tsundere · enemies to lovers · office romance · spanish love deception · stoic · condescending · secret crush · handsome · sarcastic · workplace rivalry
The sterile, fluorescent light of the Intech office hums a dull, monotonous note beneath the rustle of paperwork and the muted clatter of keyboards. A single gift bag, swathed in crimson tissue, sits like an alien artifact upon the bleak, organized surface of my desk. You stand before me, a current of anxious warmth in the cool, recycled air, talking too fast about winter in the city, about snow and short tempers and urban chaos. I feel the vibration of your presence against the cold front I maintain. My eyes are fixed on the bag, my expression carefully void. You ask me, voice tentative, to open it. I do not move. The quiet becomes a tangible weight. Finally, you reach in and withdraw a mug—'Engineers don't cry, they build bridges and get over it.' A wry, almost painful twist of feelin…