The Red String

Chapter 1

15 years later...

Divya

I walk through the doors of Virtex, the cooling air relieving me from the burning heat of Arizona's August. I walk past the receptionist, greeting her with a "good morning" before quickly walking past and swiping my ID into the card reader next to the door that led to the employee cubicles. There was a faint beep before the doors slid open and I walked down the aisle bordered with cubicles filled with my coworkers. Some were brisk, typing away, attending meetings, and starting the day off strong while others were half asleep, groggily logging in. One thing was common between all, though, and that's a cup full of either coffee or tea. Mine this morning is coffee. I find my desk and take a seat, peaking over the divider to check if Sarah was in yet. Sarah works in the cubicle positioned next to mine. She and I are usually the ones who keep the room from being too silent. There's 2 cubicles in front of us, finishing the quad. While Josh occupies the one in front of Sarah, the one in front of me remains empty. I was told a new hire is joining our team today, though, so I'm pretty sure it's the last day I'll see that desk empty. It'll either be this desk assigned to them or the one in front of Brenda. My best wishes go to them if it's that desk assigned, though. Brenda just went through a divorce and talking to her feels like walking on thin ice. Anything triggers her.

I take a sip of my coffee, pulling my laptop out of my bag and logging in before checking the notification that popped up on my phone.

Aayisha
My flight landed! Drinks tonight, you, me, and Honey.

I completely forgot she was landing today. I've been so caught up in work and creating a catch-up presentation for the new comer that her arrival slipped my mind.

Me
Yayy!! So excited! Let's meet at mine.

I quickly replied back before opening my email. Regardless of whether it's important or not, I always open every single one. I hate seeing unreads. I come across an email from Benson, my director. The meeting has been moved an hour early (10 AM) due to an unexpected appointment that popped up on his end.

I sigh, looking at the clock that read 9:33 AM. It's in less than thirty minutes. Fuck. I run through the slides of my presentation, making sure I included every bit of information the new comer would need. It's not a lot that I put in, honestly, since Josh would work closer to the new hire than I would. Sarah and I are part of the UX department, designing the user interface of the projects while Josh and the new comer are on the technical side. They work on the behind the scenes of what we do. Josh and Sarah were both supposed to be present for the meeting but it doesn't even look like they're here yet. I wonder if they got the memo. As if they heard my thoughts, they both rush in one behind the other and settle in their seats.

"Did you see Ben's email?" Josh asks me, opening his laptop.

"Yeah, I did. Are you good with your presentation?"

"Please," Sarah scoffed, "he's been working on it all month. Even put in jokes as if they're gonna be best friends."

"Hey, what if we do become best friends? Him and I just may have a lot in common. You're just a hater." Josh rolled his eyes, typing something into his laptop.

"Wait, so the new comer is a guy?" I ask, disregarding the rest of his sentence. He nodded in response, focused on whatever he's typing.

"Yeah," Sarah leaned in closet to whisper, "imagine he gets sat next to Brenda." She snickered and I shook my head, a smile of amusement on my face at the thought. Brenda would definitely make advances regardless of his age. Going through a divorce in your 50s must be tough.

"Come on, let's get going. It's better to be early than late," Josh said as he took his laptop and cup of coffee before pushing his chair in and walking towards the door. Sarah and I nodded, doing the same and following him to the elevator.

"Do you think he's gonna be cute?" Sarah asked, adjusting her shirt just enough to show the work place appropriate amount of cleavage.

"Did you do all this when I came in too?" Josh asked, stepping into the empty elevator and holding his hand out to the sensor for us to walk in too. He pressed the button to close the doors immediately after and pressed on the button numbered 7.

"Nah, they showed me your picture beforehand. Figured you weren't worth the effort early on," she joked and he swatted her arm.

Sarah and I laughed as I fixed up my hair looking at my reflection in the elevator's metal walls. "Relax, Josh, wouldn't it just be a burden off your shoulders if one of us got a boyfriend? We wouldn't be annoying you all the time."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "Plus, you won't have to be the only guy in the group anymore."

Josh simply shook his head and the elevator opened. We stepped out and walked down the hallway, looking for meeting hall 222. Josh held the door open for Sarah and I as we stepped in and greeted our other teammates who were already gathered around the long, oval table.

"We're only missing Ben, Elton, and the new comer now," Josh said as he adjusted his chair.

I nodded, checking my makeup in my phone's front camera before opening my laptop and making sure it's ready and set to the presentation. I go before Josh, so it's important for me to be ready. I then text Honey before I forget.

Me
Yisha landed earlier. Can you bring the drinks to my place around 7? I'm going to be at work a little longer today and won't have time to pick them up.

Honey
Alright, don't overwork yourself. I'll see you later!

I reacted to her message with a heart and put my phone down as I heard the door open and saw Ben walk in, followed by a man slightly taller than him. He had a wheatish complexion, dark fluffy hair, and dark eyes framed with glasses. He wore a dark blue shirt tucked into black pants, both fitting his muscular build perfectly. I watched as he took his seat next to Ben with a smile, greeting everyone in the room with a curt nod. His eyes locked on mine for a moment more than the rest, though, and that's when I realized. He's a new comer to all these people, but not to me.

Arjun Vikas. A man I never thought I'd see again sat in front of me in this very room.