PART 2. PLAN No. 1. KEEP FRIENDS CLOSE, LOVER CLOSER!
It was 9 o'clock in the night when Daadima entered Geet's room stealthily. She looked around the room searching for Geet and her eyes alighted when she saw Geet's sleeping form on the bed. She slowly walked towards the bed and sitting by the bed, she slowly patted Geet's hair. Bechaari meri bachchi!
NT entered the room with a dinner tray filled with food in her hands. She looked at the scene in front of her and with a smile walked towards the bed. Placing the tray at the bedside table, she sat on the other side of Geet and slowly brushed her hair out of her face.
"Lagta hai bahut thak gayi hai! Office se aate hi so gayi!", NT whispered.
Daadima nodded as she looked at NT, "Haan! Aaj pehla din tha na uska! Isliye aadat nahi hai! Aur kuch din ruko, phir ise bhi aath aath ghante kaam karne ki aadat lag jaayegi! Phir yeh bhi Dev bete aur Maan bete ki tarah har waqt kaam ki baat karegi!"
NT giggled and then looked back at Geet with a sigh, "Kitne chain se so rahi hai yeh!"
Daadima nodded, "Haan NT beta! Lekin humein ise uthaana hi padega! Dopahar ke lunch ke baad se isne kuch nahi khaaya hoga. Aise hum ise bhooke pet toh sone nahi de sakte na!"
NT nodded and with sadness in her heart started nudging Geet, "Geet! Geet uth jaaona! Dekho hum tumhaare liye khaana laaye hain!"
"Uth jaao Geet beta! Khaane khaake phir waapis so jaana!", Daadima pleaded.
Geet blearily opened her eyes and seeing them sat up with a start, "Aap dono! Yahaan?"
Both the ladies smiled at her and Daadima replied, "Haan! Hum yahaan! Aap itni thaki hui thi ki hum dono ne socha ki yahaan aake aapko neend se uthaaye aur apne haathon se aaj aapko khaana khilaaye!"
Saying her piece, Daadima spooned the daal rice into Geet's mouth. A shocked Geet could do nothing but chew the food and swallow it. Daadima continued to spoon feed her and soon the whole daal rice was into Geet's stomach.
"Hum chaas leke aate hain!", NT muttered and slipped away. Daadima frowned when she saw that Geet's face seemed to be a bit upset.
"Kya baat hai Geet beta? Aap bade udaas lag rahe ho?", Daadima questioned her. Geet shrugged and Daadima huffed. She cupped Geet's face and asked, "Kya baat hai Geet beta? Aap humein nahi bataayenge?"
Geet took a deep breath and launched her monologue, "Aaj Maan ne mujhe itna sataaya, itna sataaya ki poochiye mat! Shaam tak toh meri haalat rone waali hogayi thi!"
Daadima looked at Geet in alarm, "Aisa kya kiya Maan bete ne?"
Geet pouted, "Kya kiya? Poochiye kya nahi kiya! Maan ne..."
FEW HOURS BACK, AROUND 11 IN THE MORNING...
Geet happily looked around as the accounting system was explained to her. She was joining as Junior Accountant and after given a tour of the office, Dev dropped her off with the Accounting and Finance Manager who was now doing the explanation. Saying his piece the manager assigned her a cubicle and went back to his cabin. Geet sat on her chair with a big smile on her face. Today was her first day at KC and she was very eager to prove her efficiency and worth and also prove to Maan and Dev that their decision to give her the job was correct.
But before Geet could start her work, her phone ran shrilly. Geet looked at the phone in confusion. Yeh kyun baj raha hai? She shrugged and picked it up, only to hear Maan bark at her to come to his cabin and cut the connection. Geet blinked at this abrupt order and looked at the phone in surprise for a while. Hey Babaji! Itni sakti se baat ki? Thoda pyaar se bolte toh inka kya jaata! Aur phone bhi patak diya! Maan na sach mein paagal hogaye hain! She made a face and got up. Grabbing a notepad and pen, she trudged towards the lift. Her Accounts Department was in the floor below the main office and that meant she had to use the lift to reach Maan's cabin. Entering the main office, Geet walked towards Maan's cabin.
The moment Geet entered the cabin, Maan ordered her to go through the file he was holding in his hand and check the accounts in it. Geet ignored his rude behavior - Hey Babaji! Hamesha itne khadusiyat dikhaake thak nahi jaate! - and took the file happily. She opened the file only to stop in surprise. The calculations in the file seem to be computerized. Yeh toh computer pe banaaya gaya hai! Ise kyun check karne bol rahe hain? She thought for a while and then shrugged. Mujhe kya karna hai yeh sab sochke? Yeh saalon se yahaan kaam kar rahe hain! Agar mujhe yeh kaam diya hai toh soch samajhke hi diya hoga! She shrugged and turned to get out of the cabin when -
"Geet! Kahaan jaa rahi ho?", Maan questioned.
Geet turned around and smiled at him, "Apne Office mein! Wahaan baithke yeh check karungi!"
Maan frowned, "Maine tumhein jaane ko kahaan?"
Geet shook her head, "Nahi!"
"Toh kahaan jaa rahi ho tum? Yahin chair pe baitho aur yeh file ko check karo!", Maan ordered.
With a pouting face, Geet nodded and sat down on the chair right in front of Maan's chair with Maan's desk in between them and started to check the file.
Geet checked the file once, then twice and then the third time but there were no mistakes in it. Toh Maan ne mujhe yeh file diya kyun? She shrugged. Shaayad meri kaabiliyat check karne! Par use check karne ke liye toh iss file mein mistakes honi chaahiye! Bina mistake waali file mein mistake dhundhne ka kya matlab?
Confused by all this, Geet looked up to see Maan not there. She got up to search for him and turned around only to slam right into him. He caught her by her waist and this made her come in very close proximity of him. She gulped as she stared at him with wide eyes. Her mouth went dry at the intense look in his eyes and her heart thudded against her rib cage wildly. Butterflies ran around her stomach and fire caught on to the place where Maan gripped her. For a second she was lost into his eyes. Suddenly, his desk phone rang shattering their moment and Maan glared at her, "Dekhke nahi chal sakti! Har waqt takraana jaroori hai kya?" Geet stumbled back in shock as Maan moved away. Geet opened her mouth to defend herself but shut it. Jaane do! Iss Khadus se kya ladna!
Geet smiled sarcastically at Maan as he took his seat, "Maine yeh file check kar liya hai! Woh bhi teen baar! Ismein koi mistakes nahi hai! Ab jab yeh kaam hogaya toh main jaake mere Manager ke diye hue kaam karun?" Not waiting for his response, she stormed off in annoyance. Samajhte kya hain yeh khudko! Jab dekho taane maarte rehte hain! She continued to rant but in truth she was trying to forget the feelings Maan evoked in her when he held her in his arms. Hey Babaji! She thought and she felt a shiver run down her body as she remembered the intensity of Maan's eyes.
It was lunch break by the time she reached her cubicle and she sighed. Pehle pata hota ki lunch break honewaali hai toh main upar se neeche aati hi nahi! She huffed and turned towards the lift again to go up. She was supposed to have lunch with her Dev Jeej as per order of NT who did not want her little sister to eat from canteen. So Geet was getting the lunch made by NT and delivered by the driver.
Geet sighed as she reached the lift and noticed that the lift was out of order. Hey Babaji! Chado ab seediyaan! Unfortunately for Geet, Dev's cabin was in the same floor as Maan's and Geet had to climb the stairs to reach the floor.
Once lunch was over, Geet had to get down the stairs again as the lift was yet to work. Thankfully, she got to sit and work in her cabin for atleast half hour before Maan called her again.
When Geet arrived at his cabin after climbing the stairs again, Maan ordered her to enter the vouchers of the day manually into the day book. Geet blinked in surprise. Iske liye toh Tally hai! Manual kaam kyun karna! Aur computer se toh yeh kaam aadhe ghante mein ho jaata hai! When she conveyed her thoughts to Maan, Maan roared at her to not question his orders and slammed the vouchers in front of her.
Geet looked at the vouchers with wide eyes. There were so many of them. Sabko manual entry karna hoga! Hey Babaji! Sighing at the tedious job lying in front of her, she took a deep breath and started working. By the time she was done with it, it was time to go home and as she spent the whole time with Maan, Maan ordered her to bring her bag from her cubicle and join him as they will go home together. When she tried to protest that she could join him directly at the parking lot as she want to save the extra stair climbing trip, Maan had sent a single glare her way and Geet's protest died in her throat.
Looking a bit upset at having to climb the stairs down and up, Geet went on to get her bag. Once she was back up with her bag and a tired look on her face, she wondered how Maan would react when he would come to know that the lift was not working and they had to take the stairs. She smiled smugly as she imagined his anger filled expression.
Maan came out of his cabin and started walking away. Geet followed him with confusion. Yeh uss taraf kahaan chale? Lift toh ulti taraf hai! Maan led them deeper into the office far away from the lift area and when he stopped, Geet looked in shock. Right in front of them was another elevator. It was on the other side of the office and Geet never noticed it. Doosri lift thi? Aur main itne der se seediyaan chad rahi thi? Hey Babaji!
Dismayed at her own stupidity, Geet wandered into the lift with Maan and soon was on the way towards their home.
"Aur is tarah aaj Office mein meri bahut buri haalat hui! Aur Office ke pehle din, main Office ka kaam chod, Maan ki wajah se timepass kar rahi thi!", Geet wailed as she hugged Daadima with a sad face. Daadima sighed at the horrible day Geet had faced.
"Don't worry Geet beta! Hum Maan se baat karenge ki aapko baar baar upar bulaaye nahi aur aapko apne post ka kaam karne chod dein! Theek hain?", Daadima enquired and Geet nodded.
Soon, NT was back with chaas and NT and Daadima were able to cheer Geet up with their anecdotes.
FIVE YEARS LATER...
"Aur phir tumhaari badi Daadima ne Maan se baat ki aur uss din se unhonein mujhe baar baar upar bulaana band kardiya!", Geet ended the next chapter of her story as she looked at a gurgling Mannat.
Maan smiled at their interaction. If only he knew about the lift drama, he would not have called Geet up so many times. He sighed as he remembered that day, but of course his recollection of that day was quite different from what Geet's recollection was.
FIVE YEARS BACK...
"Adi! Send me the latest account reports!", Maan announced into his phone and slammed it down. From the moment he entered his cabin, he had paced to and fro the room, trying to think of a reason to call Geet into his cabin. If only she was his secretary, he would have numerous reasons to call her in. Kya Geet tum bhi! Padhai karni thi toh secretary ke post ke liye karti, Accounts ki kyun padhai ki! Mere poore plan ko barbaad kar diya!
Maan's plan was quite simple. He would call Geet into his cabin with every single reason he could think of and he would make sure that she spent as much time as possible with him. But right after entering his office, he plan hits its first snag as Maan could not think of any reasonable excuse that would bring Geet into his cabin. Finally, the idea of asking her to check account reports came to him and he grasped the idea with both hands. Once Adi came over with the report he asked Geet to come in and once she had entered he gave her the job of checking his accounts. He made sure she sat right in front of him so that he could stare at her while she worked. Haaye! Kya nazaara hai! Babaji kare yeh nazaara mujhe roz dekhne mile!
After a while, Maan realised that Geet was recounting the numbers and he was sure that soon she would finish her job and go away. That is when he was struck with brilliant of crashing into her. Carefully he got out of his chair not wanting Geet to notice and stood at the back of her chair waiting for her to look up. He had to wait a lot for Geet's reaction as Geet had decided to recount the numbers again but his patience bore fruit when Geet finally looked around curiously for him and got up from her seat.
5
4
3
2
1
And crash!
The result of the crash made Maan very happy. Geet was in his arms, right where he wanted. Again Maan wished this happened every day. But soon, the moment was broken as his phone rang and not wanting to give up his game plan right away Maan acted rude to Geet. Soon, Geet had stormed out of his cabin leaving Maan angry at the phone's interruption. Poor Adi! He had to face an angry Maan Singh Khurana all due to his one ill-timed phone call.
Later as Maan was waiting for his lunch to arrive, he wondered as he paced what else he could do to bring Geet back into his cabin. While he was pacing and wondering, he almost lost his balance, when he saw Geet walk by his cabin towards Dev's cabin. Yeh kahaan chali? He followed her only to see her sit by Dev and chatter a lot as the driver arranged the food for them. Maan narrowed his eyes in jealousy. How could Dev get the chance of spending time with Geet without any reason and here Maan had to struggle so much just to get Geet into his cabin. Feeling his anger boiling over, Maan stormed off to his cabin and waited for the driver to arrive with his food.
Once food was done, Maan continued to think about his plan. Finally he had an idea. He would ask Geet to manually enter the day's vouchers. That would surely take a lot of time as KC tended to have lots of transaction ongoing in a normal day. He ordered Adi to come into his cabin with the day's vouchers and a blank day book. Soon he had Geet working back in his office while he happily stared at her.
It was only in the evening after Geet had her dinner and Daadima scolded Maan for making her work so much that Maan realised how futile his plan was. Not only was it impossible for him to waste the every one of his day doing nothing but stare at Geet when as a CEO of the company there was so much work to do, but also Geet needed to start doing her job if he wanted her to make her career. With a sigh, Maan decided to scrap his idea of calling Geet into his office using every excuse. Aur waise bhi mujhe kaunse achche excuses aa rahe the Geet ko cabin mein bulaane ke?
But what next? Maan had to make Geet fall in love with him and for that they have to spend time together. Suddenly, he remembered their elevator ride in the evening. During the elevator ride, they had to stand very close. Maybe he can use that to his advantage. He smirked as a new idea formed and developed in his head. Yes! It is perfect! But I cannot execute this plan tomorrow or else Daadima ko sab kuch samajh aa jaayega! Mujhe kuch din wait karna hoga and then I will execute my plan! But no problem! For Geet, I will wait for eternity, yeh ek hafta kya cheez hai! He took a deep breath as he imagined Geet in his arms. Geet! Get ready to get close, very close to your future husband!
PRECAP:
Hum Tum
Ek Lift Mein Band Ho...!
Thanks for reading, take care and have fun,
Kalpana
P.S. All your comments and reviews will be liked and/or replied after Monday!
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