Jhanvi, we notice your account has the following that our brand needs. Burn Promotions would like to offer you two VIP tickets to the Goa Music Festival, all expenses paid, of course. DM me so we can make arrangements.

‘Oh my gosh, Kavya, it’s the Goa Music Festival next weekend!’ I screamed with excitement. Kavya lifted her head from her phone, interest piqued. ‘The promotions company is offering me two VIP tickets, all expenses paid. What do you say?’

Kavya let out a shriek before slinking back in her chair; the surrounding patrons scowled at us as we collapsed into fits of giggles.

‘I will take that as a yes then. But I am choosing your outfits, this could be make or break for my career, and we need to look on-point,’ I mocked.

Kavya nodded her head in approval before sticking her tongue out at me. I opened my messages and hit reply;

Thanks for your gracious offer. I would love to attend the Goa Music Festival this year and document it on my social media for you. Please let me know how to proceed.

Having paid our bill, we walked out of the restaurant, chattering about the following weekend and how this could be a turning point in my career. All thoughts of Puneet had been temporarily halted, replaced with dreams of grand careers and extravagant lifestyles, where we would live in a penthouse overlooking Mumbai.

8

ASHRAY

My alarm was set early for the first day of my new job at BusinessForward. I didn’t want to be late. When I got out of bed, Maa was already up, and I could smell the familiar aroma of breakfast filtering through the house. I smiled; she was amazing. Opening my cupboard, I decided against the flamingo tie again; I still needed to make a good impression. Instead, I opted for a sensible green tie, a crisp white shirt and my blue suit. I completed my morning routine before walking into the kitchen.

Maa smiled and said, ‘You look good, Ashray.’

‘Thanks, Maa.’ I leaned and kissed her on the head before sitting at my usual spot. I wolfed down breakfast; I hadn’t realised I was that hungry. Standing up from the table, I placed my dishes in the sink before grabbing my briefcase to leave. This morning, I would take the early train to the BusinessForward office. I could not rely on the bus being on time.

Arriving at the station, I instantly regretted my decision. The train was crammed full of early morning commuters with the same idea I had. My stress levels rose as I walked the length of the carriage, trying to find an empty seat. A large man who had been snoring and grunting only moments before stood up abruptly and walked to the door, pushing past a young woman and her mother. Sitting down quickly, I smiled; thankfully, I would not be seated next to him for my journey. The woman sitting next to me smiled. Her face was warm; her eyes lined with kohl smiled as warmly as her mouth. I smiled back and opened my phone quickly so that I didn’t look desperate for her attention. I put my phone back in my pocket and nervously tapped my briefcase, trying to distract myself.