Office Crush

Aarav Malhotra ko Monday morning se hi Mondays se nafrat thi, but is Monday ne toh personal level pe uska mood kharab kar diya tha. Gurgaon ke us mid-size IT consulting office me woh apne window-side cubicle ke saath emotionally attached ho chuka tha, jaise woh seat nahi, ek chhota sa safe zone ho. Window se thodi dhoop aati thi, neeche traffic ka blur dikhta tha, aur coffee mug ko dekh ke lagta tha ki life manageable hai.

Phir Shalini Kapoor ne ek email bhej diya: “Cubicle reallocation due to team alignment.” Aarav ne bas itna padha aur aankh band karke backrest pe head tikka diya. Office me “alignment” ka matlab usually hota tha kisi ki peace ka end.

Do minute baad woh apna keyboard uthaye, monitor reset kare, aur bag kandhe pe latkaye naye seat ki taraf chal raha tha. Open office ke middle section ke paas se guzarte hue Kabir Mehta ne usko dekha aur apni chair ghuma ke bola, “Arre Malhotra, promotion nahi mila kya? Itni jaldi moving up?”

Aarav ne bina smile ke kaha, “Shifting seats is not moving up, Kabir.”

Kabir hansa. “Same thing in corporate language. Chalo, new beginnings.”

Aarav ne bas ek dry look diya aur apni nayi jagah pe pahunch gaya. Usne chair ko align kiya, monitor plug kiya, aur phir samne dekha.

Aur wahi freeze ho gaya.

Uske saamne wale cubicle me Meera Sethi baithi thi.

Meera, jo hamesha entry gate ke paas hoti thi, jahan se office me aane wale har insan ko ek quick scan ke saath mentally category kar deti thi. Meera, jo fast talk karti thi, sabko handle kar leti thi, aur jiske face pe hamesha aisa expression rehta tha jaise usne already teen meetings mein logon ko outsmart kar diya ho. Aaj woh apne table pe laptop khol rahi thi, hair loosely tied, aur ek pen ko ungliyon me ghuma rahi thi.

Usne Aarav ko dekha. “Oh. You’re my new neighbor.”

Aarav ne thoda awkward sa nod kiya. “Looks like it.”

“Okay,” Meera said, lips pe halka sa smile. “At least ab main apne boring day me kisi ko silently judge kar sakungi.”

Aarav ne blink kiya. “That sounds… encouraging?”

“Depends on your performance.”

Woh bola kuch nahi, par uske kaan thode warm ho gaye. Meera already apna laptop khol ke kaam me lag gayi thi, jaise usne bas ek normal office exchange kiya ho. Aarav ne apni spreadsheet open ki, but numbers se zyada usko samne wali seat ka presence disturb kar raha tha.

Pehle din usne khud ko convince kiya ki yeh bas cubicle change hai. Practical. Temporary. No big deal. Lekin office life me “no big deal” bhi kabhi-kabhi bahut big deal ban jata hai.

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Agle kuch dino me unki interaction ka pattern set ho gaya. Subah printer pe ek hi waqt pahunchna. Coffee machine pe awkward waiting. Kabhi Meera ka “Aarav, yeh file forward kar doge?” aur kabhi Aarav ka “Yeh number galat lag raha hai, ek baar check kar lo.” Bas itna hi.

Par itna hi kaafi tha.

Meera ki speed dekh kar lagta tha uska dimaag hamesha do kadam aage chal raha hai. Woh kisi se bhi baat kar le, kisi bhi client ko handle kar le, aur phir bhi uski aankhon me ek thakaan chhupi hoti thi, jo sirf tab dikhti jab woh screen se nazar hata kar ek second ke liye khaali space ko dekhti. Aarav, jo usually quiet observer tha, yeh sab notice kar leta tha.

Aur Meera ko bhi Aarav ke baare me ek weird realization hua tha.

Woh boring nahi tha. Woh bas loud nahi tha.

Jab Kabir kisi meeting ke baad open office me haanste hue aata aur bolta, “Aaj client ne toh meri poetry appreciate kar li,” toh Meera usko eye-roll deti. Aarav usually kuch nahi bolta, bas keyboard pe kaam karta rehta. But jab Meera kisi random issue pe irritate hoti, Aarav bina drama ke solution nikaal deta. Kabhi printer jam ho jaye, kabhi dashboard corrupt ho, kabhi koi file missing ho—Aarav quietly help karta, bina credit maange.

Ek din Meera ne coffee machine ke paas khade khade bola, “Tum itne calm kaise rehte ho?”

Aarav ne apna cup uthaya. “Coffee.”

“Serious answer?”

“Serious answer hai ki main unnecessarily react nahi karta.”

Meera hansi. “Wow. Main aur tum opposite species lagte hain.”

“Good. Office me variety important hoti hai.”

“Variety?” usne eyebrow raise ki. “That’s your flirting style?”

Aarav ne almost choke kar diya. “What? No.”

Meera ne grin chhupa li. “Relax. I was testing.”

Aarav ne uski taraf dekha. Us moment me un dono ke beech ek chhoti si silence bani, jo uncomfortable nahi thi. Bas soft thi. Jaise dono ko pata ho ki yeh conversation routine se thodi alag hai, par koi usko label nahi karega.

Us din ke baad office ka din thoda different lagne laga. Aarav ko morning me coffee pehle se zyada achhi lagti. Meera ko apne left side me kabhi-kabhi ek familiar presence ka ehsaas hota. Dono ke beech distance ab bhi cubicle ka hi tha, but attention ka distance kam ho gaya tha.

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Kabir Mehta ko yeh sab notice karne me zyada time nahi laga. Kabir waise toh sabka dost tha. Har kisi ke saath lunch, har kisi ke saath joke, har kisi ke kaam me “help” ke naam pe thoda gossip. Open office me uski awaaz background music ki tarah chalti rehti thi.

Ek afternoon, jab Aarav aur Meera dono apne screens me ghuse hue the, Kabir unke beech se guzra aur casually bola, “Arre wah, new seating arrangement kaafi effective lag raha hai.”

Meera ne head lift kiya. “Kis cheez ke liye?”

Kabir ne innocent face banaya. “Productivity. Obviously.”

Aarav ko turant samajh aa gaya ki Kabir kuch aur imply kar raha hai. Meera bhi samajh gayi, isliye usne pen table pe tap kiya. “Kabir, tum kaam karo. Gossip ka KPI alag hota hai.”