Hello everyone,
This show holds a special place in my heart - it was one of the first few Hindi shows I fully followed and watch, and Maaneet were one of the first couple who I was fully invested in.
I did briefly visit the forum when the show was on, but was not a regular member.
Long story short, I was watching some scenes again (when do I don't 
), and when gushing about the show with @tellyme, she told me the forum is active after all these years, and I was amazed.
Cutting the blab, I thought I should write on Maaneet - itne saare OS likhe, ab Maaneet ke liye nahi likha toh kya likha?
So here it is - I hope you guys enjoy, and if the idea strikes will definitely try to write more.
Please do leave a comment on what you thought about this OS!
Love,
Mridzy
**** Maaneet OS 1 - Elevator Encounters*****
"Shit.Shit.Shit"muttering under her breath, Geet broke out into a run - the MD and CEO from AR group were scheduled in for a 9 AM meeting today, and they had been chasing this deal for weeks now. If anything ever went wrong, her life as she knew it, would be over.
Nah,she was not being dramatic. And she did that quite often - her best friend Pinky often chided her for being so overly dramatic and she often retorted with a "and proudly so".
Skidding to a stop in front of the elevators, she jabbed her finger on the button, maybe a tad bit more harshly than needed.
She wasn't being dramatic now, her life, as she knew it, would really be over. Her Boss would ensure she paid for any guffaws today. Her boss and CEO of Khurana Constructions, Maan Singh Khurana -
Mr.Dreamboat
A Small sigh escaped her and even as the colour quickly rose over her cheek, she quickly rearranged her features, replacing the grin with a scowl, "Geet,now is not the time" she scolded herself, swinging her laptop bag over her side.
But despite what she was telling herself, her mind promptly threw up the memories of last night where she and Maan had worked late at night running over last-minute projections and data for the meeting today.
"How much longer is it going to take, Geet? I don't want to be sitting here all night"
Her fingers stilled over her laptop as she threw her boss a look from the corner of her eyes. The sleeves of his light mauve shirt were rolled up to his elbows,revealing perfectly muscular arms. The gel in his hair was worn out by now,making locks of his hair fall over his forehead as he poured over the files on his laptop, his expressive brown eyes clouded in concentration.
Aaj adjectives kuch zyada Nahi ho rahe hai, Geet?!
The female population in the office called Maan DD (Dhak Dhak) and not without reason, Geet had quickly learned, as she started working closely with Maan.
It was not only his astonishingly good looks that had earned him this nickname -it was also his high-handed cockiness and rude demeanour which sent the heartbeats tinging albeit for totally different reasons.
Andover the last year of being closely associated with Maan Singh Khurana, professionally associated that is, Geet knew that there was a softness about Maan that he kept well hidden. But she had been privy to this a lot of times,and with every such instance she found herself being more drawn to him.
Not just the handsome ruthless CEO persona he often put up, but the man he was.
That did not mean his high-handedness did not irritate her.
Pursing her lips in a tight smile, she turned to him, "I prefer to ensure accuracy over haste, Mr. Khurana"
Maan raised an eyebrow at her, and as he did that a stray lock of hair fell over his arched eyebrow "accuracy is important, Geet"
Damn her insides for doing a funny dance at the way her name sounded when he said it,Geet chided herself.
"But don't confuse accuracy with procrastination - I need that report in 10 minutes"
There It was again - that cockiness - which she was used to by now, but every time it was directed to her, still infuriated the hell out of her.
"Ofcourse, like not confusing arrogance" she paused and threw hima look, "with competence"
If someone had told her she would be talking to the boss this way, she would have called them mental. But this had quickly become the routine for them and she knew that Maan probably secretly enjoyed this.
Atleast she thought he did, because she still had a job!
She saw the corner of his lips twitch in a smirk, before he narrowed his eyes at her, "let's not forget who signs your pay check"
And that was more a challenge than a warning - it was in the slight glimmer to his dark brown eyes, it was in the way his jaw was clenched, it was in the way his bow shaped lips were ever so lightly lifted in a smirk.
Not the one to back off from the challenge, she got up from her chair "again with the showing off your wealth. Don't you know by now, Mr.Khurana, that not everyone swoons over your money?" She doled out, walking to the printer at the other end of the room.
Even with her back turned to him, she could feel him approaching her - her insides doing that funny dance again at his growing proximity.
"For someone so small, Miss Handa, you sure have a big mouth" his voice was a low rumble and the air around them suddenly changed.
This was not new - Geet had stopped fighting the undeniable chemistry and the air of electricity between them. She knew because they have been doing this dance for a long while now.
No,this was not new - the sharp remarks that they threw back and forth, comments which always started as innocuous banter, but always ended as something else!
"I never thought I'd see the day when Miss Geet Handa would be tongue tied" Maan's voice was a caress on her neck, as he stood directly behind her, leaning slightly to her side as his hand reached for the papers on the printer.
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes dropped to the veins on his outstretched hand.
She was acutely aware of the strong scent of his cologne, and the wave of current that shot down her spine at his proximity.
Say Something! Anything, she urged herself.
"It takes more than that to shut me up, Mr.Khurana, you should know by now"she was extremely proud of how steady her voice had been, but also regretted those words the second it left her mouth!
Stupid!Stupid! Stupid! Did she have to sound so desperate?!
She didn't need to turn around to face Maan to know his lips were fully lifted in a knowing smirk.
Thankfully,s he was spared from saying anything to cover up that incredibly stupid comment by the ring of Maan's phone.
Muttering an expletive under his breath, Maan snapped, "let's put this to bed"
Histone told her he did not mean that as an innuendo, but that didn't stop her insides from turning into mush.
God damn it!! She better get her act together and stay professional, Geet decided, as she rearranged her features and turned to face Maan.
"I'll pull up the projections for the last month and we can go over the numbers" she told him, following him to his desk.
And just like it had always been every time, they both got back to work in silent unspoken agreement that they would continue to keep the farce of professionalism.
Ding.
The chime of the elevator as it stopped at a floor brought Geet's mind back to the present, and with a scowl, she pulled the file out of her bag, deciding to give it the final look over. There was nothing that could do wrong today, and this meeting was where she would focus all her energy on.
Everything else could wait.
And it was like this that Maan found her as he stepped into the elevator, a humongous file in hand, a look of utter concentration on her face, her pink lips pursed in a line as her eyes skimmed through the contents of the file.
"Good morning" he greeted, annoyed with himself with how chirpy his tone was.
"Morning"
The fact that she didn't even look up from that damned file annoyed him more.
He should have been happy - happy that she was focused on the task at hand. Happy that there was one less employee fawning over him.
There was nothing that annoyed him more than when he found his female staff swooning over him - for his looks or for his money.
So he should be quite happy that Geet, one of his best, didn't give a damn if he was attractive or loaded with money. In fact, she had directly told him so multiple times.
But instead of being happy, he was miffed.
And that annoyed him more.
Frowning, he cleared his throat loudly, that got her attention.
He particularly enjoyed how she casually looked up, her lips pursed in annoyance at being disturbed, and then quickly went to acknowledgement, her eyes widening at seeing him there, before putting on a fake nonchalant expression. All in a space of a minute.
The tinge of colour that had quickly spread across her cheeks wasn't unnoticed by him.
"Memorising that file, Miss Handa?" He asked.
He saw her expression go from nonchalance to defiance.
Shutting the file close, she glared at him, "I don't need to - I pulled this file together and can handle this meeting with or without this file - are you implying I am incompetent?" She challenged him.
He Smiled - there it was - the sharp comments they often threw back and forth at each other. Comments that started as innocuous and all about work, but ended as anything but!
He didn't know what it was about this woman, maybe it was the way she challenged him intellectually, maybe it was the passion for her work, maybe it was the gleam in her eyes every time she was thrown a challenge, maybe it was the childlike mischief in her he has been able to witness at times - he didn't know what, but this woman stirred a longing in him like none other.
And here he was again, locked in a battle of words with her.
Maybe he enjoyed these a bit too much.
Tilting his head to the side slightly, "Anything but, Geet" he said softly,meaning it.
As he looked deep into her eyes, it gave him great joy that the defiance in her eyes had vanished, giving way to surprise at his sudden gentle tone and compliment, her lips lightly parted in an 'oh' in surprise.
"although"he trailed off, and had to suppress laughter at the way her eyes narrowed at him. A chuckle escaped him as he went on, "I do think this meeting would be quite challenging, even for you, Geet"
She looked as if she wanted to drop that thick file on his head. He waited for her to respond, and her big brown eyes told him that the wheels of her mind were churning, thinking of a come back to that.
This was going to be fun!
He watched as she stowed the file into her bag and turned to stand directly infront of him, "Working with you daily is challenging enough, Maan" with every word she spoke it seemed like she was inching closer to him.
Maybe it was the closed space in the elevator, but he was sure he could count the lashes on her eyes.
"And that alone should tell you I can handle anything you throw my way" he could definitely count the lashes on her eyes, " but," her voice dropped to a whisper now as she stopped and stepped even closer, "can you?" she challenged, her eyes darting between his.
He met her gaze with the same intensity that shone in hers, "Is that a challenge, Geet?" his voice was low, a playful edge creeping into his tone as he leaned in closer, the air crackling with anticipation between them.
Geet's eyes dropped to his lips momentarily before she looked into his eyes again,"Maybe it is" she said softly, her voice a velvet whisper, sending a surge of desire coursing through Maan's veins.
That was all he needed to hear - the dance around their attraction that they had maintained for months, the professional facade they had both hidden behind, the restraint that had defined their interactions, it was all crumbling now as the desire to pull her close grew stronger with every heartbeat.
“14th Floor”
The mechanical voice that boomed out announcing the elevator had reached the 14th Floor jolted Maan to their reality and he stepped back, his eyes still on hers.
As the elevator doors slid open, Geet struggled to quell her pounding heart as she mindlessly tried to smooth out non-existent wrinkles on her suit.
As he stepped out into the corridor, Maan couldn't shake the exchange in the elevator from his mind. Every word she had spoken echoed in his thoughts, each one stirring something deep within him.
“And that alone should tell you I can handle anything you throw my way, but can you?” her words played in his mind.
“Is that a challenge?”he has asked
“Maybe it is”she had replied, her words and her tone testament to the fact that she was willing to take the chance.
Was he?
With each step he took towards the boardroom, Maan felt a whirlwind of emotions swirling within him. He could no longer deny the magnetic pull she had on him.
Just before stepping into the boardroom, he turned to Geet, his eyes locking with hers fleetingly before he leaned in close to her ear.
“Challenge accepted”
*********THE END ************
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