Back at Work (Where I'm Absolutely, Definitely Focused. Nope.)

I strolled into the office, coffee in one hand, half-read email on my phone in the other. Back to the usual routine.

Or at least, it should have been.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Arjun called out from his desk. "Did you forget we work mornings now?"

I dropped into my chair with a dramatic sigh. "Mornings are a scam. We should start at noon."

"Or," Riya, her favorite work distraction, chimed in, "you could just sleep earlier instead of playing all night."

I smirked. "What I do at night is a mystery best left unsolved."

Arjun scoffed. "That's just a fancy way of saying nothing interesting happens in your life."

I was about to argue when I made the mistake of glancing at my phone.

And just like that—I was distracted.

Mehul.

I hadn't thought about him all morning. (Lie.)

I wasn't curious about him at all. (Bigger lie.)

And I definitely, absolutely wasn't considering looking him up online. (The biggest lie of all.)

Arjun snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Bro, you zoned out. What's up?"

I blinked. "Huh? Nothing."

Riya squinted. "No, no. That was not a normal zone-out. That was a 'my mind is somewhere else' zone-out."

I scoffed. "What, I can't have deep, intellectual thoughts at work?"

Arjun smirked. "You? Intellectual? Please."

Riya gasped. "Oh my god. It's a person."

I choked on my coffee. "Excuse me?"

She grinned. "You only ever get that look when you're interested in someone."

I huffed. "First of all, I do not have a look."

Arjun leaned back. "Oh, you definitely do."

I opened my mouth to argue—but the phone screen lit up again.

My gaze flickered down.

Mehul's number. Untouched since our chai meet-up.

And unfortunately, Riya noticed.

She gasped. "It is a person!"

I immediately locked my phone and sat up. "Okay, everyone, back to work. Don't we have deadlines?"

Arjun laughed. "Deadlines have never stopped you from gossiping before."

Riya pointed at him. "He's hiding something."

I desperately needed to change the subject.

"Alright, fine. Since you guys have so much free time, why don't we all take turns doing my reports?"

Arjun scoffed. "Nah, you're on your own."

Riya rolled her eyes. "Fine, be mysterious." Then, narrowing her eyes at him, she added, "But I will find out."

I exhaled as they both finally got back to their screens.

I turned back to my own laptop, tapping my fingers against the desk.

Okay. I should be normal. I should focus. I should—

...Screw it.

I opened a new tab and typed in Mehul's name.

Step One: The Search Begins

The results loaded.

Nothing.

I frowned.

No social media links, no flashy profiles, no weird tagged photos from college parties—nothing.

"Okay, what kind of person doesn't have an online presence in 2024?" I muttered.

"Talking to yourself again?"

I jumped as Riya leaned over my desk, eyeing the screen.

I casually slammed the laptop shut. "Nope. Just, uh, deep work."

Riya's eyes narrowed. "That was not deep work."

I forced a laugh. "Haha, what? That's crazy. Who even googles people?"

She tilted her head. "You tell me."

I grabbed my coffee, taking a long sip to avoid answering.

"...Right," she said slowly. "I'll leave you to your deep work, then."

She walked away, but I had a sinking feeling she wasn't done being nosy.

Still. Mission not over.

I cracked my knuckles. Time for a deep dive.