How many days had it been? Only four. It felt like so much longer. His hair wasn’t its usual combed with precision, and there were faint circles under his eyes. Well, she probably didn’t look too hot, either. She’d skipped her whole blow-dry routine on her last wash day so her hair was limp and stringy. She was wearing a dress, but it was kind of a boring solid thing. Deep magenta, but still much less…Kamila than normal. She couldn’t take her eyes off Rohan’s face, though, both relieved to see it again and weirdly uncomfortable about how much seeing him made her feel better.

See? Awkwardness. This was why anything between her and Rohan was a monumentally terrible idea. That face meant too much to her. She couldn’t risk losing him. She might already have.

“Rohan!” Tim said, startling her. She’d forgotten she had anyone with her. “I didn’t know you hung out in tiny noodle joints. This place is a bit quirky for someone like you.”

Rohan chuckled, standing. “Kam introduced me to this soup and I’ve grown a bit addicted.”

“Best in town,” Kevin said with a grin. “Y’all sitting with him? I can get three more place settings.”

Rohan was nothing but polite and generous, so, of course he insisted they join him at his table. Kamila assumed he didn’t really want her there, so she ensured there was a comfortable amount of space between them by sitting neither next to him, nor across from him. Diagonal was best. No chance of eye contact or worse—physical contact.

“Here.” Rohan handed Kevin a business card after Kevin put soup spoons and chopsticks on the table. “We can talk more later, but I think I have just the opportunity for you.”

“Dude, this rocks,” Kevin said, taking Rohan’s card. “I’ll be around to get your order in a few.” He headed to the front of the restaurant.

“What were you talking about?” Asha asked.

“He’s looking at changing his university major and was asking me about accounting and law designations.”

Kamila frowned. “He’s a student?” Kamila didn’t know why that surprised her. Why wouldn’t Kevin be in school?

“Yup. Part-time. He’s a good kid. I told him to apply for an internship at HNS—he can get a feel for both business law and accounting with us. He was concerned because he can’t afford to take an unpaid internship. But we pay our interns.”

Of course they did. Rohan was a conscientious employer. Kamila hid behind the menu, which was really unnecessary because she knew she wanted a mango-matcha boba tea and a beef noodle soup. But wait. That’s what Rohan had in front of him. She didn’t want to order the same thing as him. What would he think? That she was obsessed with him? She needed to order something else.