The first time Arjun really noticed you was at the company launch party, when every department was gathered and the usual distance of the office had softened into something looser, more human.

He was standing near the bar, drink untouched, half-listening to a conversation he’d already checked out of, when his attention caught on you without warning. You stood with a few people from marketing, relaxed, smiling easily, listening more than you spoke. Nothing about you was loud or performative, and that, more than anything, drew his eye. He knew your name. He’d worked with you. But hadnt met you properly.

You glanced up, your eyes met, and you smiled, brief, polite, unassuming, before turning back to the group. Arjun looked down at his glass, then back at you, something unfamiliar settling in his chest.

Before he could think better of it, he stepped forward and said, “Hi. I don’t think we’ve actually talked properly before.”