[Kartikey – 10:05 PM | Café Meraki]
The air between them wasn't awkward---yet. But it teetered dangerously close, like a tightrope stretched between two strangers pretending not to notice how thin it was.
Kartikey fidgeted with the edge of the napkin. The hot chocolate in front of him sent out small curls of steam, sweet and warm. Her espresso sat untouched.
Nancy looked… expensive. Not flashy, not overdressed just expensive. The way her coat fell perfectly on her shoulders, the sharpness of her collarbone, the faint smell of something floral but restrained. Like money and elegance had agreed to keep things low key, just for tonight.
"So…" he started, then realized he didn't have a sentence after that.
Nancy raised an eyebrow, but not unkindly. "So?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm bad at this."
"At what?"
"Talking to women I don't know who look like they belong in Vogue."
She laughed, genuinely, and something about that eased his grip on the napkin. Her laugh was clean. Clear. The kind of sound that didn't pretend.
"You're not so bad," she said, resting her chin on her hand. "Just... surprised."
Kartikey blinked. "Surprised?"
Nancy didn't answer immediately.
[Nancy – 10:07 PM | Café Meraki]
Yes, surprised.
The moment she saw him slightly underdressed, nervous eyes, a face that was nice but ordinary. Nancy had almost turned around.
Almost.
She wasn't used to men like him. Most of the people she met wore ambition like cologne strong, overbearing, trying too hard to leave a mark. Her world was full of suits, negotiations, coded conversations where "I'm interested" really meant "I want something from you."
But Kartikey… didn't want anything. That much was clear.
And in a way, that scared her more.
"I'm surprised," she said finally, "because you're not what I expected. That's not bad."
He tilted his head. "What did you expect?"
She smiled. "A shark in casuals."
Kartikey laughed. "Well, I'm more like a tired goldfish."
[Kartikey – 10:09 PM | Café Meraki]
The conversation picked up. He talked about adjusting to Korean food, about how kimchi had betrayed him in his first month, and how he once accidentally bowed to a vending machine out of sheer habit.
Nancy listened. Really listened. Not the nodding and checking her watch kind of listening. She asked questions. Laughed. Even added her own stories vague ones. Hints of her background, her childhood in Boston, a grandmother who taught her five languages.
But nothing specific.
He noticed that.
She never said the name of the company she worked at. Never mentioned coworkers or brands or anything that might tell him what she really did.
And oddly… he didn't mind.
[Nancy – 10:13 PM | Café Meraki]
Kartikey was watching her without calculating her.
No hidden intent. No ego game.
Just… watching. Curious. Honest.
She found herself leaning forward a little more.
This was dangerous.
She had employees with MBAs and Olympic resumes who couldn't get her attention for more than five minutes in a meeting. But this man this ordinary man with tired eyes and hot chocolate was holding her attention without even trying.
"Do you live alone?" she asked suddenly.
He hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Just me. Parents are in Delhi. I call them twice a week, mostly to explain how Wi-Fi works."
"And your job?"
"IT support for a mid-tier firm. Not glamorous. But I like helping people. It's like solving tiny mysteries every day."
She smiled.
[Kartikey – 10:20 PM | Café Meraki]
He risked a question. "What about you? What do you do… really?"
Nancy sipped her espresso finally.
"I work in tech," she said simply.
"That's like saying I work in Earth."
She smirked. "Smart people bore me. You make me laugh."
He grinned. "So I'm a clown to you?"
"No. You're real. That's rarer."
Kartikey smile faded slightly.
In that moment, he realized something: he didn't want to Google her name when he got home. He didn't want to dig. He liked this moment, unsullied. Raw.
And she… she looked like someone who didn't get to be herself very often.
[Nancy – 10:55 PM | Outside Café Meraki]
They stepped outside into the cold.
Her driver wasn't far, but she lingered.
Kartikey rubbed his hands. "Thanks for… not running away when you saw me."
Nancy turned toward him. Her expression unreadable, the moonlight catching the edges of her cheekbone.
"I almost did."
He chuckled. "Can't blame you."
"But then I realized," she said softly, "I don't want to spend my whole life being known by everyone… except the one person I might actually like."
A pause.
Then a small, warm silence.
"So… see you again?" he asked.
Nancy studied him.
Then nodded.
"Text me."
And with that, she stepped into her car, leaving Kartikey standing under the neon lights, utterly unaware that the woman he just made laugh for an hour could buy the entire café and the building it was in without blinking.