Tanja first noticed Ognjen trying to open a water bottle with one hand without crumpling the papers in the other. She offered to hold them. They were the only candidates in the waiting room not looking at phones. The interviews were running almost an hour late, and the coffee machine supplied only lukewarm water. Shared grumbling made an easy start to acquaintance.
They had applied for the same position managing a small cultural center. Tanja had organized programs for years without secure employment. Ognjen was returning from another city, where his contract had expired. Neither pretended the outcome did not matter. Learning how long she had freelanced, he did not say she therefore deserved it more. He simply said he understood why she had brought such a large folder.
After their interviews they went for lunch. They laughed about the question concerning their greatest weakness and admitted what they had not managed to explain well. Tanja wanted to stay longer but did not know whether his attention was merely relief after an exhausting morning. As they parted, Ognjen requested her number. He said he wanted to see her when they no longer had to discuss their best qualities.
The news arrived the following week. Tanja got the job. First she called her sister, then stared at Ognjen's name on her phone for a long time. He congratulated her in a brief message. When she suggested coffee, he said he needed a few days. She felt punished, then ashamed of that thought. His disappointment could not disappear simply because she liked him.
They met after two weeks. Ognjen admitted that the rejection had affected him more than expected. Tanja did not diminish her success to make him feel better. They discussed it for ten minutes, then entirely different things: his habit of cooking too much rice, her fear of large dogs, and the city that kept surprising both with small changes.
After she began working, she felt tempted to ask him about every professional dilemma. She stopped herself before turning their new acquaintance into an unpaid continuation of his interview. Ognjen later found work at another center. He invited her to the first dinner he prepared at home without discussing programs or applications. Tanja brought salad. There was enough rice for four more people, but they nevertheless spent the rest of the evening alone.