Vihaan put his hands up in mock defeat before laughing and saying, ‘I’m more interested in why you were sleeping in a tent, but that is a story for another day. I have a board meeting now,’ he said, and turned to walk away. ‘Hey, Ashray, don’t wait too long to ask the girl out. She sounds like a catch, and you wouldn’t want some other clown to ask her before you.’ He gestured towards Rishi, who clutched his chest and acted wounded.

I laughed, content at the moment. As soon as the elevator bell signalled that Vihaan had left, Rishi clipped me on the back of the head.

‘You haven’t asked her out yet?’ He spoke a little too loudly and I frowned at him. He shook his head before rolling back to his desk. An internal message popped up on my desktop. It was from Rishi.

‘Seeing as you won’t answer me—when are you going to ask her out?’

I replied with an angry face, but internally, I was laughing at my friend. He was muttering something behind me; the familiar roll of his chair wheels made me laugh loudly.

‘My phone is flat, and I need to text a friend urgently. Can I use yours?’ he asked. I fed in the passcode and handed him my phone.

Opening a new request for a portfolio, I began to formulate a plan to win my next client over. I clicked on their website, taking notes as I scrolled through. From behind me, Rishi punched the air and pushed his chair back a little too hard, crashing into mine. He handed me back my phone with a little too much enthusiasm, and my stomach knotted.

‘What did you do?’ I whispered.

‘You have a date on Friday night with the lovely Sakshi,’ he said with a wide grin.

‘I what?’ I shouted, and the office turned to look at us. Rishi bent over to hide his laughter.

‘Take her somewhere nice, okay?’ he said as he rolled back to his desk.

I unlocked my phone to check the messages. Sure enough, Sakshi had confirmed for a date on Friday evening. I put my head in my hands, not sure whether I should be angry with Rishi or not. I decided that his temporary step over into my personal space was acceptable before mimicking his earlier behaviour, fist punching the air.

The remainder of the week flew by. I was unable to sign my fourth client, but I was sure that they would commit by early next week. Maa convinced me that expensive dates were not needed; eventually, I decided on a picnic in Hanging Gardens, where we could talk without worrying about distractions.

Arriving at Sakshi’s house, I remembered Maa’s advice about courting the parents as well as the woman. I did my best to impress her father, but was met with condescending looks from her mother once again. When we boarded the bus, Sakshi took my hand, instinctively knowing that I felt uneasy by her mum’s behaviour.