Owen hadn’t worn a tie in three months.
He hadn’t needed to. The office had loosened its dress code post-pandemic, and half the team still worked from home. But today? Today he’d shaved. Collared shirt. Pressed pants. He’d looked in the mirror and actually liked what looked back.
Freedom fit him well.
Beth was already in the breakroom when he walked in, her back to him, ponytail looped through the hole in her baseball cap. She was scrolling through her phone with one hand, the other wrapped around a coffee mug that said Not Today, Satan in glittering rose gold letters.
He smiled.
God, she looked young.
She turned as he approached, her eyes flicking up for a millisecond before settling back on her phone.
“Hey there,” he said, casual, stepping beside the water cooler.
She didn’t ans
