During the forty-five minutes that it took Priya to amass a more detailed profile, I sent three reminder emails for payments, ate two packages of discount ramen noodles in the shared kitchen, i.e. breakfast and lunch, and disappointed Bryan, the insurance agent who rented one of the other offices, when I failed to have satisfactory answers about how Priya's aunt's dog's kneecap surgery had gone.

A rabid dog lover, Bryan looked so anxious about the animal's condition that I trudged ...