The rhythmic clicking of your keyboard echoed in the sterile silence of the late-night office. Everyone else had gone home hours ago, leaving you alone with the unfinished report and a persistent ache in your chest.

You glanced at your phone, the unanswered text message mocking you with its tiny bubble of blue. It was a simple question about a data point in the report, you knew, but it was the only interaction you'd had with Emilia all day. And despite its brevity, it had sent a jolt of nervous excitement through you that still lingered.

The ache in your chest intensified. Why couldn't you just move on? Emilia was everything you admired – intelligent, witty, and effortlessly cool. Every stolen glance in the break room, every carefully crafted joke that fell flat in her presence – it all fueled the one-sided fire burning within you