A/N- Apologies for the delay! The past holiday/festivities week kept me occupied. Hope everyone had a good time :)

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The week swept by with more work, just like it always did. Again on Friday, Khushi found herself gathering the remaining files to work at home.

She owned a 2-bedroom house in an upscale neighborhood. It was still less swanky than where a CEO should live. Though she never felt the need to shift anywhere else. The only visitors she had were Payal and sometimes her uncle and aunt. A friend might pop in rarely but that was about it. Her current flat was suitable for her.

She dumped the files on the dining table and plopped in her couch. Kicking off her heels, she stretched her legs. The cellphone in her hand chimed. She unlocked it immediately thinking it to be a text from the unknown stranger. It was a spam message.

The last time she texted the stranger was 5 days back. They had bid each other goodbye ending the conversation. She tapped her thumb on the home button of her phone, contemplating. Getting over her reluctance she took a breath and typed.

(May 12, Friday)

-Khushi- 9:21pm || Any more movie recs?

She reread the single line. It wasn't the perfect opening but it was the safest. While rechecking her phone for a reply, she it dawned on her that she still didn't know if this stranger was a he or a she. She just knew this person was in his early 30s.

-Unknown- 9:34pm || I am hurt. :( You think of me only when you need to pass time over the weekend.

The text made her sigh in relief. The stranger had not ignored her.

-Khushi- 9:35pm || Weekdays, I have work. Weekends, I am alone :(

-Unknown- 9:35pm || No boyfriend?

-Khushi- 9:35pm || Nope.

She had again shared a personal tidbit with the stranger. Till now Khushi had revealed that she was younger than him/her, a girl and single. Yet the only thing she knew about this person was their age. She wanted to know more about this stranger yet she didn't feel comfortable asking outright.

-Khushi- 9:36pm || What about you? Any girlfriend/wife?

-Unknown- 9:36pm || Are you trying to figure out my relationship status?

Khushi blushed and closed her eyes. She was indeed trying to figure out his relationship status and if he were a man.

-Unknown- 9:37pm || Never married. Had a girlfriend long back.

Khushi felt somewhat relieved. Then doubt casted on her mind again. It could be a woman. People were more open now about their sexual orientation. She didn't know why she was so fixated on this. It wasn't like she was going to have a relationship with the person. Heck they were not even friends. Yet for some reason she liked chatting with this person. To clarify her doubts without being obvious she typed a question.

-Khushi- 9:38pm || Any boyfriends?

-Unknown- 9:39pm || What do you really want to know?

Khushi felt her heart beat increase. Sh*t! The stranger had seen through her question. She took some time to compose the reply.

-Khushi- 9:41pm || I just want to level the field. You know I am- A. a girl, B. younger than you, C. single.

-Khushi- 9:41pm || I just know you're in your early 30s.

Instead of fooling around, she should have asked the person outright, Khushi reckoned.

-Unknown- 9:42pm || Fair enough.

-Unknown- 9:42pm || A. a man, B. in my early 30s, C. very much single.

The last line made her laugh.

-Unknown- 9:43pm || How much younger than me are you exactly?

-Khushi- 9:44pm || About a couple of years.

-Unknown- 9:44pm || Is there any more personal information you'd like?

-Khushi- 9:45pm || No, I am good.

-Unknown- 9:46pm || You wanted to know all that but not the most basic thing- name? What do I call you?

For her, exchanging names was a bit too personal. She didn't feel very comfortable at the idea of telling a complete stranger her name even though she was having a good time texting him. When she didn't reply for sometime, he texted her.

-Unknown- 9:49pm || I get it if you don't want to share too much :) Don't worry.

His message made her at ease.

-Khushi- 9:50pm || Thanks. You, too, don't have to share anything personal if it makes you uncomfortable.

-Unknown- 9:51pm || How do we decide what's okay and what's not okay to reveal?

Khushi pressed her fingertips on her chin, mulling. She typed a reply.

-Khushi- 9:52pm || I don't know... I guess when I ask you a question that you don't wanna answer, you don't and I wouldn't mind. Vice versa.

-Unknown- 9:52pm || So this is a pact?

-Khushi- 9:52pm || Yes, our pact :D

-Unknown- 9:53pm || So, did you really want movie recs?

Khushi bit her lower lip and smiled. She didn't want any movie recommendations. She only wanted a way to re-start their chat. She wondered if she should tell him the truth.

-Unknown- 9:54pm || Or did you just want to talk to me?

She inhaled and exhaled deeply before typing.

-Khushi- 9:55pm || Is it bad if I wanted to?

-Unknown- 9:55pm || I am happy you did. I was thinking the same but was hesitant just in case it bothered you.

-Khushi- 9:56pm || Does that mean you've been thinking of me?

She didn't know how her fingers found the courage to type whatever came to her mind. Maybe it was that. She wasn't talking to him in person. She might never even meet him or know his name. Maybe that gave her the freedom to say whatever she wanted to. She could be free with him- it was refreshing.

-Unknown- 9:57pm || Yes.

The honesty of his reply made her blush. He had been thinking of her, just as she had. She tried to change the topic.

-Khushi- 9:58pm || So... what's the plan for the weekend?

-Unknown- 9:59pm || Want to eat in tonight. Thinking of ordering from some place. Don't know where though. I am new in the city.

-Khushi- 9:59pm || Which city are you in?

-Khushi- 10:00pm || You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. As per our pact :P

-Unknown- 10:00pm || I don't mind. I just shifted to Delhi.

The text made her eyes pop out. He was in Delhi- in her city.

-Khushi- 10:01pm || OmG! I live in Delhi too. Such a small world.

-Unknown- 10:01pm || What a coincidence! Maybe we already crossed path somewhere...

The thought excited her. Could it be that they had been in the same place somewhere but didn't recognize one another? Setting aside the growing feeling of warmth on her cheeks, she got back to his original question.

-Khushi- 10:02pm || I know some good take out/delivery places. I'll give you some names. It'll be scattered all over so choose whatever is nearest to your place.

She typed the names of restaurants sprinkled all over the city. She knew so many names mainly because of Lavanya who was in charge of arranging her lunch meetings in cafes/restaurants.

-Unknown- 10:03pm || Thanks.

-Khushi- 10:04pm || Happy to help. Enjoy your dinner.

A part of her wondered which restaurant he had ordered from. Logistically a restaurant wouldn't deliver to a far off locality so if she found out which, among the dozen names that she gave, he had chosen, she could zero in on his place. She grinned to herself feeling like a stalker.

No, not knowing was better. It was more unrestrained. There was no need to fake-courtesy or put on a mask.

It occurred to her that she still hadn't named her stranger. Since she had the no-name-sharing-rule, she thought what she could call him... Stranger? Mr. Stranger?... She decided to let it remain as "unknown" for now.

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Arnav scrolled through the 12 names of restaurants that his stranger had given him and smiled. True to her text, they were scattered all over Delhi- one in Saket, one in Chanakyapuri, one in Connaught Place and so on. If she had sent restaurants located in 1 area, he could have ascertained where exactly she lived in Delhi.

But that was part of the fun- chatting with her yet not knowing everything about her. Her pact, of not sharing names or anything personal that made them uncomfortable, was good. If he knew her name, the first thing he would have done was logged on to social media and tried to find her- just to have a look.

Maybe she would have done the same. Arnav was not as well recognized as a celebrity, cricketer or media-person but on doing a simple google search on him would let the person know everything. Then their interactions might be affected by the information.

No, he preferred it this way. This was like olden days; only replace letters with texts.

Over the weekend he chatted with this mysterious stranger. They didn't engage in conversation all the time but would ping each other every once in a while. She had work, even on weekends.

He planned of catching up with some of his friends who lived in Delhi, on Saturday. While talking with them, his hand would subconsciously go to his phone to check if there was any new message. It was a different feeling, a kind of excitement he hadn't felt in a long time.

Come Monday, it was his 3rd week in Magnolia and on the professional front, he had made no progress with Khushi. After their talk last week, she did keep her word and started sending all documents and files or minutes of meetings, which an MD should be aware of. She kept him in the loop. Yet he could tell she wasn't being fully open with him. She was wary of him, maybe because Sheetal brought him in, maybe because of the way he did business...

It shouldn't have bothered him- she was a CEO in a small company- a company that he'd buy in less than 3 months.

Yet he wanted her attention, rather her respect. In these 3 weeks, he had observed how she conducted her business. She was firm yet supportive of her staff, she was a good leader and was efficient in her work. He could now comprehend why the board of directors valued her more than Sheetal. Khushi was principled, mature, had foresight and ambition. In a short span of time, he had come to respect her and in turn he wanted the same.

But try as he might, he wasn't making any progress. On an uneventful Wednesday, a text from his stranger gave him some relief.

(May 17, Wednesday)

-Unknown- 3:43pm || Checking in... in case you'd forgotten me ;)

-Arnav- 3:43pm || Just what I needed.

-Unknown- 3:44pm || All okay?

Arnav hovered his finger over the touchscreen of his iphone. He wanted to tell her that all was not okay. But what would he say? That a colleague of his was not acting like how he'd want her to and that's why he is a bit affected?

-Arnav- 3:45pm || It's a work thing...

-Unknown- 3:45pm || May be I can help?

Arnav considered for a brief second before typing.

-Arnav- 3:47pm || Someone's ignoring me. She's a colleague.

-Unknown- 3:48pm || Haha. That's so cute. You almost sound like a teen.

-Unknown- 3:49pm || Do you have a crush on this colleague?

-Arnav- 3:50pm || No, I don't have a crush on her. More like... I respect her. I want the same from her.

-Unknown- 3:50pm || You do realize you can't demand someone's respect. It needs to be earned.

-Arnav- 3:51pm || Yeah. I am just so used to...

He left the text incomplete. He was so used to what?... getting whatever he wanted?

-Unknown- 3:52pm || I can't relate. But I understand. :)

-Arnav- 3:52pm || You are the sweetest. How do I break the ice with her?

-Unknown- 3:53pm || Talk about Marvel movies?

A laugh boomed in his chest. Khushi would hardly be impressed if he started talking about superhero movies. She might throw him out of her office for wasting her time.

-Unknown- 3:54pm || Keep trying. I'm sure no one will be able to resist your charm ;)

He let out a laugh. He could tell the stranger had written that as a way of pulling his leg.

-Unknown- 3:55pm || I need to get back to work. Will talk to you later.

Arnav typed a "bye" message and leant back on his chair. He felt much lighter than he had earlier. It was funny how a conversation with an unknown person could make him feel this good.

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