Dev and all the colleagues standing there simply stared at Diya in awe. What was she talking about. An uncanny feeling filled the atmosphere. Dev gulped down nervously. This was the first time anyone had seen Diya in such a furious form. Her blackish brown eyes had their pupils dilated in anger, her hair was messy and she was standing there in front of all her colleagues and seniors, shouting at Kunal.

Kunal simply stood at Diya's desk, shivering like a wet cat. His cheeks were still red, radiating the heat and pain from that SLAP. That one slap. More than being ashamed or anything Kunal was simply furious. How the hell can she even slap him in a room full of people. Diya was simply mad and infuriated. She rushed up to Kunal, held him by his collar and started shaking him

"HOW. DARE. YOU" Diya was in a fit. She was almost choking Kunal. Kunal was struggling to breathe. Diya was always a calm and composed girl. She never reacted like this. Even in the adverse of situations Diya kept her head cool and thought wisely. But what had happened to her now? She was literally attacking Kunal like an animal.

For the first time Dev was feeling nervous around Diya. Diya was still strangling Kunal. It seemed as if he was about to pass out. Dev did the first right thing that came in to his head. He headed towards Diya and held her from the back. There was an enormous amount of energy in Diya which she was unable to control. Dev felt very very inferior to her. She was radiating some kind of power. This was not the Diya that he knew.

Dev tried his best to pacify and calm her down. He kept a strong grip on her waist trying to separate her from Kunal. Dev tried to bring her back into her senses. He held her from her back. Diya was struggling under Dev's strong muscular grip. She was simply wriggling like an insect.

"Diya STOP! He is going to die" exclaimed Dev in horror. " Let. Go. Of. Me. I will not leave him" saying so Diya continued to tug at Kunal's collar.

Dev tried his best to seperate Diya from Kunal. In the process of doing so Diya's hips were thrusting into Dev's bottoms. Their bodies were very close to each other. Dev could feel her skin against his. Suddenly Diya realized how acutely close she was to Dev.

In the blink of an eye, she turned towards Dev. Dev was still holding her slender waist with his strong muscular arms. Both of them looked at each other in a very deep manner. Diya was still panting with tear drops trickling down her cheeks. Dev raised his hand to her face and rubbed the tear away. He removed his grip from her waist and cupped her cheeks.

Their faces were now just inches apart. Dev stared into her deep brown eyes as if pleading her to calm down. Their eyes said it all. There was so much passion in their eyes. Accepting her defeat Diya simply closed her eyes letting a final tear drop shed from her eyes. Diya's beautiful, calm form was now in Dev's arms. Something suddenly got into Dev. He was leaning into Diya. Their lips were just a few centimetres apart when Dev's trance was broken by a harsh cough. Dev's trance was broken. Even Diya opened her eyes in a jerk. It was Matt. He seemed to be pretty mad at the entire commotion in his office.

Diya was now totally back in her senses. Noticing the proximity between him and Dev, Diya simply pushed him away. She then turned to see a disheveled Kunal on her chair. Kunal had his hand on his neck trying to somewhat relieve the pain. He had bloodshot eyes, looking directly into Diya's orbs.

Matt was becoming red in embarrassment by the second. He was having a meeting with some Austrian delegates via a video conference which was disturbed due to this commotion. "WHAT. THE. HELL. IS HAPPENING HERE?" Matt blurted out in a breath. All the people in the office looked at Matt in horror. Before anyone could even blink, lest move, Matt said" Everybody back at your desk. I pay you'll for nothing. DEV, DIYA AND KUNAL. In my cabin. NOW!" it was almost as if Matt barked. He then stormed into his cabin and slammed the door hard.

The people who had stopped in their paths just to see the entire scene just went to their respective desks and resumed their work. All of them were very scared. Matt was known for being a soft hearted, kind and loving boss. This was the first time anyone had seen him this fuming mad!

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Everyone had resumed their work but three people. Kunal, Diya and Dev. All the three of them were standing in Diya's small cubical. Diya was still panting for breath. Dev held her by her arm and said, "Are you okay Dee? Please calm down"

Diya looked up at Dev. This was the first time he had called her 'Dee'. She then, swept his arm away and said," Yes, I am okay."

Dev was about to say something to Diya, when he noticed Kunal still sitting on Diya's chair. He brushed past Diya and stood in front of Kunal. He then snapped his fingers in front of him.

"Out. You have traumatized her enough. Leave. NOW" Dev said to Kunal in a very angry tone. Kunal solemnly stood up. He had insulted himself enough for the day. He started walking towards his cubical when he suddenly stopped in his path and turned.

"You are going to pay for this Diya. You will pay for this." saying so Kunal continued walking towards his cubical.

Diya did not pay much attention to Kunal's words. She was still bickering. Seeing Diya in such a vulnerable form Dev rushed to her and hugged her tightly. He hugged him as if his life depended on it. He couls hear the blood pulsing through her veins. He could some how distinctly hear her heart, beat. He felt intimate in a way he had never felt. Overcoming his feelings, he simply patted Diya's back trying to pacify her.

" What... What will happen now Dev? I am scared..." Diya squimed under her breath, under Dev's grip. Dev simply patted her back and said "Shhh.. Calm down... Its going to be okay..."

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Dev, Diya and Kunal were standing in Matt's cabin in front of his desk. Matt glared angrily at them. They could do nothing but look down in shame.

Finally Matt barked out," Do you have any idea, what you all have done! We have lost a very important

client because of today's nuisance. DOES ANYBODY HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS? DO YOU!"

Chills ran down Diya's spine. However she mustered up all her courage and spoke.

"Extremely Sorry Sir. But the matter is very grave.."

Matt got even more infuriated. "Grave? How is it so? Please Elaborate Miss Solankhi."

Diya took a deep breath and finally started speaking.

"Sir for the past few days, somebody has been stalking me." Hearing this Dev's eyes widen as if he had seen a ghost. Kunal simply hangs his head low unwilling to speak any further.

"How is this related to whatever happened today!" exclaimed Matt.

Diya continues, " Sir please hear me out, I fear that it is Kunal. Sir he was rummaging through my bag and touching my underwear. Also Sir it is not a baseless accusation. Kunal has been trying to come closer to me since day one and has been making me feel uncomfortable since the first day itself."

Hearing everything Matt let out a long sigh. "Diya do you have any proof?"

"Yes Sir" replied Diya in positive. "Sir, the 'stalker' had been calling and texting me for a few days. So, yesterday I used a caller identification app to search for his name and Sir, the result displayed K.N. The initials of Kunal's name."

Hearing Diya's words, Matt let out a frown. "Diya that's not a proof. Anybody can have their initials as K.N. Not just Kunal. Do you have any other proof?"

"Sir I don't know if this counts as a proof, but yesterday I saw the silhouette of my stalker." saying so Diya pauses and looks up at Dev and then turns to Kunal. " Sir the stalker's physical features looked like a combination of both Dev and Kunal..."

Dev was flabbergasted hearing Diya's accusations. First of all his presence was not needed in the entire matter. And now Diya is accusing him? His initial opinion about her was absolutely correct.

Matt too was getting frustrated by the minute. "Diya, what does that prove? It could be Dev now?! Please be specific in your accusations. And please do not waste our time. The consequences could be dire"

Diya was on the verge of crying. She simply tried to recollect her thoughts. Thinking about all the past experiences, she spoke up.

"Sir one last thing. Yesterday, I hit the 'stalker' pretty hard on his foot. And Sir Kunal too did have a foot injury. Sir all these facts together cannot be coincidences. Sir I feel extremely paranoid and anxious around him. Sorry Sir if you still do not believe me, I have nothing else to say. "

Saying so Diya rushed out of the cabin in tears. Soon Dev was about to leave when Matt called him.

"Dev. Your presence was not really needed here. All I had to say to you is that please remember that you work here and maintain professionalism with your co workers. I hope you understand..." Said Matt.

Dev immediately understood what he meant. He simply nodded his head and left the cabin.

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It was almost seven in the evening. She could just no longer concentrate on her work. After the afternoon's events, Dev too was behaving distant from her. She was feeling extremely alone and lonely. Whatever she was doing...Was it the correct thing? Maybe.. She looked up from her monitor to see a tensed Dev engrossed in his thoughts. She wanted to speak out to him however she contained herself. Her gaze shifted to a surprisingly calm Kunal. He did not seem angry or mad. His eyes were looking nowhere and he just sat in his chair thinking nothing.

After today's events in the office, Diya wanted to return home early. She gathered all her belongings and stuffed them into her hand bag. She got up from her chair and was about to leave when Matt stepped out of his office and came into the common area

"Guys, stop whatever you all are doing. I have an important announcement to make." said Matt.

Everybody stood up in their places seeing Matt. For some random reason Dev seemed to be nervous.What was going to happen? Diya knew fr a fact that the announcement was regarding her. She quietly stood there waiting for the result of her impending future.

Matt cleared his throat and continued speaking," It has come to me that somebody in the office has been stalking one of our employee." The moment Matt said this, everybody gazed at Diya. The burning gaze of the colleagues penetrated through Diya's brown skin.

" The matter is in fact serious. I had a discussion with the panel members and we have unanimously come to a decision..." saying so Matt paused. The anticipation was intense. Diya's heart raced. Dev's heart pounded aginst his chest. Onlyy Kunal seemed to be calm.

Matt let out a sigh." So we have made up our final decision... Kunal. YOU ARE FIRED." saying so Matt stopped. People across let out gasps. 'Kunal was such a creep!' people thought in their minds.

Kunal could not believe his ears. Like a breaking buildings, his entire future, career and dreams crumpled in front of him. All for one small mistake. A tear drop naturally trickled down his eyes. An entire misunderstanding cost him his job? He was fired? There was absolutely nothing else he could do. There was nothing left to do. Or was there?

Hearing the announcement, Diya's eyes were watery. She turned her head to look at Dev. Dev too could no longer avoid her gaze. He turned his head and looked straight into her eyes, feeling connected to her in a way more intimate than any.

All the other colleagues around their desk started staring at them. The entire matter was now very clear to everyone. The people could definitely sense a vibe between Dev and Diya. Was it love that was blossoming between them? Lest did they know what their futures actually had in store.

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