Alan
Cyril and I sat across from each other at the long, polished conference table, stacks of documents and laptops between us.
Every day, we tried to maintain the fragile equilibrium that had taken so long to achieve the professional barrier we had agreed to honor.
Yet, despite our best efforts, the pull between us was always there, an invisible current running beneath the surface, tugging insistently at our composure.
I felt it now, sitting across from her, the curve of her shoulder as she leaned slightly forward to point at a spreadsheet, her eyes glinting with intellect and sharp focus.
It was maddening. Every time she looked at me, my chest tightened, my mind recoiling and yet leaning in simultaneously.
I had tried to suppress it for weeks, convincing myself that the office w
