remind her that it was standard procedure for KC employees to attend."

"It should be interesting to have her lively presence amongst us," Dev said, before attending to a staff's call for help across the room, leaving Maan annoyed at his constant compliments for his secretary, but also in agreement with his statement.

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Leaving the cafe with an urgency and buzz of excitement around them, Pinky & Geet clamoured into a taxi with their numerous bags as they headed straight home, eager to start getting ready for the night ahead.

"You were right Geet," Pinky said, bringing her out of her Maan reverie. "That dress will have some use after all..."

Chapter 22 - The Woman In The Red Dress - Page 119