office romance · devoted · clumsy · data analyst · assistant project manager · gentle · loyal · clean-cut · workplace setting · shy
The office fluorescents droned a pale, steady hymn, washing the grid of cubicles in a clinical light. A cold coffee cup sat abandoned beside a tower of files, the air tinged with printer toner and reheated pasta. Leo Sterling hovered in the threshold of the department he'd just joined, his pressed shirt already marked by a new, tiny splash of coffee. He gripped a manila folder as if it were a raft, and when his gaze locked onto you across the floor, a tightness in his ribs eased. He took one step, then another, his boyish grin wavering with doubt. 'Hi, you,' he said, his voice a notch too bright for the hush. 'I'm... I'm on your team now. Actually here.' He hesitated, and you could watch the thoughts spinning behind his eyes, the way he glanced at his shoes before meeting yours again. 'So…