"That went much better than I expected. Congratulations on getting the contract signed finally, despite your lack of concentration today," Satyanarayana, Ajay's boss, commented as soon as the conference room was vacant except for the two of them.

Instead of being the resigned person that Ajay was, he grinned at him, "That's mildly putting it. I never wanted to be here this morning. Wanted to call in sick but thought about the way you would run your fingers through your non-existent hair, eyes narrowed, shoulders tensed, puffing like an aging bull and cursing me to hell and back. Didn't want to be at the end of that, so made it."

Satya narrowed his eyes but noticed Ajay's happy face and smirked, "You look very cheerful for a sick person, and I'm not sure if that's how I look when I want to strangle your neck. So between us, what's the cause for this unusual change? Got your everlasting fantasy of having a threesome with both a boy and girl fulfilled?"

Ajay burst out laughing that had Satya's eyebrows shoot well into his vast forehead, "You're not wrong on parts of it. Of course, I got laid but not as you imagined in your perverted mind. It was much better if you care to know the details."

"Uh..huh, that's not in my job description. Anyways, I'm glad this contract is signed, and you are finally in some happy space. My money is on the chick who ordered you a drink that day."

It was Ajay's turn to have his eyebrow's shoot into his forehead. Satya smirked, "I'm your boss for a reason."

"I never argued on that point. I'm glad you're my boss," Ajay added with a chuckle.

It was not every day Ajay explicitly complimented him or either looked on cloud nine. Satya knew that Ajay held him in high regard, and they shared an unusual boss-subordinate relationship ― having worked for a lot of years now for famous clients in developing their Fraud Systems and lending unquestionable support to these clients. But it was purely a professional working relationship.

Each complemented the other's working style, and had a conducive work environment, never venturing into each other's personal space. Satya was stunned when Ajay said what he said and was somehow happy for him.

"Sure it's a day full of surprises. I need to thank this girl. Any chance of meeting her?"

Satya's question amazed Ajay, and he added with a small smile, "I'll check with her, and let you know," silently agreeing with Satya's sentiment on the day being full of surprises.

Satya slightly shook his head and exited the room with a small smile of his own.

But soon Ajay's day spiralled down with a lot of issues, and he was so lost in his work that he forgot to keep track of his time.

****

Anya texted Ajay as soon as she was done with her shift to pick her up as he had her car. It was 7.30 pm, and she had a shit day at work. There were few more layoffs over the weekend which she came to know after she logged into office, and she seemed to be safe for now. She didn't know when would her head belong to the guillotine.

On a positive note, a couple of companies, that she had applied for, called in for interviews. These were due sometime that week, and she was looking forward to that. She wanted to do her best, and somehow land in a secure job.

With these thoughts, she looked at her phone for a reply from Ajay and when she found none, summoned an auto-rickshaw to reach her place. She never liked getting stranded anywhere, and that was the reason she scraped and saved and got herself a vehicle.

There was a term called 'Jihva Chapalyam' in her mothers' tongue, Telugu. It literally means whims of the tongue. Anya was not alien to that term. She loved eating freshly made south Indian food with fresh vegetables as per the whims of her tongue. And being the botanist that she was, she revered plant-based foods immensely.

Regardless of a long day at work and however tired she was, she tried to prepare and enjoy basic food items like dal and dry curry with piping hot rice topped with ghee. She was not an exceptional cook but strived to always have something hot than stale and appreciated home-cooked foods. At the same time, deeply etched tenets of not wasting food, and food is god sent also ensured that she never overindulged in any way.

Once her belly was full that night, she was almost passed out on her mattress watching a movie on Amazon Prime when she heard the doorbell and had to reluctantly answer it.

Just then, her phone rang, "Hey Anya, Ajay here."

"Hey, Ajay. Can you hold on a minute? Somebody's at the door."

"That could be the driver. I sent the car with him. Was swamped in too much work and did not have time to check your messages. Thank you for it, and sorry I couldn't make it. I'll catch you once I'm kind of free. Still in office. Got to go bye."

Before she could form any sort of reply, he hung up. She answered the door and retrieved her keys from the driver. She was a bit upset. She knew about Ajay's cavalier attitude having been a recipient of it several times, but the least she expected was a decent conversation from him after last night.

Last night was too big a step for them as a couple. The feeling that 'expectation is the mother of distress' reiterated. Before she could bolt the door, she heard catcalls from the rowdy college boys next door.

"So aunty, didn't your booty call come today?"

"Want us to make up for him? We are three of us here. We'll make sure you'll not walk tomorrow."

She quickly closed the door and bolted it, but she didn't fail to hear their mocking laughter and took a deep breath. Though Anya wanted to tear them apart for putting her through this, she still wanted to stay safe. She knew they would not attack her with so many residents around with paper-thin walls. She was not embarrassed about what happened last night. It was her life and her wish.

But still, she was always on edge when it came to those boys. They would often brush past her on the corridors or the staircase and leer at her in a condescending manner. She had to find a job and vacate the place before things went out of hand. These thoughts effectively put Ajay's predicament at the back of her mind as she fell asleep.

****

Few weeks passed similarly. The aftermath of their intense lovemaking was always mundane. Either they were too tired to talk and instantly fell asleep, or Ajay's phone interrupted their conversations.

Anya was a patient person and never complained of their lack of time together. They hardly ate outside, so date nights usually ended up in one of their apartments with a movie playing on, as they heavily made out. At least Ajay ensured that they had cooked food at his apartment, instead of Anya toiling away there.

Anu and Sanjay joined them on few of those date nights as double dates and that too ended mostly in Ajay's apartment. They entertained one another with board games, choicest liquor, casual talk culminating on varieties of food ordered online.

Ajay and Anya never sat down and had a heart-to-heart talk on a future together. Though there was nothing to complain about Ajay as a person, she felt enough time, emotion and energy were not spent for their relationship to flourish.

What she experienced with Karthik was a natural progression to their existing friendship, and it was easy enough since all they did was to add a sexual connection.

Ajay was a different cup of tea. He rarely expressed in open terms. There were simple gestures which could be easily overlooked yet these gave away his preference for her. It was a feeling of closeness that made even a routine everyday kind of shared chore a relaxing experience.

He knew when to massage her tired feet with the slick moisturizer. When she particularly felt peevish, he would take her out and hand over his Ford Ecosport for her to drive, while he smilingly relaxed in the passenger's seat.

"It's a good view," he said, always looking at her. He wouldn't mind if she let the windows down to feel the wind on her face, that rejuvenated her.

He never failed to greet her with a kiss — not on the lips, not on the cheek, but the forehead. Though Anya felt weird in the beginning, she eventually got used to it. She even felt it was the most under-appreciated gesture.

He liked touching her, often enough— especially, her feet— in the most unromantic way, in the most unexpected moment, yet it was intimate; And after one such instance, she found him discreetly place his hand over his heart.

But she failed to realise that Ajay did all those things that he would not do for anyone else. All Anya ever felt was uncertainty when Ajay was in the picture. She felt this might not be a healthy way for a relationship to sustain.

Besides, so much was happening on her work front that she hardly had time to assess everything in depth. Her interviews went well, and she was eagerly waiting for their replies. There were too many layoffs in her company to consider it as coincidences anymore. And ever since it was known Ajay was frequenting her apartment, the rowdy boys' taunts became more raucous. She prayed each day for her acceptance letters to come through.

However, Ajay was very happy in this relationship. He smiled more freely and grinned on occasion with his joy always reaching his eyes. There were no complaints, no demands on his time. There was no idle chitchat. Both led their own lives and had a blast when they were together. He felt the best part was that he did not in any way compromise on his usual way of living, and Anya's outstanding cooking was the icing on thecake. He wondered, why at all he was hesitant earlier. For a person blessed with excellent perception, he did not read the signs on where their relationship was heading.

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A/N

I know this chapter was a little insipid. But it's a prelude to an eventual crack down on this relationship. It's not necessarily a toxic relationship but not a fun one either. Will Ajay and Anya make it to the alter in any near future? Wait and see. 

I'm planning on writing a different book for Anu and Sanjay as a spin off in a way those two characters have fledged out. So you'll find less of them here and Rajendra might make an appearance there. So stay tuned for that as well. 

In the meantime, if you've enjoyed the chapter please vote, comment and share.