SHE READ THE email she had received from Mr. Z. She had not expected him to get a response this soon since she had emailed him less than four hours ago. She was curious to know who he was but neither his voice or the book title gave it away. And she knew Mr. Edison would never tell her.

To: laavanyashaw202@ email.com

From: thisishowidiebook@ email.com

Dear Miss Shaw,

Excellent work on the first draft but I am not sure it is to my liking. I will be expecting more of the drafts in the following weeks.

Thank you.

Regards.

Laavanya rolled her eyes and switched the tab to play her comfort movie instead. She had worked on his cover for hours, questioning her every choice and she wanted to capture every essence of him but in the process of wanting to keep his identity anonymous, he hadn't given her much of the personal details. When she worked on the covers for other clients, she had hours of long meetings where they discussed every element of the story and the characters but she was unable to work right now with this limited information.

She stretched back on her couch. The movie continued to play but her attention drifted off elsewhere. Her mind went back to her office—on Ryker. He must be at the gala with the other head of the departments and other high ranking professionals. He must be sipping wine and discussing the company's progress while she was on her couch with a bowl of half-eaten rice and curry on the table.

She was proud of Ryker. He was head of the department of a smaller company and suddenly scored the same position in a bigger one. She wasn't jealous of his progress but she kept thinking of what it must have been like if Fred hadn't made her feel like she didn't deserve where she was now. She knew she was talented, she was aware of the fact that she has the creativity to think boldly but God, Fred made it feel like she owned it to him.

She pulled out her phone.

Laavanya: Hi, did you have dinner?

He texted back in a minute.

Ryker: Not yet. Still socialising. I don't like half the people here

Laavanya: Sneak out

Ryker: I might;)

Ryker: Can't stop thinking about you.

Laavanya: Me too

A smile rose on her face as she put her phone away. She paused the movie playing in the background and picked up the bowl. She shoved the rice into a container and placed it inside the refrigerator. She texted Julie to ask what she was doing but she didn't respond so Laavanya assumed that she was either working on her manuscript or was with Neel.

Laavanya frowned, not sure what to do next.

She walked out of the kitchen and went into the bathroom to wash her face. She noticed faint eye bags around her eyes which made her even more sad. It had been a while since she had socialised and since both of her friends are busy, going somewhere doesn't seem like such a bad idea. She texted an unexpected person, asking if she'd like to join her and then picked up a curling iron and started curling her hair when she replied with a thumbs up.

She did her go-to party makeover and got dressed in black leather pants and an off-shoulder black top that had diamonds scattered around and fur around the sleeves. She paired the outfit with high heels and long dangly earrings. Her high ponytail swayed as she took the cab to her favourite bar.

The Keg's nestled at the corner of one of the busiest streets in the city. The loud music had reached her ear before she even entered the bar. It was one of the only few bars in the city that was an open place for people of all and any genders, races, sexual orientations. The Keg's had a zero tolerance policy–the moment anyone treated anyone unfairly—they were banned from the bar.

Laavanya walked in to find Paris sitting in a booth, waiting for her. She approached her and they exchanged a long hug and compliments on how great they looked. They both slid into the booth and ordered themselves a drink.

"I have to tell you, Laavanya. I did not expect you to text me all of a sudden asking to hang out at a bar on a random weekday," Paris said, smiling as she sipped her Cosmo.

"Yeah, I assumed you'd want a break and I know being a mother at this age—or any, isn't a piece of cake. I figured we could bond too. Did you drop Rain off at your parents'?" She asked.

"My mom's, yes. My dad passed away a few years ago. What are you up to these days? How is Ryker? He seems a little smitten about you. I am so happy to see him that way."

Laavanya blushed at the mention of his name. "He is great. Um, he actually just told me a couple of days ago that he loves me. He is at some gala tonight and my best friend, Julie, is working too. I think you will love her."

"Julie? Ryker's cousin?"

"Oh, you know. Yes." The song ended and a new song began to play. The crowd cheered at the beats. "Do you want to dance? This is my favourite song!" Before Paris could answer, Laavanya took her hand and pulled her on the dancefloor. They swayed their bodies to the music and Laavanya truly felt alive.

She remembered how many emotions she had been going through for the past few months. But not one was feeling happy for being alive. Her happiness depended on Ryker or her work but at this moment as she moved her hips to the sound of the music, she wasn't thinking of him or her job. She felt good about being here. She was in the moment and she wanted to be stuck here forever.

Her eyes fell on a table in front of the bar. A girl was sitting alone, sipping coke and by her ginger hair and curvy body—it didn't take long for Laavanya to figure out who she was. Laavanya asked Paris to follow her as she approached Sydney.

"Sydney, hi!" Laavanya said. Sydney turned towards her and a dull expression was quickly replaced with a grin. They exchanged a hug. "Sydney, this is Paris. She is Ryker's friend and Paris—" she turned to her. "She is the writer who wrote the expose."

Paris turned to Sydney. "You are an amazing writer. I am a fan."

Sydney smiled but the spark didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks."

"What are you doing here? Are you waiting for a date?" The moment these words left Laavanya's mouth, she regretted it. The tiny smile on Sydney's face dulled even more.

"No, I, um. I came alone. I wanted to step out of my house, that's all."

Laavanya smiled softly. "Oh, we are doing the same. Do you want to join us? We aren't planning on drinking much—just dancing and bonding. Why don't you co—"

"Laavanya!" A voice called her from behind. Julie pounced on her and grinned before meeting eyes with Sydney. "Sydney, hi! Been a while, how are you?"

"I am fine, Julie. Thanks for asking."

"What are you doing here, Jules? Are you drunk?"

"A little tipsy. I was with Neel at some other bar but he had to leave and then I tracked you down through our shared location." Julie's eyes fell on Paris. She looked at her questioningly for a long time until the realisation finally fit her. "Oh! Oh! You must be Paris, Rain's mother. Oh! Rain is such a pure soul. I am Julie, Laavanya's best friend but also...um..." Julie whispered. "Ryker's cousin."

"Oh, hi. I am so glad to finally meet you."

"Me too! Ryker is such a jerk for keeping both of you away from me. You sound so cool. Why don't we get into a booth and order more drinks. Oh, my God. We should totally make this a thing. We can call ourselves..." Julie looked up at the ceiling. "The Working Women Pops."

"Jules, honey?" Laavanya called her out. "How many drinks have you had?"

"Three."

"Three, what?"

"Sex on the beach."

"Alright, no more drinks for you." She turned back to Paris and Sydney. "Let's find a table." They sat in a booth and ordered some food and drinks. Laavanya turned to Sydney. "Have you been writing an interesting article lately?"

Sydney looked up from her untouched fries. "I actually quit Iris yesterday. I work as a full time musician now. I have a gig on Friday—if you'd like to join."

"Yes, of course!" Paris said. "Where is it?"

"It's downtown at a small bar. I could share the address to Julie or Laavanya."

"Why don't we create a group?" Laavanya suggested. "Sydney can text us her gigs, Julie can text us when she has her book interviews, Paris can text when she needs some time away as a working mom and I can text when I need someone to do my eyeliner."

"Or I can rant when Neel eventually leaves me," Julie murmured.

"Jules...is everything okay?"

"What? Yeahhh," she slurred. "I mean, it's obvious, right? He is a doctor, why would he want to date me? Plus, we are just friends with benefits. I should probably end this before he does. That way at least I could control how it ends."

"I can understand what you're feeling," Paris said, staring at her food. "Most of my past relationships have been somewhat like that."

"Are you seeing anyone right now?" Sydney asked.

"Not anymore. It's hard to date when you have a child. I will always put her needs before anyone else's and most men don't get that. Plus, my last boyfriend was just so jealous of Ryker. He never said it but I saw the way he used to look at him whenever he dropped by. Ryker and I go way back but like I said, we were just using each other when we were teens. I love him in a way a mother loves her daughter's father—not as a husband or boyfriend. Dan didn't get that." Paris looked up at Laavanya. "I hope it's okay that I said that."

"Yes, no. Of course."

"Since we are revealing our innermost feelings—" Sydney said, licking her lips. "I am fucking terrified. I took this decision impulsively and I...I am starting to regret it. I like writing articles but songwriting is the one thing that gives me happiness but what if I am not good enough? What if I end up making a complete fool of myself? I know we just met but it would really be great if you guys could come on Friday. It's my first time singing in front of an audience without any known faces in the crowd."

"We will be there." Paris squeezed Sydney's hand. "So, has anyone left to share their secrets?"

Laavanya took a deep breath. "I think I do. My parents—" she began.