Beautiful disaster (completed)

Chapter 22 - Paav Bhaji and cold coffee

Kiara's POV

"Ginger tea for the lady," Dev announced with a flourish, placing it near my keyboard.

"Thanks, Dev," I smiled up at him, the warmth from the cup seeping into my palms. His presence was a comforting constant in the sea of office banter.

Dev shot me a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and sauntered away, leaving a trail of good-natured energy in his wake. My gaze lingered on him a moment longer before I pulled my focus back to the lines of code on my screen.

My attention was soon interrupted by Taniya's teasing voice. "Hear you got your morning love potion," she quipped, peering over the cubicle wall with a knowing smirk.

I shot her a dry look, "It's just tea, Taniya. Let's not make a big deal out of it."But Taniya wasn't done. "You spend an awful lot of time with Dev.When's the wedding? Should I start looking for bridesmaid dresses?"

I sighed, "you are so funny, Taniya"

But Taniya was relentless. "Come on, Kiara. Can't I have a little fun? We all see the way you two are together—always laughing, always close. If there's smoke..."

I cut her off. "Then it's probably because someone burned the popcorn in the microwave again. I already told you 100th times, We're just friends"

"Of course, of course. Just friends. And I'm just the queen of England," she replied, drawing each word out for effect before retreating with a mischievous smirk.

The past few weeks have flown by in a happy blur. Ever since Dev joined our team, we've fallen into an easy friendship. We usually grab lunch together and chat about anything and everything under the sun. I find myself looking forward to coming to work just so I can hear his latest quirky story or joke. He's become quite popular among our other colleagues too.

I shared the latest happenings with Maya over a video call. "Dev even joined this office, can you believe it?" I laughed, but noticed Maya didn't share my surprise.

"Ah, I might have heard it somewhere," she said, feigning innocence. When I narrowed my eyes at her, she just giggled, "Okay, okay. He might have mentioned it when he called me last month."

"You two talked? And you kept it from me? Some best friend you are," I teased, though I couldn't keep the mock indignation from my voice.

"I wanted to wait and see if he'd tell you himself. Plus, I didn't want to spoil his little surprise!" Maya justified, her grin wide.

Shaking my head, I chuckled despite myself. Maya would be Maya, after all.

As I prepared to head out for lunch with Dev, Taniya suddenly appeared at my desk, "Kiara, off to your daily date?"

"It's not a date, Taniya," I said with mock exasperation.

"Oh, to be young and in denial," Taniya sang before strutting away.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you have some work to do, Tanya?"

Tanya laughed and retreated, but her words lingered in my mind. Was it really just coincidence that Dev now worked at the same company I had recently joined?

At lunch with Dev, I ranted about Taniya and her constant teasing. Dev listened patiently, his eyes full of understanding.

"She's just trying to get a rise out of you," he said, patting my hand. "Don't let her get to you."

I sighed. "I know, but it's just so frustrating. And then there's Kabir..."

Dev's brow furrowed. "What about Kabir?"