Anya was devastated to get regret letters from the companies she had interviewed for. While Sanjay was aware of her job struggles and referred her to the places he knew, she was yet to receive any sort of reply from them. She was stressed, and that did not help with her insomnia issue. She had stopped her therapy sessions weeks ago to save money.

She even stopped taking her car out to save on fuel expenses and walked to most of the places. She borrowed Sanjay's old bicycle, got it serviced, used it to travel to work and claimed it was for health benefits when Ajay enquired about it.

Ajay sensed something was amiss but did not comment on what was happening with her. She was not the kind of person to openly discuss her issues as her pride always came in between, and he was certainly not the kind of person to prod until he learnt the truth either.

Her ever tired eyes worried him, but as usual, she swept it aside. Everything else seemed to be the same as it was before, so he thought it was a temporary thing.

It was a Friday when Anya received another regret letter. The pressure was mounting; Though for now, her job was secure, she couldn't just relax. Samantha was equally tensed, and both decided to let loose in the pub they often visited.

"It's been ages since you came here. What was holding you up?" Samantha asked inquisitively while Anya only gave her a serene smile.

"Come on, girly! Talk to me. I sense someone special in your life. Who is it?" she teased.

Anya threw her head back and laughed. Though she wanted to scream that she was dating 'The Ajay Mullapudi', she was not sure if he wanted to share it with everyone.

She was aware Ajay still devoutly continued his Friday evening ritual, yet he never insisted her to accompany him to the pub and introduce his colleagues and friends, which stumped her. That was another reason for her to go to the pub. She wanted to know if he would at the least acknowledge her presence there, let alone introduce around.

"I'm sure you'll be the first person to know if I'm with someone," Anya placated Sam.

"Hmm, hmm sure."

"So what about you? How are you doing in that department?"

"No luck so far. And with our precarious job situation, really not sure if I want to take that headache too. Relationships are a nuisance unless there is enough monetary benefit."

"I never knew you were a money-minded bitch," Anya laughed but felt Samantha was being extremely serious.

Sam was not a frivolous person, but she surely preferred men with moolah as far as her dating history showed. She was an orphan who grew up in a catholic orphanage and was never adopted. Anya doubted if Samantha was subjected to other horrors like some kind of abuse there since she never openly talked about it.

Sam knew about life at the other end of the spectrum. She was disillusioned and liked to enjoy life, however, was cautious not to end up in the same place from where she began. It was a wonder she even made it so far with minimum damage.

"Not money-minded, just don't want to go back. I've been there and done that."

Before Anya could reply suitably, Ajay and his group entered the pub and located themselves in their customary places. He did not notice her.

For a moment, all Anya could see was him and was reminded of closed doors, heated kisses and hot lovemaking. She could also picture his forehead kisses and his hands touching her feet.

He looked chic in a light grey linen suit jacket and trousers over a dark blue polo shirt with black Oxford shoes. She wanted to hold his hand and douse in his presence. Sam looked up at her lack of response and followed her line of sight.

"I see, so you do fancy him, huh?"

Anya quickly recovered from her daze, looked straight at Sam and blurted, "We are dating."

Sam choked on her drink and laughed, "In your dreams?"

When Anya made her displeasure known, Sam's eyes widened in wonder, "When did this happen? You, sly bitch. Just a minute ago you said you didn't have anyone in your life."

Anya rolled her eyes and smack came her reply, "At least, you are first to know as I said earlier."

"Come on! What are we doing here? Let's just go say 'Hi' to him. I could maybe land a banker too."

Anya stopped Sam by holding her wrist, "I don't think that'll look good. We never discussed if we want to let this thing out."

"Is he married? Are you the other woman?"

When she arched a brow, Sam continued, "Then what's stopping you?"

She thought for a while, took a deep breath and gestured Sam to lead the way.

Sam quickly flocked to the target table and gave them a wide smile, "Hello Gents! Care to share a drink?"

When Ajay titled his head to look at the intruder, familiar black eyes met his brown ones. Anya looked at him warily and gave him a small smile. Though he momentarily stalled, a slow appreciative smile grazed his lips that soon quirked into a smirk.

While all the others were busy ogling at Sam with curiosity, Ajay abruptly stood up and extended his hand towards Anya. Relief filled her heart as she gave him a heart-melting smile and clubbed her hands with his. He kissed her forehead discreetly, and that made her day.

Soon the attention of the entire group drifted towards the now smiling Ajay and Anya. Satya cleared his throat to catch their attention, and Ajay turned around to introduce, "Guys! This is Anya Rao. My girlfriend!"

His voice rang proud and clear, and the entire table held their collective breathes for a second before chaos broke out.

"When did this happen?"

"How come you are telling us now?"

"I remember seeing her here before..."

"Oh! My God. This is front-page news."

Among the cacophony of all those voices and internal discussions, Ajay silently looked around at Satya. When their gazes met, he nodded at the other man and tugged Anya to leave the place. He did not have any intention of sharing their private lives with his colleagues.

"I'm sorry to disrupt your evening. That was never my intention," Anya mouthed, as they waited for the valet to get Ajay's car around.

"Nah... I don't mind. Anyway, it was amusingly diverting. So no complaints there. But why didn't you tell me that you would be here?"

"It was a last-minute thing. Sam just dragged me along. Shouldn't I be here?"

"Come on, it's a public place, and you are an alcohol aficionado." When Anya rolled her eyes, Ajay continued, "Sam? The other girl with you?"

"Yeah, she's Sam. I mean, Samantha. She's Sam in office."

They got into his car. Anya made herself comfortable and promptly closed her eyes.

"Where do you want to go?"

She shrugged, "Your choice."

"How did you come here?"

"We took a cab. Shit, my cycle is in the office."

"Worried about your incomplete workout?" Ajay asked in amusement.

She smiled to hide her worry about her only mode of transport.

"Did you eat, or do you want to eat?"

"Not hungry."

"How much did you drink?"

"No clue, but I'm not drunk enough."

"That's good to know. So, how was your day?"

"It was shit. We had more layoffs, not sure when's my turn," as soon as she blurted that out, she sat upright and looked at Ajay with widened eyes.

"What layoffs?"

"Na..Na..nothing. Just forget what I said."

"Anya? What are you not telling me? What's happening? Your lack of sleep, bicycle rides and now layoffs are all interlinked, isn't?" when Ajay surmised, she couldn't deny any further.

"Yes. You were right, I think XYZ tech has faked their balance sheets, and before all hell breaks loose, they want to wind up in an orderly fashion. We are having resignations and terminations on a day-to-day basis. Not sure when is my turn. It's so stressful. I applied and interviewed for a few companies, and they all denied. I don't know what to do."

Ajay was thoughtful and when Anya said in a light tone, "I guess I need to move in with you. I can stay, take care of you and look for jobs. What do you think?"

He didn't know if she was serious or joking. His long-forgotten feelings about commitment and what happened to his friends took notice. Though a part of his mind warned him that Anya was not of that kind, the majority of his thoughts were telling him otherwise. He saw the best of the lot fall for this. Even Satya had a bad experience, but he courageously fought to sustain his relationship. His wife changed her ways, and somehow both compromised. But how many were lucky that way?

Everything started with dependency. He had been happy that Anya was independent, and their individual lives weren't affected by this relationship. But now she was at a juncture of losing her job and wanted to move-in. There were possibilities that his sister and his mother would insist on getting married. This was so not happening to him. He needed time to assess everything.

When Anya did not hear a joking rejoinder or a sarcastic one, she glanced at Ajay cautiously. She couldn't fathom why he was tongue-tied. She didn't know if her joke had gone too far. They never spoke about moving in or staying together on a future date. She guessed the thought of moving in might have stunned him. But wasn't it an eventuality if they had continued in this relationship? They were already sharing a bed.

"What do you think?" she asked yet again.

Ajay chose not to reply and swerved the car to reach Anya's place instead of his. After a few minutes, he stopped it right at her complex entrance.

Anya took in the unspoken answer from him and rushed to get down the car. She couldn't digest the fact that a simple question which she asked to lighten a situation, could quickly decimate their relationship. She cursed herself for being a fool. She invested time, resources and emotions that all amounted to nothing.

But before she could enter the complex entrance, Ajay held her elbow, "I need time to think about it."

She snatched her hand from his grasp, "I think you've said enough with your unsaid words, and we are done for good. Good bye, Ajay."

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