“That’s a new look.”

“What?” I ask my co-worker, Natasha. I look over at her. I’m in the kitchen of our office, making my morning coffee. I didn’t hear her come in. I thought I was still alone.

“You’re completely zoned out over there. I said ‘Good morning,’ and you were just staring straight ahead with a small smile on your face, stirring your coffee. You are never happy in the mornings.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I lie, but I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. Natasha doesn’t miss it, either. We’ve shared an office space for the last two years. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well; we often go to lunch and talk about our lives—but I don’t share much. We’ve never gotten together outside of work. It’s an unspoken agreement that we are work friends, and that’s it. It works for us.

“Girl, my douche of an ex-husband decided this weekend that he wants more time with the kids. I reluctantly agreed, then he didn’t show. I spent the rest of the weekend consoling the girls and trying to pull them away from the window. Let me in on what’s giving you that smile.”

“He didn’t,” I hissed.

“He did.”

“What an asshole. How are the girls?”

“Heartbroken,” she responds solemnly. When she looks down at the floor, I see the anguish in her face. It hasn’t been an easy road for her. Natasha suddenly looks up and strolls toward me. She points her finger in my face. “You are not changing the subject. Tell me.”

I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t get out of this. She is persistent when she wants information. She will relentlessly badger me for the rest of the day until I give in to her demands. She should be a terrorist interrogator.

I start walking toward our office without saying anything. I’m not going to spill while we’re in the kitchen. The kitchen is in the center of our building; too many people can hear everything in the kitchen.

Natasha closes the door to our cramped office after she follows me in. The space is only enough to allow one desk, but our boss insisted we share this space, so we have two work spaces crammed in here. They are in opposite corners, with our backs to each other. We mastered the art of gymnastics, since hopping over the chairs is pretty much the only way to get out if we’re both sitting down.

I look at the clock, gauging how much time we have until our boss arrives. She doesn’t like our door closed. She sits in an office across from us and wants full access to us at all times. We have about fifteen minutes before she arrives, so I’ll have to make this quick—Natasha will have to save her questions for when our boss leaves her office. We are good at starting and stalling conversations. We can pause in the middle of a sentence when we hear her clomping down the hall and pick it right back up when she leaves.

Natasha looks at the clock on her screen. “Hurry.” We face each other when each of us is turned at an angle. I’m not sure where to start. I think back to seeing Liam for the first time and I feel the smile nearly split my face in half. I’m not sure what to say, I met someone, sounds too intense, too real. I’m not ready to claim a relationship. I go for casual.

“I had a date this weekend. Actually two.”

She gasps, her hand flying to my chair, leaning forward in excitement. “Oh my god! Two guys? Or same guy?”

I laugh. I could not juggle two guys, especially if they were anything like Liam. He dominates my thoughts, and sends my body into a frenzy. This man has the key to unlock feelings I haven’t felt in years.

“You didn’t look like this after that last disastrous date. You must like this guy. You saw him twice in one weekend? Or was it actually one long date and y’all didn’t get out of bed all weekend?” She waggles her eyebrows, trying to look seductive.

I laugh at her goofiness. “Two dates. Two beginnings and two endings. Yeah, I like him. He’s ... he’s...”

Our door whips open. I glance at the clock. Dammit, the Witch is early today.

“Why is this door closed? Is that any way to start the week? I expect you both to be present and available at all times, not gabbing in here like schoolgirls.” She huffs and storms into her office. Natasha raises an eyebrow. I let out a sigh, frustrated that this is my job but relieved I can think before explaining Liam to Natasha.

Natasha and I turn to our desks and begin working. We’re in the marketing department of a large department store that started here locally, and now has stores all around the world. Our boss is the marketing executive for the southern region of the country. Summer has barely begun, but our focus is on fall advertisements, our second biggest season. I learned early in my first year here that my boss is even more of a tyrant when we are handling fall and Christmas advertisements.

I love my work, but I hate my boss. I’ve been working hard to gain as much experience as possible so I can move on.

Sometimes I dream of starting a small boutique marketing company. I’d cater to local businesses with design conception, and building their brand using social media. It’s really only a daydream. I wouldn’t risk something this important. I could lose it all, since I know he will come back for me. When that day comes, he will try to rip everything from me. Since his sentencing, it has been my mission not to be a victim again.

My phone vibrates in the desk drawer, breaking me from my thoughts.

I hug my phone to my chest, smiling. Natasha giggles behind me. She whispers in her quietest voice, “I don’t even need to see your face right now. I know you’re giddy.”

She’s right. I am giddy. More importantly, though, Liam is right. I haven’t stopped thinking about him. I wish I had known today is his first day at a new job. I would have sent flowers. Do men like flowers? Would that be weird to send flowers after two dates? I log on to order a small bouquet when the perfect gift idea hits me instead. I know he will love it.