Looking up from her laptop, she noticed him staring at her. The moment their eyes met, he blushed and looked away. She smiled and went back to her laptop. It was cute. It was really cute the way he sneaked glances at her and then got embarrassed, when caught. For her, it brought back memories to that afternoon when they had first met almost 2 years back.

It wasn’t literally their first meeting. Ria had seen Aarush a couple of times before, but she hadn’t really noticed him. She had just joined ABX Consulting three months back and had wanted to purely focus on her work. Her role here was similar to the one she had in her previous organization but the pay was much better. 40% better to be exact. She needed this job to become a launchpad for her when she switched again after 2-3 years. Consulting in India was a small world and the people kept moving in and out of the few companies that operated in this space after every couple of years. Every switch meant two things – similar work and better pay. It was like an unsaid agreement between the employers and the employees.

For Ria, she was glad that she hadn’t seen any old faces at ABX Consulting. She didn’t want anyone to figure out the truth. She had carefully crafted a story that explained her personal situation well. When she had joined, her new colleagues had asked her a few introductory questions, got satisfied with the answers she had given, and moved on with their lives. They had no reason to probe deeper or feel that something was not quite right. This had given Ria some small measure of satisfaction. In the weeks prior to joining this company, she had been very anxious, panicking to the point of considering withdrawing her acceptance of the offer letter. What if she met an old acquaintance in her new job? How will she handle them? Will they buy her story? Will she be able to hold her ground or face the ignominy of spilling her truth in the workplace? Fortunately, she needn’t have worried. Surprisingly, her web of lies had stood on its own two feet. Thus, Ria had been able to maintain her peace of mind and sanity, hidden in the safety and comfort of her lie.

But things changed that fateful afternoon, almost 2 years ago. Ria had been working non-stop, attending back-to-back meetings. Wanting to take a mini break from her hectic schedule, she had gone to the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. Just as she was sitting down at the first empty table she could spot, a guy walked up to her and asked her “Hey, is this seat taken?”, gesturing at the empty chair across from her. Ria shook her head and expected the guy to pull the empty chair to whatever table his friends were sitting at. To her surprise, he sat down in that chair opposite her and asked her, “Long day?”.

Ria replied, “Yes, very long. Thankfully, coffee makes it better.”

He nodded his head and said, “Yes, it does. Are you a new joiner in the Consulting team?”

Ria replied, “Yes, I am. I just joined three months back.”

“Oh cool. Nice to meet you. I am Aarush.”

“Nice to meet you too. I am Ria. How long have you been working here?”

“Very long. It has actually been a little more than 4 years.”

“Woah, that is long. It’s surprising to see millennials sticking around at the same company for more than 4 years.”

“Yea, well, I stuck around for the coffee. It makes up for all the long days in the office.”

Ria laughed, “Haha, that makes sense.”. As she drained her cup of coffee and got up to leave, she smiled at Aarush and said, “I need to go back for this meeting. See you around.”

“Yea, see you. Bye.” As Ria left the cafeteria, Aarush smiled to himself. That went well. He had been wanting to talk to that new girl ever since he saw her for the first time in the office, but hadn’t been able to muster up the courage, before today. She was really pretty. He had intentionally made that joke about coffee, wanting to see her smile. Thankfully, it had landed well and she had actually laughed. Why did it matter so much that he was able to make her laugh? Was he actually proud of himself for being able to do that? Did her laughter make him feel warm and fuzzy inside? Ugh, that’s way too many questions for a cup of coffee, he told himself. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he too got up to leave.

Written By – Aastha Aggarwal

Aastha is a bibliophile, a foodie, a consulting professional and a full-time mum who is currently living in Noida. Writing is a cathartic process for her. She endeavours to inspire the next generation of readers with her writing.