The rest of the day passed in a haze Arabella couldn't shake off.
By the time she returned to her desk, it was nearly 4:30. Her fingers hovered over her keyboard, but her mind was far from code or calculations. She sat still for a few seconds longer than she should have, her eyes fixed on the coffee cup.
She shook her head slightly, cheeks warming at the memory.
The way he'd taken it so easily… the soft amusement in his voice… and the way he'd looked at her, like she was some kind of puzzle he was enjoying figuring out.
Stop, she told herself. Focus.
Arabella pulled a folder from the side of her desk, deciding to organize documentation that had been sitting around unfinished. It wasn't anything her manager had asked for—just something she could do quietly. She needed quiet right now.
Needing a distraction, Arabella gathered a few folders to print. The hallway was quiet, a soft hum of machines running in the background. Just as she rounded the corner toward the printing room, someone turned the opposite way from inside and they nearly bumped shoulders.
"Oops, sorry," Arabella said quietly, stepping aside.
"Oh! Hey, Arabella," Adrian said, recognizing her.
She offered a faint nod. "Hi."
"Busy day?"
"Mm-hmm. A bit," she replied softly.
"Same here," he said with a smile, holding up the file in his hand. "Catch you later."
Arabella gave a small smile and moved past, entering the room.
By the time 6:00 PM neared, her screen showed completed notes, a tidied-up documentation folder, and nothing left to distract her from the growing hum in her chest.
She gathered her things and left quietly.
The air outside was cooler than she expected, the sun dipping low behind the buildings. On the bus ride home, she sat by the window, her fingers lightly tracing the fog of her breath on the glass.
She tried to review the day like data in a report:
Task complete.
Documentation updated.
Encounter with… him.
Her chest tightened slightly.
She didn't understand what this was. What he wanted. Or why it made her feel like her ribs had been strung too tight to breathe properly.
It wasn't just the teasing. It was the way he looked at her—like she mattered. Like she was worth noticing.
She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the city lights blur behind her lids. Tomorrow would come with its own weight. For now, all she could do was try to sleep with a head full of half-formed questions and every single warm memory of his.